Bear Child (Book 1)

Chapter 17

                   17. War

          In the morning, when I woke up, I found myself in my room, under a warm blanket and with the heater on. How the heck did I get here? I remember I knocked out downstairs with Jack, who was now asleep at the foot of my bed. Ben. He must have brought me up here.

          I looked out the window to find frost on it and snow on the windowsill. “Snow? No way!” I crawled over to the window and looked out to the ground below. Everything was covered in snow and frost, and the fluffy dandelions were bare. “I am so attacking Alex today with a snowball!”

          I hurried out of bed and went downstairs to the smell of bacon and omelets. I saw Ben over the stove flipping the omelets on a pan. “Morning, sunshine.” Ben greeted me as I slid down the rail. “Good morning.” I said with a pleasant smile on my face. “Why so happy today?” he asked as I took a seat at the table. “It’s snowing!” I laughed in excitement. I loved the snow so much. “No wonder. So, who’s going to be the first victim? I assume you’re going to be throwing snowballs.”

          “Alex. I’m gonna aim right for his head.” I snickered. Ben shook his head as he put an omelet on my plate. “You’re an evil little girl.” He said. “How many strips of bacon?” he asked. “Give me two, please.” He put two strips of bacon on my plate and a glass of orange juice. “Let me give you some advice, Clair.” Ben told me. “When you’re going to throw a snowball, aim it just above where you want it to go. Then, you’ll get a direct hit.” I considered that for a moment as I chewed on a bit of bacon.

          Jack was limping down the stairs and started wagging his tail, eyeing the bacon. I ripped off a piece from the bottom and fed it to him. “You better not spoil him.” Ben said. Crap, I’d been caught. “I-I won’t.” I said. I began to stuff my mouth with the delicious omelet. “Dad, seriously, you’ve got to teach me how to cook! All I know how to make is a sandwich, and even that I don’t do very well!” he laughed. “No worries, Clair. I’ll teach you everything I know. That is, if it isn’t a secret recipe.”

          “You’re mean.” I said playfully, and I ate the last of the food on my plate. “Gonna have to tell me your secrets one day.” I went up the stairs to my room, and Jack followed. I walked in, and Jack followed inside, but I kicked him out. “No, no, no. You may be a dog, but you’re still a guy.” I shut the door, followed by a whimper on the other side.

          I walked over to the window to take another look outside. I scanned the forest out of habit, but found nothing but trees. There was no shadow today, either. I hadn’t seen the bear since that night I found him out in the woods. Was that going to be the last time I saw him? “Where could you be?” I whispered in thought. He had to be out there, somewhere . . .

          It seemed pretty cold outside, so I decided to put on a black and white striped sweater and a black winter vest over it. Skinny jeans didn’t seem adequate for this weather, and shorts was definitely out of the question. Some boot-cut jeans seemed appropriate, and my hiking boots would come in handy with the snow and ice.

          I decided to just put a beanie on and leave the rest of my hair down, since this wasn’t the weather for ponytails. I took one last look out the window before I grabbed my backpack and walked out of the room. Nothing had changed. Not a single footstep had been made, not a trail or a footprint had been left. The snow was completely untouched.

          I opened the door to my room and Jack wagged his tail. As I walked down the steps, he followed, tail wagging high in the air. Ben was ready to go, waiting for me by the door. He gave a pleased look when he saw I was wearing my hiking boots. “Nice choice,” he commented. “Thanks,” I told him.