Chapter 11
Even in the dim light, its fur looked as black as night and mangy, as if it’d seen several fights. On all fours, it looked almost as tall as me, and I knew this was no grizzly bear.
It was far bigger.
“Oh, my god,” I breathed.
Its entrance into camp had been silent, and nobody else was awake, but I didn’t dare warn the others yet and risk a panic. The bear was merely curious right now, but any movement could trigger its hunting instincts, and then we’d all be screwed.
The creature’s dark eyes were focused on me, since I was the only one currently standing, and I remained frozen in place.
What was the rule for bears again? If it’s brown, lay down, if it’s black, fight back? I felt that the last rule was strictly for small black bears and not this behemoth in front of me.
Then there was the third rule: if it’s white, say goodnight. This thing wasn’t white, but it was easily the size of a polar bear. Was it equally as aggressive?
The last thing I wanted to do was lay down and risk it tearing into me.
I glanced over at the spot where we’d left all the spears I’d made. They were made of a strong wood, even stronger because I’d burned them, but if it came down to a fight, would they even work? That bear had to have a pretty thick hide.
Hurting it would take a lot of force.
Not to mention the bear had a very long reach as well, and those claws looked wickedly sharp.
The bear continued to watch me in silence, and I was unsettled by its lack of noise and its seemingly hyper-intelligent eyes.
This was no normal animal, and I also knew this had to be the creature that ransacked our camp earlier as well. Was it back for round two, or had it sought us out specifically?
Seconds ticked by as the bear and I watched each other, but it felt more like hours. At any moment, I knew the beast could attack, and I was tensed for it.
Then the bear sniffed at the air before it slowly rose to its hind legs.
Holy shit, that thing had to be at least eleven-- maybe even twelve-- feet tall. I glanced at our spears again, and I suddenly felt very unprepared. They seemed too weak and primitive against such a beast.
The bear let out a low growl and took a step toward me, and I knew it was no longer just curious.
It was time for action.
“Wake up!” I shouted. “Everyone, get up!”
My voice had been loud enough that the bear remained focused on me, which was good because pretty soon everyone began to shift and move as they slowly came to.
Sadie and Parker were the first ones to wake up, and I heard Sadie let out a soft gasp when she saw the beast, but she quickly clamped her hands over her mouth to stay quiet.
Next to her, Parker remained calm and quiet, but she watched the bear with wide, wary eyes.
Martin woke next, and he inhaled sharply at the sight of the intruder. He slowly and silently sat up, but he didn’t make any other move to avoid unwanted attention.
Claire and Tyler were the next to wake up, and Claire looked like she was about to scream and scramble away, but Tyler quickly clamped a hand over her mouth and wrapped his other arm around her body to keep her from moving.
It wasn’t until the bear let out another, much louder growl that Kyle and Clarisse awoke. In their defense, the bear was closest to them, but it still didn’t excuse their reaction.
The moment Kyle opened his eyes and saw the bear, he let out a surprised yelp and scrambled away. The sound drew the bear’s attention, and it also woke Clarisse. When she realized the bear was there, and Kyle had abandoned her, she screamed.
Then the bear roared back and lunged.
I sprang into action and bolted for the spear pile. I grabbed one, but I didn’t have enough time to get to the bear before it reached Clarisse, so I drew my arm back and then flung the spear with all my might.
For one moment, the tip of the spear lodged into the bear’s side, but then it promptly dislodged and clattered to the ground.
It didn’t matter, though, because I’d accomplished what I wanted to.
I’d gotten the bear’s attention.
The beast whirled to face me, and it let out a bellowing roar that struck me with intense fear.
I didn’t let it show, though, and instead I kept my eyes on the creature as I crouched down to retrieve another spear.
“You ladies need to go!” I instructed firmly. “Hide in the forest, but don’t wander too far. We don’t know what else is out there.”
I held the bear’s attention while Parker and Sadie scrambled to their feet, and Tyler quickly pulled Claire up to hers and shoved her toward the other women. Parker was as silent as a burglar as she crept around the bear and got Clarisse.
Once the women were all together, Parker gave me a little nod, and Sadie mouthed the words ‘be careful’ before the group turned and rushed into the safety of the trees.
I hoped this bear was the only predator out there.
The bear took another couple steps in my direction before it dropped back down to all fours. That was never a good sign, and it usually meant it was about to charge.
Sure enough, a second later, the bear came barreling toward me, and it was so fucking fast.
I gripped my spear tightly, and I was barely able to somersault out of the way in time to avoid the bear’s snapping teeth. I rolled a few feet away and quickly scrambled to my feet.
The bear took a significantly longer amount of time to slow to a stop and turn around, and as far as I could tell, that was our only advantage.
We were faster.
Martin and Tyler rushed toward me with spears of their own, and even Kyle came to help once he’d gotten over his initial fear and panic.
Though, I did notice he stayed behind the group and as far away from the threat as possible.
The bear turned to face us again, and as it let out another loud roar, I prepared for its next attack.
There were four of us and only one of it, but the bear was a very large and powerful it. We’d have to penetrate deep into its body to successfully kill it, and even with the extra care I took to fire harden our spears, I wasn’t sure they could withstand that amount of force without shattering.
It would take a good deal of strength to punch through the bear’s skin, fat reserves, muscle tissue, and bones. And even then, it would take an insane amount of speed to do all that before the spear had a chance to fracture and shatter.
Maybe we could aim for the softer tissue, like its eyes or underbelly, then we could injure it enough to get it to flee.
But how many of us would get injured in the process?
The bear charged again, and I dodged out of the way, and then in one fluid motion, I turned and jabbed my spear into the bear’s lower side. Tyler did the exact same thing on the bear’s other side, and I was impressed with how quick and agile he was.
For a nerdy guy who claimed he didn’t like the outdoors and had no experience fighting, he was quite adept at it.
The bear roared in pain, and it tried to stop and turn to face us, but its own momentum carried it forward a few more feet before it could slow.
Martin and Kyle couldn’t land a hit because they were too busy trying to dodge out of the way as the bear snapped its jaws in pain and frustration.
One of its snaps came dangerously close to Kyle’s face, but he was able to duck away at the last possible second.
“Don’t let it get close to you!” I warned the others.
I quickly retrieved my spear from where it fell out of the bear’s hide, and Tyler did the same. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how one looked at it, we hadn’t gone deep enough to hit the harder tissue and break our spears.
But I did notice a slow stream of blood begin to form at one of the wounds on the bear’s side. We’d gone deep enough to hit some of the inner tissue.
Of course, it probably wasn’t enough damage to do anything other than make it mad.
The bear whirled on Tyler and I to charge again, and as it sped toward us, Kyle and Martin moved forward and jabbed their spears in the lower section of its rear, where the skin wasn’t quite as thick.
The bear slowed down to turn on them, but before it could, Tyler and I rushed forward and jammed our own spears into its sides again. This time, our spears went deeper, and I heard the dual cracks as they broke.
The bear roared even louder than it had before, and I narrowly dodged an angry swipe from its massive paw.
It whirled on Tyler then, and he had to duck and roll to avoid getting shredded by the bear’s razor-sharp claws.
Martin and Kyle used the bear’s distraction to their advantage, and they both retrieved their spears and thrust them up into the bear a second time.
Martin’s spear cracked, and the bear let out a bellow that sounded like a war cry before it jerked to one side and sent Kyle flying backward. Then the bear turned on Martin, who was still standing there with a broken and useless piece of spear.
Tyler rushed back to the spear pile to retrieve another one, but I didn’t dare move because I could see what was going to happen next.
The bear lunged at Martin, and he was able to dodge, but he fell at an awkward angle that prevented him from immediately getting up or rolling away.
The bear moved closer and set one of its paws on Martin’s chest to keep him from moving, and he screamed out in pain as one of its claws dug into his left shoulder.
The bear was just toying with him, too, because if it had put its full weight on him, Martin would’ve been instantly crushed.
Martin used his right arm to jab the spear up at the bear’s face, but the spear’s blunt edge merely bounced off its skull and enraged it more.
In retaliation, the bear bit down onto Martin’s right shoulder, which caused him to drop his spear as he let out another scream of pain. Dark, red blood pooled around the bear’s jaws, and I knew its next move would be a killing blow.
Kyle was still trying to pick himself back up, Tyler wouldn’t make it back with his spear in time, and I was without any decent weapon.
But I had to do something.