It roared in fury and finally abandoned Carl to go for her. Great!
Or not.
She gulped and tore for the tree, kicking away her flip-flops as she scrambled up the trunk.
Ouch, ouch, ouch!
The bark sliced into her hands and feet, but adrenaline kept her from feeling the worst of it. And even with her moving as fast as she could manage, she was still way too slow. She felt the creature’s breath on her back as it roared again. And the tree shuddered as a single paw swiped at her feet.
It could have knocked her down. She was sure of it. But by some miracle, that massive paw hadn’t connected with her leg. It had simply slammed into the tree trunk, making the whole thing shudder. She swung herself up into the nearest branch, then half leapt, half hauled herself up the next. The tree swayed ominously, but it didn’t break. And, damn it, there weren’t any other branches higher up that could hold her weight. Which is when she chanced to look down.
The grizzly was standing up, two massive paws stretched against the tree about six inches from her feet. One good jump and she’d be toast. This close, she could hear its mournful lowing and see every pointy inch of its claws.
Damn, damn, damn.
But at least she’d gotten it away from Carl, right? She looked over, hoping to see the man scrambling full tilt for the house. That would be the intelligent thing to do. No such luck. He was running toward her, gun at his side, talking nonsense all the way.
“Don’t make any sudden moves,” he called. “Just stay there. And for God’s sake, don’t throw anything else.”
“Are you crazy?” she bellowed. “Shoot it!”
As if the creature understood what she’d said, it turned its head and roared at Carl. The sound was a loud rumble that sounded a thousand times worse than any movie-made roar she’d ever experienced.
Carl stopped running forward, half stumbling as he gripped his bloody side. But his gun hand was steady as he aimed down at the ground.
“I’m not coming any closer, Mark. I got it.”
Who the hell was he talking to? She didn’t see Mark anywhere. Meanwhile, the creature let out another furious roar, though not quite as loud as the last one.
“You’re frightening her, Mark. Smell her. She’s terrified.”
Bizarrely enough, the creature did seem to sniff. It was probably just a natural predatory instinct, but still. A sniffing bear wasn’t a ripping-her-out-of-the-tree-and-eating-her bear, right?
“You have to calm down. You have to remember who you are.”
The bear turned to her, then, lifting its snout up in her direction. If she bent her knees, she could probably kick it. That would discourage it from coming closer, right? But she really didn’t want to get her foot that close to the thing’s mouth.
But what choice did she have? Any second now, the bear might decide to climb up for her.
“Don’t move, Julie!” Carl said. “You don’t understand what’s going on. Just stay still.”
A bear was about to eat her, that’s what was going on. But she didn’t argue. If he thought she should freeze, then call her Ms. Popsicle. And then—miracle of miracles—she heard the sound of a police siren in the distance.
Hallelujah! People with guns were coming. People who would actually use them instead of holding it to the side and putting bullets into the ground. She just had to stay alive until they showed up.
“You hear that, Mark?” Carl continued. “We’re safe. She’s safe. But I can’t get this wound bound up until you get control of yourself. Come on, Mark. Remember who you are.” Carl took a step forward, but the animal reared up, obviously pissed at that. Carl stopped, his hands up in the air. And when the bear growled, low in his throat, Carl took a step back. “Okay, okay. I get it. She’s yours. But you’re scaring her.”
Julie wanted to snap that she sure as hell was not some bear’s, but thought better of it. Especially as the animal dropped down to all fours to face Carl, not her.
Was it going to run away? Or attack Carl? Why the hell hadn’t the idiot man run away when he had the chance? It wasn’t like there were any more rocks up in this tree to throw at the creature. Fortunately, the thing didn’t seem to be attacking anyway. It had just dropped down to stare at Carl, who took another slow step back.
“That’s right, Mark. Remember who you are.”
The bear released a long howl that was almost plaintive. And Julie had the weird thought that the two were really talking to each other. Carl and the bear in some bizarre conversation.
“Don’t give me that shit, Mark. I’m your alpha, and I say face me as a man.” The last word had the vibration of a command. Even Julie felt the power of it, though how a bear was going to understand that, she hadn’t a clue.
Meanwhile, she heard the siren stop, and two car doors slammed. Both man and beast turned to the sound, but Carl bellowed first.
