I’d never asked him to put more wood on the fire, but he always made sure it was blazing. And it wasn’t to his benefit since he always seemed too hot, as proven by his attire.
“Let’s not be hasty,” I said, my voice coming out broken. I cleared my throat and tried again. “We can talk about this.”
The bear continued to advance, and my body locked tight, adrenaline flooding my senses. My limbs started shaking, and I wondered if this was it. Eaten in the woods by a bear. I always figured I’d get shot. Or stabbed. Maybe thrown off a building. Not eaten by an animal.
“Don’t do anything you’ll regret later,” I said, my voice wavering, my teeth chattering.
The bear kept walking, not impressed by my conversational skills.
I kept backing up the incline I had come down, hoping he’d lose interest and walk away.
“I’m just going to go back to the cabin,” I said, pointing behind me. “And I know the way, so no reason for you to follow me.”
I guess that last part must have pissed the bear off, because he walked faster, and my heart missed a few more beats. I screamed, the bear picked up speed, and I stumbled backward. It was almost on me, and instead of running, I froze and threw myself on the ground.
I covered my head with my hands and lay flat on my belly, bracing myself for the pain.
But nothing happened.
Chapter14
Gunner
She was gone.
I’d been walking around the perimeter, doing my daily check of the traps and alarms, when I noticed I’d forgotten my knife. I’d brought my gun, but I’d rather save the bullets if I could, since I didn’t have access to an unlimited supply out here.
So instead of walking the full round, I went back after about an hour.
When I made it inside the cabin, it was too quiet, and there was no sign of Freya. My body locked tight, and I suddenly found it hard to breathe. She’d done what she swore she wouldn’t do: run away.
I raced outside, not bothering with the stairs and instead jumping down from the porch. “Freya, you out here?” I called into the woods, knowing she wouldn’t answer.
She still didn’t trust me enough to believe me when I said I’d keep her safe. I cursed and set off to track her down.
The temperature was already dropping, and she’d soon be freezing. She was cold inside the cabin with the fire going and three blankets piled on top of her. How did she think she’d survive outside in the freezing cold, most likely without appropriate clothes?
What if I don’t find her in time?
It didn’t take me long to see her footsteps. She’d also left broken branches in her wake, making it easy to follow. It looked like an elk had been through the area instead of one little human.
Scratch that. An elk wouldn’t do as much damage as Freya had.
When I’d circled the cabin for the second time, I wondered if she’d left such a clear trail on purpose to throw me off. I was about to round the area for the third time, just in a wider arc than before, when I heard her voice.
Who is she talking to?
I inched my way closer, hand on my gun. Nobody should be out here. I just hoped I wasn’t too late to save her.
When I passed a group of thick trees and bushes and set eyes on her, I exhaled in relief. She was still in one piece, talking to a—
Motherfucking bear.
Had she not listened to a word I’d said when I told her how to keep herself safe out here?
Grizzly bear attack, play dead. Black bear attack, make noise and run as fast as you can. It wasn’t that hard to understand, and I’d repeated it enough times to make sure she knew what to do in case she ran into a bear.
Instead, here she was, having a chat with what looked like a pissed-off black bear.
