Dangerous Minds (Knight and Moon #2)(36)

“That sounded like a bear,” Riley said.

“I reckon,” Vernon said.

Wayan Bagus came out of his tent. “What was that?”

They heard another growl. Louder this time. More of a roar than a growl.

“Yow,” Vernon said. “That might have been a lion.”

“There aren’t any lions in Yellowstone,” Riley said.

“There might be mountain lions,” Vernon said.

“Emerson!” Riley shouted into the woods. “Are you okay?”

Vernon shone a flashlight in the direction of the roaring. “I don’t see him. What should we do? We can’t just go wandering around in the dark.”

They all stared into the woods. “Well, we can’t just leave him out there either,” Riley said.

“I’m right behind you,” Emerson said. “Wu wei. This is the perfect example of a situation in which the logical course of action is to do nothing and let the universe solve the problem.”

Riley whipped around. “Holy cats, Emerson, you almost gave me a heart attack. What the heck is wrong with you? Haven’t you done enough sneaking up on people for one day?”

Another roar shattered the quiet.

“It turns out that it is not, in fact, possible to sit down and reason with bears. At least not with this particular bear.”

“No kidding,” Riley said.

Emerson nodded. “Surprisingly, it had very little interest in discussing things in a free marketplace of ideas.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t a Bigfoot?” Vernon asked. “They’re notoriously intolerant.”

“All living things share a fundamental nature and are equally able to achieve enlightenment,” Wayan Bagus said.

“Not Bigfoots.”

Wayan Bagus nodded politely. “That is only true because there is no such thing as a Bigfoot.”

Vernon gasped. “Whoa. Time out. It’s been a long, stressful day, but let’s not talk crazy.”

“It was definitely a very big, very hungry bear,” Emerson said. “The good news is that, in the end, the bear agreed not to eat me. The bad news is that I agreed to give it most of our food in exchange.”

Riley hugged Emerson. “It was a good trade. We’re just happy you’re okay.”

“All’s well that ends well,” Vernon said. “I knew it would. Like I said, I wasn’t getting any unagi warnings.”

“We should take turns standing watch,” Emerson said. “We don’t want to get taken by surprise by bears or rangers.”

“Or a Bigfoot,” Vernon said. “Just ’cause we got a doubter among us don’t mean Bigfoot is any less real.”

At first light, the campsite was disassembled, and everyone prepared to set off for Sour Creek Dome. The bear had eaten 90 percent of the food, but Emerson had managed to salvage enough for a meager lunch and breakfast.

“It should be an easier hike today,” Emerson said. “We’re sticking to the valley floor until we reach Sour Creek Dome, so it should be fairly flat.”

Riley looked at the hill. “It looks out of place. It’s just kind of sitting in the middle of the flat expanse.”

“It’s what geologists call a resurgent dome,” Emerson said. “It’s formed by the swelling of a volcano’s caldera floor. There’s a vast supply of underground magma, and it’s literally lifting the ground.”

“Why here and not somewhere else in the caldera?”

Emerson shifted his backpack. “The magma is a lot closer to the surface at the dome, so that’s where the effect is most dramatic. However, more subtle changes are taking place all over the park.”

“Like what?” Riley asked.

“For one, Yellowstone Lake, where we started the hike, used to drain to the north. Today, that’s been completely reversed by the uplift of the dome, and the lake is now tilting and draining south.”

“What do you think we’re going to find at the dome?” Riley asked.

Emerson shrugged. “There are a couple possibilities. Whatever it is, it’s something worth killing to protect.”

“Well, I sure do hope it’s a cheeseburger,” Vernon said. “No offense, but the freeze-dried mush didn’t cut it for me. If I get a chance, I’m going to do a little hunting and see if I can rustle up something that doesn’t taste like tree bark.” Vernon patted the .45 tucked into his jacket. “I never miss with my lucky gun.”

“It is an attachment and bad for your karma,” Wayan Bagus said.

Vernon was last in line, lumbering along behind the monk. “No offense, but starving to death is worse for my karma.”

“I do not take offense,” Wayan Bagus said. “I am just a simple monk. The sun shines on the just and unjust alike. If the sun does not judge, then who am I to do so?”

Vernon looked suspiciously at Wayan Bagus. “Why are you all of a sudden so magnanimous when it comes to my Second Amendment rights?”

“Upon consideration I realized it would be unwise to part with a lucky gun.”

Vernon grinned. “I’m powerful glad to hear it. We need all the luck we can get.”

“Thank you,” Wayan Bagus said. “That is why I threw away the bullets. Bullets are very unlucky.”