Chapter 11: The Bear

We froze. The terror that gripped me was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. My hands trembled uncontrollably. The shaking was not from the chill of the night air, but from sheer horror.

The sight of the massive bear outside our tent filled me with fear. My heart pounded in my chest as I struggled to control my breathing. Every instinct screamed at me to run, to flee from the danger that lurked just beyond the flimsy fabric of the tent.

I watched the bear. Its attention was fixed on something in our campsite. It felt as if time had slowed to a crawl, the world around us reduced to nothing more than a hazy blur of fear and uncertainty.

I didn’t dare to make a sound, not even a whisper. I didn’t want to alert the bear to our presence. Instead, I clung to James. My grip was tight.

Outside the tent, the bear hulked over an anti-bear container. It sniffed and pawed at the container. The container opened, spilling the food. If those damn kids hadn’t tampered with it, the bear would never have been able to open it!

I didn’t give a damn about the food.

With bated breath, James and I watched in silence. We were too terrified to move or speak. The fear that gripped me was paralyzing. I couldn’t move. I hoped that the bear would lose interest and wander away into the night.

The tense moments stretched on…

The bear lifted the container and dropped it. Then it moved onto the next thing. It began chewing. Was there food lying around? That didn’t make sense as James and I had been careful not to leave anything out.

It was so very close to us…

After what felt like eternity, the bear seemed to lose interest in our campsite. Its massive form lumbered away into the darkness. I couldn’t see it anymore, but I heard its footsteps get softer.

Not knowing where it was only amplified my anxiety.

“We should get to the car,” James whispered. “It will be easier to get away on wheels than on foot.”

I nodded, too scared to speak. With shaky hands, James and I wasted no time in making a dash for the safety of our car. Our hearts still raced from the adrenaline of the encounter.

James fumbled with the keys.

“Hurry!” I urged him.

BEEP-BEEP! Went the car as it unlocked. The sound nearly gave me a heart attack. That was loud. Surely the bear had heard it.

We practically leapt inside and slammed the doors shut behind us. The locks clicked. We held our breaths. There was no sign of the bear returning.

As the adrenaline rush began to subside, a wave of laughter bubbled up between us. As the moment passed, we were amazed at how ridiculously absurd everything had just been.

“Holy crap! That was a bear!” I exclaimed. I turned to James, a wide grin spreading across my face.

James chuckled in agreement, his own laughter mingling with mine as he shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe that actually happened,” he replied. “I don’t think we should go back to the tent just yet…”

“Absolutely not,” I said, leaning against him. “Let’s stay here for a while.”

Together, we sat in the safety of the car. We caught our breath and allowed the adrenaline to ebb away.

My eyelids drooped…

***

As the first rays of sunlight peeked through the windows of the car, James and I stirred from our sleep. Stretching and yawning, we exchanged smiles.

And then it all came back to me.

The bear.

Fleeing the tent.

I sat up abruptly and looked around.

“I don’t see the bear,” I said.

James sat up as well and slowly opened the car door. With a sense of cautious curiosity, we ventured outside. The crisp morning air filled our lungs as we surveyed the scene before us. There was no bear. But…

Our eyes fell upon the scattered remnants of our campsite—food wrappers and empty containers were strewn about haphazardly. All of the bear-proof containers had been opened.

What the hell?

“There is no way the bear did this,” I remarked, my brow furrowing in confusion as I surveyed the mess.

James’s expression darkened with realization as he nodded in agreement.

“Those stupid kids,” he muttered under his breath. “They must have thrown our food around when they were here yesterday. It attracted the bear!”

Yep, it had to have been them. And it had been too dark for James and me to notice what they had done. We hadn’t seen all the food.

They had literally placed our lives in danger. That bear could have killed us!

Those stupid kids! I wasn’t a violent person but I wanted to smack them.

“Unbelievable,” I muttered. Although, I totally believed that the kids were behind this.

“They are going to regret this!” James said.

He stormed off. I could feel his anger bouncing off him in waves. Oh no. He wasn’t thinking rationally. He’d lost control of his emotions!

I hurried after him. My heart pounded with a mixture of fear and apprehension. My short legs struggled to keep up with his long ones.

“James, wait!” I called out.

I reached out and grabbed his arm, but James shrugged off my touch. His jaw was set in a stubborn line as he pressed on.

“I am going to find those pesky kids,” he growled.

But what if they got into a fight and James hurt one of them? James was a good man. He would regret it. I couldn’t let it come to that.

We reached the park ranger’s house—which told me we were close to the kids’ campsite.

“Ranger! Help!” I cried, hoping that he could intervene before things spiraled out of control.

The ranger’s door stayed shut. I veered off course to bang on it. There was no answer.

Oh no.

I ran to catch up with James. By the time I did, I was panting.

We arrived at the kids’ campsite.

There, surrounded by a group of law enforcement officers, stood the teenagers who had invaded our campsite. Their faces were pale. They were wearing handcuffs. My breath caught in my throat as I realized the gravity of the situation.

They were being arrested.

A sense of disbelief washed over me as I watched the scene unfold before my eyes. My mind struggled to comprehend the sudden turn of events. I had never expected things to escalate so quickly. Faced with the reality of their actions, I felt a twinge of pity for the kids who had caused us so much trouble.

I saw the camp ranger. This was why he hadn’t answered when I banged on his door—he hadn’t heard me.

The camp ranger and police officers helped the kids into the police van. James and I stood on the sidelines. Despite the anger and frustration that still burned within him, I could see a flicker of relief in James’s eyes. Justice, it seemed, had been served.

The ranger approached us. There was a frown on his forehead and a worried look in his eyes.

“Is everything okay?” he asked. He touched the brim of his hat.

“We’re fine,” James replied, “But it looks like those kids had purposefully tried to put me and Keily in danger.”

“How?” The ranger asked, eyes widening.

“Yesterday, they had thrown food all over our campsite. It attracted a bear,” I explained.

The ranger’s jaw dropped. “I… I’m so sorry. That will never happen again.”

I believed him. Those kids were going to be locked up and I doubted they’d be allowed to come back to this campsite.

“It’s okay now,” I said.

“What happened here?” James asked.

“Thanks to your warning, I kept an eye on those kids,” the Ranger replied. “Early this morning, I saw them sneaking back to their own site. They’d been trashing other campsites as well.”

I looked at the van, “Well, they won’t be causing any more trouble.”

“They won’t,” the ranger agreed. “I do hope this doesn’t ruin your trip.”

“We’ve reached the end of our trip,” James replied. I noticed that his shoulders weren’t tense anymore. “But we appreciate your help.”

The ranger offered us a reassuring smile.

“Then I do hope you decide to come back,” he said.

“We will. Thank you,” I said gratefully.

“Have a good day,” he said.

“You too,” James replied.

With that, James and I turned to make our way back to our campsite to pack our things.

“On the plus side, we have one hell of a story to tell,” James said, always making the best of everything.

“We do…” I agreed, zipping up my bag.

“Would you come back here with me?” James asked.

“Yes,” I said. “But not anytime soon.”

I’d had enough of the great outdoors for a while.