CHAPTER 7

A ROOKIE MISTAKE

The next day, Marlon and Nadia woke up early. The rain had stopped, and it was time to pack up the tent and their supplies.

Nadia disconnected all the poles into smaller pieces and wrapped them together with Velcro tape. Marlon carefully folded the tent, then secured it using the tent belt straps.

Using a loose cord that was in his backpack, Marlon made a makeshift leash for Colt. He attached it to the dog’s harness.

“There you go,” Marlon said. “Now you won’t get lost again. We’ll get you back to your family.”

The dog let out a whine. He seemed as anxious as Marlon felt.

“Don’t forget to put your trail mix in your bear bag,” Nadia reminded him. She took a drink from her canteen. “And check to see how much water you have left. I’m all out.”

“OK,” said Marlon. He fed Colt a handful of snacks, then set them down for a second so he could check his canteen and put on his backpack. “I’m out of water too.”

“Well at least we’re near a river,” Nadia said. “We can fill up with fresh water.”

The kids and Colt walked to the edge of the river. Colt began to lap up some water.

“I think I’ll go a little upstream,” Marlon said. “I don’t want any dog germs in my canteen.”

Nadia and Marlon took a few steps away from Colt. Nadia was about to dip her canteen into the water when Marlon paused.

“Hey, I know I don’t know much about hiking and camping,” he said, “but our science teacher was just telling us that certain types of water can have bacteria in it. Is this water safe to drink?”

Nadia paused and placed her canteen at her side. “You know, you’re right. I completely forgot about that.” She rummaged through her backpack. “I always carry a water filter in case of emergency. It filters out bacteria and other stuff when we drink from it.”

After a moment, Nadia pulled out what looked like a huge handheld straw. She frowned.

“Oh geez, it’s busted,” she said. “It must have broken when we took the tumble down the hill.”

Marlon took off his backpack. “Let me check mine,” he said. Moments later he pulled a massive straw out of his own pack. “This is what we need, right?”

Nadia grinned. “Yep! You’re a lifesaver, Marlon!”

“Thanks! Feels good to actually help for a change,” Marlon replied.

He handed Nadia the purifying straw first. She knelt down and dipped the straw in the water, taking a few big gulps.

“Oh, that’s good,” said Nadia. She handed the purifying straw to Marlon, and he took a few big sips as well.

Once they’d finished drinking, Marlon stuck the purifier back in his bag. They might need it again.

After that, he and Nadia finished putting on their backpacks. Then Nadia pulled a map of the trail from her pocket. She unfolded it so they could look at it together.

“What are these little triangles with numbers all over the map?” Marlon asked, studying the paper.

“They’re markers that are placed around the woods and trails. If people get lost, they can look at a map, get their bearings, and figure out what they’re close to,” Nadia explained.

Marlon turned around and looked in the distance. “There’s a sign a little ways down the river,” he exclaimed. “I’ll be right back!”

He set off, and sure enough, about forty steps away, there was a marker attached to a pole in the ground.

Marker fifty-seven, Marlon said to himself. He quickly turned around and made his way back to Nadia. “We’re near marker fifty-seven!” he announced.

Nadia looked over the map. “I found it!” she said. “We can hike three miles south, along the hillside. That should lead us back to the regular trail and put us a few miles away from our cabin!”

“That’s great!” Marlon said. He exhaled a sigh of relief.

But his relief didn’t last long. Colt began to growl. The dog was focused on something.

“Hey, what’s wrong, Colt?” Marlon asked.

He and Nadia looked up from their map, and at the same time, they both froze. There, blocking their path back to the cabin, was a baby black bear. It was eating Marlon’s trail mix.

Nadia looked alarmed. “I thought you put your snacks in the bear bag!” she said quietly.

“I meant to!” Marlon whispered back. “But then we started talking about water straws and how to get out of here, and I got distracted.”

The bear was just a cub, but even Marlon knew what that meant. Where there was a cub, there was likely a mother bear close by.

Black bear mothers were very protective of their young. If she arrived and thought Marlon or Nadia was a threat, things could get ugly quickly.

Nadia took a deep breath, but her hands were shaking. “We have to stay calm,” she said. “Do not panic.”

Marlon didn’t even have time to panic before things went from bad to worse. A larger bear—probably the cub’s mother—lumbered out of the trees.

Colt let out a whimper. Marlon wanted to whimper too. They were in serious danger.