After The Fireweed

Chapter 1

Laura popped a few more berries into her mouth before dropping the rest into the pail tied to her belt. It filled slowly, in part because the berries were so small, but mostly because of the number that never made it into the pail. Irresistible, the berries exploded on her tongue, concentrated packets of sweet summer sunshine. It was thoughtful of Marian to give her the day off, the only sunny day forecast for the week in August.

The low-bush blueberry bushes formed a spreading carpet across the slope, only a few clusters of alders and scattered boulders obscuring her view here and there. Brushy growth lined the nearby creek. It appeared she had the whole mountain to herself this Thursday morning, just a tiny speck on this magnificent landscape. The feeling of insignificance soothed her, putting her petty concerns into perspective. It didn't matter if a customer had been rude yesterday or if her transmission was acting funny. This morning Laura was happy simply to be.

She filled her lungs with fresh air and turned west to look toward Anchorage, spread across the valley below her. The leafy trees almost hid some neighborhoods, only a few roofs visible. Other, more densely built areas stood out among the sea of green. The high-rises of downtown clustered beside Cook Inlet, the land on the other side flocked with spruce. With the tide out, the mud flats lined the edge of town. She recognized the bronze color of the Hotel Captain Cook, and counted eight blocks east to where Marian would be running the store.

Later, Laura wouldn't be able say whether it was the musky scent first or the cracking of the branches that alerted her, but it happened fast. She whirled around to find she was no longer alone in the berry patch.

She blinked at the huge bear, almost refusing to believe that something of this size had been invisible a minute ago. Bears were common around Anchorage. In fact, she'd worn bells on her belt to make noise and warn bears away, but her slow movements picking berries hadn't jingled the bells.

The shaggy blond bear huffed at her and stood up on its back legs, towering over her. Laura froze for a moment, and then began backing away, easing toward the pack she had left lying further along the slope. Why hadn't she remembered to put the pepper spray in her pocket?

She tried to remember the advice she'd heard. Make yourself look big. Her hands trembled as she unzipped her light jacket and opened it wide. She tried to yell at the bear, but her mouth was so dry it came out as a whisper.

Then it got a whole lot worse. The bear dropped to all fours and charged toward her. She attempted to back up, but her feet tangled in the bushes and she fell. She felt a stinging blow on her shoulder as the bear ran by and she landed hard on her back, knocking the air from her lungs and immobilizing her. She couldn't see where the bear had gone, but she could hear more crashing sounds.

She lay, unable to draw a breath. So this was how she would die. Her summer of adventure would go out in a grand finale. After whitewater rafting, flying in a tiny plane to land on a glacier, and rock climbing a sheer cliff, it was berry picking within sight of the largest city in the state that would be her undoing. She hoped Cami would be okay without her.

The sounds of cracking twigs came closer. Getting up seemed impossible, so she tried to roll over to move away from the bear, but she was up against a rock, and the slope fought her. She heard the bear thundering toward her, the feet thumping on the ground sounding as if it were wearing boots. The shot, when it came, almost deafened her.

Someone stepped over her, moved on down the game trail a few steps, and paused. A furry shape appeared, looming over her and for a second she thought the bear was back, but a wet tongue licked her face and she heard a small whine.