Steller's Eider

I skipped up the driveway with my newfound mail clasped to my chest. Mail day was one of my favorite days of the week. Actually, I liked every day of the week. Each new day was an adventure. Knowing this, I hurriedly dropped the various envelopes, and magazines inside and then galloped back down the driveway. Mail day was also biking day, and I discovered an exciting trail last week. Today I'd explore the trail's contents.

Crisp mountain air filled my lungs as I pranced over to my BMX bike and swung my leg over, ready for the expedition. However, just as I was about to zoom down the dirt road, I remembered the emergency pack my mom had always wanted me to carry when I went on a trail ride. Her voice echoed inside my head; You never know, hon, what could happen out there. It was the only reason she let me go off on my own, with her knowing I was safe with the "crisis duffel", as she had fondly dubbed it.

Sighing, I slogged back inside to grab the duffel. "Bye, mom! I'm off exploring!!" I hollered, cupping my hands around my mouth. My mom appeared from behind a wall connected to the kitchen. "Alright, hon. Be safe out there." She kept her goodbye quick because she could tell I was getting antsy.

"'Course, mom, I'm always safe." With that she floated back to the kitchen, most likely concocting yet another delicious healthy dessert. My feet couldn't have dashed out the door faster.

I sorted through the contents of the bag and made a mental checklist. Fixed blade knife, two protein bars, a water bottle, a minuscule first-aid kit, and, lastly, what I added: binoculars for bird watching. I zipped the pack up and slung it over my shoulder, ready for adventure in the rugged beauty of the Alaskan forests. Perhaps today would be the day I catch a glimpse of the endangered Steller's Eider.

Finally, I mounted my ride and started down the jarring road in search of the trail I had discovered last week. The clean breaths of forest air could rejuvenate anyone. A delightful shiver rippled throughout my whole body as delicate breezes whispered lightly against my thin overcoat, chilling me to the bone. The mellow sun above me was enough to gently counterbalance the fresh winds rippling around me. I lifted my face to the warm light and breathed in deeply and gave a satisfied sigh. 

A car's horn blared from behind me, and I was ripped out of my calm and peaceful state. Swerving recklessly, my bike's wheels skidded as I frantically tried to avoid a bone-crushing collision. I tumbled off my bike and plunged down a mucky side ditch. A dusty, prehistoric red pickup truck hurtled down the road at about 60 miles an hour. It was almost like he was trying to hit me; I had been riding on the right side of the road.

"Hey, watch where you're going, man!" I bellowed after the truck, although I knew he was long gone and I was at the bottom of a nasty trench.

I shook my head, half in anger and half in relief. Surviving that was lucky. The guy was roaring down an old, nearly deserted road. Couldn't he have just honked ahead of time? A kid on a bike in broad daylight wasn’t unnoticeable. I considered his actions very rude. On top of that, I hadn't recognized the pickup. That was odd for a small town in Alaska, especially for me. My mother knew everyone in town, with her running the only cafe.

As these thoughts ruminate inside my mind, the beginnings of an idea began to take form. My curiosity was starting to take over, and my anger diminishing ever so slightly. This, as I had known from the past, had been a somewhat dangerous feeling. But when a scheme of any sort gets stuck in my head, my tenacity (or, recklessness, as my mother claims) takes over my body and I move mechanically with one goal in mind. I shoved all whispering voices of doubt that had been struggling to survive in the first place and rose from the ground, determined.

The expedition of the new trail would have to wait. The dust cloud from the rusty truck was still noticeable, and tracking this pig slop would be effortless. I set my jaw and steeled my eyes straight ahead. I'm coming, and I will find you, whoever you are. Straightening my pack, I put my feet on the pedals and began to ride like mad after the infuriating yet intriguing red truck.

I had been trailing the unknown driver for around ten minutes by now. This had been mostly straightforward, balancing the act of not being too close but being just close enough to stay on track. I also tried to stick behind the ginormous dust cloud. The only reason I had been able to catch up, however, was due to the fact that the truck had slowed to a snail’s pace. It crept slowly down the winding and twisting road that rose at a steady incline as if it was searching for something like a path or a road leading off the main dust surface.

But my legs were starting to burn. Although I went biking almost every week, this ride had been strenuous and I usually stuck to trails that led straight to decent birdwatching sites. Nevertheless, I urged myself on. The farther we went, the more my curiosity was piqued. I cruised down parts of the road I’d never explored and I found myself enjoying the ride once more. Finally, when my legs were trembling from the exertion, the pickup veered down a somewhat concealed road. Excitement, anticipation, and my sense of adventure swelled and I could barely suppress my eagerness to move onward.

The truck had slowed to a crawl and I dismounted my bike to match its speed. When it vanished behind the trees, the full realization of what I was about to do struck me. I tried to do my best to shake off the words of uncertainty that floated inside my head. I’ll just take a quick look, then I'm out of here.

I stationed my bike near the entrance of the road and quickly masked its sight with leaves, branches, sticks, and the like. By now around half an hour had passed since I had left, and I'd have about two hours before my mother called our local police, frantic. That was plenty of time to peek my head here and there and then high-tail it out before mom realized anything had gone awry.

Lurking and staying out of sight was obviously my best option. I slithered toward the car. Peeking my head through the brush, I caught sight of two men with rifles exiting the vehicle garbed in hunter's clothing. My muffled gasp had been barely stopped by a hasty hand clamped over it. I nearly jumped out of my skin, I was that thrown off guard. Two pale blue eyes descended level to mine and the mystery person’s other hand (the one that wasn’t rudely vised over mine) rose with a distressed shushing motion. 

I didn’t trust whoever this was. Regret, guilt, and desperation were quickly clouding my judgment. Reaching into my emergency pack, I rapidly drew the knife with shaking hands. Pointing the sharp blade at the intruder made them rethink the hand-over-mouth situation. They threw both hands up as a sign of surrender.

“Who are you?” I whispered indignantly. “Why did you sneak up on me?” My last words came out forcefully and with more heat behind them.

“Please, be quiet! They might hear you!”

From the voice, I could now tell a young boy of perhaps 10 years of age stood before me. I lowered my weapon halfway, uncertain. Thinking fast, I grabbed his shoulders and led him toward my bike where the men couldn’t hear us converse.

In the light of day, I was truly able to see the harmlessness of my “attacker”. A microsized boy in khaki shorts and a near-death button-up shirt peered up at me, sheepish and fearful. His icy eyes widened and narrowed peculiarly as he took the sight that was me. He was quite a runt, as I had noticed. But then I began to take a closer look. His face and clothes were ruddy and dirt-smudged, and an abrasive smell that emanated from his entire being assaulted my nose. 

“Again, who exactly are you? And what are you doing in the woods?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” He huffed. Obviously, he must have forgotten who held the blade or his attitude would be different. I proceeded to remind him of that but his exasperation only increased. 

“Listen,” he pleaded, “Those men are very, very bad and are what people call poachers-”

“I know what poachers are. Stop acting as if you know more than me when I'm obviously older than you. Now, tell me why you were following them and why you're even talking to me right now.” I was growing increasingly frustrated and was fighting to keep my emotions under wrap.

“I was following them because they are trying to track down an endangered bird species that lives here, and I needed to stop them. There are only an estimated 200 mating pairs left of the bird in the wild!” He exclaimed.

“The Steller’s Eider.” I breathed in awe. 

“Wait, you know what I'm talking about?"

I gave him the I'm-older-than-you look and sat down. This mission took on a whole new meaning for me. Not only were these men rude drivers, but they were also illegal poachers hunting the bird I had hoped all my life to see. A new sense of need came to me and I sheathed my knife. 

Hopping up with new determination, I went over to shake the kid’s hand. “The name is Stella. And I would do almost anything to save those birds.”

The reaction I got wasn't the one I was expecting. He scrutinized my hand with a strange intensity and only glanced up when he realized my hand was there for him to shake. I watched him tentatively reach out and jiggle my hand briefly. This kid was mystifying. 

“I’m Casper. But I'm afraid you can’t help me. It is too dangerous out there for a girl. And...I can do this alone. ” His feeble voice made me laugh. 

“Look, Casper, if anything you should go home. And from the looks of it, I can probably handle myself better than you can out here.”

Other kids would have turned red in the face from either anger or embarrassment and would have tried to defend themselves. But Casper just grew quiet for a few moments, long enough for me to think he hadn't even heard me. His expression grew thoughtful as if he truly was mulling this over. 

“Alright,” He stated, slowly and solemnly “You may proceed with me.”

I lifted my eyebrows, in both bewilderment and amusement. It was humorous to me that this kid thought he could have possibly stopped me from saving the fated Steller’s Eider bird. Suddenly, two jarring thoughts occurred to me. 

“If I barely managed to follow them on a bike, how did you get here so quickly? And how do you know what they're tracking?”

"I was waiting for them. I knew they were tracking the endangered birds from overhearing their conversation late in the afternoon. When I was walking home from the store I heard those two men boasting loudly about their poaching activities to a few pretty girls who were walking by them."

A million more unanswered questions swirled inside my head. How did this kid know where to wait for them? Why was he waiting for them in the first place? Why did he look like he just crawled out of a slimy pit? And finally, why, did he think that being a girl had anything to do with surviving in the wild? 

This was crazy. Before, I had followed the hunters to quench my thirst for curiosity. My little adventure had now been converted to an off-the-books endangered species rescue, and it was up to me and this emaciated size zero to possibly save the Steller's Eider. Then another thought struck me. Why not involve the local police? There were laws protecting the birds and they would help. In fact, they'd probably be delighted. Where we lived, there wasn't much action and the police would love to jump in. 

I whipped out my phone, ready to call. Casper didn't even make a move to stop me, but his anomalous expression made me pause. Did he know something I didn't? Realization hit me as soon as my phone loaded on. No service, of course. You are in the middle of the woods. I began quietly cursing myself for making such an asinine mistake in front of this kid as I tried not to see the probable smug expression on his face. But his countenance was not prideful but full of sorrow.

"No authorities. And we can't journey back; they would have finished the job by then." Casper's voice was consoling yet had an urgent undertone all the while.

"If you'd like to go back, you may. It would be safer that may. However, if you wish to continue on, we will do so together on our own." His portentous warning made even me rethink the actions I was about to do. But overall, nothing would stop me from helping those birds.

"Let's do this." A queer smile rested itself naturally on his lips as if it was his instinctive resting face.

Whether I liked it or not, the kid was starting to grow on me. We began tracking the hunters once more, skulking through brambles and bushes until we were about thirty feet behind the men. The poachers seemingly had not a single care in the world about the natural habitats around them and crashed brashly through the forest, carving their own path and knocking down all that was in their way. That means they must not be near the sight yet, otherwise, they would've stalked their prey properly. 

Under the disgust for the men we were pursuing, a thrilling excitement washed my insides and made me slightly dizzy. Casper suddenly held his hand up in a fist, as if he was a part of the military. I stopped anyway. The poachers in front of us had slowed down considerably and matched each other's paces. Now was the time when they began their hunt. Delicately, I withdrew my binoculars and placed them carefully in front of my eyes. Beyond the men, a small pond gave security to many creatures. It was then I spotted the hunted bird; the Steller's Eider. 

My breath caught in the back of my throat, and I struggled to breathe. All my life I dreamt of witnessing the actions of this majestic, endangered bird and these two wayward hunters led me right to one. By now the hunters had stopped and noticed the pond ahead. All four humans made no noise whatsoever and only the living music of the forest was able to be distinguished. 

I returned my attention to the bird on the pond. It was rather small but had a large head in proportion to its body. The one I gazed at now was a male; you could tell by the special coloring and striking color contrasts. He was a compact diving duck, as I remember from my studies. I chuckled softly on seeing the little ducklings appear by their mother who rested close by the father. It was a whole family, living peacefully and away from the threats of the world. Until now. 

Casper tugged harshly on my shirt to get my attention and pointed. The poachers had now discovered the birds as well. My heart wrenched within me, thinking about how they wanted only to kill for the fun of it. Something came over Casper and he began to panic. The men lifted their rifles and aimed, ready to fire. They would've if Casper hadn't run down screeching his head off, sobbing and pleading for them to leave the family be. What happened next seemed to me like a slow-motion roll. One of the killers lowered his gun and turned around in confusion. The ducks took notice of the sudden commotion and began to escape. The second poacher noticed this and readied his gun once more. Casper saw this happen and made one last, desperately foolish attempt to save the birds and threw himself in front of the gun. Right as he threw his body in front of the barrel, the shot was fired- the poacher hadn't thought the strange screaming boy would do anything and he had gone on with the shot. 

Casper's body was tossed like a rag doll to the ground as blood spurted from a gaping hole in his chest. He crumpled to the forest floor and the hunters panicked. Before I registered all that happened, they had sprinted back to their truck with crazed faces. I didn't care if they saw me now. I ran to Casper's body and hurriedly tried to patch up what was left of his scrawny chest with my tiny first aid kit. But it was no use. I watched helplessly as the life drained out of a boy I had only just met. I dropped my head into my bloodstained hands. and struggled to think straight.

This young boy was willing to die for the earth's innocent inhabitants. And he did. I choked back a sob as my mind went blank. I couldn't process what just happened. Tears streamed down my eyes on the way back home. I just wanted a hug from my mom. Then it would all be okay. I wanted it to all be okay.