End of the Suburbs

Chpt 7: Keep Moving

After a few minutes of walking I hear a noise.
It's an engine humming.
I turn and it's a car. The front had welded metal into a spikes on he grill of the car.
I take out my sword and get ready.
Casper runs and hides ready to ambush.
The car gets closer.
I realize who's driving.
It's the cowboy.
He's speeding towards me.
Just as he reaches me he comes to a screeching stop.
The driver window slowly lowers and he takes off his mask reveal a mischievous bearded grin.
"Normally I'd never offer a ride to someone I just met, but you seem like a good kid."
I push on.
He starts to rev the engine.
I ignore him.
I walk another 15 feet and he speeds up, slamming on brakes when he reaches next to me.
"You're gonna need my help."he says
"Why would I need your help?"I ask.
"I know where your friends are." he responds.
I stop.
He has my attention.
"Skulkers. I saw then kill one and take the others." he says.
"I can show you where to find them."he says.
I keep pushing.
I already know where to find them.
Skulkers have a city of their own.
It's just west of here.
It's the reason why the trail goes south instead of west.
"Last chance."he says driving alongside me.
I still ignore him.
I push past and he speeds past.
I call Casper from out of hiding and he joins me, walking next to me down the empty road.
I spend the rest of the day walking.
I make it across state lines.
A bike would make this easier.
I keep the gas tank even though it weighs me down. I never know when I'll run into a vehicle in good enough shape.
I keep it just in case.
I start to head west.
There's a river.
If I can reach it then I can refill my pistols and my water canisters.
One of my bottled is empty, the other had only about a quarter left.
I try to drink slow but even still, at this pace I'll run out before I reach the river.
Theres about 2 hours of daylight left.
I miscalculated.
There's no safe haven for me to hole up in.
I have to push forward.
Moving in the dark is dangerous.
I can hardly see.
I have to rely on Casper and my sense of hearing.
I start to feel uneasy.
I decide to stop after all.
I climb up one of the nearby trees.
I sit on one of the branches pressing my back against the trunk.
It's not ideal but it's good enough.
Just as I start to drift off to sleep I hear the sound of rustling in the distance.
I look down and Casper isn't there.
I whistle calling to him.
I hope that the rustling is him.
It's not.
A giant brown bear charges out of the bush.
It's infected.
Its body is covered with open sores. Its eyes are glazed over.
Before I can react it charges the tree.
It rams its entire body into it which causes the tree to shake.
I nearly fall out but I catch myself, gripping the branch one handed.
My bag falls below.
Inside it is all my food and both my swords.
I manage to pull myself up.
I look below and the bear is rummaging through the bag.
It finds my food.
I watch as it knocks out one of the cans of spam.
It sniffs the can before grabbing it in its mouth and crushing it between its teeth.
Once it swallows it goes back for more.
At this rate I'll be without food.
Even more importantly, once it's done with the bag nothing is stopping it from climbing up to get me.
I need a weapon.
I have to time this right.
I wait for the perfect moment.
The moment when the bear is distracted.
It grabs another can.
Its back is turned.
I have my opening.
Now.
I jump down planting my foot on its back before diving to the ground.
I roll back up to my feet.
It's reaction is delayed.
I think it's blind.
That's good new.
It means now I have a better chance of surviving.
The bear rears back onto it's hind legs.
It's at least 9ft tall.
It raises it's snout in the air and starts to sniff before letting out a thunderous roar.
I start to back away slowly.
I get a few feet back before a leave cracks under my foot.
The bear pauses.
Its ears flicker then turn directly in my direction.
It knows I'm here.
It charges in my direction.
I dive out of the way just as it runs past me and into a tree.
I rush to pick up my sword.
Just as I reach it I feel a giant paw slap ny back knocking me across the floor.
I manage to keep a grip on the sword.
I hit the ground.
My adrenaline is pumping.
I don't feel the hit yet. I'm focused on survival.
I twirl my blade adjusting my grip.
Just as the bear charges again I jump to the right.
With all the strength I can muster I swing my sword straight for the bear's head. 
I miss.
I do manage to slice it's shoulder leaving a wide open gash just before it pushes back sending my sliding across the leaves.
It lets out a loud roar in anger.
In this moment I think to myself; I wish I had water.
A couple sprays from my water pistol would have sent the bear running but now I have to do this the hard way.
I take a deep breath in.
The bear is operating off of sound and smell.
The laceration on it's leg went deep.
The arm is barely usable but it's not giving up.
It hobbles toward me in haste.
I hurry out of the way, this time quietly, taking calculated steps to not alert the beast's auditory senses.
It's confused now.
I creep around being sure to not make noise as the bear swings it's giant head back and forth looking for any sign of me.
I probably only have strength for one more swing. I have to make it count.
The bear is still search for me. It knows I'm nearby.
It stands on its hind legs and starts to search, it's ears and nose twitch.
l need to get high in order to reach it's head.
I climbed up the tree onto one of the branches just above its head.
I reach the branch and wait for the moment.
I quietly try to catch my breath.
Suddenly the branch begins to snap.
The bear hears it.
It turns and lets out a big roar.
I see my opening.
I jump from the branch, lunging down at the bear with the point of my sword.
I pierce it's skull and we both fall to the floor.
I lie there on ny back panting.
I hope it was enough. I don't have the strength to keep fighting.
I finally roll over and look.
10 feet away the bear is laying with the hilt of my sword sticking out of the top of it's head.
The bear is dead.
I get to my feet and walk over to gather my things in my bag.
I still have half of my food. The other half was eaten but at least I'm alive.
I walk over to pull the sword out.
It's stuck.
I plant my boot on top of it's snout and pull with all my strength.
It starts to budge a bit then slides straight out covered in blood and brains.
I whistle for Casper but he doesn't respond.
I check the area for his tracks.
Most of the ground is covered in leaves and scratches in the dirt from the bear.
I manage to find a fresh set of tracks.
They're Casper's tracks.
I hear another roar in the distance.
I have to keep moving.