A giant purple grizzly bear was watching him with sharp eyes.
10
OPAL
Stand your ground, Nico! You can’t outrun a bear!
Opal watched as the enormous creature loomed over him, sniffing the air suspiciously. Sunlight and clouds dappled shadows across its purple fur. It was terrifying. And magnificent.Why is it so big? Why is it purple?
Nico had his head down and was staring at the grass.
That’s right,Opal thought.Don’t make eye contact.
The bear lowered its head and growled. Nico trembled, but didn’t move.
Opal’s gaze flicked to the others. Tyler had frozen in place. Good. He knew the bear rules, too. But Emma’s fingers twitched against her side. To Opal’s horror, Emma stepped toward the bear.
The animal rumbled. And … shimmered. With a shock Opal realized she could see right through the creature, almost like a hologram. The bear turned to face Emma, a deep, lowsnarl rattling its throat. The sound vibrated through Opal like an earthquake.
“Emma,” Opal whispered. “Don’t.”
“It’s okay.” Emma was staring at the bear in wonder. “Guys, Iknowhim.”
“What?” Tyler hissed from the side of his mouth. “Emma, did you bump your head?”
Opal forgot to breathe as the bear dropped to all fours and walked toward Emma.
“Stop!” Tyler waved his arms above his head. “Get away from her!” His voice cracked, but he screamed louder anyway. “GO AWAY!” The bear swung its head to look at him.
“No, no,” Emma said. She kept her eyes locked on the impossible purple animal. “Hey, big guy. It’s me.Bear, it’s me!”
The bear continued to watch Tyler, who’d gone still again. Opal wondered what it would feel like to have those huge eyes focused on her. Terrifying? Or … exhilarating?
Emma reached out. The animal turned. To Opal’s shock, it bowed its head.
“Bear,” Emma breathed. Her fingers stretched, almost touching the sparkling lilac fur …
The bear vanished.
“No!” Emma’s face fell as she stood with her fingers outstretched, dripping pond water on the grass where the bear had crouched an instant before.
“Um.” Nico cleared his throat. “What was that?”
“Where’d he go?” Emma moaned in disappointment.
“There was a bear here just now.” Tyler dropped to his knees. “A giant purple grizzly bear. I saw it.”
Opal’s legs felt like Jell-O. She put a hand on Tyler’s shoulder, as much to steady herself as to comfort him.
“Where is it?” Nico peered into the forest. “Did you see it run off?”
“Iknowthat bear,” Emma repeated.
“Excuse me?” Nico and Opal spoke at the same time.
Tyler pressed his cheeks with both hands. “There was a shimmering see-through temporary bear growling in my face ten seconds ago. Is everybody getting that?”
“You don’t understand.” Emma turned to face them. “That was my imaginary friend, from when I was little! I used to draw him all the time. His name was Bear.”
