Age of zombies

[40] The hunt

The cold mountain stream was a blessing that morning. The crisp, clear water was refreshing, washing away some of the exhaustion from the night before. We all took turns kneeling by the stream, cupping the water in our hands and drinking as much as we could. The chill of it woke me up better than any cup of coffee ever had.

"Gosh, this is freezing," Ethan muttered, shivering as he splashed his face. "Feels like drinking from an ice bucket."

"Better than nothing," Daisy said, standing up and adjusting her rifle strap. "Let's get moving. We've got a long way to go, and we don't know what's ahead."

Yabe, always polite, nodded in agreement. "It's beautiful here, but we shouldn't linger. Who knows what's out there."

We packed up what little we had left and set off on the trail again. The path wound through dense forest, the smell of pine heavy in the air. The trees here were taller than anything I'd seen back in California, their thick branches casting long shadows over the rocky terrain. It was quiet, peaceful almost—if it weren't for the constant sense of danger that followed us everywhere we went.

About an hour into our hike, we came to a sudden stop. Daisy, who was leading the way, froze in place, her hand gripping the strap of her rifle as she squinted at something up ahead.

"What the fuck?" she muttered, eyes narrowing.

I stepped forward to see what had caught her attention, and my heart skipped a beat. Standing in the middle of the trail, not more than thirty feet away, was a black bear. It was massive, its dark fur gleaming in the morning sunlight as it sniffed the air, clearly trying to figure out what we were. The bear stood still for a moment, its eyes locking onto us.

"Oh, shit," Ethan whispered, his voice barely audible. "That thing's huge."

Yabe took a nervous step back, her face pale. "Senpai... what do we do?"

Daisy's hand immediately went to her rifle. "I'm gonna shoot it. Stay back."

"No, wait!" I said quickly, holding up a hand to stop her. "I've got this."

Daisy shot me a skeptical look, her hand still hovering over her weapon. "You sure about that? That thing looks hungry."

I nodded, already feeling the adrenaline kicking in. "Trust me. Shooting it's gonna make things worse. Just... let me handle it."

She hesitated for a moment, then gave a small nod. "Alright, but if it charges, I'm putting it down."

Without wasting any more time, I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what I was about to do. Black bears were usually more scared of humans than the other way around, but you never knew with wild animals. I had to act quickly and confidently.

I grabbed my backpack, slung it off my shoulder, and raised it high above my head. The goal was to make myself look bigger, more threatening, like something the bear wouldn't want to mess with.

"Hey!" I shouted, my voice louder than I'd ever made it. "Get out of here!"

The bear's ears perked up, its head turning slightly as it looked directly at me. My heart pounded in my chest, but I didn't stop. I had to keep going, keep making myself look as intimidating as possible.

"Go on!" I yelled again, taking a step forward. "Get out of here!"

To my surprise, the bear hesitated for a moment, then took a step back. I could feel the tension in the air, the others behind me holding their breath. I didn't give the bear a chance to rethink its decision. I charged forward, waving my backpack above my head like a madman and shouting at the top of my lungs.