Chapter 8

Antonio watched his dad. Rafael walked to the tree. He was fast. He was quiet. Antonio knew he’d make it.

“The bear won’t see him,” Antonio thought.

Then Rafael stepped on a twig. It made a loud noise. The bear turned around. It saw him. It ran toward Rafael! Antonio saw the bear’s teeth. He heard it growl. It was just like his dream.

Rafael ran toward the tree. He ran fast. The bear was faster. Rafael grabbed the pepper spray. Then he tripped over a rock. Rafael dropped the pepper spray. He fell. The bear got closer.

Antonio had to help! He jumped out of the tree. The bear saw him. It growled. Antonio ran to his dad. The bear looked mad. Antonio saw the pepper spray. He picked it up. The bear was above him. Antonio aimed the can at the bear. He pushed down.

Pepper hit the bear’s face. Antonio sprayed its eyes. The bear was blinded. But not for long. It ran toward the water. Pepper got into Antonio’s eyes. It stung! But everyone was okay.

“Franco, take care of your brother,” Rafael ordered. “I’ll make sure the bear is gone.”

Franco jumped out of the tree. He ran over to Antonio.

“Antonio, you were great! Dude, you scared him away!” Franco yelled.

“Which way is the water?” Antonio asked. “This stuff stings!”

Franco led Antonio to the stream. Antonio washed his eyes. The cool water felt good. His eyes still hurt. They were red too. At least he could see!

“Wow! Tory was right. That stuff works!” said Franco.

“No sign of the bear. Good thing we met her,” Rafael said. “Or we’d be bear food!”

“Let’s get back to camp,” said Antonio. “I like it better there.”

The Silvas headed back to the lake. They walked fast.

Antonio thought about the bear. He thought about Ray. The Silvas were lucky they got away.

They were happy when they reached camp. They were hungry. And tired.

“At least we’ll eat a good dinner,” said Franco.

“Again with the food,” teased Antonio.

“I need to eat. It’s for football,” grinned Franco.

They all laughed.

Franco was right. Dinner was great. The Silvas cooked their trout.

“This is best trout I ever ate,” Franco said.

Rafael and Antonio agreed.

After dinner they cleaned up. They put the food up high in the tree. Nobody wanted the bear to come back!

It got dark fast. The Silvas looked up at the stars. There were thousands of them. It was a nice night. They all fell asleep fast. It had been a long day!