Teddycats (17 page)

By dusk they had a working bridge.

“Nice job,” Maia said. “Clearly you've done this before.”

“We still need to get everyone on the same page,” said Bill. “And then across.”

He was watching Ramon out of the corner of his eye. The Elder was holding court with a huddle of other Cloud Kingdom notables, their whispering punctuated with furtive gestures.

“Don't worry about them,” Maia said. “They're skittish, but they'll do it.”

“It's a good thing they weren't around last time,” Luke said.

Bill rolled his eyes. “Will everyone stop talking about last time?”

“What happened last time?” asked Maia.

“He won't say,” Marisol whispered.

“I got shocked by an eel and we went over a
waterfall, okay? Any other questions? We still have to cross this river, and we have to do it before nightfall.”

“Now
that's
leadership,” Marisol said, then poked Bill in the tummy. “Zap!”

“Just tell us the truth, Bill,” Maia said. “We can handle it. You've been through a lot. Guess what? So have we.”

“I know,” said Bill. “I'm sorry.”

Maia took Bill's paw and squeezed it.

BILL CROSSED THE
bridge first to demonstrate its stability. He scurried across easily. “Just don't look down!” he called back, knowing it was unlikely anyone would follow that advice.

If it had been completely up to him, the logs would have been dropped in another location, someplace with a slackening current, a stable bank on both sides, and far fewer rocks. But it was out of his control. As they well knew, the river was wild and unpredictable. There was no way to tell if a klick up or down would be any better, and they didn't have scouts to send out.

It had been Luke's idea to carve notches into the top logs to improve grip as well as mark the distance. Bill hadn't really noticed them during his crossing, but he had no doubt that they would be appreciated by less experienced woodsmen.

He tried to stay calm and positive as he watched the first group, led by Omar, notch by notch. The group
comprised mostly Elders, who moved slowly and deliberately, lashed together paw to paw. The sun was beginning to set. Feelings of urgency rushed through Bill, and he tried his hardest to calm himself down. One by one the worn and wrinkled Elders reached the opposite bank. Many cried tears of relief when they reached the other side.

“Okay,” Bill said, allowing himself a smile, “send the next group over.”

The middle rank was led by a determined Marisol. Her eyes were clear, her paws set. “Let's move!” she
shouted. Her charges crossed easily. Bill began to relax. They were almost there. He could feel it. Back on land, his mother embraced him.

Maia led the final passing. She had Elena on her shoulders. It was obvious that she had no plans of letting go of her sister, no matter what.

They were halfway across the river when a log began to wobble.

“Keep going!” Bill said.

The worst thing they could do was stop, but of course that's what many chose to do. Lucky for Bill, his impulse was to always keep moving.

“You have to keep going!” Bill urged. “If you quit now, more of us will be at risk.”

Maia pushed forward, Elena gripping her neck tighter than ever. But the Teddycats behind her had lost their confidence. They stepped too heavily and jostled one another.

“Use your claws!” said Maia, but panic had already seized them. The other logs began to shift, then one began to roll.

“Maia, run!” Bill shouted.

Every second the Teddycats held back made their situation that much more dire. This panic loop drove some to paralysis, others to mania. They began to climb over one another, trying to reach steady ground. As the first log began to separate from the others, a few fell through and down to the water. Each splash was a
spear that lanced through the crowd.

Maia and Elena were still ahead, struggling to maintain momentum on the listing log. They were close enough to the bank for Bill to see the terror in their eyes. He fought the urge to rush out and meet them. As badly as he wanted to, he knew it would only create more commotion. But suddenly, Maia slipped and fell by the wayside. As she fell, she lunged her arms forward, claws facing out. One dug into the wood. She kicked and squirmed, suspended over the rushing water.

The force of the fall had jostled Elena down her sister's back. She was holding on to Maia's tail. The water was mere feet below her, black and endless. The Teddycats howled powerless cries as the two dangled. Those still crossing froze in place, while those already on solid ground turned to Bill. He felt sick, helpless. This could not be the way the mission ended. He got down on his belly and inched over the bank. Rocks, leaves, and clods
of mud tumbled down to the water, the resulting ripples swallowed up by the fast-moving current.

“Don't panic,” Bill shouted, as calmly as possible. His fur shot straight up. He felt like he had been zapped by that eel all over again. “Maia, can you reach up with your other paw?”

“I'll try,” Maia said, her voice strangled with fear and exertion. She raised her other arm but could only graze the wood. Elena slipped further down her tail.

“Maia, help!” Elena cried.

A few of the Teddycats who had already fallen were working their way to the shore. Others on the bank found some relief in this, until a dark form began to slice the surface of the water. Bill felt a chill of recognition. It was a crocodile, the big one Diego had sworn he'd seen.

Twenty feet long, scales like boulders, teeth like knives.

“Boris,” Diego whispered, his eyes wide, then narrowed, with fear.

“Don't look down,” Bill said.

“What?” Maia cried. “What is it?”

Boris circled the area beneath them. His thick yellow stripe cut through the surface. Elena was an easy leap away, and Maia would likely be pulled down with her. The Teddycats' terror grew in volume and fervor. Those still on the log rushed forward, as if chased.

The log rolled as they scrambled, dropping Maia closer to the water. Elena dipped, and the Teddycats gasped.

“Just hold on!” Bill cried.

Boris tightened his circle. He was so large he seemed to create his own current. His length was shockingly immense, as long as the log. The Teddycats could have raced across
his
back. Slowly his tail began to move side to side in a gradually building thrash. Maia tried to pull herself up as Elena clutched her flailing limbs.

“Maia, you have to climb,” Bill said. “Please. You've done it a million times before.”

Maia growled and tried again to stick her other
claw into the log, but it was rolling down the sloping bank. Boris's mass seemed to swell. He was the entire river, as invincible as the water itself.

Elena looked down and shrieked.

The scream sharpened Maia's resolve, as well as Boris's appetite. His tail quickened as it gathered strength. Bill couldn't watch. He was about to throw his paws over his eyes when he felt a familiar one on his shoulder.

“Go to them,” Marisol said. She was on her belly too, right next to him. “It's okay to risk everything for the ones you love. But you already know that.”

Bill leapt up. “Thanks, Mom.”

He quickly climbed an umbrella tree to the very top. Behind him, the sun was setting. All the colors were draining, disappearing. He needed the light so he would know where to go, but he would have to trust his instincts.

The canopy was a tangle of vines. Bill got to work on the knots and snarls. Maia's cries drifted up to him, distant and desperate. Gradually the vine grew longer and longer. Just as the cries reached a new, terrible pitch, he closed his eyes and jumped.

The log was really rolling as Bill dropped down. The vine almost reached Maia, but not quite. He gripped the frayed end with a paw and stretched his body as long as it would go.

“Maia, grab hold of my paw!”

“I can't reach!” said Maia.

Boris's head emerged. The eyes on the side were a ghastly yellow, glowing in the dark water. Slowly, his jaw began to open. Slivers of shockingly white fangs, then an endless row. The jaw appeared to unhinge, opening wider and wider. Elena's cries echoed down through the valley.

Bill strained until he thought his arm would fall off.

“Maia, grab my paw! You can do it!”

Maia narrowed her eyes, took a breath, and lunged.

“THAT WAS A
close one,” Bill said.

“I thought we agreed to never talk about it again,” Maia said.

The sky was slowly ceding to purple. Fireflies were out in full force, as numerous as stars. The Teddycats were in a daze, trudging forward as the last sliver of sun rested just above the trees. Bill's heart skidded. He didn't know where to go. The tug of Felix's words had led him to this point, and now the light had met the horizon. Soon the darkness would be no more reassuring than it had been in the cave. They were facing another steep hill, more barely penetrable brush.

Doubt clouded Bill's resolve. Maybe the Teddycats weren't built for the jungle; maybe their home would always be temporary, a makeshift respite in the trees or whatever wisp of safety they could find. How many dangers could Bill lead his friends and family through before they gave up hope?

They were doomed to spend yet another night in an unwelcoming section of the wild, and another day chasing some semblance of home.

“I'm sorry,” Bill said.

“For what?” Maia asked.

As with everything else lately, Bill wasn't exactly sure.

“You'll know it when you see it,” said Maia, understanding Bill's silence.

“Let's try for the top of this hill,” Bill said. “We'll
feel better at a higher elevation.”

They hacked through the brush. Bill ripped it down with desperate strokes of his claws. His hopes dimmed with the sky. There was only an etching of daylight remaining, thin as a vein. But as they reached the crest of the hill, a crack appeared, like a keyhole in the darkness. The crest split right down the middle, with what looked like just enough room for the Teddycats to squeeze through.

It was the ravine! The final line of light!

A lump formed in Bill's gut and worked its way up to his throat. Their promised refuge had finally appeared. He waited as the Teddycats caught up and gathered around him. As they assembled, they gasped with deep recognition. Bill felt as if he were watching himself from some remove as he slipped down and wedged his way between the narrow sides. Diego, Luke, Maia, Elena, and Omar followed, the rock faces nearly
pinching them as they sucked in their bellies and pushed forward. Gradually the ravine began to widen, and the horizon reappeared. All of the colors seemed to pool before them in a peaceful basin, stretching forward to illuminate a sparkling vista.

Bill felt a stab of recognition. The sense of remove evaporated, and he crashed back into himself with relief.

“This is it,” said Bill. “This is our home. This is Horizon Cove.”

The Teddycats scurried out of the ravine and
immediately began to frolic in the thick, colorful grasses. They rolled in the rich mud and nibbled on the silky, fragrant flowers, luminous fungi, and a breathtaking abundance of sweetmoss. Frogs sang as the fireflies popped.

“This is the life,” Diego said. Tears filled his good eye. “I wish Jack could see this.”

“You did it, Bill!” Luke said.

“This isn't just for us Teddycats,” said Bill. “We're jungle citizens now. I personally deputize you to run back to the Olingo den and bring them here.”

“Yes!” Luke said. “Wait, right now?”

Bill laughed. “Whenever you're ready, bud.”

Luke watched the gleeful celebration erupt around them. “I could use a night off, I think.”

“I think we all could,” Bill said.

Maia and Elena were with their parents, playing in the ferns. An elated Marisol joined Luke and Bill as they took in the joyful scene.

“I'm proud of you, Bill,” said Marisol, kissing his cheeks and forehead. “We
all
are.”

“A part of me thought I'd never see you again,” Bill admitted, as all the emotions that had built up during their wild journey—the ups and downs, doubts and fears, losses and dangers, friends and foes—swelled in his chest. There might be no seasons in the jungle, but Bill still felt a shift in the air.

“Makes it all the sweeter, doesn't it?” said Marisol. She continued pecking his face and head, and he
wasn't the slightest bit embarrassed.

The Teddycats passed the night rejoicing, exploring the cove, and honoring those they had lost. With a renewed sense of hope, they spoke of the return of a lost feeling, a sensation of immersion, of souls at rest. Even the Elders joined the celebration. Bill fleetingly wondered if he would get an apology from Ramon, but there was plenty of time for that. The important thing was that they had made it. They were safe. There would be no shortage of challenges in the future, as they learned to coexist in the chaos.

IT WAS NEARLY
dawn when they began to settle. Bill and Luke were curled up, drowsily discussing their good fortune, chuckling over missteps and wrong turns, when a fierce howl cut through the jungle.

The Teddycats froze. A collective chill ran through them all. Suddenly, there were eyes all around them, glowing and vicious.

“Bill, what's happening?” Luke whispered.

“I don't know,” Bill said.

Shapes began to emerge from the darkness. Bill started to make out certain features: wide, jagged shoulders. Snarling snouts. Eyes bright yellow with hate. The Teddycats shrunk into a huddle as the predators advanced.

Bill found Marisol. “Mom, what are these? What's happening?”

“I don't know,” said Marisol, her voice laced with terror.

Maia squeezed between them. “What do we do?”

Bill bared his claws. They glinted in the rising sun as the shapes continued to creep forward.

“This is our home,” Bill said. “We fight for it.”