It took a second for my bones to thaw, and then, with trembling limbs, I walked over to the front window to peek outside.
Another loud crash sounded, and this time I recognized it as a trash can hitting the ground.
When my eyes finally landed on what was causing the noise, I gasped and jumped back from the window with a horrified scream.
“Oh my gosh, that’s a bear!”
A big, brown, furry bear that was literally the size of my car.
My brain was on fire. What did I do? Was it going to break down my door and maul me to death?
I was shaking like a leaf when I peeked outside again. The massive creature was no longer rummaging through my trash. Instead, it was moseying over to my front stairs, and I almost fainted.
“No, go away. Please go away. Oh my gosh, please do not come onto the porch.”
It was like the bear heard me, because then it started climbing up the stairs. I heard the creaking of the wooden boards as they struggled to hold the bear’s weight. I let out a scream, and before I knew what I was doing, I was running down the hall into the bedroom, closing the door and locking it, then calling Emily. The phone rang and rang and rang, and with each ring I grew more and more beside myself.
“Please, Emily, answer the phone,” I begged.
My only thought was calling my best friend. She would know what to do, right? A sob escaped me when the phone went to voicemail. I hit my brother’s number immediately after, fingers trembling.
It went to voicemail again.
More loud banging noises came from the front of the house, and I could feel tears begin pouring down my cheeks in desperation.
Should I call animal control? What number would that even be? I couldn’t call 911—that was too much, right? Was I really in danger? In my panic, unsure how severe the situation was and with my brain running on adrenaline, I pressed another contact on my phone and held it to my ear with a trembling hand.
“Hope?” Jay’s voice came over the other line, and I couldn’t hold back my sob.
“Jay, there’s a bear on my front porch. I don’t know what to do, and I’m afraid it’s going to break into the house and?—”
“Whoa, whoa, slow down. There’s a bear?”
“It’s a giant bear, Jay! It messed up my trash cans, and it’s now on my porch!”
“Stay on the phone with me. I’ll be right there. Are you in a room far away from the front door?”
“Yes, I locked myself in the bedroom.” I pulled my knees to my chest, and another whimper escaped me.
“Okay, stay there. I’ll be there in just a second.”
“It's massive. It could easily snap my front door in half. Can bears smell humans? Oh my gosh, it can totally smell me. It’s going to eat me?—”
“You’re not going to get eaten by a bear. Relax. I’m a minute away.”
I heard the door of his truck open and close, and then the engine rev to life.
Another scream left me when another crashing sound came from outside, even louder than the last one.
“Jay, it’s breaking stuff!” I said, my heart pounding so fast I was worried I was going to have a heart attack from fear.
“I’m almost there. Just breathe,” he instructed.
“What are you going to do?”
“It’ll probably run once it sees my car, but if not, I have other things.”
“Other things? Jay, oh my gosh, are you going to shoot it?”
