Flames of the Forgotten

Chapter Nineteen

"There you go, you got it."

Jackson's encouragement puts a smile on my face. It took several tries to get the knack of it finally, but I now know how to set a wired noose trap.

"I did it!" I cheer as I step back and look at my handy work.

"Good job, now set several more around camp," Jackson directs. "Then head further east. You'll find a game trail that leads to that pond I told you about. You'll see some already set to check and reset if need be, but now that we have all this fishing wire, we'll set up a lot more."

"Do they catch stuff very often?"

"I've gone weeks without catching anything and days with tons of finds. It's a crap shoot, but the more we have set, the better the chance," Jackson says.

"Got it."

"When you get to the pond area, you'll see another game trail that heads northeast towards some rocky caves at the end of the creek. Don't go down that trail. I assume someone in the past hunted bears, and there's a bunch of old rusty bear traps along that trail. Stay as far from them as possible."

"I will, but..." I gulp nervously. "Bears?"

"Black bears, but they are well into hibernation this late into fall. We won't see any until spring."

"Are you sure?" I ask, feeling myself pale. I haven't had another nightmare about the wolves, but those images still rest on the edge of my brain, haunting me constantly.

"I know after the wolves how scary bears sound," he says softly. "But the wolves are savage, and the bears aren't like that. They get tons of food and aren't looking to eat something they wouldn't."

"Meaning us?"

"Exactly. I didn't want to make an enemy of them, so when I found that they seemed to stay in the northeast region, I stayed out of it. I don't even go harvest food there. Leave them full and happy so they don't want me, and that seems to work. I have only seen them here and there in the spring, mostly near that pond."

"They never tried to attack you?" I ask

"No. They have never bothered me. I once sat and watched a mom with her cubs munching on some wild berries at the pond while I fished."

"Seriously?" I can't see myself sitting and watching a bear. How is he so brave? 

"Yeah," he says. "If one ever does approach you, you never run though; act big and tall and yell, and that will run them off."

"Are you sure they already hibernated?"

"Yes, but Sam, you can just set traps near camp if you don't want to go to the pond. It's okay; I get it." He says it so kindly, and I know he won't mind, but I promised myself I'd be a good partner to him out here, and darn it, I will.

"I got it," I assure him, putting on a brave face.

"I want you to take this, just in case." He pulls out a weird-looking gun from his bag. "You won't need it, but we'll both feel better if you have it."

"What is this?"

"It's a flare gun. If you are ever in trouble, shoot this into the air, and I'll see the smoke signal and know you need me."

"What if you need my help? We should plan a way for you to signal me, too."

His eyes flicker in surprise. "I'll be fine. I know the woods."

"Either of us could get in trouble and need the other. Doesn't matter how long you have been here," I argue. "If you need my help, shoot your gun twice fast in a row. If I hear that, I'll know it's a distress signal."