Spencer was starting to worry that the pain was getting to B.D. more than he was letting on. Hadn’t the bear learned his lesson? Dora didn’t want anything to do with them, and she definitely didn’t want to be rescued. B.D. had nearly sacrificed the entire mission trying to reason with his violent sister. Now he wanted Spencer and Aldo to go to her again?

“Trust me.” B.D.’s voice was firm. “Dora is angry and confused, but she’s not crazy. She’s obviously still hurt from not making it out of Gutler University during that first rescue and holding everything against me that happened to her since John Shirley and I were rescued, but I don’t think she’d hurt you. And she’s still our best chance of finding Jane, Shane, and Mark quickly.”

Spencer looked at Aldo, hoping the bear would stand up to B.D. again and tell him this plan to send them to Dora was crazy, but Aldo was pacing back and forth by the mouth of B.D’s small cave and he didn’t say anything.

“How do you know she’ll even let us get close enough to talk to her?” Spencer asked, imagining himself putting the Ear-COM in Dora’s ear as she huffed and swatted at him with her claws.

“There’s something you can say to her … ” B.D. said slowly. “She’ll listen to you if you do.”

“What is it?” Spencer asked after a few seconds had passed in silence. Aldo stopped pacing to look at B.D.

“It’s something our mother would say to us back, before we were captured,” B.D. started. “It translates to ‘with you I am home.’ Dora, John Shirley, and I would repeat it at Gutler on the worst days to remind ourselves that as long as we were together, protecting one another, we’d be okay. Disconnect,” he said so Spencer could hear his Ragayo. Then after a second, “Yi hu aro valu.”

“Yi hu aro valu,” Spencer repeated back.

B.D. nodded. “Team,” B.D. reconnected their Ear-COMs. “Say that to Dora. She’ll listen to you after you do. And if she still refuses to help, it will at least be enough to protect you.”

I hope you’re right, Spencer thought, careful not to say it aloud. “Now we just have to find her.”

“I already did,” Aldo spoke up.

“What?!” Spencer practically shouted. “When?!”

B.D.’s head whipped around to look at Aldo. He winced in pain at his own sudden movement.

“Just now.” Aldo padded back to the opening in the cave that led out into the rest of the enclosure. Spencer rushed over to see. When he reached the mouth of the cave, he was sure to keep his body hidden by rock as he peered outside. B.D. limped over to stand behind Aldo.

“Up there.”

Spencer followed Aldo’s gaze. A hill overlooked the Caves, and perched on top of the hill was Pam’s house. The house looked like a modern, high-tech assortment of glass, wood, and iron boxes stacked together, like fancy building blocks. Spencer could see right through some rooms. Others were completely hidden from view. A wooden viewing deck wrapped around the second floor of the house. Spencer could imagine Pam standing there, looking out over his collection of bears in the Caves.

A matching, but much smaller, building stood not far from Pam’s house. At first glance, Spencer thought it might be a garage, or a garden shed. But most of the smaller building was made of glass and completely transparent, and after squinting to get a better look at it, Spencer realized there was a bear inside.

Dora was sitting back on her haunches inside the small glass building, staring down at them. Spencer jumped back from the mouth of the cave, but he knew it was too late. Dora had seen him, and by now, she had definitely seen Aldo, too.