Chapter 21
When his favorite song finished playing, the next one started to play and so on. He did not have many songs on his mobile, only the ones which he really liked. Soon, his mobile became silent as all the songs had been played but Luke was unaware as he had dozed off.
It was about 4.30 a.m. when he awoke with a start. He had a gut feeling that told him something was not right. He had a premonition that something bad was going to happen. He would often get these feelings which meant trouble was on the way. The last time he got this gut feeling was when he was almost run over by a car driven by a teenager. Sherpa had pulled him further back on the pavement; otherwise, he would not have been alive today.
There was nothing dangerous unless it could be an earthquake or an avalanche triggered by an earthquake or an attack by wild animals. But his Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) indicated that they were in imminent danger or danger was around the corner and ready to strike.
At around 4.50 a.m. he felt that some animals were on the prowl, checking out the tents of the campers. First, the animals sniffed outside his tent then they circled the tents of the children. His sixth sense told him that one kid was in deep trouble. Wild animals do not come so close to the camps unless someone had been eating in the tent or had food with him.
Luke got up slowly; he picked up his gun (it was loaded) as well as his mobile and slowly unzipped the entrance of his tent. As he stepped out, he saw that the moon was now on the other side. In the moonlight, he spied a group of bears moving towards the forest side. But one bear had stayed back to sniff out the food in one of the tents. Slowly the bear stopped at the tent of Ben and Danny and was tried to rip it apart. Luke quickly fired a shot at the lone bear. The bullet just went past the bear without injuring it but it did make the bear aware that there was danger close by.
The Bears had earlier been moving through the forest areas, following their scent. The bears had stopped at their stopping area where they had had their lunch. They even found a few pieces of food dropped by the campers. The aroma of the food they followed right up to the camping site.
When they reached the camping site and found the remnants of the fire the campers had made to do their cooking. But the bears did not find any food. The bears could still smell the food.
First, they all made their way to the last tent opposite the cliff side. But strange noises were heard coming from inside the tent and they seemed to be even more terrifying than their grunts. They thought there was some other dangerous creature inside this tent. Actually, it was
It was around 5 a.m. when the bear started to pull at the tent in which Danny and Ben were asleep. The tearing sound and the grunt sounds and Ben's screams broke the sweet dreams that Sunny and Sherpa were having. Sherpa quickly jumped out of the sleeping bag and raced towards the exit of their tent telling Sunny to follow suit. Within seconds Sherpa was out of their tent and running towards the entrance of the tent of Ben and Danny. Sunny slowly followed Sherpa in coming out of their tent.
Sherpa reached the outside the tent entrance of Ben and Danny. Just then a shot was fired. Sherpa helped the two frightened boys to come out. Luke was running towards the back of the tent with his gun and fired another shot. The huge animal which had been trying to rip the tent apart took to his heels after hearing the second shot as the bullet just missed his ear by a few inches.
After the bear ran off, Luke came over to Danny, Ben, and Sherpa who had helped the two boys get out of the tent. He wanted to know if both the boys were ok. When he found that they were just scared and Ben was shaking a lot. He asked Sherpa to give Ben a gla.s.s of normal water with sugar dissolved in it to calm him down as he was in shock.
Sherpa immediately ran to the tent he was sharing with Sunny and got out his sugar solution. He carried it in a paper cup to give to Ben. Sunny also joined them and so did the rest of the campers.
By this time all the campers of their group had gathered outside the tent of Ben and Danny. Zia, Luke, and Sherpa did not know about Ben's problems but the rest knew that Ben had an eating issue and he must have been eating in bed as is his habit.
They were all frightened. How did the bears land up here? How many were they? Was it safe to continue camping? If they were to pack up and go which direction should they take? Should they all move into the guest house as it would be safer? There were so many questions running through the mind of everyone.
"Not to worry guys, we have the whole day to decide what to do. These bears know we have something that can harm them so; they are unlikely to come back till evening. At present they have run into the forest."
Luke also added, "First of all let Ben calm down and then he can tell us what happened and why he was eating in his sleeping bag?"
Ben was still shaky and sniffing after the fright he got.
"Luke Sir, it is ok, I am fine now. I have this hormonal problem and need more food at mealtimes as compared to normal kids."
Ben told his sad story of the day…
"When we stopped for lunch, everyone started to eat their lunch. My friends were also eating nearby, they finished lunch quickly and were ready to move, I could not eat as much as I normally ate basically being shy I did not open my second lunchbox."
"My dinner was also limited as all my cla.s.s fellows were around me and I did not want to eat more than they were eating. I felt that everyone would laugh at me."
"When I went to the tent I slept till about 3.30 a.m. but awoke with a rumbling stomach. I knew I needed to eat something so, I quietly got out of my sleeping bag, took out my second lunch box and started to eat, trying not to make any noise. I felt sleepy after eating half of the food in the lunch box and kept the lunch box aside near the tent wall."
"There was a manufacturing defect in the tent as there was a hole in it through which the smell of the food permeated out and attracted the bear that was in the vicinity."
Zia addressing everyone "If it had not been for Luke Sir firing at the bear, you would have been attacked by that bear. The bear would not have alone and others would have attacked the rest of the tents looking for food. I think we all need to thank Luke Sir."
"Thank you Luke Sir," was echoed by 10 voices.
"Thank you for saving all of us," Zia said and wondered what would have happened to her charges and herself if he had not tagged along.
One should be thankful for small mercies. Maybe she had behaved incorrectly towards him. She should behave normally towards this guy. He must have been sent for their protection.
"It is all right, I was doing my duty," replied Luke. "Now tell me what do you guys want to do?"
1. Continuing to camp here is not advisable as we do not know how many bears there are and they will definitely come back. I have a gun but limited bullets. Furthermore, we cannot shoot to kill wild animals' only fire bullets to frighten them.
2. Would you want to move into the guest house at night? This would mean dismantling the tents and dumping them in the guesthouse. This is a good and comfortable option. By the time we need to go back, the bears would probably have gone elsewhere.
3. We can the radio the authorities to send a rescue team to come and get us. This is another option. But if on their way the rescue team does not meet any bears, we would look stupid and probably we all would be laughed at in school and the city.
4. We can forget about returning to the city at the moment or staying at the guest house or calling the rescue team, but try to get back by taking any of the other trekking routes.
"First things first, Sherpa please help me dismantle the equipment we set up last night. Rest of you please do your morning ch.o.r.es and get ready. Then we make the fire and have breakfast. You can decide later, during the morning time which of the 4 options you all would like to follow. We can take a vote on it."
"Luke Sir, can we all come and help you dismantle the equipment?" choired the students.
"Of course, come along," he replied.
He knew that all were shaken by the incident and needed a diversion.