Bears Beware (5 page)

He’d check it off if he didn’t get eaten alive.

Behind the bushes, something was breathing hard.

He poked his head around the tree.

Owen Farelli!

Owen looked as if he’d been running a race. His face was almost as red as his ponytail.

“I’ve been looking all over for you,” Owen said. “We’re partners, remember?”

“Right,” Mitchell said.

“Did you hear those strange sounds?” Owen asked.

Now what?

Mitchell shook his head.

“It must have been a huge animal,” Owen said. “I’m glad I’m not afraid of anything.”

Mitchell looked at Owen. Owen was skinny, but maybe he was tough. Gary Bopper tough.

Owen pulled out his paper. “I’ve checked off a bunch of things. A woodpecker. A squirrel’s nest. Even a turtle down at the pond.”

Better than just a red bird and an oak tree
, Mitchell thought.

“We still need this guy.” Owen pointed to a picture. It was a fat little animal with skinny legs. “A groundhog.”

Mitchell took a breath. “I saw that!” He checked it off.

They were probably going to win the prize.

Oatmeal bars made by Owen. And half-eaten.

Never mind that. Mitchell was going to stick to Owen like glue until they got back to Mr. and Mrs. Farelli.

A
t last, everything was checked off.

It was a good thing. The sun was going down.

Mitchell headed for the field. Owen was right behind him.

Owen kept talking about raisins and oatmeal dough.

“I can’t wait to win,” he said.

Mitchell didn’t want to think about oatmeal
bars. But there was something worse to think about.

Sleeping outside on the ground.

They stopped at the edge of the field.

The girls’ tent was set up at one end. In front of the tent were picnic tables.

Mr. Oakley was building a fire. It was a great crackling thing.

Mr. Oakley must have watched the same movie Mitchell had watched. The good guy had built a fire. The animals had stayed away. You could see their huge eyes in the jungle.

Mitchell looked for Habib.

He wasn’t at the fire. He wasn’t at a picnic table.

Food was coming. The lunch lady carried trays back and forth.

Mrs. Farelli helped, too. She wore an apron that said
ZIGZAG KIDS LIKE TO EAT!

She smiled when she saw Owen.

Mitchell was starving. He slid onto a bench. He made sure it was near the fire.

Away from animals.

He tried to take up a lot of room. He had to save space for Habib.

Where was Habib? And where was Charlie?

Owen slid in next to him.

Mr. Adam Farelli asked, “Any surprises?”

“I heard a bird sing,” Destiny said. “It sounded like a cuckoo clock.”

Angel opened her mouth. Then she shut it again.

“I think I saw a coyote,” Gina said.

“It was probably a rabbit,” Mr. Adam Farelli said.

Mitchell looked toward the end of the table. Trevor was sitting there. He had a big bandage on his forehead.

“I fell off the stilts,” he said.

“Too bad,” Mrs. Farelli said. “But it’s good to try unusual things.”

Next to Mitchell, Owen reached into his pocket. He pulled out a rolled-up paper.

The paper was filthy.

Inside was a pile of raisins.

They were probably filthy, too.

“I saved them from the oatmeal dough,” Owen said. He began to laugh.

Horrible
, Mitchell thought. But then he had another thought. “That’s funny,” he told Owen.

Owen held out the paper.

“I’d have to be starving to death to take one,” Mitchell said.

And then they both were laughing.

Mitchell looked up at the Critter Cabin. Were those giant feelers in the window? Stingers?

The lunch lady came along with her tray. “Chicken tenders,” she said.

Mitchell’s mouth watered.

She dumped a pile on his plate.

They were green.

They tasted like grass.

“My surprise sauce,” she said. “Unusual, right?”

Habib would say
weird
.

Mitchell scarfed it down. Gina would say
dee-lightful
.

He stood up. He still didn’t see Habib and Charlie.

Suppose they were out in the woods?

Suppose they were lost?

It was really dark now. All except for Mr. Oakley’s great fire. And lights tacked up in the trees.

“Gather around,” Mr. Oakley called. “We’ll tell stories.”

Mr. Adam Farelli clapped his hands. “Don’t forget the prizes,” he said. “Oatmeal bars for everyone.”

“I love oatmeal bars,” Yolanda said.

“You can have mine,” Mitchell said.

“Your brother is generous,” Yolanda told Angel.

“Sometimes,” Angel said.

Mitchell started toward the fire.

But then he stopped.

What was moving at the window in the Critter Cabin?

Not feelers.

Not a tarantula.

Probably nothing.

But still …

O
wen tapped Mitchell on the arm. “Something’s up there in the Critter Cabin. I saw it move.”

Mitchell looked toward the fire. “Maybe we should tell—”

But Mr. Oakley had begun a story about a woodsman. And Mr. Farelli was giving out cookies.

Mitchell took a step toward Mrs. Farelli.

She put her finger on her lips. She pointed to Mr. Oakley. “Shhh,” she said.

Owen had wiggled his way in front of the fire.

Was Habib up there in the Critter Cabin? Was Charlie?

Locked in?

He looked around for Ellie.

He didn’t see her.

What would Gary Bopper do?

Mitchell didn’t have to think about that.

He knew what Gary would do.

He’d march straight up to the Critter Cabin. He’d save Habib and Charlie from—

Tarantulas?

Black widows?

Mitchell didn’t march straight up to the Critter Cabin.

It took him forever to get there. He had to find his flashlight. Then it was one foot in front of the other. He looked into the dark woods.
Bears beware!

Maybe the door was locked.

He crossed his fingers. He hoped so.

He’d go back to the fire. He’d wait until Mr. Oakley finished his story.

The door wasn’t locked.

It was wide open.

Mitchell took a Gary Bopper breath.

He stepped inside.

There were plenty of lights, but no creatures.

Not yet
, he told himself.

At the end of a long hallway were stairs.

“Hey, Habib,” he called.

His voice sounded odd. Just like Angel’s had before. Maybe he was getting a cold, too.

He knew he wasn’t getting a cold.
Gary Bopper
, he told himself.

“Hey, Charlie,” he called.

No one answered.

They were probably upstairs.

Mitchell went up. He could hear his sneakers flapping on the wood.

There was a big room with glass cages. He saw one with an anthill. “Dee-lightful,” he whispered.

He saw another with a lizard. A very large lizard.

He stopped to look at it.

The lizard blinked lazily.

He blinked back at it.

Where were Habib and Charlie?

He saw a case with lots of dead leaves. A few beetles were rushing around.