The Melting Sea (5 page)

Kallik crouched beside Lusa and Yakone, while Toklo peered out of the bushes. A few moments later she heard the weird hissing noise again, and more howls and shrieks from the no-claws.

“Now!” Toklo growled.

He scrambled out of the den. Kallik pushed Lusa in front of her and followed, with Yakone bringing up the rear. Bewildered in the midst of the turmoil outside, Kallik swerved away from where the bright-pelted no-claws were hurtling past on their pawsticks, and bounded after Toklo as he headed slantwise up the slope, trying to avoid the crowds.

The no-claws who were watching all had their backs turned, their attention fixed on the shiny track where the snow had been packed down by the passage of the pawsticks. Briefly Kallik thought that she and her friends would escape without trouble. But then a young no-claw turned around, let out a startled yowl, and pointed toward the bears with one of his forepaws.

“They've seen us!” Kallik gasped. “Run!”

It was hard to put on speed in the loose snow. As the bears floundered upward, more no-claws turned and started shrieking and jostling one another. Kallik wasn't sure if they were trying to run away or to surround the four bears and capture them. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that the no-claws on pawsticks had begun to make their way upward again. The long pieces of wood that had helped them skim down so swiftly were slow and clumsy when they tried to climb. For the moment they didn't seem to have noticed Kallik and the others.

But they'll spot us soon
, she thought, fighting back panic.
Then they'll
all
be chasing us!

Still struggling upward, Kallik heard the crack of a firestick. Her belly lurched with fear, and she braced herself to see one of her friends drop to the ground. Instead, a bright pink cloud billowed out overhead.

What's going on?

Spooked by the noise and the crowds, Kallik didn't know where to run anymore. Just above her on the slope Yakone had turned and was baring his teeth at the approaching no-claws. Toklo was a couple of bearlengths farther up, giving Lusa a shove to help her on her way.

Some of the no-claws were fleeing, while others poured onto the empty snow, shrieking and waving their forelegs. Soon the bears were surrounded; Kallik whirled to and fro, searching for a gap where they could slip through to the wilderness beyond. More no-claws appeared on pawsticks, with firesticks in their forepaws. Kallik shuddered, certain that not all of them would shoot out harmless pink clouds. The new arrivals let out loud yowls, and the encircling no-claws parted.

“This way!” Toklo growled.

Kallik's heart swelled with admiration at the brown bear's courage as he charged forward between the lines of no-claws. Floundering after him, she halted as she saw Lusa slip and begin to fall back in the snow toward the no-claws.

But Yakone reached Lusa first and nudged the black bear onto her paws again. “Go on!” he ordered Kallik. “I'll bring Lusa.”

Toklo veered away from the new no-claws, who were raising their firesticks, pointing them at the bears. Other no-claws spilled around, shrieking. Toklo charged forward, with Kallik and the others just behind. The crowds of no-claws scattered in front of them.

Then Kallik almost crashed into Toklo as he halted unexpectedly. Small firebeasts had appeared in front of them, with no-claws clinging to their horns. From behind, the no-claws with firesticks were drawing closer, gliding on their long, flat pawsticks.

“Oh, no …” Kallik groaned, her heart thudding with terror. “We're trapped!”

As their pursuers closed in, Toklo
glanced around. The small horned firebeasts growled threateningly in front of them. On one side was a wall of flat-faces, staring and yowling and thrashing their forelegs in the air. On the other side was a row of huge, sleeping firebeasts; Toklo could smell their stench above the snow and the fear of the flat-faces. Every instinct was telling him to avoid them, but he could see that he and his friends had no other option.

“This way,” he growled, veering around and galloping toward the firebeasts.

Behind him he heard gasps of shock from the other bears.

“What are you doing?” Yakone shouted after him. “We can't go that way!”

Toklo glanced back over his shoulder. “We don't have a choice!” he snarled. “Follow me!”

His mouth was dry, and his heart pounded with fear. He knew that he was taking a huge risk, but he had to get his friends away from the flat-faces.

“They're coming!” Lusa squeaked, scrambling through the snow to follow Toklo.

Toklo led the way as they dived between the sleeping firebeasts. They were big—much bigger than any he had seen before—and square, like the dens flat-faces lived in.
I know firebeasts are hollow inside
, he thought as he dodged among the massive shapes,
because flat-faces travel around in their bellies. These are so big, there must be plenty of room in there
.

He slowed down, sniffing the air.

“Keep running!” Kallik yelped as she barreled into him, trying to shove him onward.

“No,” Toklo panted. “We can't outrun those little firebeasts. We have to find somewhere to hide.”

“But there are no trees here,” Lusa protested. “No caves or gullies …”

“Then we have to make the best of what we have,” Toklo told her.

Padding around the end of one of the firebeasts, he spotted a gap in the far side, with a small step up to it. Resting his forepaws on the step, he leaned in and took a good sniff. There was only a faint flat-face scent, and though he listened carefully he couldn't hear anything inside.

“Okay,” he muttered, hauling himself up and squeezing through the gap.
I can't believe I'm doing this! I'm in the belly of a firebeast!

The walls of the firebeast belly were flat and shiny; there was flat-face stuff strewn around on the floor, but otherwise it was empty.

Toklo turned back to the gap. “Come in, quick!”

Kallik's face appeared in the opening. “Have you gone crazy?” she demanded.

“Quick!” Toklo repeated, his fear making him angry. “It's the only place to hide, unless you've got a better idea?”

Kallik's head vanished; for a moment Toklo was afraid that she and the others had run away. Then Lusa appeared, her paws scrabbling on the hard floor as Kallik boosted her from behind. Yakone climbed in next, and Kallik brought up the rear. She gave Toklo a furious glare but said nothing as the noise of the flat-faces grew louder outside.

Toklo gestured to the others to draw back into the farthest corner of the firebeast, while he took a quick glance outside. The flat-face yowling was louder still, but none of them were in sight yet. A flap that was clearly meant to close the belly was folded back on the outside; Toklo couldn't reach it, and there was no time to try. He joined his friends, huddled together at the far end of the space.

“We'll just have to hope no one looks in,” he murmured.

The roar of the little firebeasts grew suddenly louder, almost drowning Toklo's words. Through the gap he caught a glimpse of flat-faces gliding by on their pawsticks.

Suddenly he remembered their pawmarks in the snow, marking a clear trail up to their large firebeast, and his belly churned with fear.
Is this how our journey will end, trapped like fish in a pool?
He gazed at his friends, their eyes wide with apprehension as they stared at the gap. Then the noise of the firebeasts rumbled past and began to die away. Toklo let out a long breath and felt himself trembling.

“I think they've gone!” Kallik sounded astonished.

She rose to her paws and began to move toward the gap, but Toklo blocked her with his shoulder. “No,” he murmured. “We should wait in here for a while.”

For a moment Kallik looked as if she was going to argue; then she flopped down again. “What do we do if the firebeast wakes up?” she asked in a whisper.

“We'll worry about that if it happens,” Toklo replied.

The floor of the firebeast was covered with flat-face pelts, and things that looked like flat-face hindpaws. Toklo and his companions settled uncomfortably on top of them. Lusa was stiff with fear, unable to speak, and Yakone looked numb with shock.

I wonder if Ujurak can see us now
, Toklo thought,
cowering in the belly of a firebeast!

Time dragged on, and Toklo slid into an uncomfortable doze, too scared to let himself sleep. He could feel his friends' tension; none of them could relax either.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when he was roused by the clang of a flat-face hindpaw hitting the step. Before he could react, a flat-face appeared in the gap.

Toklo leaped to his paws with a fierce growl. For a moment the flat-face stared at him, his face white and his jaws gaping. Then he let out a hoarse shriek and fell backward.

“Come on!” Toklo barked.

Leading the way, he jumped out of the firebeast. The flat-face was crawling about in the snow. Toklo leaped straight over him and charged through the rows of firebeasts; he could hear his friends' pawsteps pounding after him. So far there was no sign of the flat-faces with pawsticks, nor the ones with firesticks.

The bears fled between two lines of silent firebeasts. Toklo knew that they wouldn't be unnoticed for long. Already he could hear shouts and shrieks starting to echo around him, and he spotted flat-faces appearing briefly in the gaps between the firebeasts, then vanishing again.

As they were approaching the end of the row, two flat-faces stepped out in front of them. They held sticks in their forepaws and brandished them threateningly. Toklo veered away into another gap between two firebeasts, only to find the way blocked by more flat-faces with sticks. He halted, staring in dismay.

“Go on!” Kallik growled, shoving him from behind. “They haven't got firesticks.”

Encouraged, Toklo reared up on his hindpaws and let out an enormous roar. The flat-faces scattered.

We can't stay among these firebeasts forever
, Toklo thought, hurtling onward.
The flat-faces with firesticks will be here soon
.

He darted toward the empty space at the end of a row. The mountain slope stretched out ahead of him, white and empty, with nowhere to hide.

Yakone thrust his way forward and paused beside Toklo, gazing out, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

“There's nothing out there!” Toklo hissed. “They'll catch us easily!”

On his other side, Lusa was gazing up at the sky, and Toklo knew she was searching for Ujurak.
Unless he turns us into flat-faces or snowflakes
, Toklo thought,
he can't help us
.

Without warning, Yakone leaped out into the open space and began racing up the slope. “Follow me!” he ordered.

Toklo hesitated.

“Go on!” Kallik urged. “Trust him!”

Lusa nodded. “I'd rather die trying to escape than just give up.” Her voice was grim, and for a moment her eyes looked old and wise.

Toklo nodded. “You're right. We can't stand here and do nothing.”

Though he thought that his fear might choke him, he pelted out into the open after Yakone. Kallik and Lusa bounded alongside him, and Toklo suddenly remembered their carefree race of a few days before.

It's not so fun this time!

They were beginning to catch up with Yakone when Lusa missed her footing in the snow and rolled over, her legs flailing. Instantly Toklo veered aside to help her stand, thrusting her upright again with his shoulder.

“Thanks!” Lusa gasped. “I'm sorry, I just can't deal with this stupid snow!”

Toklo nodded, watching Lusa as she tried to scrape off the soft snow that was clogging her belly hair. Her legs were too short to keep her clear of it; the climb was far harder for her than the rest of them.

He used the moment's delay to look back. More flat-faces had appeared around the firebeasts. He heard a shot exploding from a firestick.

“Go!” he growled at Lusa, giving her a hard shove up the slope as he began to run again.