Page 221 of Crucible
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
All I have is this damn bow. How many arrows will it take? What if I miss?
I’ll be mauled by a damn bear, that’s what.
If I can get around it, maybe I can get a headshot—or one to the heart if I time it right.
Stupid.
Fucking stupid, fucking idiot.
I continue to scold myself as I move around the bear.
It can’t fit inside the hole to get to the pups that must be huddled at the back of the den, but it’s only a matter of time.
It isn’t too late. Just leave. This isn’t your business. It’s nature. It’s the circle of life. You are Black, Aurelia!
None of it penetrates my stubborn will.
But…
Killing the bear for trying to survive doesn’t seem fair. How many nests have the mother wolf raided? How many young has it taken?
Ignoring that logic, I get downwind of the bear but forget to pay attention to where I step as Thorin taught me. A twig snaps underneath my heel, and the bear stops digging immediately.
Oh, shit.
It snorts as it backs out of the den and turns toward the sound. Once it sees me, it twists its head and roars.
I’m gonna die.
I force myself to hold my ground even when it takes a step forward and swipes a paw bigger than my head over the ground in warning.
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You’re big and scary, and I’m lunch. Let’s get this over with.” Reaching over my shoulder for my pack, I don’t go for the arrows. I unclip the non-lethal bear spray Thorin packed for me. “Listen, I don’t want to hurt you, and I know you probably feel the same. I surprised you, and that was rude.”Fucking idiotic, more accurately.“You have every reason to maul my face off, but we can both still walk away.”
The bear roars again and charges but stops after two steps.
Okay, okay, okay. Ignore your sweaty palms and knocking knees andfocus. What did the books say?
Bluffing.
The bear is bluffing.
That’s a good sign, right?
“You’re probably hungry and cranky from sleeping all winter, am I right?”
He whines like that is indeed its problem.
Remembering something else I learned in one of the survival manuals I read out of sheer boredom, I say, “I saw some juicy-looking berries not far away. Bears like berries, right? It’s not so bad being a vegetarian. I tried it for a couple of weeks. It was…an experience.”
The bear clacks its teeth, and I can’t remember what that means, but a moment later, it whines again before turning and running off.
For several seconds I can’t do anything but stand there and question if that just happened or if I made it up.
I can’t feel my legs.
