Bernard spent the rest of the day giving Nita a tour of as much of his territory as they could cover. He made sure to show her many different food sources in an attempt to keep her mind off of the prey animals.

After riding on his mother's back for hours on end, Mahon drifted off to sleep. Bernard took the opportunity to show Nita where he had found the trap and where her cub was buried. By then, the sky had begun to darken.

It took them the rest of the day to get close to Arturo's territory. Nita lowered her son to the ground and nuzzled him before curling around him. She kept her eyes on Bernard after he flopped down several feet away and continued watching him until he fell asleep.

Bernard woke up shortly before sunrise and strolled to the river. He washed his wounds before catching himself breakfast. Once he silenced his grumbling stomach, he began taking his subsequent catches back to where Nita was sleeping.

By the time she woke up, he had already created a small pile of salmon near her. She got up slowly to avoid disturbing her cub, but she couldn't resist nuzzling his forehead. Mahon halfheartedly swatted her in his sleep.

"What's all this?" Nita asked, nosing the food. Her nose twitched as she took in the salmon's tantalizing scent.

"That's just a little something for the two of you to share. Whether you decide to stay here longer or not, I figured it might be a good idea for both of you to rest this morning." Bernard gestured toward Mahon. "Is he going to be alright? Yesterday wasn't exactly a good day for him."

Nita shrugged. "He'll be running around and climbing everything in sight soon enough. I just hope he's learned not to climb onto such thin branches."

"I was talking about his sister. He was crying in his sleep last night."

"I've been through this with other litters. He'll get over it eventually."

Bernard failed to suppress a gasp. "You've lost cubs before? How on earth could anyone get over something so awful?"

"Look at that nest over there." Nita pointed her snout at a cardinal's nest that had four featherless hatchlings in it. The youngsters chirped as they crowded around their father, eyeing the grubs in his beak. The smallest of the bunch was constantly shoved as its siblings vied for their father's attention.

"Why are they bullying that one so much? He's going to starve if they keep that up."

"That's the point, actually. If the weakest one survived, he would take food that could have made his healthier siblings stronger and hurt the entire brood's chances of survival." She glanced at Mahon over her shoulder. "Imagine if I had been the one to die in that trap instead of my daughter. Both of my cubs would have starved to death because of my carelessness. It is better for a careless cub to die and bring her family grief than for one to survive and teach her cubs so poorly that they die before they have a chance to have cubs of their own."

"That's harsh."

Nita nudged Bernard with her paw. "Believe me, I wish every cub could survive. Mistakes happen though. All I can do is guide my children and hope that they learn everything they need to know about surviving on their own." She nosed through the pile of salmon before dragging the smallest fish closer to her son and lying down. "I appreciate your help. A full belly should brighten Mahon's mood and encourage him to learn how to fish for himself."

Bernard bowed his head. "No worries. I had to make sure you two were going to be okay before leaving."

"You are quite a strange bear," said Nita. "I can't say I think it's a good idea for you to trespass into Arturo's territory, especially to try to find a human of all things. Still, Mahon and I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks. See you around."

"Wait a moment," Nita said. "Before you go, would it be okay if I had a look at your shoulder?"

"Sure," Bernard said, crouching down so that Nita wouldn't have to stand to get a better look.

Nita sniffed the bullet wound and winced. "Why in the name of the spirits would you let this get so badly infected? It's a miracle you can walk."

"I was too busy teaching myself how to fish to try to treat it," Bernard lied. There was no way he would tell her he hadn't noticed how bad the wound had gotten until recently.

"You really are just a big cub aren't you?" Nita sighed, shaking her head. "You know, it really isn't that hard to prevent infections. All you had to do was keep the wound clean."

Bernard flattened his ears indignantly. "I tried, but another bear tore a bullet out of my shoulder during a fight. His teeth weren't exactly clean."

Nita shuddered. "That explains a lot. I hope the infection doesn't spread. You really should rest and avoid making it worse."

"I can't afford to lose the human I'm tracking. It's taken me months to find her, and I don't think I'll ever be able to find her again unless I follow her now."

"Humans," Nita said with a sigh. "They're more trouble than they're worth. Maybe they'll help you with your shoulder though. At least, I've heard that rangers help bears that get badly injured. I've never seen them do it myself."

"The rangers would definitely help me. They may seem weird to you, but they really do care about keeping us safe from hunters. In fact, you should consider living closer to their headquarters." Bernard drew an x in the dirt. "There's a tree with this mark near the road that borders my territory. I buried something that belongs to the human I'm following underneath it. If you want to, you should be able to follow her scent trail to an area that the rangers frequent more often. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to keep you and Mahon safe."

"I'll consider it," Nita said. She dipped her head. "I hope the spirits will help you on your journey, Bernard. You may be strange, but I wish more bears were as kind as you."

After he and Nita said their goodbyes, Bernard headed toward Arturo's territory. He heard Mahon squealing with delight upon waking up and finding the fish shortly after he left the pair behind.

Once he was sure he was out of earshot, Bernard spoke to Orson. "That was really nice of you to help me out the other day. I don't think I would have been able to run fast enough to catch Mahon if it weren't for you."

"It would have looked really bad if you hadn't gotten there in time. Nita would have torn you apart if you had gone anywhere near her son after failing to catch him. I have no interest in watching another bear die ever again, whether it's because he fell out of a tree or got killed by a human."

"That's not going to make me stop trying to find my mother."

"Hey, it was worth a try. Just don't lose it when she rejects you again unless you want to be hunted down and shot, okay?"

"Of course I won't, Captain Subtlety." Bernard paused. "By the way, how did you give me strength, anyway?"

"It's hard to explain. I wanted you to save that cub more badly than I've wanted anything in months. The next thing I knew, I felt something flowing from me into you. That happened when I was turning you into a bear and when the hunter shot you too, but it was less intense this time. I could give you strength, but I couldn't control your body."

"Maybe that's because we both wanted the same thing this time."

Orson agreed.

Arturo's scent burned Bernard's nostrils the moment he reached the road. Even the lingering exhaust fumes carried by the breeze weren't enough to mask his odor. Bernard couldn't detect his mother's scent anywhere. Taking a deep breath, he entered Arturo's territory. There was no turning back now.

He stayed close to the side of the road during the many hours he spent searching for his mother. Although that made it harder for him to smell anything, there was also a chance that it would help him hide his presence from Arturo. As a bonus, he could run straight across the road if he had to flee. His shoulder still felt as if someone had lit a fire within it, but he knew he could count on Orson to help him push through the pain.

The road's horrible smell made Bernard doubt that Arturo's territory extended to the other side. He might not bother chasing him over there. Besides, his mother would probably stay in her car until she found a good spot to stop and observe whatever she needed to for her article. If he found her car, he would either find his mother or have an idea where she might be.

Barely any creatures dared to venture anywhere near Bernard. Birds glared down at him from their perches, prepared to alert everything else in the area of his presence as soon as they felt threatened. The only mammal he saw was a single skunk that raised its tail at him, threatening to spray him at a moment's notice. Needless to say, he gave it a wide berth.

The road was even more barren and depressing than the nearly deserted woods. A lone candy wrapper lay in a pothole in the middle of the road. Cracks decorated the pavement's surface. The reddish-brown body of what appeared to be a fox lay on the side of the road. A trail of blood was smeared next to it. Flies clung to the corpse. Its mouth was frozen in a snarl as if the creature was ready to snap at the pests.

What disturbed Bernard the most was not the fox's smell nor the blood nor the flies that covered it. The detail that sent chills down Bernard's spine was that something had torn the creature's ribcage open and devoured everything within.

His fur was still standing on end when he found the parking lot that afternoon. It was almost completely empty. A single car was parked next to an overflowing trashcan where a raccoon was perched. The garbage thief took one look at Bernard before scrambling away with an apple core in its mouth.

The car's engine was off. Bernard crept behind the vehicle and checked the license plate. Sure enough, it was his mother's car. He sniffed around the area to figure out where she might have gone.

That proved to be unnecessary as a scream from deeper within Arturo's territory sent every bird within the underbrush screeching with terror.