Wild and Free #1: Freedom

CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE BEAR

Sable is running as fast as his legs will carry him. But Jerrist's strong legs, the same ones that have run all across these lands his whole life, begin to gain on the weaker horse. So without any other option, the young horse realizes that the only way to lose Jerrist is to run through the forest. He takes a hard left, and runs directly into it.

Sable has never had to run this fast in his life. He stumbles over a rock, which just causes Jerrist to gain speed. Then he narrowly misses a tree. But no matter what obstacles get in his way, he finds a way around them.

Jerrist, on the other hand, knows the forest practically by heart. He seems to know every rock, every tree, every branch. No matter what Sable does to try to lose him, the black horse still continues to gain speed.

Sable hears Jerrist snort angrily as he begins to catch up to him. Suddenly, he sees a light through the trees up ahead. Hoping it is the other side of the forest, maybe where the Timmons's farm is, he runs even faster. He bursts out on the other side, but has to come to an abrupt stop so that he doesn't fall into a wide, blue river flowing in front of him.

This is definitely not home, he thinks.

Sable hears Jerrist's hooves pounding on the dirt behind him. He begins to run again, following the river upstream, with Jerrist right on his tail.

Suddenly, both he and Jerrist stop. They see the bushes rustling next to them, and they hear a low growl. Sable stands motionless, frozen with fear. Jerrist just glares at the bushes, breathing heavily from his long, hard run. They hear a deafening roar, and a huge, brown bear jumps out of the bushes and directly in front of the two horses. The bear stands on its hind legs, towering over them.

Sable lets out a frightened whinny, while Jerrist jumps back about a foot. The young horse stands in fear, while the leader glares at the bear, preparing to fight.

"Do you see them, Relment?" Marista asks as she and the gray horse run through the forest, still looking for Sable and Jerrist.

"Not at the moment," Relment replies. "But I think that I heard Sable neigh, so they have to be close."

The two of them continue to run, until Marista stops in her tracks. "Do you hear that?" She asks.

Relment stops too, and they both listen. "I think I do," he replies. "It sounds like a bear's growl!"

Marista's heart leaps, and she takes off running again, with Relment following closely behind her.

Up ahead, the two horses see an opening. They rush through it, and then stop just before they fall into the river. They both gaze to the right, their eyes following the river upstream. Not far up ahead, they see Sable, Jerrist, and...

A bear.

"Oh no!" Marista shouts. "We have to help them!" She begins to run towards Sable and Jerrist, though she doesn't exactly have a plan.

Relment rushes in front of her, stopping her in her path. "You can't do that, Marista," he says to her. "Bears are too dangerous. I'm sure your father can handle this."

Marista obeys Relment and stays back, though she doesn't like it.

Meanwhile, Jerrist is doing everything he can to defend himself from this bear, while Sable stands in shock, watching the whole thing. The young horse has been slowly inching his way back from the fight, and now he is on the edge of the river. One more inch, and he will fall in.

The bear swipes at Jerrist, but the black horse is prepared. He ducks, avoiding the blow, and then bites the bear on the leg. The bear lets out roar of pain, and then tries again to swipe at Jerrist. They continue to fight like this for a while. Every blow the bear tries to land on Jerrist, he dodges it, and just takes a bite somewhere else on the bear.

Sable tries to think of a way he can help Jerrist, but he can't seem to come up with any ideas. He doesn't know anything about fighting a bear! But after a few more swipes from the bear, and a few more bites from Jerrist, he sees his move.

Jerrist and the bear have slowly been making their way towards the river, and Sable continues to stay as far away from them as he can. They are now standing at the very edge of the river, so Sable is free to run. But he can't just leave Jerrist now, not like this. So he backs up a few steps, and then runs full force at the bear, braces for impact, and knocks the bear into the wild-flowing river.

But what happens next, Sable does not expect.

In a desperate attempt to save itself, the bear reaches out its paw as it falls, and grabs Jerrist. The bear tries to pull itself back up onto the shore, but all this does is drag Jerrist into the water too.

Sable gasps, unable to move out of shock.

"No!" Marista shouts. She and Relment have been watching the whole thing. She rushes over, and stands beside Sable. Both of them watch helplessly as the raging waters of the river carry the bear-- and Jerrist-- farther and farther away.