Bears Beware! Read Free Page B

on Bindi and Katrina.
    â€˜YOU DID WHAT?’ roared Hank. His face was tomato red.
    Bindi stood her ground, refusing to be intimidated. ‘You won’t be killing any bears, at least not today.’
    â€˜Where are my bullets?’ Hank exploded with rage.
    Bindi took a step back. ‘We buried them.’
    â€˜Why, you –’ Hank advanced on the girls.
    All of a sudden the forest was shattered by a loud rumble. The ground shifted and Bindi felt a sharp jolt followed by a strong shaking. It was similar to the sensation she felt when they were out on the boat the day before but this time it was much, much stronger.
    â€˜Earthquake!’ cried Katrina, glancing at the shaking trees above her. ‘Quick, we have to get away from here!’

Alarmed by the quake, the bear took off through the forest, away from the humans.
    The group started running with Katrina in the lead. It was impossible to speak above the roar of the natural world being rippedapart beneath their feet.
    They were aiming for an area of open land, out of the way of the heavily wooded area they were in. Trees were cracking and splintering beside them, roots were being unearthed and branches were falling from above.
    A large branch struck Hank hard on his right shoulder. It was all he could do to stay upright and stagger as fast as he could after the others.
    Up ahead, Joey tripped over and fell hard onto the buckling ground. For a moment it looked as if he wouldn’t get up again. Bindi reached out a hand and pulled him back up.
    â€˜Quick!’ she yelled. He dimly nodded and followed her. There was the sound of a deep rumbling and the earth seemed to tilt sideways.
    Bindi could see the open grasslands in the distance. They would still be in danger from the ground splitting but at least they wouldn’t have to worry about a tree falling on top of them. She focused on running as fast as she could while dodging the flying debris. Finally they made it out into the open grasslands. The tremor continued but the air around them was clear.
    A few moments later the shaking subsided. The group began studying the damage around them.The forest looked like a tractor had driven through it. It was a mess.
    Ted saw Hank stagger out from the woods and ran back to help him. The others did their best to get their breath back and take in their surroundings.
    â€˜That was a big one, all right,’ gasped Katrina.
    Joey nodded. He looked thoroughly stunned and was very pale. ‘Thanks for helping me back there,’ he said quietly to Bindi.
    Bindi nodded. ‘I’m sure you’d do the same for any living creature.’
    Joey looked away and they all turned their attention to Hank as he approached. His shoulder wascut quite deeply and would need stitches. His right arm hung loosely by his side.
    â€˜Are you okay?’ asked Katrina.
    Hank nodded. ‘I’ll survive. We need to get back tonight, though. This bear hunt is officially over. I dropped the food pack when we ran. We’re going to need the supplies.’
    Nobody spoke as they picked their way back through the foliage and clambered over fallen trees and branches. Bindi noticed Hank grimace more than once as he swung his body over logs. He was in more pain than he was letting on.
    They finally located the foodpack among the piles of leaves and splintered wood. Or what was left of it. Ted groaned as he picked up the shreds of fabric that remained of the backpack. There was no food in sight. An animal had already devoured it all.
    â€˜Is this what you meant when you said no fancy meals and cushy surroundings?’ Ted asked Hank, and by the tone he used Bindi could tell that he wasn’t joking.
    Katrina pointed to some fresh tracks in the dirt. ‘Looks like fox tracks.’
    â€˜Impressive that they know to get fresh food while they can!’ commented Bindi.
    â€˜Good for them but not so good for us,’ said Joey. He and his father looked