Chapter 49 A New Predator, Part One

The bear twisted its massive neck, snarling and baring its teeth in a fierce display of intimidation. Despite the distance between us, I could feel the ground tremble beneath my feet as it let out a thunderous howl, sending a plume of steam from its snout into the crisp morning air.

I tried to will my legs to obey, to take me to my feet for my next move. Yet they remained frozen, unresponsive to my desperation. All I could manage were a series of jolting twitches.

"C'mon," Agawa whispered. "Let's go."

Despite my paralysis, I spotted Agawa and the rest from the corner of my eye. Unfortunately, they had the same idea as me. They wanted to use the bear's feast as a distraction to make a run for it.

However, a glaring issue arose.

I desperately wanted to shout, "It's not distracted anymore, you idiots! Stop!" but my lips refused to move. I struggled to make any motion to warn them, but my body wouldn't cooperate.

From their vantage point on top of the overturned carriage, they had no sightline on the beast. They were oblivious to the danger, despite its menacing roar.

"We need to stay quiet," Ayame hushed a lightly bawling Hikari. "It's okay; we're getting out of here."

"Okay, sis." Hikari grinned, fully trusting her elder sister. "I believe you."

'NO!!! STOP!!!' I lifted my hand, but it soon fell back to earth under its own weight. 'STOP!!!' My protests were limited to my thoughts. Why couldn't they have been born mind-readers?!

Slowly and cautiously, they crept toward the back of the carriage, preparing to jump off.

Meanwhile, the bear remained focused on me, exuding a threatening presence. But everything changed when the fools on the carriage caused a loud commotion by accidentally slipping off.

"Watch out!" Kamida warned, but it was too late. They must've lost their footing, sending Sato's unconscious body to tumble to the ground beneath the carriage.

"Sato!" Agawa stifled a shout

The bear swiveled its head to the sound and let out a curious growl. It fixed its gaze exactly where Agawa and friends had so kindly rang the dinner bell for it. The beast lowered its stance and began prowling toward them, all while they still hadn't noticed how much they screwed up.

'Goddamn idiots! What are they doing?!' I managed to clench my teeth and fists, regaining a bit of strength in my body. Adrenaline must've kicked in, overriding my fear and exhaustion.

"Is he okay?" Agawa asked Nakamura, who'd been examining Sato.

"Yeah, he didn't land on his head or neck, so he'll be fine."

'EXCEPT HE WON'T BE!' I wanted to scream in frustration. 'NONE OF YOU WILL BE!'

The fools were totally oblivious and about to become grizzly feed. It was only a matter of seconds before that reality played out.

"I...I won't let that happen..." I growled. "We've come too far." I couldn't let things end this way. Not after we'd finally gotten free. Not after we survived!

'I'm not sure about that Harmon dude, but I can fight a bear!' The pressure the beast exuded was crushing but nowhere near as heart-stopping as that knight's!

Though I stumbled along the way, my feet soon found proper footing as I shuffled. With that, I deeply inhaled to relax my muscles and dull the pain that I was suffering from.

'What do you know,' I raspily chuckled, 'it still hurts like hell.' But it didn't matter. Pain wasn't necessarily new to me since I was a delinquent and all. Fights where someone was sent to the emergency room weren't uncommon.

I wasn't about to fight a bear BARE-handed, so I motioned for the weapon I'd avoided using till now. Frustratingly, the multiple impacts shifted my holster to my back.

"Come on... Come on!!!" I growled, groping at the air behind my back, trying to grip my sword's hilt. After a few brief moments of missing, my palm found its mark, landing dead on the muddied grip.

"AHA!" I smirked but winced, still feeling the ache that enveloped my body. I tightened my grip and pulled my hand outward, drawing the blade for the first time.

I brought the sword to view, seeing my reflection in the pristinely preserved steel. My eyes, though clearly weary, were determined and resolute. I was fully prepared to draw first blood.

Agawa's mouth formed a silent question, "What are you doing?". She gestured for me to stay put, a sentiment echoed by the rest of the group, who gaped at me.

Little did they know, a danger lurked just around the corner, waiting to turn them into its next meal.

"You'll owe me for this," I mouthed to Agawa, who tilted her head in worried confusion.

The bear was almost upon them, so I mustered every ounce of strength I had left and bellowed, "C'mon, you porcu-pansy! How 'bout a pleasant beating?!" I grinned widely, hiding the growing fears building within me.

Once again, it snapped its head, focusing entirely on me.

"Yeah, that's right, big guy," I egged it on, "come over and let's brawl a little..." I started tauntingly beckoning with my free hand.

The beast let out a gruff snort and turned away from where the group was. Once they'd seen why I did what I did, Agawa looked at me with the most pitiful look.

'Like hell, I want your thanks,' I scowled at her. I just hated the idea of them dying to some glorified porcupine. Especially after everything we'd been through so far.

The bear left the road and paced toward me. It crunched more fallen sticks and pine needles with every step before silencing them underneath its massive paws. Between each of its husky pants was a guttural growl that chilled your body to the bones.

Before the beast came too close, I remembered the lemming lying deathly still between us. I'd have no problem leaving him there if I knew he was dead, but I had no clue whether the fodder had kicked it yet or not.

"Tsk, useless until the end, huh?" I clicked my tongue in frustration. While staring down the bear, I inched away from the lemming as quickly as possible.

Step after step, I moved further from the lemming while avoiding a premature charge. I'm unsure why I knew it'd rush me if I moved too fast, but I had a gut feeling. It was like I understood the creature. Like I was glaring at a wild beast as one myself.

Once I'd gotten the lemming out of harm's way, my dance of death went full swing. The bear and I circled each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. As we nearly exchanged positions, I saw the tree line Agawa was now in.

We met eyes, and I aggressively gestured toward the new burden on the ground. She gestured back with a hand signal and nodded. Though we were clearly in agreement, I felt a tinge of worry that she'd misunderstood what I wanted.

'It's obvious what I want her to do, right?' I wanted her to run over and pick up the lemming while I distracted the beast. I even motioned at him, so there was no way she could have misunderstood me, right?

'Even she's not that stupid,' I reassured myself. 'Okay, we should be good.'

With our plan in place, it was time to let loose. "Come on!" I hoarsely shouted, swinging the blade recklessly in the air as intimidation to the grizzly. "What are you waiting for?!"

I had no clue how to use a sword, but it was long with a bit of balanced heft. 'It's just like a baseball bat, right?'  I assumed the premise would probably be the same. All I needed to do was take a swing and not miss. Simple.

Though I still quaked in fear, I could feel another feeling quivering in me. It was even more powerful and incessant than the dread. So much so that it overwrote my common sense to run like hell. I was filled with overflowing excitement!

The prospect of defeating such a massive foe appealed to my dominant nature. Whenever I found myself in a new place, I wanted to assert myself by throttling the baddest and strongest of whatever group I could find.

That said, what greater prey could I find over a huge grizzly?