Dragoln's and KZ's Short Stories

Am I a murderer?

The pink glove lay covered on the ground. The snow made small clumps above it, almost camouflaging it with the pristine white colour.

"Milly? Milly?" the concerned voice of a Mother rang out in the wintry forest. Her words were stained with strife and despair as she tried her best to travel in the harsh ground environment.

Wherever she would look, it was all the same: tall dark wooden trees sticking straight up to the sky, naked bushes with twigs and thorns prodding in all directions.

All that remained of her daughter was the neon pink glove now half buried in the snowy ground.

Taking a deep breath, she reached out to pick up the glove, pocketing it right away.

One would barely be able to see the tiny imprints of the snow, let alone track them back to a young girl probably shivering while caressed by the cold blanket of death.

For Maria, this nice exotic holiday trip had turned into a disastrous death trap. Even with her thermal jacket, cotton wool hat and insulated gloves, Maria could feel the shiver penetrating deep into her bones.

Determined and steady, she took went step by step - scouting out any possible place her daughter could be and calling out her name occasionally. When suddenly, the marks on the tree stopped her dead in her tracks.

Three fresh claw marks had been left on a tree stump, taunting Maria of the hidden dangers that lurked: it was a bear. Somewhere in these woods, was a monster skulking around - a danger to her child.

"Mummy?" The wavering and weak and frigid voice of a young girl called out. Maria's eyes immediately snapped onto the vague location of the noise - spotting the pink jacket that stood out like a sore thumb right across the clearing.

Rushing over to the location as fast as she could, Maria answered, "Hold on I'm coming, dear!" She could hear the twigs snapping beneath the force of her feet without care as she stumbled through the snow - wanting to reach her daughter.

"Mummy watch out!" Maria heard her daughter screech - but was too late. Just as she turned around - a claw abruptly entered her vision, slashing her bag into little useless shreds. An assortment of items from tiny bottles to snacks was swallowed by the snow.

Now standing in front of her was a feisty ball of brown fur. Its maw of weaponry was wide open, exposing yellow-stained blades ready to rip into her flesh at a moment's notice. Eye blazed with feral fury the bear launched another assault.

However, this time the bear's class landed on empty air. In an attempt to run, Maria had tripped herself over a log that had all sorts of spiking extensions branching out. Her face got the nasty sting of the sudden cold that embraced her cheeks.

As the crunch of the snow got louder and louder, Maria turned herself over to see the bear towering over her. Stood on two legs, the bear roared in a rage - swiping down two claws that were headed straight to her chest.

Adrenaline pumped crazily through her bloodstream as Maria found a flat and sturdy piece of wood to her side - quickly placing it in front of her to act as a shield.

Boom! As the claws made contact with the wood, it exploded into brittle pieces that almost impaled through Maria's right eye. Before the claw got to her flesh, she had already rolled over to put some distance between her and the bear.

Everything seemed like a blur as Maria stood back up and started sprinting frantically - running towards the contents of items spilt onto the snowy floor.

The gun. It was scrawled across the snow, with great contrast between the black and the white. As quick as her body allowed her to, she grabbed it while turning around to shoot.

Before she knew it, bullets were flying past the deadly creature bounding toward her as Maria tried to aim the best she could. However, she wasn't able to stop the tremors travelling through her hands and kicking her off the game.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Metal bits kept on hitting solid tree bark as the bear advanced on Maria's position.

Every shot, Maria took a little step backwards from the recoil until she unluckily stepped on a branch and tripped backwards - the gun launching out of her hand and out of her sight.

It was right in front of her, raising its claws and growling viciously - ready to strike the relentless result that will end her life. The sound drowned out, her nerves became numb and she was much too stunned to utter any last words.

Maria closed her eyes, not ready for the inevitable but still accepting her fate... That was until she felt the splatter of a liquid hit her face.

When she opened her eyes again, she glanced at the limp body of the bear; it was lying down on its side as blood stained the snow red.

"I'm sorry Mummy, I had to." The sobbing voice of her daughter - Milly came from behind her. Firmly in her grasp, the gun was held and still smoking from the shot; a little whisp was quite visible.

Maria stood to give a hug of relief, grasping her as tight as she could.

"It's okay. It's okay." Maria repeated as she held her in a tight embrace.

"But- But I k-killed it." In between sobs, Milly spoke, dropping the gun in hand and helplessly tearing up.

A momentary glance at the corpse revealed a clean shot between the eyes - very lucky.

"I told you. It's okay. Now we can go home, dear?" All Maria wanted to do was take the nearest flight back and never enter a wintry forest ever again. Ever.

"We'll have pie... Bacon and-" With the sound of a sudden screech and cry, Maria paused.

Both turning to see what it was, they were greeted with a horrible sight; an innocent baby bear was calling for its mother just a few metres away. It was no wonder why it was so aggressive, Maria had just realised.

Milly, out of the both of them, looked most devastated at the news - a child having to ask a question no child should ever ask. Her tiny ungloved fingers were shaking as the volume of her tears doubled in size.

"Am I a murderer?"