The Mountain

Chapter 7

We set off early in the morning, eager to leave yesterdays events behind us. James and I don't talk about the cliff or our conversations by the fire. We decided to move on and our new route could add a few days onto the trip, but that's not counting the time it will take to complete tests or whatever else the race has in store. The morning is uneventful and we stop by the river to have lunch and fill our water. The river reminds me of the bear and a gentle motivator to get moving again.

Only a mile in after our break, I spot a bush and  small patch of grass splattered with crimson dots. I point it out to  James who suggests speeding up to hopefully avoid whatever, or whoever,  did that. However, when a scream cut through the air, I can't stop my  legs from carrying me to where the noise came from.

I find the girl we saw  earlier on the bridge standing in front of a ginormous monster. It has  the body of a bear but was twice the size and it's fur was matted and  shaggy. It's paws were shaped like a lions instead of a normal bear paw.  It's head was the length of my entire body and about twice the width.  The girls stands in frozen terror in front of it and I stand a few feet  behind her. I know I won't be able to outrun this thing and my small gun  will probably be useless. My mind goes blank as the bear turns its  terrible eyes to me and James.

Of course the mountain can't give us one day without life-or-death.

"Adylin...?" James says quietly.

"What?" I ask, keeping quiet to not make the bear suddenly go crazy.

"There's a small cave about twenty feet away," he informs me. "It won't fit inside."

"We won't make it," the girl responds. "It'll catch us."

I try to think, we would  need a distraction or something to slow the bear down or give us a head  start. But how? No one is in the right place to create a noise that'll  make its head swivel while we run.

That's when I see it.  The figure creeping out from behind a group of rocks. It moves slowly  towards us and the bear who is oblivious to the commotion. As it gets  closer, I identify it as the girls partner, the one who was giving her  directions to cross. He holds a large rock in one hand and a small  sword-like knife in the other. After he moves a few feet away from the  safety of the rock, he whistles. Then the bear notices him.

It's large head turns to  peer at him and I take the chance. I grab the girls wrist and drag her  behind me to the small cave James pointed out. I hear the bear growl and  start to follow but another whistle from the boy stops it. I risk a  glance behind me to see the boy raise the rock up in the air and chuck  it at the bears head. It hits the target but the animal seems unaffected  by the stone. I run faster until we reach the cave and push the girl  inside before following.

The small opening leads  into a hollowed out room of stone. It's not tall enough to stand but it  fits the three of us sitting down pretty comfortably. I look outside to  see the boy backing away from the bear and realize it's our turn to  help. I step out of the cave and gesture for James and the girl to stay  put. I grab James' crossbow and take aim. The metal tipped arrows sink  into the bears legs but only bother it like a pesky fly. It turns around  and stares me down. I shoot more arrows to annoy the thing. The skin is  penetrable but it isn't injured, I need to make a kill shot.

The only available spots  are the eyes, nose, and mouth. If the mouth opens it'll be the largest  target, so I have to make it roar.

I set down the crossbow  and use my gun to rain it with bullets. I have more ammo to spare and  will use the bow for the kill shot. Finally, the bear obeys my will. It  opens it mouth to roar and runs at me.

"Adylin!" James yells from behind me. I ignore him and wait for the bear to get closer to make the target bigger.

The boy behind the bear freezes, realizing my plan and wondering if it'll work.

The girl screams as it gets closer.

Grabbing the crossbow off the ground, I quickly take aim.

I shoot three times. Miss. Miss. Shot into the shoulder.

I curse myself and take aim to find the arrows gone.

"Shit," I mutter grabbing the gun.

"Adylin!!!" James yells again.

I shoot multiple times, not even bothering to aim that well. The bear is too close for comfort.

At the same time as my last shot, it takes one leap and lands on top of me, the dagger like claws digging into my leg.

But it stops moving. I  look up at its face to see that it's dead. My last shot killed it. But  my celebration is long lived when I look to see the agony of my leg.  It's claws are lodged into me and blood pours from the wound. Tears  stream from my face from the pain and noises just short of a scream  escape from my throat.

James and the girl  emerge from the cave while the boy runs over. James is pale as he kneels  down beside me. Slowly and excruciatingly, they remove the claws from  my leg and help me slide out from under it. I take one look at the wound and know I won't be making it any farther today.

"I think we should make camp for the night," the girl suggests. No one argues.