Snowed In

My heart sank. It happened in half an instant, because half an instant was all we had. I didn’t have time to feel jealous, or angry, or even forlorn.

And that’s because the bear was already charging.

“UNNNFFF!”

One second I was staring straight over Morgan’s shoulder. The next…

The next she was gone.

The brown bear’s roar obliterated the silence, its huge paw sweeping downward to the spot where Morgan used to be. Jeremy had taken care of that, rushing forward with astonishing speed and quickness, tackling her so violently they both went rolling to the floor.

After that, everything was a blur.

“GET BACK!”

I heard Boone’s shout just as the bear locked eyes with me. It was absolutely tremendous. The smell of it hit me first, even before it roared. Something like a rancid old carpet mixed in with vomit, or maybe shit, or both.

Either way, the impact was almost as bad as its roar.

I could see right away it hadn’t come from outside. Its fur was matted and disgusting, but not covered in snow. It was also flat on one side, like it had been laying on it for a while. Or maybe—

Hibernating.

And someone — namely, us — had woken it up.

It screamed again, and the brown bear’s teeth were yellowed but ferocious looking. It began sniffing the air, then looking down in the direction of Jeremy… and Morgan.

I took another step backward, looking around for a weapon. There wasn’t anything around. A few pieces of kindling, maybe. They were small and flimsy, but might be better than nothing…

“HEY! HEYYYYY!”

I started shouting. Waving my arms. It grabbed the bear’s attention, and as its gaze fixed on me I could feel my legs threatening to buckle out from under me. I was already exhausted, and could collapse at any moment. It was a miracle we’d even made it back here at all…

“HEYYYYYYY!”

I stepped sideways again, this time putting myself right in front of the fire. If I could get it to charge…

The bear’s head swiveled downward. It opened its mouth, lunging at Morgan…

FUCK!

The firebrand was in my hand before I even realized I’d grabbed it. I ran forward and swung it hard, the tip exploding against the bear’s flank in an angry shower of yellow and orange sparks. Flames leapt up instantly as the bear’s left hindquarter caught fire, engulfing it to the hip. It screamed rather than roared, while I nearly choked on the pungent scent of burnt hair and God-knows whatever else.

The pain finally reached my brain, and I realized I was actually holding a flaming log! I let go, crying out in shock and agony. The firebrand tumbled to the ground. The flesh of my hand was scorched… charred…

I wanted to run outside, and plunge my hand in the snow. Like something out of a bad cartoon, or Raiders of the Lost Ark! I almost laughed, remembering the reference, but I knew it was the hysterics of shock speaking for me. I’d just done something cataclysmically stupid. Something really, really desperate.

But still, something that had to be done.

When I looked up again the bear was nowhere near Morgan. Now it was charging me. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to turn. I was trapped between the bear and the wall, clutching my ruined hand.

Wincing my eyes shut, I braced myself for the impact…

Twenty-Nine

JEREMY

The monstrosity was only about a foot from Shane’s head when I struck it full force. Knocking it just enough out of trajectory… that it somehow missed his face.