Before Marco could process the danger of the giant waking bear, the faint rumble of an engine echoed from the dirt trail below. He flattened himself against the cold mud. Through the fog, the dim yellow headlights of an unmarked pickup truck crept up the road. Two men in dark rain gear stepped out, carrying heavy steel animal cages and thick catch-poles.
They were returning to collect the mother bear before the logging crew found them—completely unaware that she was waking up, or that her cubs were trapped in the cedar tree fifty yards away.
Marco reached for his belt to call for help, but his radio gave off only harsh static in the deep valley. He was completely cut off. If the poachers reached the bushes, they would shoot the mother bear the moment they saw she was awake. If the mother bear reached the poachers, she would attack them—and then turn her rage on anything else in the woods, including Marco and her trapped cubs. He had to act right now.