Black Flame

Chapter 19: The Offer

The start of the school day was overall quite plain for Alex. He awoke in his bed, which he noted as being far more comfortable than the couch he had slept on the night before, early in the morning. Since he didn't know what time it was, he immediately began his day by showering and wrapping his legs in fresh bandages, before getting dressed and gathering up his things.

Leaving his room, he noted how empty the hallways were as he started to descend the stairwell, not even able to hear the sound of voices or anything else that would signify the presence of other living beings.

He was about halfway down the tower when he decided to once again take a peek around a hallway. He stopped at one of the floors and went to peek around it, but as he stepped through the doorway, he ran face-first into something coming through the other way, the thing's size causing him to fall backward onto the floor.

"Oops! Watch it," said an amused voice from above him, the voice deep but noticeably playful.

Looking up he saw the large Brown Bear he had seen two days before, this time with a noticeably less muscular body, but still muscular looking nonetheless. The bear looked down at Alex as he likewise looked up at him.

"Are you okay? Did you hurt your head?" The Bear asked, extending his hand which was about as large as Alex's chest, his claws an inch long and razor sharp.

Alex looked at the Bear's hand before looking back up at him with an expression of startled bewilderment. He didn't even think about letting the bear pull him back up, instead clamoring back up to his feet and brushing himself off.

"No I'm fine..." He said slowly, watching the Bear carefully for any signs of anger or hostility, but only finding a strange almost fake feeling of friendliness emitting from him. An overly sweet smile spread across his maw, his eyes clenched shut as if he was forcing them shut like his eyes were irritated.

Alex felt a deep feeling of discomfort as he looked up at the Bear, something in the back of his mind whispering a quiet warning.

"Have a good day..." Alex forced himself to say with a smile before turning around and starting to walk down the stairs, the Bear speaking up.

"Oh? Are you heading out for a walk?" Alex paused and turned to look at the Bear who was now standing at the top of the staircase, somehow managing to walk over without making a noise despite his huge figure.

"I was... uh... thinking about it. You wouldn't know what time it is would you?" Alex asked, still unsure about the Bear's intentions, but still wishing to get some information out of him.

"It was half past six when I left my room, and that was a few minutes ago," the Bear answered before taking a single step down the stairs. "Would you mind it if I walked with you?"

"Sorry. I want to walk by myself. Have a good day,"

Alex said quickly before walking away without waiting for another response from the large animal. Alex heard the footsteps approaching from behind him, but he didn't turn around to confront it, instead, he doubled his pace, trying to keep the feeling of dread that was slowly creeping up on him at bay.

He didn't know exactly why he was feeling so uncomfortable around this Bear, but for some reason, he found his behavior odd and unsettling and just wanted to be alone and get out of the building already.

Finally, the footsteps behind him slowed down to a halt and he managed to get some distance away from the Bear. Eventually, he reached the ground level before quickly exiting the building through the front doors and quickly rushing down the front stairs.