Summer Solstice

Running Scared

{{She had her cubs with her.}}

My hands started to shake as I lowered them from Konai's arm, my feet still dangled in the air as he held me against him. I had heard of people being attacked by polar bears, and not many of them had survived. But she hadn't seen us yet. The snow was thick and made it nearly impossible to see past the parks entrance.

I knew polar bears had an excellent sense of smell, but only decent hearing. I tilted my head slightly to the side and took a shallow breath, "What do we do?" A bear by itself wasn't nearly as threatening as a mother bear with her cubs. I knew we were in danger of being attacked if she found us and saw us as a threat.

"I'm going to break the chain on the swing, so you can get down without falling or getting tangled, and you're going to run behind us, down the edge of the park to the street. Keep running till you get home." He whispered hoarsely.

"No, what are WE going to do?" I corrected him. His body shook again, and he growled in my ear, "I am going to make sure you get home safe. Do as I say." We both watched as the bear turned its head towards us, but made no sound and no movement towards us. One cub moved to sit at the front of its mother, and she made a loud huffing sound.

My body jerked as the huff became a loud growl.

"Please give me another option, I'm not okay with...." Suddenly the chains snapped and the swing gave way and I straightened my legs to keep from slipping on the ice.

"GO!" He yelled, and I took off running. The bear had made no other sound, but was rushing towards us. She made a short roaring sound and I forced myself to run faster. My legs burned as I pivoted quickly to get past the slide and head towards the entrance.

I chanced a peek backwards to see how far Konai was behind me, but he wasn't there.

I looked back through the flurry of white, and saw the polar bear pouncing on something in the snow. "Oh God."

A moment later I heard Konai scream, and my heart stopped. Sheer stupidity had me running back, and I saw one of the cubs that was walking towards its mother stop and stare.

That was it, my only chance.

I raced towards the cub and it bleated at me. Bears usually tried to avoid confrontations, and being small, it wanted nothing to do with me. But scaring the cub had the desired effect.

The mother turned and roared, a horrible bone-chilling sound. I reached out to the cub that was trying to run from me, and as I passed, tapped it on the ear. It made another horrified sound. The mother took off, leaving Konai gasping in the snow. I was instantly pleased, but I also didn't want to think about how bad his injuries were.

I kept running, past the second cub and to the fence that bordered the west side of the park. I paused long enough for her to get twenty feet from me, then I jumped over the fence and headed in the other direction, back towards the northern edge. I rushed to the barrier of trees that Konai was now limping towards. I saw him disappear and I raced for the edge of the park. I knew polar bears could move fast, but they lost energy quickly, and I was hoping she would give up soon. I ran into the thicket of trees, knowing it was only a few more feet to the slopes edge.

I jumped when I hit the edge, knowing the first few feet were jagged rocks. My feet landed in a pile of snow and I slid a few more feet down the hill before I could start running again. I searched quickly for my target, a seasonal hikers shack that laid at the bottom of the slope. It was solid and made from metal and wood, and was the only real shelter that was close enough to get to without worrying about the bear trying to break inside.