4. Elsie
Four
Elsie
“Bad Bear!”
The words burst out of me before I can stop them.
I yank my hand back from the enormous cinnamon-colored monster that just bit me on my freaking hand.
My heart is trying to escape my chest.
My pulse is somewhere around hummingbird speed.
And somehow...
I realize I'm standing there scolding a Bear.
An actual, giant, freaking Bear.
In the middle of the woods.
What the hell is wrong with me?
The Bear chuffs and I frown at him.
“What are you looking at? I mean honestly!” I huff, holding my injured hand against my chest. “Who raised you?”
The Bear blinks.
And I mean he blinks slowly.
Like he's just as confused by this whole encounter as I am.
I glance down at my hand, fully expecting to find blood pouring everywhere.
Instead...
There's a neat little crescent-shaped bite mark near the base of my thumb.
“Huh.”
I poke it carefully.
It doesn't even really hurt anymore.
It had though.
For about half a second.
Now? It just feels warm.
That's the only way I can describe it.
The strangest warmth spread from the bite up my arm and settled somewhere in the center of my chest.
Not painful.
Comforting.
Weirdly comforting.
Okay...
That's probably adrenaline.
Right?
Has to be.
The Bear lets out the saddest sound I've ever heard.
Not a roar.
Not even a growl.
More like...
A guilty rumble.
But that’s just my imagination, right?
My eyes lift to his.
Those enormous eyes don't look so wild anymore.
If anything...
They look entirely too human. And also, horrified.
Like...
Like he didn't mean to bite me.
“Oh wow. Feeling bad, are we?”
My annoyance softens despite myself.
He lowers his massive head.
His ears flatten.
If I didn't know better...
I'd swear he looked embarrassed.
What the heck even is my life?
“Well...”
I sigh dramatically.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you, but you can't just go around forests biting people.”
He still looks chastised, but he’s also frozen in place. The Bear just isn’t moving.
“Look, I'm not taking back the 'Bad Bear' comment.”
Another mournful little huff.
“I mean...”
I gesture with my uninjured hand.
“...you kind of deserved it.”
He shifts his weight from one enormous paw to the other.
Looking sheepish, to be honest.
Can Bears look sheepish?
Apparently they can.
Despite everything that's happened over the last two minutes…
Nearly getting attacked by a rabid fox.
Being rescued then bitten by what has to be the largest Bear in southern New Jersey.
I feel bad, actually.
Not physically. Nope.
I’m standing here feeling bad for hurting the giant Bear's feelings.
Which is batshit crazy.
And probably something I should unpack with a therapist.
Assuming I survive this.
I look back down at the bite.
Still no pain.
No swelling.
No blood.
Just those tiny marks that if I squint kinda look like an awesome tattoo.
“Okay...”
I mumble.
“... that's odd.”
The breeze stirs through the trees again.
Now that the immediate danger has passed, my knees suddenly decide they no longer remember how to function.
I take one shaky breath.
Then another.
The adrenaline begins wearing off.
“Oh my God.”
I whisper it this time.
“I almost got hurt or possibly worse.”
The reality of it crashes over me.
If this Bear hadn't shown up...
That fox...
I hug myself tightly.
“I can’t believe I’m gonna say this but thank you, Bear.”
The words slip out before I think about them.
The Bear's head lifts immediately.
“I don't know if you understand me...”
His ears perk.
“... but really, I think you might’ve saved my life tonight so, thank you. I mean it.”
He gives the tiniest little huff.
Almost...
Hopeful.
I smile despite myself.
“You really are a beautiful Bear, you know that? And I think you might be the closest thing I’ve made to a friend since I moved here.”
The moonlight catches his cinnamon-colored fur, making it shimmer like polished mahogany.
His shoulders are enormous.
His paws look bigger than dinner plates.
And yet...
There's something oddly gentle about him.
Like all that power is being held carefully in check.
I shake my head.
“Okay, Elsie.”
I take one deep breath.
“Your apartment is five minutes away.”
“Let's go home.”
And then I do what is probably the dumbest thing any woman has ever done unless she’s the final girl in a horror flick—I turn my back on the giant Bear.
Every instinct screams not to.
Every nature documentary I've ever watched tells me this is how people become cautionary tales.
Still...
Something deep inside me whispers—he won't hurt you. And like an idiot, I believe that voice.
I take one step.
Then another.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Leaves rustle behind me.
The sound of something huge stomping on fallen leaves, summer grass, and tiny pebbles that litter the path.
I stop.
The footsteps stop.
Slowly...
Very slowly...
I glance over my shoulder.
The Bear is standing behind me and not at all where I'd left him.
He’s…
He’s watching me.
Waiting.
“Oh no.”
I point a finger at him.
“No.”
He blinks.
“You stay.”
Nothing.
“I mean it.”
One enormous paw lifts.
Then another.
He starts walking.
Right beside me.
My eyes widen.
I take a step.
He does too.
I stop.
So does he.
“No, no, no...”
I walk faster now.
He keeps pace.
Not charging.
Just...
Walking.
At a leisurely pace.
Right next to me.
Like we've made some unspoken agreement.
I sigh.
“You are unbelievably stubborn.”
He huffs.
“I don't know if that's a yes.”
Another huff.
“Oh my gosh...”
A laugh bubbles out of me before I can stop it.
“A giant Bear is literally walking me home.”
The words sound completely ridiculous.
And yet...
Here we are.
I am walking with the strangest escort service in history.
I continue down the moonlit trail.
A few paces behind me, the great cinnamon Bear follows with unhurried confidence, his massive paws nearly silent against the forest floor.
Every so often I glance at him.
And every time...
He's still there.
Walking beside me.
Protecting me.
Making absolutely certain nothing else in these woods comes anywhere near me.
And for reasons I can't begin to explain...
Knowing he's with me makes the dark forest feel a whole lot less lonely.