Tikaani screamed and turned to run. Beck grabbed him and held him back.
‘Lie down!’ he snapped. He flung himself to the ground and dragged Tikaani down next to him. ‘Just play dead!’
The most dangerous place you could ever be with a bear, Beck knew, was between a mother and her cubs. They do whatever they can to annihilate the threat and protect their young. With its metre-long strides a grizzly would catch even a running human in seconds. Your only hope is to play dead.
He tried to remember – how long ago had he told Tikaani about bears? It had been when they were setting off from the plane. Just a couple of days. But so much had happened since then. How much would Tikaani remember?
Tikaani lay on the ground a metre away. The side of his face was pressed into the pine needles: it was pale, his eyes wide with fear. Beck realized he was lying on his front; he himself had curled up into a tight ball, giving himself as much protection as he could. He hadn’t reminded Tikaani of that and couldn’t take the risk now. If the bear saw him move, she would toss him about like a rag doll.
‘Even if she prods you or roughs you up a bit,’ Beck hissed, ‘don’t move. Just lie there.’ Tikaani didn’t nod but Beck saw the understanding in his terrified eyes.
Beck knew his advice was much easier said than done, but it was all they could do.
The bear loomed over them. Her shadow blotted out the sun.
A leg as thick as a tree branch crunched into the ground between them. Pine needles and insects clung onto the thickly matted fur and the animal smell was overwhelming. Then the leg was lifted up again as the bear moved on. Beck could sense her circling round them.
Suddenly Tikaani was jerked back out of Beck’s sight. Beck bit his lip, wanting to cry out for his friend. But Tikaani stayed silent and Beck guessed the bear had only dug a claw into his rucksack to see what would happen. Tikaani was unhurt. He didn’t move and he didn’t make a sound.
The bear stepped over the prone boy and lowered her head to examine Beck. Whuff. Her nostrils flared as she breathed in and out again. Her breath was like a pair of bellows. Beck lay completely still. He wondered if the bear could hear his pounding heart. To him it sounded like a drum-and-bass mix.
The bear put out a claw and nudged him, like Beck would prod a spider in the bath. Beck resisted all his instincts and lay as still as he could. The bear’s lips drew back, revealing just a hint of her yellow fangs. She nudged him again with a low growl, trying to provoke a reaction. Beck determinedly played dead.
The great head darted forward and she seized the sleeve of his jacket in her front teeth, missing his skin by half an inch. Beck didn’t move. His chest grew tight and he realized that he was holding his breath. He wondered if he could let it out and take another without the bear noticing. Then she shook her head and Beck shook with her, his sleeve still held firmly in her mouth. He couldn’t help it. He gasped, and when she dropped him he put out a hand to break his fall. Immediately, cursing himself, he lay as flat as he could on the ground, trying to be even more limp than before. Had the bear noticed him move? Would she take it as a challenge?
She put her nose to the side of his head and growled. Her breath, hot and smelling of rotten meat, washed over him. Beck closed his eyes and waited in despair for the bite.
The gale of foul breath stopped suddenly. Beck could picture the bear drawing her head back, jaws opening, preparing to lunge.
But still nothing happened. There was a sudden sense of emptiness next to him. Beck half opened one eye, then the other. The bear was gone.
She was already over on the other side of the clearing, moving with an astonishing lightness of foot over the pine needles. She had obviously decided the boys were not a threat. She shepherded the cubs away with another growl, which Beck translated as: What have I told you before about playing with humans?
And then mother and cubs were gone.
The boys stayed exactly where they were for a few minutes more, Tikaani taking his lead from Beck. Finally, when Beck was absolutely sure the bears weren’t coming back, he sat up. Tikaani did the same. They exchanged a look. Then, without a word, they got up and headed out of the clearing.
‘Character forming,’ Beck said after a while.
‘Trouser staining,’ said Tikaani with feeling.
Beck picked up a small fallen branch and whacked it hard against the nearest tree. ‘Coming through!’ he called into the woods. ‘Just ignore us!’
And so, talking loudly and making plenty of noise as a warning to any unsuspecting bears, they headed on towards Anakat.
‘I’d do the same,’ Tikaani said suddenly, about half an hour later.
Beck looked at him quizzically. ‘The same as what?’
Tikaani jerked a thumb back over his shoulder. ‘The same as Ma Bear back there. Like, that clearing was her kids’ playroom. Wouldn’t you be ticked off if two strangers just came into your home?’
‘I’d express my irritation,’ Beck agreed with a straight face.
‘It’s her home,’ Tikaani pressed on. Then, more quietly and with a hint of wonder, he repeated: ‘It’s her home. Who has the right to just walk into someone’s home?’
Beck looked at him with respect. This wasn’t just chatter. He sensed anger behind Tikaani’s words. He wondered if it was aimed at Lumos Petroleum.
He hadn’t thought of the petrol company in days. They’d had other things on their mind, like survival. But ultimately, none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for Lumos. As they got closer to Anakat, the company was making a comeback into his awareness.
‘No one,’ he said.
‘No one,’ Tikaani agreed. And again he repeated it, to himself. ‘No one.’