After he was done, he put on his hoodie.

  He passed me his shoes and socks. “Just hold these.”

  I was going to ask why, while also juggling my own shoes, when he lifted me up off the ground and proceeded to walk with me over his shoulder, down the road.

  And he whistled while he did it.

  Like I weighed nothing and this was normal.

  I giggled. It was like he had all the energy in the world still. Nathan was so strong.

  Part of me knew he was doing it more for exercise. We were likely going to be spending most of the next few days on the road in the RV, so getting workouts while on the road might be a bit difficult.

  I didn’t even try to walk. Instead, I leaned heavily on Nathan as he walked. His body warmed mine where we touched anyway.

  I didn’t expect him to go that far carrying me, just until he got tired and had enough of a workout for the day.

  He’d gone quite a ways before he stopped walking suddenly. I stumbled as he put me down beside him, my feet meeting the asphalt.

  We were still standing in the middle of the main walking path between the camping sites and the restrooms. There was no one in view that I could see. He faced me and ran a hand through his damp rust-colored hair, pushing it back. His cheeks were flushed red, which matched my own skin tone right now. “Is it weird I have a bad feeling about this trip?”

  His voice sounded strained, as though he were trying to hold back a strong emotion.

  The suddenness of the moment caught me off guard. “A bad feeling?” I asked.

  He continued to finger comb his hair. “Maybe it’s nothing. I just... I know why we’re here. But... with what happened to your mother, I can’t imagine...” He mumbled a little bit, then blurted out. “Sang, I don’t think your grandparents must be good people.” He clamped his lips shut and then opened them again, struggling. “God, why is this so hard?”

  My breath caught. Was it because I was talking to him last night? Had that spurred some concerns?

  “You can tell me,” I said. “What makes you say that?”

  He shrugged and looked away. It was strange how this mood shifted so suddenly after the rock slide. “Your mother died, Sang. You know this. If they had been good support for her, if they’d cared, maybe she wouldn’t be dead... and might have worked harder to keep you.” He didn’t look at me. He shifted his gaze to some trees nearby. “Your father was seen as the best option, which worries me that they were worse than him.”

  “There are a lot of questions about what happened,” I said softly. “I don’t even know if there’s anyone around left that would have any answers. Anyone still alive might have forgotten about me anyway. It’s likely we’re here to just be sure there isn’t some real birth certificate or any traces of me left. Then we just leave.”

  Those serious blue eyes met mine, the concern etched on his face. His lips pursed. His stare was so strong, making my insides shake. “Do you really believe that? That we can just go in, take a few pieces of paper and disappear? You won’t be... upset?”

  I thought about it for a minute. “What you say, it has to be true.” Reaffirmed about the idea, I nodded. “Somehow, I ended up with my father, and there had to be a reason. I can’t imagine any other reasoning for it. Either there was no one left alive, or they didn’t want me. Either way... I’m no different than I am now. It only confirms suspicions. I don’t expect much from this trip. I want to find all the evidence there is about my existence. Seeing any family, I’m pretty sure one of you guys will be the ones to actually meet them. But... I don’t hold any hope they want me.”

  Nathan’s eyes shifted and he winced at my words. He pulled me close. “My grandparents didn’t want me either,” he said. “I just didn’t know... wasn’t sure if you had some hope they might... but I have this feeling...”

  I’d never heard about his grandparents. Had he experienced being unwanted before and was worried I’d go through the same thing? I pressed a palm gently to his cheek. “I can’t promise it won’t sting to learn the truth. But you got past it, right?”

  “Maybe I’m not as past it as I thought I was. And seeing you go through this again, I get worried you’ll go through the same thing. And there’s nothing I can do to protect you from it.”

  “I got past understanding the woman who raised me wasn’t my mother.” I said it with such confidence, though most of it was a brave face for Nathan to soothe his concern. I rubbed at his cheek gently. “It might not be easy, but I won’t be alone.”

  He nodded and took in a deep breath. “Then we’ll go. And then get it done and we’ll go back home.”

  Home. Like in the way he said it before, it held such a different meaning to me now that I hadn’t realized, and it seemed like he was starting to feel the same way. It warmed my heart to think home was with them, and back in Charleston.

  I hugged him tightly and buried my nose into his neck. He held me close. For a few minutes, we simply stood there holding on to each other.

  Then Nathan lifted his chin slightly, breaking the hug. His blue eyes met mine. I watched him as he slowly stepped away from me. “Let’s go get warmed up.”

  I carried our stuff, walking barefoot with him toward our campsite via the asphalt lane.

  Temporary.

  This trip was temporary. And if we got through it quick enough, we could go home.

  Every Thing Around Us

  We were at the edge of the campground when Nathan halted.

  Before I could ask, he put a hand over my mouth. He stared off into the distance, and I tried to figure out what he was looking at.

  The bear. Maybe even the one we saw yesterday. It was hard to be sure, but it was definitely a bear. With dark fur and a pointy nose and tall.

  It was sniffing the corner of the RV.

  Its huge brown eyes stared at us. Its fur was thick, its claws sharp.

  Nathan lowered his hands until he was gripping my waist, holding strong. His legs shifted, like he debated which direction he wanted to go. He’d carry me off if he had to.

  “The spray didn’t work,” I whispered.

  “Yeah, but now we have to make it go away,” Nathan said. He focused on the bear, never wavering for a second.

  I knew someone who would know. And it was an emergency.

  “Do you have one of the cell phones?” I asked him. I had left mine as I hadn’t expected to go far from the camp.

  Nathan forced me back further away from the campsite, still within view of the RV but hopefully out of range of the bear seeing us. He searched through his stuff for the phone. “There should be one number to connect to... Victor, if he’s not busy. He needs to call the guys inside. Make sure they know it’s out there so they don’t leave the RV. And give me a minute to figure out what to do next.”

  Nathan had to recite a number since they weren’t logged into the phone. I dialed. We waited nervously.

  It rang twice before a gruff voice answered.

  “Hello?” North’s voice grumbled into the phone.

  I’d anticipated Victor so I took a minute to answer. I swallowed loudly. “Hi,” I whispered. “How do we get a bear to go away?”

  Nathan rubbed at his face roughly with a palm. “I’m pretty sure we just hold our arms wide and make a lot of loud noises. It’d be better if we had a megaphone of some sort.”

  There was silence for a moment on the phone. I wasn’t even totally sure we were still connected.

  “Please tell me...?” North growled into the line and trailed off into a slew of grumbling curses.

  I spoke as calmly as I could. “A bear is sniffing the RV. Nathan and I are outside the RV. How do we get the bear to go away? Luke and the others are still inside. Also you need to call them to tell them to stay inside.”

  North cursed under his breath. “Get away from the damn bear, Sang.”

  “We’re away! The bear is just sniffing around the outside of the RV.”

  “Where are you exactly? How close?”

  I tried to make a guess at the distance. “It doesn’t see us.”

  “Can you keep talking to me?”

  “Yes.”

  “And Nathan is with you?”

  “Yes.”

  He considered it for a moment. “What color is the bear? I’m assuming it’s black.”

  “Black,” I said. “Maybe dark brown.”

  “Still pretty sure we just wave our arms and scream at it,” Nathan said, still keeping his eyes right on the bear. “There’s no cub. It’s likely just looking for food. They might be cooking breakfast and it’s sniffing it out.”

  “Don’t let him scream at it,” North said. “If the others are safe in the RV, then leave them there.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Can you call them?”

  “Victor’s right here. He’s on it,” he seethed into the phone. “You and Nathan need to head to the ranger station. The others are safe if they stay in the RV. The ranger will be able to get back and chase the bear off. You will not be safe if you try to take on a bear yourselves.”

  I stiffened, not looking forward to even trying to take on the bear ourselves at all, so I was glad he had a better idea. “I understand.”

  “Pass the phone to Nathan,” he said.

  I did so. Nathan held the phone to his ear. I could only make out bits and pieces of what was being said, but part of it was what he had told me, and then a little extra.

  Nathan’s serious expression darkened significantly. “I understand.” He hung up the phone. “We’re heading to the park office. Now.”

  Nathan motioned to my shoes and socks. I stuffed my feet into the shoes and put the socks into my pocket so I could hurry faster down the path. We were still cold from our little swim in the spring but jogging at least warmed my body.

  Nathan and I rushed along a walking trail, taking it to the main camping office. The camping office was a large wood cabin with bare branch bushes lining either side of it. A row of empty rocking chairs sat on the wide front porch.

  The door had a welcome sign. When we entered, the interior lights weren’t on. The windows were bright enough to be able to see inside just fine. There was a tall counter and a brochure display to the left. To the right, there was a gift shop, with an unmanned register. Because the lights were off, I worried no one was here.

  As we came in further, we noticed the ranger at a desk behind the counter with her hands folded in front of her, staring intently at a small television reporting the weather. Her short blond hair fell neatly over her shoulders and long bangs framed her firm jawline. She noticed us quickly and reached to turn off the TV. “Yes? What can I do for you?” she asked in a scratchy voice.

  “We need a little help,” Nathan said. “There’s a bear at our campsite. We were hoping you could come scare it off.”

  “Oh god,” the ranger said in a tone that sounded more annoyed than worried. “How big is it?”

  Nathan hesitated. “About as big as me, maybe bigger.”

  The ranger stood up immediately. She grabbed a thick key ring with many keys off of the desk. “It’s probably Grumpy. Come with me.”

  Nathan perked up a smile. “Grumpy?”

  “We named the local bears after the Care Bears.”

  We were guided outside to a large, blue Ford truck parked off to the side of the cabin. I got into the back seat and Nathan took the passenger seat. The ranger started the truck. I got bounced around a little as it had to climb a dirt path to get to the asphalt lane. I hung on to the side, trying to find the seat belt. When I couldn’t find one, I simply held on as best as I could.

  It was only minutes before we got to our campsite. The bear was still there, sniffing around near the firepit. It lifted its head when it noticed the approaching vehicle. Its eyes stared right at us.

  It was like the bear had done this before and was anticipating what might happen next.

  The ranger parked the car about twenty yards away. She flashed the brights at it and honked loudly. I thought it might work, but the bear didn’t seem scared. It just turned its attention back to the campfire.

  The ranger stepped out of the driver’s seat, carrying a very large airhorn and a bottle of spray.

  Nathan jumped out immediately, going to stand behind the ranger as back up.

  I stayed in the truck for a minute, unsure if I should get out to help. Instead, I picked myself up and wedged over the back of the front seat and into the driver’s side, ready to flash the brights some more and honk to distract it if the bear took a turn at them.

  The ranger took her time and when she got close to the bear, she made herself very big and widened her arms out and used the airhorn.

  The moment the airhorn blasted, the bear started running toward the trees.

  “That’s right, run!” the ranger called to it.

  The bear ran through the trees quickly, crashing through brambles. Eventually it disappeared and any noises it made faded in the distance.

  I slid out of the driver’s side, but left the truck door open, just in case.

  The ranger shook her head. “I hope that did it. He’s been poking around a little closer since campers left for the season.”

  I let out a sigh of relief.

  Nathan spoke to the ranger some more. I went to the RV, knocking so they would know it was safe.

  “Is it gone?” Luke called from inside. “We can’t see where it went.”

  There was a short thud. “Unless that’s the bear knocking,” Gabriel said inside, “then it’s gone. Unlock the door.”

  “It’s gone,” I called.

  Luke opened the door. He had on pajama pants and no shirt. Gabriel wore a tank shirt and boxers. Dr. Green stood behind him, wearing the same pajamas he’d had on that morning.

  Gabriel rubbed the back of his neck with a palm. “Uh yeah... great plan everyone. Let’s camp.” His voice waivered with sarcasm at the end. “Best plan ever.”

  The ranger headed to her truck and took off. Nathan ran back to the RV and jumped the steps to get inside. “She said to let her know if it comes back again, but to make sure we keep the food sealed inside.”

  “Yeah, so it can come back to the RV where it smelled food in the first place,” Gabriel continued in the same sarcastic tone. “Sure thing. No problem.”

  “The food was up,” Dr. Green said. He pointed to the kitchenette where there was French toast and scrambled eggs ready for us for breakfast. “Did she mean not cook? Are we not supposed to cook on this trip?”

  Luke made a face. “What? No pancakes?”

  “Well, I would have made it,” Dr. Green said, “except someone didn’t pack any mix.”

  Luke’s eyes widened. “I put it in here myself!” He went to one of the cabinets and searched for it. “Who let North in here? Did he steal the mix?”

  Before anyone could answer him, one of the cell phones we’d carried started to ring.

  Nathan answered it. “Yes, she’s fine,” he said with sarcasm dripping from his tone. “By the way, I’m fine, too. Thanks for asking.”

  I suspected it was North calling back to see what happened.

  So much had already happened.

  And this was only day... one?

  Working So Hard Against Us

  Gabriel

  After breakfast, plotting a new course on the road, and setting off, Gabriel sat as navigator in the passenger seat of the RV. They were heading for a town to shop for supplies.

  The others were in the back. Luke and Nathan were trying to figure out who got what storage spot for clothes. Sang was in the bathroom for now.

  Gabriel rocked his knuckles on the armrest. Restlessness was already getting to him, and they hadn’t been on the road for that long. With what happened earlier today, this trip wasn’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped.

  “Don’t look so glum,” Dr. Green said. “One little bear... it wasn’t a big deal.”

  “Yeah, I guess I’m just feeling a bit overwhelmed right now.”

  Dr. Green tilted his head to glance in Gabriel’s direction. “Want to play some music?”

  Gabriel was going to say no, but Dr. Green started fiddling with dials on the dash before he could say anything. He pulled out an audio input cord and presented it to Gabriel and then faltered. “Wait, we have phones, but they aren’t our phones...”

  “Right,” Gabriel said. “No using them except for emergencies. I don’t think North would approve music as an emergency.”

  “Never mind then.” Dr. Green instantly perked up again. “Let’s do this the old way. Okay, here we go.” He turned on the radio, adjusting the already too loud sound blaring out of the speakers, and then rolled through various stations.

  Gabriel gave a little snort at the station Dr. Green eventually landed on. It was some very old orchestral number, probably Beethoven or Vivaldi... but recorded in the thirties. Victor would have known what it was. Gabriel’s mind was too preoccupied and tired to even make a guess.

  Several moments passed where Gabriel was slumped in the seat, leaning his palm against his face, his elbow on the armrest, and he was seconds away from passing out. After a moment of nodding off and waking up again, Gabriel sat upright and waved a hand at the radio. “This is putting me to sleep. How about something different? Like a country song or rap?” Dr. Green liked both usually so at least those were options that weren’t likely to have Gabriel falling asleep.

  Dr. Green smiled and reached over, turning the volume down. “Why? I thought you liked the wordless music. Just start singing.”

  Gabriel eyeballed him. Was he crazy? He did that when he was alone usually. Maybe occasionally in the grocery store if no one was around. Or in elevators, also alone. And, well maybe other places where he thought he was by himself.

  Dr. Green didn’t seem to notice Gabriel’s hesitation at all. After a few beats in the music, he started belting out some lyrics that were just a little too familiar to Gabriel. “Anxi-i-iety! You got the be-e-e-st of me-e-e!”

  “Oh nooo, no no no no,” Gabriel spluttered. Mortified, he stuffed a hand over his face.

  “Ple-e-e-se don’t kill me-e-e!” Dr. Green continued.