Читать книгу Haibu Lost in New York - Blake Freeman - Страница 12

POLAR SHIFT

Haibu’s eyes opened suddenly to an unfamiliar crunching noise. Confused, she whispered to herself, “What could that be?”

Kanuux was still fast asleep beside her. As Haibu sat up to look around, she was horrified to see a large, full-grown, nine-hundred-pound polar bear just a few feet away. And it was eating all of her fish!

Before she even thought about what she was doing, Haibu screamed at the bear, “Nanuq, NO! Not yours! Shoo!”

The polar bear swung his head in Haibu’s direction and snarled, showing his large fangs.

Haibu instantly regretted her actions. “Oh no…”

There are many things for a Mayok to fear in the north, but none more terrifying nor dangerous than an angry polar bear. The ferocious bear lunged straight toward Haibu, stopping directly in front of her! Haibu heard the loud crack of the ice beneath them. She froze.

Growling, the bear showed how tough he was by flashing his dangerous teeth directly in front of Haibu’s face. His growl was so deep that it shook Haibu’s entire body, making her teeth chatter and her hair stand up on her arms.

“P-p-please,” Haibu begged.

The bear leaned in closer to Haibu and with a voice that sounded like it was coming from somewhere deep, deep, deep in a cave, answered, “Please, what?”

Yesterday was a long day and last night was a short night, so Haibu was more than a little surprised by the polar bear encounter. And now this … Did that polar bear just speak to me? And did I just understand him?

Haibu wasn’t sure what was happening. She wondered if she was in a state of shock. “P-P-Please don’t hurt us. Just take the fish.”

Now, bears are not known for their manners, nor have they ever been caught using a napkin. The hungry bear leaned even closer, baring his large, razor-sharp teeth and dripping saliva onto Haibu’s feet. He roared, “Do you think I need your permission?”

The bear stood on his hind legs, towering over Haibu. Then he crashed back down on all fours and shouted, “I will take what I want, human!”

Needless to say, the crash knocked Haibu to the ground. Kanuux, who was wide awake now, whimpered and scurried backward a few feet. Haibu couldn’t take her eyes off of the bear.

She whispered to herself, “He can talk.” Slowly, she crawled to her feet, “I’m trying to be nice and offer you fish.”

“And I am not asking you for permission! I will take what I want, just like you did!” the bear snarled.

“Then take it and please leave,” Haibu shouted back.

The bear began to circle around Haibu. “You humans are weak and pathetic. You take all you can, even when you’ve had enough.”

“I’m not trying—”

“I did not ask you to speak!” the bear roared.

Haibu was terrified. She knew the bear could gobble her up in seconds, then turn around and do the same to Kanuux. Still circling Haibu, the polar bear continued, “You humans are the reason I have to resort to stealing fish. Day and night, I see you pulling fish from the great waters, taking them all with no regard to any other animal out here.”

He stopped in front of Haibu and raised a paw in the air. Haibu squeezed her eyes shut, sure this was the end.

CRASH! The bear slammed his paw down on the ice. “You humans are the reason this ice is breaking so easily!” he yelled.

The ice started cracking even more, and this time the sound lasted longer. Haibu looked down, slowly retreating from the sound of the crackling ice. “Not all of us are b-b-bad.”

“I know who you are,” the bear snarled.

“You do?”

“You’re one of those who can speak to animals.”

“I am?”

The bear exhaled heavily and poked at Haibu’s chest with one of his large claws. “It’s a bit obvious, don’t you think, human?”

“I don’t know. I-I-I’ve never really tried, I guess.”

The bear roared, “That’s because your kind doesn’t care! It’s a good thing only a few of you can talk to us!” The bear roared even louder. Then he turned and began to move away from her, back toward the fish.

“I’m sorry for whatever humans have done to you or your family,” Haibu called. She was sincere. She believed in being happy, being friendly, and being family.

The bear stopped short. His head drooped and his low rumbling growl grew louder. He swung around to face Haibu again. “What would you know about my family?”

“N-n-nothing,” Haibu stuttered.

“No, you wouldn’t understand, because you probably still have your family. How would you feel if I took your family from you?” The bear leaned right into Haibu’s face. His breath was so hot she could barely keep her eyes open. “I lost both my cubs to a human like you,” he said.

“W-Why?”

The bear leaned within an inch of Haibu’s face and gave the loudest roar yet. “So the humans could stay WARM!”

The bear raised his paw high in the air once more, and this time Haibu knew it would be the end. There was no more trying to talk her way out of it. She had to act fast. As the bear swiped, Haibu ducked and rolled under its paw. She dashed to the sled and grabbed the spear. In one motion she spun around and crouched, with the spear pointed towards the bear.

“GO AWAY! I’ve done nothing to you!” she yelled.

The polar bear leaped closer to Haibu. “I won’t give you the chance!” he growled.

Kanuux looked back at Haibu and, with a sad face, dove into the water.

Using every ounce of courage, Haibu started swinging the spear to keep the bear at bay. The size and strength of the polar bear was beginning to set in. It stood tall and let out a deafening roar, then lunged again, striking Haibu in the arm with razor-sharp claws.

“Please stop!” Haibu screamed. “I’m bleeding!”

The bear continued to growl and inch closer and closer to her. “I wonder if my cubs had a chance to say please.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Haibu noticed the Shookia on her wrist. It reminded her of her strength. I can do anything I believe I can do. I can be anything I believe I can be. I can achieve anything I want to achieve. I am Haibu. She looked the bear directly in the eyes and shouted, “Not today, nanuq! Today, I am going home and you can’t stop me!”

As the bear charged toward her, Haibu rolled under him and jabbed him the leg with her spear. The bear howled in pain. “Enough of this playtime! You’re finished, human!”

A cracking noise rose over the howling of the bear and froze them both in their tracks. The sound continued, getting louder and louder.

“It’s still going?” Haibu marveled. She knew that a cracking sound is the last thing any Mayok wants to hear while out on the shallow ice, away from solid land. Haibu knew she needed to get back to the mainland. The ice continued to crack.

“Stop!” Haibu cried. “You’re cracking the ice!”

She sprinted toward the land, toward the village, but she heard another crack, and another and another. She felt the ice shift underneath her. The movement caused her and the bear to fall down. Then the worst happened: the ice sheet broke off and separated from the land.

As quickly as the ice broke away from land, a fast current swept it up. It didn’t take long for reality to set in. Haibu was stranded on a chunk of ice with an angry polar bear and they were drifting toward the deep ocean.

Crawling to his feet, the bear snarled at Haibu, “I’m going to end this NOW!” He galloped toward her.

“I said, not today, nanuq!” Haibu sprinted toward the bear, full steam.

As if it were planned, they both jumped in the air, the bear roaring and Haibu yelling, “Aiyeeeee!”

Just as they were about to collide, Kanuux leaped out of the water. With one quick motion, he swung his tail flipper into the bear’s head, knocking him over onto the ice, into an uncontrolled slide towards the water.

“Kanuux!” Haibu yelled. “You saved me!”

Once in the water, the bear swam back towards Haibu and the floating ice. Haibu knew she couldn’t let him back on the ice, so she pointed her spear at the bear to keep him from climbing back on.

“I don’t want to hurt you! Go home, leave us alone!” Haibu yelled.

The polar bear tried to climb up, but Haibu slammed her spear close to his paws, persuading him to leave.

“I told you! I don’t want to hurt you! Swim back while you can!” Haibu shouted.