by K. E. Rocha
There was no telling what would have happened to Spencer, Aldo, and Kate if the metal door of the shipping room had slammed shut, sealing them inside as the microchipped bear army approached. But how had Uncle Mark known they needed him? And where was Uncle Mark now?
What seemed like millions of questions started piling up in Spencer’s mind.
He unzipped his mission pack and turned it over, dumping the contents onto the floor. He searched the pile of tools and emergency supplies for something unfamiliar. Whatever Uncle Mark had put in Spencer’s mission pack was supposed to tell him everything he wanted to know.
Spencer pushed aside a Raymond’s fuel bar and a roll of duct tape as he hunted for a notebook or a file. He moved a pair of scissors, a pair of gloves, and a small bundle of wires, but still couldn’t find anything that looked out of place in the pile of mission materials. Then his eyes landed on a small red tin labeled “first aid kit.” Spencer picked it up. He didn’t remember seeing it before. He flipped open the top.
“Yes,” he whispered to himself. An audio recorder was nestled inside. Spencer pulled it out, letting the empty tin fall into his lap. News about Mom and Dad was right here in his hands. Spencer didn’t waste a single second. He pressed PLAY. Uncle Mark’s voice filled the closet immediately.
“Update,” Uncle Mark started. His voice was hushed. “I located Pam’s plane in Florida and followed it to Moon Farm. Margo, Ivan, Jane, and Shane were not on the plane. Dora was on the plane. Dora is kept with Pam at all times.” There was a pause, then Uncle Mark spoke again. “Update: Margo and Ivan have arrived at Moon Farm with Kate. They were sent to locate Bearhaven but could not. They brought Kate to Pam as consolation.”
The audio recorder fell silent again. Spencer closed his eyes, waiting for more information. If Mom and Dad weren’t on the plane with Pam, then where were they? As though answering Spencer’s question, Uncle Mark’s voice picked up again.
“Update: Jane and Shane are not being held at Moon Farm. They are being held at Pam’s personal headquarters. They are both being held there. Jane’s cover was blown.”
“No,” Spencer whispered into the silence between Uncle Mark’s updates. Now both of his parents were Pam’s captives.
“Update: Pam has left Moon Farm on a helicopter from the tower roof. He is going to his personal headquarters. I was not able to follow. He will be overseeing an assembly tonight by video.” For a second, Spencer was angry. How could Uncle Mark let Pam get away? But then Uncle Mark spoke again.
“Update: I’ve located Pam’s personal headquarters. Traced the origin of the video feed—what—” Suddenly, the audio recording picked up movement. Uncle Mark hadn’t stopped taping, but it didn’t sound as if he was paying attention to his update anymore. Spencer heard heavy footsteps. Uncle Mark was running. “Spencer!” he heard Uncle Mark call, but the voice was muffled. There was the sound of metal scraping against metal, then after a few more seconds, Uncle Mark’s voice. “Hurry, Spence. You have to get out of here.”
Spencer stopped the tape. His pulse was racing. Uncle Mark had been watching the midnight assembly and determining where the video feed was coming from when Pam’s cameras turned on Spencer, Aldo, and Kate. He’d had to move so fast to help them he’d never stopped recording.
Spencer heard a bear enter the wardrobe car.
“Spencer?” It was B.D.
“I’m in here!” Spencer called. He set the tape recorder aside and scrambled to put the contents of his mission pack away. B.D. stepped into view in the closet’s open doorway. The bear was much too large to enter with his whole body, but he moved his head inside, looking Spencer over.
“What’s going on in here?” B.D. asked, inspecting the closet. When he turned his head, Spencer caught sight of the familiar furless patch at his jaw. Suddenly, Uncle Mark’s words rushed into Spencer’s head: “Dora was on the plane. Dora is kept with Pam at all times.”
Spencer gasped. It wasn’t only his family who Uncle Mark had located. The jet-black bear with Pam during the midnight assembly was Dora, B.D.’s long-lost sister. Spencer had been so focused on news about Mom and Dad, Dora’s name had barely registered.
“Well?” B.D. asked impatiently.
“B.D., there’s something you have to hear.” Spencer picked up the tape recorder. He rewound it all the way to the beginning, then held it between himself and B.D. and pressed PLAY.
“Update.” Uncle Mark’s voice filled the closet once again. B.D.’s eyes flashed in surprise. He leaned in to hear Uncle Mark’s report.
Spencer left B.D. in the wardrobe car and made his way to the medical car, trying to shake off his disappointment that Mom and Dad wouldn’t be in Bearhaven when he got there. He knew it was good news that Uncle Mark had located Mom and Dad, but no matter how relieved Spencer was that Uncle Mark was getting closer to rescuing his parents, he also knew it would take yet another difficult mission to bring them home.
Spencer would be returning to Bearhaven without his family, and unless he repaired things with Kate, without a best friend, too. He opened the door to the medical car and stepped inside. The car was quiet.
“Hello, son,” Professor Weaver said, startling Spencer. The bear was bent over a silver surgical table to one side of the car. A BEAR-COM and a variety of tools were scattered across the surface of the table.
“Hi.” Spencer looked around the rest of the medical car. A curtain had been drawn across the car, closing off the back half. Yude must be back there, Spencer thought, hoping the drawn curtain wasn’t a bad sign. In front of the curtain, on a bear-sized hospital bed, Kate was stretched out on her side, her back turned to Spencer. Marguerite and Evarita were with the cub. Marguerite sat back on her haunches, murmuring Ragayo as Evarita tended to Kate’s ear.
“Will Kate be okay?” Spencer asked. Professor Weaver followed Spencer’s gaze.
“I believe so. Her ear shouldn’t need more than a few stitches.”
Spencer shook his head, suddenly afraid that though Kate was safe, she’d never return to the playful, curious cub she used to be. “But will she be … herself again?”
“Yes, I think she will.” Professor Weaver padded over to stand beside Spencer. “She’s already on the mend, but it will take time.”
“I’m so sorry,” Spencer whispered, his voice wavering.
“It’s all right, Spencer. I owe you an apology myself. We should have been more honest with you about the difficulty we were having in locating your parents. You deserve to know as much as anyone about their whereabouts.” Professor Weaver paused. “Aldo reported that you saw your uncle at Moon Farm?”
Spencer nodded. “He gave me a tape with a bunch of information. B.D. has it now.”
“Was there any news of your parents?”
“Pam is holding them—both Mom and Dad—at his private headquarters,” Spencer said. “It’s a different place than Moon Farm. Uncle Mark knows where it is.”
“I see.”
“Pam’s really evil,” Spencer blurted out. “He’s after us, Professor Weaver. He’s training a whole army of microchipped bears for when he finds Bearhaven, and they’re getting close to finding it—it was Margo and Ivan who kidnapped Kate.” Spencer pulled the jade bear out of his pocket. He rolled it over in his palm. “What if … ” Spencer couldn’t get the words out.
Professor Weaver understood anyway. “We’re going to save your parents from Pam, Spencer.” The bear’s voice was determined. “We’ll bring them home, son—”
“But when, Professor?” Spencer interrupted Professor Weaver. His frustration swelled. Evarita looked up from her work on Kate’s ear. Spencer lowered his voice to a whisper. “I know Uncle Mark made progress, but there’s still no way of knowing how long it will be before I see my family again.”
Professor Weaver didn’t answer right away. After what felt like an hour, the bear broke the silence. “You know, in Bearhaven, our definition of ‘family’ is entirely different than yours. Family is chosen and earned.
Jane and Shane Plain may be your mother and father, but I think almost every bear in Bearhaven would say that they’re their family, too. Spencer, almost every bear in Bearhaven would say that you are part of their family. You belong in Bearhaven just as much as any of us. We need you, Spencer. If we learned anything from this mission, it’s that our work is only just beginning.”
Spencer looked across the room at Kate. The cub lay perfectly still as Evarita bandaged her ear. Spencer remembered the day Kate taught him the Ragayo word anbranda. The bears used it for “friend,” but Kate had explained it meant more than that. Anbranda meant “warrior for your family.” If he and Kate hadn’t been warriors for each other over the past few days, he didn’t know what they were. And Spencer knew he’d do whatever he could to protect Kate and all the bears in Bearhaven from Pam.
Professor Weaver was right. These bears had become Spencer’s family.
Spencer silent-walked through the passenger car. He didn’t want to disturb B.D., who looked lost in thought as he stared out into the dark TUBE tunnel, or Aldo, who was fast asleep in one of the cocoon-like seats. Neither bear stirred when Spencer opened the door to the dining car and slipped through it.
Spencer chose a seat at the empty table. A moment later, the door opened. To Spencer’s surprise, Kate padded in alone. The door closed behind her. The cub hesitated at the sight of Spencer. Her bandaged ear twitched. There was a BEAR-COM around her neck, but it wasn’t hers. It wasn’t pink and it didn’t sparkle.
“Hi,” Spencer said.
“Hi.” Kate rose up onto her hind legs. She wobbled a little as she sniffed the air in front of her. “I thought I smelled—”
Just then, Marguerite pushed open the door and swept into the dining car. She set a tray piled high with salmon nuggets on the table in front of Spencer. “Salmon nuggets, anyone? I heard it was a certain cub’s favorite dish.”
Kate dropped to all fours and approached the table. Marguerite helped her into the seat across from Spencer. Once Kate was settled, Marguerite flashed all her teeth in a wide smile.
“Enjoy,” she crooned, then she left the dining car.
The door closed behind Marguerite, leaving Spencer and Kate in silence. Spencer’s stomach growled. The salmon nuggets smelled delicious.
Spencer cleared his throat. “I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes locked on Kate.
Kate cocked her head to one side. She looked at Spencer.
“Acha kunchaich,” he said, careful to make the grunts and growls just as Yude had taught him, but he knew the Ragayo wasn’t enough. He had to explain. “I never meant for anything bad to happen to you, Kate. I know you were protecting me when you jumped out of the woods, but I was trying to protect you, too. It was all just a big mistake and a bigger misunderstanding. I’m really, really sorry.”
Kate dropped her head toward the table. She didn’t look at Spencer for a moment. He wasn’t sure if she was considering whether or not to accept his apology, or savoring the smell of the salmon nuggets.
Spencer’s stomach growled. Kate’s ears twitched at the sound. The cub lifted a claw to her BEAR-COM and switched it off.
“Anbranda,” she finally growled. She switched the translating device back on. “I forgive you, Spencer. You came to save me.”
“Anbranda,” Spencer said back. He tried to keep his Ragayo from sounding like a cheer.
Kate speared a salmon nugget with her claw and brought it close to her face. She gave it a huge sniff. Spencer picked up a salmon nugget of his own. He smelled it just the way Kate had.
“Smells like home,” he said, then popped it into his mouth whole.
Kate ate her salmon nugget in one bite. “Tastes like it, too.” She reached for another nugget.
The door to the dining car swung open. A groggy-looking Aldo loped in, carrying a tray in his mouth. He set it down on the table by Spencer.
“I hope you aren’t too full yet. I was told to deliver this to you,” the bear said, taking a seat beside his sister.
“Peanut butter toast!” Spencer whooped. He dropped the salmon nugget in his hand and picked up a piece of his favorite food. He took a huge bite, savoring the sticky, delicious, crunchy peanut butter–covered toast.
Aldo speared Spencer’s half-eaten salmon nugget and popped it into his own mouth.
Spencer put down his toast and picked up what he saw was placed on the tray beside the plate: his STORM training journal. “How did you—”
“I just delivered the tray, little man,” Aldo cut in.
“I thought you’d like to have your journal back,” Professor Weaver said, entering the car. He padded over to Kate and nuzzled her gently before taking a seat at the table. “After all, you’ll need to continue your training once you get back to Bearhaven.”
Spencer smiled, then filled his mouth with another big bite of peanut butter toast.
“How’s Yude?” Aldo asked.
“He’s going to be just fine,” Professor Weaver answered. “He needs a great deal of stitches and a lot of rest. It will be some time before he’s back to full strength, but Pinky will be able to give him all the care he needs. He will make a full recovery. Evarita and B.D. are with him now.”
Spencer looked across the table at Kate. The cub’s eyelids were drooping. She looked like she might fall asleep right there at the table. Aldo noticed, too. He gently headbutted his sister.
“Looks like we haven’t gotten our Kate back just yet,” he joked. “The cub I know would never fall asleep if there were salmon nuggets left to be eaten.”
Kate gave a little shake of her fur. She reached for another salmon nugget sleepily.
“Hey, Kate,” Spencer said. “Want me to show you how to use the seats in the passenger car? They have a special hood that you pull down and it turns into a bed. There’s even a screen inside so you can play Salmon King!”
Kate nodded, her eyes wide. She glanced at the plate of salmon nuggets.
Professor Weaver chuckled. “I have a feeling your mother is going to feed you as many salmon nuggets as you want as soon as you get home, Kate. There’s no need to polish off all of these.” The professor stood up. He helped Kate down from her seat. “Why don’t you take Spencer up on his offer to show you one of the TUBE’s special seats?”
Spencer stood up and hurried around to lead the way into the passenger car. He could hear Kate, Aldo, and Professor Weaver padding along behind him.
Professor Weaver was definitely right. It may be a little while longer before Mom and Dad were free from Pam, but in the meantime, Bearhaven was exactly where Spencer belonged. He had family there. And with Pam, Margo, and the army of microchipped bears heading for Bearhaven, that family, his family, was going to need every single anbranda it had.
Erin Black for her valuable editorial guidance, and Nancy Mercado, David Levithan, and Ellie Berger for their support.
Ross Dearsley for his gorgeous illustrations, Nina Goffi for her talented book design, and Rebekah Wallin for creating books from manuscripts.
For applying their creative marketing talent to Bearhaven: Bess Braswell, Jazan Higgins, Lori Benton, Saraceia Fennell, Antonio Gonzalez, and Michelle Campbell.
For their enthusiastic and ongoing expert advice and contributions to the world of Bearhaven: Dr. Thomas Spady, Bear Biologist, California State University San Marcos; and Dr. Sherri Wells-Jensen, Linguist, Bowling Green State University.
Louisa Gummer, for bringing the voice of Bearhaven to life.
Emma D. Dryden and Elizabeth Grojean, for ongoing editorial and managerial creativity, support, and enthusiasm.
K. E. Rocha is the author of Secrets of Bearhaven, developed in collaboration with Egg in the Hole Productions. She received a BA in English from Trinity College and an MFA from New York University. She has never visited with talking bears, although she often talks to her goofy little hound dog, Reggie, while writing in her studio in Queens, New York.
Don’t miss the first adventure!
Text copyright ©
2016 by Egg in the Hole Productions, LLC
Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Ross Dearsley
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The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Rocha, K. E., author.
Title: Mission to Moon Farm / K.E. Rocha.
Description: First edition. | New York, NY : Scholastic Press, 2016. | Series: Secrets of Bearhaven ; Book two | Summary: Spencer Plain has been settling into his new home in Bearhaven, the secret refuge his parents created, learning to speak Ragayo which is the bear’s language, and improving his survival skills—he still does not know where his parents are, but he knows that when his best friend, a bear cub named Kate, is kidnapped it is up to him to rescue her before it is too late.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016016963 | ISBN 9780545813044
Subjects: LCSH: Bears—Juvenile fiction. | Human-animal communication— Juvenile fiction. | Kidnapping—Juvenile fiction. | Best friends—Juvenile fiction. | Rescues—Juvenile fiction. | CYAC: Bears—Fiction. | Human-animal communication—Fiction. | Kidnapping—Fiction. | Best friends—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Rescues—Fiction.