Chapter 1

There were little clouds of condensation following him as he climbed the steep hill. It was a cold morning especially here in the higher regions of the hilly forest. He stopped as he listened to the sounds, enjoying the early birds singing their songs. He was disappointed because he didn’t hear any of the specific sounds the majestic animal would make.

He knew he was close; the tracks were fresh and its talons were exceptionally long which made the hunt for it even more exciting. He knew he was taking a big risk and he double checked whether the canister was still attached to his belt. His hand patted the pocket of his jacket, feeling the round forms of the alternative small weapons to deflect an attack.

“You are totally out of your mind Gerald,” his best friend had said; and he had to agree with him, but the thrill to be in nature and endure its force was what he craved.

He sat down and took a sip of his water bottle, enjoying the beautiful views of the valleys of the immense forest. He reckoned he had hiked for an hour and a half, estimating he was about 5 miles away from his car. With a smile he checked his GPS tracker which showed his car was 4.95 miles from where he was.

With a good and almost proud feeling, he stashed the tracker away in his rucksack knowing he still had about 2 hours before he had to go back. Gerald hated to walk in the dark. Hiking while being tired and having to rely on a flashlight was way too treacherous.

He thought the early spring was the best season to be in the forest but the days were still short and he needed to be extra vigilant to keep track of time.

He stood on the large boulder, scanning the environment for any signs where the grizzly had passed through and his heart started to beat a little faster as he spotted a few broken twigs. With ease he jumped off the rock and walked to the vegetation, hoping the large animal had lost some of its hairs while it had forced his large furry body through the branches.

He examined the broken twigs and he was disappointed there were no hairs to be found. But then he looked at the soil and was shocked to see there were footprints instead of the large imprints of the bear’s talons. They were fresh, definitely from this morning but the size was what actually had shocked him the most; he compared them with his size 10 shoe and he had come to the conclusion he was looking at a size 7 shoe print. He was convinced that those small shallow indentations in the soil were from a woman!

Knowing that the bear was close he feared for her safety and he decided to follow her tracks, hoping she hadn’t fallen to the claws of the bear. Gerald’s heartbeat increased as he noticed the footprints suddenly had stopped as if the woman had been lifted in the air.

He looked up to the high crowns of the surrounding large trees, already knowing he wouldn’t find anything. He scanned the ground again and to his relief he realized the fine footprints were hidden by the many graceful tendrils of a dense group of large ferns.

He turned into the same direction, carefully moving the long tendrils aside looking for the next dainty footprint. He chuckled softly; enjoying tracking down the woman and he couldn’t prevent fantasizing about her. He shook his head when his imagination pictured the rescue of a beautiful damsel from the dangerous grizzly bear.

The birds were singing loudly as the sun started to break through the clouds, warming the cool air in the damp forest. Gerald was pleased with the bright sunlight which made it a lot easier to track the woman down.

Suddenly a few birds hurried away, flapping their wings loudly. Gerald instantly looked into the direction and stared into the thick foliage, wondering what had disturbed those birds. He kept his breath, concentrating on any little sound he could hear but there was nothing significant which could indicate there was a predator close by. The large trunks of the magnificent trees were big enough to hide a small bear but not the one which was definitely in the near neighborhood. He shuddered realizing those large and sharp talons could easily rip off a human hand.

Then suddenly the forest around him quieted down as if all the other birds had been shaken by a sudden event. He knew those signals were not to be ignored and as he reached for the canister at his belt he slowly turned around, convinced he was about to face the large animal.

Gerald turned a full circle and there was nothing but the thick and lush greenery of the forest. He chuckled realizing he was fooled by nature and slowly but steadily he started to follow the footprints again, hoping he would meet up with the mysterious woman soon.

He noticed the tracks were close together and the prints were deeper which indicated that she had slowed down. Perhaps she had found something or maybe something had found her!

Gerald felt his neck hairs rise, telling him that something was not right and his hand moved back to the canister on his belt. Holding the canister was a comfortable feeling knowing it had saved his life once before. The bear spray was an effective way to avert a bear’s attack but he also had heard other stories where the bear kept attacking even after it was blinded by the stinging spray.

He moved slowly, trying to avoid walking on any branches which were littered all over this particular part of the forest. It actually looked like they were placed there deliberately because some of them were from other trees.

As he was concentrating on trying not to step on any branch a sturdy object collided with him. A stinging pain erupted from his right shoulder blade as he stumbled forward, trying to keep his balance.

Instinctively he moved his arms forward to prevent falling face down on the dirt and because of his extensive training he managed to turn his body just in time.

Then he saw his attacker for the first time. His heart stopped beating as he looked straight into a pair of mesmerizing brown eyes.

“You asshole!” her rich voice grunted as she tried to regain her balance.

Gerald had to endure her body which had collided into his chest and blasted all the air out of his lungs. He still had trouble fathoming what just happened, especially since he’d never seen a woman geared in the most sophisticated combat camouflage gear. Even her face was professionally covered with camouflage face paint which made him realize she was better prepared for the bear than him.

Accidentally her elbow hit him straight in the face which caused him to see stars, knowing it would remind him for a few days what just had happened. She rolled off him gracefully as if she had done this many times.

“You’re such a fool,” she spoke softly looking at him sternly, “It’s so damn close.”

Gerald tried to answer but his lungs were still fighting to get some desperately needed air and he could only focus on getting himself into a less compromised position. Meanwhile he had the opportunity to study the delicate features of her beautiful face. He admired her dainty nose which was accompanied with her fine high cheekbones and her eyes were the darkest brown he’d ever seen. Her bulky combat gear hid most of her female curves but it couldn’t hide she was endowed with a generous size chest.

Her stern look changed a little as she realized he had trouble breathing but then her anger flared up as she growled, “I had to stop you from ruining my spot.”

“I’m sorry,” was all Gerald could muster as he still was fighting to get his lungs filled with air.

She huffed as she constantly looked around, probably expecting the bear to barge through the thick foliage. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she spat.

“I don’t?” Gerald wheezed, faking a shocked look.

The feisty woman realized in an instant he was pulling her a leg and grumbled, “Do you have a death wish or something?”

“I can ask the same for you,” he reacted calmly noticing her hand was hovering next to a similar canister which was attached to her belt.

“You need to get up and leave as soon as possible and stay away from this area.”

“I’m afraid I won’t until I’ve seen the grizzly,” he said as he slowly got up, wincing as he realized their collision had bruised him at several locations.

She sighed and as she stared him straight in the eyes, “By being here you jeopardize not only my project but also putting us both at unnecessary risks.”

“Hey,” he retorted, “You were the one who knocked me over. I would’ve walked on.”

Before she could say anything they both were alarmed as the bear forced itself through the thick vegetation breathing heavily, expressing its discontent.

With a gasp they both turned to the direction and stared at the dark brown grizzly for a long moment without moving a muscle.

The enormous animal was dripping wet and it was clear it had been fighting as there was blood seeping from a wound right above its left eye. Gerald could feel the vibrations in his stomach as the bear started to growl loudly, its beady eyes focusing on him and the woman.

It slowly moved forward, huffing loudly as it continued popping its jaw but then it suddenly rose up to its hind legs and roared loudly.

The distance between the bear and them decreased swiftly and with a swift movement Gerald grabbed for the bear spray.

“Oh fuck,” Gerald cursed as he realized his bear spray can was not on his belt anymore, “I’ve lost my spray!”

“No!” whimpered the woman as she tried her spray canister, “Mine is jammed!”

Panicked, he grabbed it from the woman and pushed as hard as possible on the lever but nothing happened, realizing they now were in great danger.

He dropped the canister and he realized he had to rely on his last weapon. He started to wave with his arms and tried to make himself as big as possible and with a booming voice he shouted, “I AM GOING TO THROW FLASH BOMBS. CLOSE YOUR EYES ON THE COUNT OF THREE.”

“Do it!” she screamed immediately.

Gerald had them already in his hand as his voice echoed in the forest, “ONE. TWO. THREE!”

In the meantime the bear had observed them, probably not really knowing what to make of those loud noises. It went down on all four, ready for an attack but then there was a blinding flash.

The enormous bear roared, shaking his head wildly while baring his sharp canine teeth and started to blindly charge towards Gerald and the woman.

Gerald opened his eyes as soon as the bombs had gone off and his heart stopped beating as he realized those flash bombs had the reverse effect on the bear. It seemed the bright flashes had made the dangerous animal even angrier as if it wasn’t affected by the explosions at all.

The adrenaline was coursing through his veins as he saw the grizzly accelerating towards them and he knew they had to run.

Only then he saw the woman standing there rigidly, completely paralyzed by fear. Knowing he couldn’t leave her, there was only one thing he could do, trying to save her life.

Everything happened in slow motion as he launched his body into the direction of the distraught woman, hoping he could safely push her and himself away from the brutal attack.

He flew through the air and managed to get a firm hold on her sturdy jacket, pulling her away from the razor sharp talons of the attacking grizzly bear. This time he could brace for the impact and he was pleased he had managed to redirect their fall into a roll.

He fought to regain his balance and was happy as he managed to stand within a few moments, desperately getting ready for the bear’s next attack.

Frantically he looked around trying to get his bearings and foremost to find out where the bear had gone.

Then it dawned on him; it was silent.

“Oh my god,” said the woman who suddenly stood next to him, “Look! It crashed straight into that tree trunk!”

Gerald looked into the direction the woman was pointing and to his amazement he saw the majestic animal piled up against an enormous trunk. It was clear the flash bombs had compromised its senses which had resulted in the bear colliding, head first, into the large tree.

The large animal started to move and Gerald said curtly, “We need to get away from here. NOW!”

“We need to go to the cabin,” she said shakily as she started to limp away from the disabled animal, “There we are safe.”

“How far?” he asked curtly as he followed the woman.