by Max Elliot Anderson –
Scott, Brian, and Teddy had looked forward to this day for a long time. They’d read about it, talked about it, and even taken a test to get ready. Tomorrow was the big day. These three best friends were about to go on a mountain hike.
“Remember,” their guide told them, “stay on the path. It’ll be a little hard to see this morning, and that makes things more dangerous.” A chill went down Scott’s back as he continued listening. “As long as you keep an eye on the person in front of you, and follow closely, we should all be safe. Any questions?” No one spoke. Then he barked out his order, “Let’s move out.”
A thick fog had settled over the lower elevations. Like a heavy, gray blanket, it seemed to sit right on top of some of the rocks. After a couple hours of climbing, the hikers came up closer to the fog. Scott turned around to his friends. “Stay close you guys, and keep your eyes open.”
Just then, Teddy did something the hikers had been told never to do. He bolted off the path and into the bushes.
Scott stopped and when he did, Brian ran right into him. “Get back here,” Scott demanded. But Teddy waved him off with his hand and crouched down.
“What are you doing?”
Teddy put a finger to his lips while he reached into his pocket with the other hand. Scott couldn’t believe it when he saw Teddy pull out a camera. “Hey. We weren’t supposed to bring any stuff like that.” Without answering, Teddy started snapping pictures as fast as he could.
By now, Brian had walked over to him. He grabbed Teddy by the collar of his jacket and pulled him to his feet while the camera kept clicking. “What are you doing?”
“There were three deer. But I didn’t get any pictures because of big mouth up there on the trail.” He looked at Scott and then back to where the deer had been standing. “I missed ‘em.”
“Well, we’re supposed to stay on the path. Come on.” He half-dragged his friend back up to the top of the ridge where Scott waited.
Teddy looked toward where the other hikers had gone. “If we hurry, we should be able to catch them.” He started running up the path, looked over his shoulder and said, “You guys comin’ or not?”
His friends ran until they caught up to him. Together they hurried into the dense fog to find the others.
Teddy pointed. “Those guys gotta be just over this hill.”
He and his friends raced on ahead. But when they reached the top, and the trail leveled off for a short distance, Scott saw something that made him feel sick in his stomach. He and the guys stopped and stared at the trail—it split off right and left.
“Now what?” Brian asked.
“Easy,” Teddy answered. He knelt down and looked at the ground. “We just look for their footprints, like real survival trackers.” The others crowded in beside him.
“There’s footprints goin’ both ways,” Brian said. He sat right in the dirt and let out a deep breath. Then he turned to Scott. “Now what?”
“Shhh,” Scott said. Then he listened. “Let’s see if we can hear anything.”
They continued listening for several seconds but heard nothing except the wind. Suddenly Teddy shouted, “What’s that?” They all heard the clinking and clanking of hikers coming from the left side of the trail.
“We’re saved,” Teddy shouted as he sprinted off toward those sounds.
“Come back here,” Brian warned, but it was no use. Teddy kept on running. Just as his friends caught up with him, three hikers walked past them on their way back toward the bottom of the mountain. They carried tents and equipment but didn’t look familiar.
“Did you pass any other hikers that way?” Scott asked.
“Nope,” one of them said without even slowing down. Soon they disappeared into the fog. The boys walked over and sat on big rocks to rest.
“Then it has to be the other way,” Teddy shouted. He jumped up and hurried back to the fork in the path. Unfortunately, as the boys went that way, they ran into another fork in the trail and another and another. Each time, there was no way to know if they’d made the right choice.
“We should have stayed put,” Brian said.
“Too late now,” Scott said in a huff.
The young hikers continued their climb, sure the rest of the group had to be nearby. Suddenly, the fog cleared ahead, and when it did, they stopped walking.
“What was that?” Teddy asked in a half whisper. “And it’s growling.”
“It’s probably my stomach,” Brian joked. “I’m already getting hungry again.”
“Quiet,” Scott whispered. “I heard it, too. It’s coming from behind us.”
They turned around in slow motion just as a big, ferocious-looking bear emerged from the fog. He kept walking on the path right toward them. The menacing bear had dark brown fur. He stopped in the middle of the trail and stood up on his hind legs. Even though he wasn’t close yet, the boys could see that this bear was bigger than any one of them.
As he sniffed the cold mountain air, blasts of white steam bellowed out of the bear’s nostrils. He looked in the direction where the boys stood and opened his jaws to reveal long, sharp, yellow teeth. But it’s what he did next that made the already frightened boys wish they’d never come up on that mountain.
The bear began to growl as if he hadn’t had his bear breakfast yet. Then he dropped back down on all fours and lumbered up the path again.
“I didn’t think they were supposed to be up at this level,” Scott said.
“Try telling that to the bear,” Brian muttered through clenched teeth.
Teddy pulled biscuits and sausages out of his pockets and quickly threw them down the path toward the bear.
“You aren’t supposed to have food on you, Teddy,” Scott warned.
Teddy grinned. “Guess I forgot about that.”
“This is just great. You guys stop to take a stupid picture, and now look at us. We need to move it. Those things are faster on four legs than we are on two.”
Teddy tugged at his shoulder strap. “Especially with our packs.”
“Whatever you do, don’t run, and do not look that bear in the eye.”
“Who’s looking?” Brian said.
“All right then, let’s start walking, nice and easy.”
The terrified hikers eased their way up the path. But as they moved, the bear kept right on coming. That big, four-legged eating machine even walked right past the food Teddy tossed. He continued climbing directly toward the boys. Scott glanced around, searching for an escape route. Then he saw it. “Guys,” he whispered, not even moving his lips, “see that narrow place over my right shoulder where those two big rocks come together?”
They whispered back together. “Yes.”
“It looks big enough for us to squeeze through, but too narrow for fatso back there. I know you aren’t supposed to run, but it’s so close. I think we can make it before he gets to us.” Scott took a deep breath. “Are you guys up for trying?”
“Uh huh,” they whispered with their eyes wide open.
“We’ve only got one shot at it. When I yell, you’d better be right behind me ’cause I won’t be looking back.”
The bear was only about twenty-five feet away. In seconds he would be right on top of them.
“LET’S MOVE IT!” Scott screamed. In one fluid motion the boys pushed their way between the rocks.
“I hope you’re right about that monster being too big,” Brian cried. Scott was the first one through. Even with his backpack he still made it. Brian was next, with Teddy bringing up the rear. Just before he came to the opening, he slipped on a wet rock and hit his knee, hard.
“Ow,” he howled. That gave the bear the seconds it needed to catch up.
“Teddy,” Scott warned, “don’t even look behind you. Just get up, right now, and come through here. Fast!”
Brian cried out. “Hurry, Teddy, hurry!”
Teddy did what they told him and pushed through the narrow opening. “Help me, I think I’m stuck.”
“Get out of your backpack,” Scott ordered.
“I’m trying, I’m trying!” Teddy kicked his feet wildly in a desperate attempt to break free.
Brian grabbed one strap while Scott gripped a hold of the other. Together they yanked them from Teddy’s shoulders just as the bear reached through the opening and took a swipe with one paw. His long, sharp claws cut the back of the bag to shreds. Brian and Scott took Teddy by the shoulders and threw him into the air. He landed behind them in a heap.
He turned back around just in time to watch as the bear opened its mouth, showed his full set of sharp yellow teeth, and roared so loudly it almost made the ground shake. At the same time, he used his powerful claws to pull the contents of Teddy’s bag to the other side of the opening.
“My mom is really gonna be mad. That backpack cost a lot of money.”
Scott turned to him and squinted. “It could have been you on the other side of the rocks with the bear.”
“Now what are we gonna do? All our extra food was in that bag, even some stuff you guys didn’t know about.”
“You’d be bear breath right now if we hadn’t pulled you loose,” Brian said.
“I hate to say I warned you, but don’t you guys remember talking about the kind of food we weren’t supposed to bring? It was just for an emergency like this. And you, Teddy, why didn’t you just paint a target on your backpack? You were practically a walking fast food restaurant out here. I can’t believe you did that.”
“I know, I’m sorry.”
“That doesn’t help right now. We are in serious trouble, guys.”
“One thing’s good,” Brian said. “At least the bear can’t come through there and get us.”
“Yeah, but we can’t go back that way either now, can we?”
“Oh.”
“Empty out your pack. Let’s see what we have between us for food and water.”
They dumped the contents of their backpacks onto the ground.
Brian groaned. “From what I see, we have enough trail mix to cover breakfast, lunch, and dinner, three times over.”
“I’m not even gonna tell you guys what else was in my bag.” Teddy sighed.
The boys could still hear the bear destroying the contents of Teddy’s backpack on the other side of the narrow rock passageway.
Scott shook the canteens. “We have to keep going. Right now, nobody knows where we are.”
“The bear does.”
“Teddy, do you ever stop? Let’s just go.”
“Hey Teddy, was that a black bear or a grizzly?” Brian asked.
“Who cares?” Teddy answered.
“Well you were the closest one to him.”
“Don’t remind me.”
Teddy stared up into the mountains as the boys made their way back to the right path. “I think from now on, the only camping I’ll ever do again is gonna be in my own back yard.”
the end.
Question Time
1. What did the guide tell the boys to do?
2. How did the boys get lost?
3. How did Teddy try to distract the bear?
4. How did the boys get away from the bear?
