Free White Water by Linda I. Shands

watch. The luminous dial read 2:00 . Shivering, she pulled on her fur-lined slippers, grabbed her flashlight, and crept to the window. After pulling aside the curtains, she had full view of the meadow and two guest cabins with the woods beyond. The area between the lodge and cabin number one was bathed in the glow of a three-quarter moon. There in the middle of the clearing, a full-grown bear hunched over something on the ground .
    Kara’s stomach knotted in fear. She was tempted to go back to bed and pretend it wasn’t there. But what if it didn’t go away? Gulping down the lump that had formed in her throat, she slid open the window and shined the flashlight on the animal. “Hey!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. “Go on. Get out of here!”
    The bear lifted its head toward the sound, and Kara gasped when she saw the thick, dark liquid that coated its face and dripped from its open jaws. She knew those jaws were capped with ugly yellowed teeth.
    â€œOh, gross!” The thought of some poor, defenseless little animal being ripped apart for the bear’s dinner made her gag. She screamed, grabbed the water carafe from the table, and threw it as hard as she could. When the bear only grunted, she heaved the water glasses through the window. Yelling at the top of her lungs, she had just picked up the lantern when she heard the blast of a gunshot. She looked up to see Greg, dressed only in pajama bottoms, standing on the porch of cabin one. Her brother pointed his rifle into the air and fired a second time.
    When she looked back, the bear had picked up whatever it had been chewing on and was lumbering as fast as it could toward the woods. Greg followed it with his gun, and for a heartbeat she thought he was going to shoot it, but the animal made the cover of the tree line, and her brother let it go .
    If Dad knocked before shoving open her door, she didn’t hear it over the sound of her own heartbeat thudding in her ears.
    â€œWakara!” He cringed from the glare of her flashlight, and she quickly turned it away.
    â€œSorry, Dad. You startled me.”
    â€œI startled you?” He strode to the window and pushed it shut. “You scared me out of three lives! What’s going on in here?”
    She started to explain about the bear, when Colin pushed into the room, followed by Greg. “Hey, Wakara, are you okay?” her brother asked. There was a chuckle in his voice.
    She nodded, then realized he couldn’t really see her. “I’m fine,” she said.
    Greg laughed. “Well, that bear’s not. Between your screams and your pitching arm, I’d bet he’s in Mexico by now.”
    Kara shivered in spite of her flannel pajamas. She hugged herself and sat down on the bed. “All he did was look at me. He didn’t take off until you fired those shots.” She grinned at her brother. “Thanks, I owe you one.”
    Anne and Ryan were now standing in the doorway. With five flashlights pointed into the room, she saw Greg’s mouth spread into a huge grin. “I’d call it even,” he said, and she felt a rush of love for her older brother.
    Dad cleared his throat and gestured to the crush of bodies in the room. “All right, everybody out. I’ll call the ranger station in the morning and report a rogue bear. In the meantime, we all need to get some sleep.”
    Greg and Colin moved to leave, but not before Kara saw the look that flashed between them. They would track the animal at the first hint of light. Should she say anything to Dad?
    He didn’t give her a chance. “Wakara, I want you upstairs with Anne.”
    â€œWhat? Dad, you can’t be serious! Why?”
    He ran one hand through his hair, and she thought for a minute he was going to back down. Instead he said, “Just do it, Wakara. I’m too tired to argue.”
    She started to protest again, but from the look on his face she knew it