CH 1 - It Begins

“Where am I?”

He looked out at tall trees and knee-high grass of emerald green rippling in a warm breeze. Birds trilled in the high branches. A summer sun blazed golden in a pale, blue sky.

Another thought followed. One that left a cold drip of fear to trickle down his spine.

“Who am I?”

A long moment of deep silence passed as he explored the blank areas of his mind. Something very close to panic began to boil in his chest. What happened? What was wrong with him? What if...

“Logan. Logan Proud Bear.” The name, his name, burst from his lips. All else was fog but he had his name. It wasn’t much, but at least it was a beginning; a life jacket he could cling to in unknown waters. Something to build from.

“Ok,” Logan breathed. “Now what?”

When in doubt, start from the beginning.

The words bubbled up from the dark recesses of his memory. Where had he heard those words before? A man’s voice, deep, paternal, and...

Nothing. Logan felt his hands ball into white-knuckled fists. So frustrating!

Still, it was wise advice.

“Breathe, Logan,” he told himself. “Just breathe. One step at a time. Figure it out.”

A slow look around revealed that he was standing in a clearing that appeared to be in the middle of a thick, old-growth forest. A small, grassy hill jutted up from the forest floor to his right. Just behind him, two, man-sized, rectangular stones stone stood on end. A third stone lay across the top forming an archway as if one piece of Stonehenge had been stolen away and left in this clearing. Ancient looking pictographs of humans, animals, and mythical creatures were etched into the rock beneath a crawl of brown lichen.

“Find a game trail. Follow it to a source of freshwater. Follow the flow of water tao civilization,” Logan told himself.

Again, he had no idea how he knew this, but he knew it as sure as his name. The thought had the weight of experience. It still wasn’t much of a plan but better than standing around. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” he muttered and walked toward the dappled shadows of the forest.

The moment his foot stepped beyond the clearing and between two trees Logan knew, with sudden and absolute clarity, that he was not alone. A powerful sense of presence washed across the clearing. The hill to his right shuddered. Dirt and grass fell away as something enormous slowly rose from the soil. It shook itself, revealing thick fur, a broad snout, and deep, black eyes.

Grizzly bear! That was the immediate thought that came to mind but this was like no bear Logan had ever seen or heard of. Dawning terror threatened to turn his guts to water as the creature gave a ponderous heave, standing up and up onto its hind legs until it towered almost thirty feet tall!

“Greetings, cousin,” its voice rumbled like distant thunder.

Logan’s mouth fell open. He stared dumbstruck, like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. This can’t be real. This can’t be happening. This is just a dream. Yet, the sun warming his face felt real enough as did the scent of the giant bear; warm fur and fresh-turned soil. Logan pinched his arm and felt the sharp sting of pain.