Author's Note: I've written fanfic before but this is my first shot at Twilight. So, bare with me lol. Hope everyone enjoys the first chapter and if you do, let me know. Hit that purple button at the bottom of the page and give me your input.
Bear Hugs
By: Babyhilts
Chapter 1: Thanks Superman
"Gotta get up, gotta get going.
I'm going to see a friend of mine.
He's round and he's fuzzy I love him because he's just Pooh Bear…"
New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
It was a bear.
Not a "rumbly tumbly, stuffed with fluff" type of bear. It was a flesh eating, ton of black fur that I did not stand a chance against. No jar of honey would sway him, I was sure of that.
It was my fault really. There were plenty of other ways to burn off adrenaline. No one ever got mauled by a bear at the gym. How many ways could one get hurt on a stationary bike? Now hiking, well there were so many possibilities. I'd been lucky enough to stumble upon one of them.
Of course, the whole situation could have been avoided. Mace would have made it easier but then again, actually paying attention to what was going on around me would have helped too.
Standing ten feet from an irritable black bear, it was hard to believe that I had not noticed the smell long before I'd spotted him. He reeked overwhelmingly of garbage. Not one of those sour smells that lingered around a large dumpster outside department stores. No, it was worse than that. It was more than just the trash, it was feces as well.
Thick fur, bunched around the animal's wide shoulders sent waves of rank perfume in my direction. It was as if the bear had marinated in its own mess.
Fear wound up through my calves, making them rigid. My feet seemed to be a little too cozy planted in the moss. I could feel the sweat running down the curve of my back. Sure, it was hot outside, but then again, there was a freakin' bear blocking my path.
A low grunt tore a shudder through my body. The beast swung his head back and forth in slow, easy movements. His snout brushed against the earth. He took a step forward, paws trudging lazily through twigs and rock. Instinct made me back up.
My new hiking boots crunched a little too loud when they came back down. The sound shattered the silence within the forest walls. My heart thrashed with panic beneath my cotton shirt.
The bear swung his head upwards. Nose to the sky, it sniffed twice and then leveled its dark eyes with mine.
Oh, God. Don't eat me!
No sudden movements, I told myself. Running, I remembered, was a not to do. The bear didn't look as though it would be fast enough to catch me. There was too much bulk and its legs didn't look built to leap and bound after petty hikers. Then again, I didn't plan on testing that theory.
The bear continued to stare. It looked close to deciding whether it wanted to start with my arms or my legs first.
I stared, unsure of my next move when I recalled something from past meetings at the outdoors club. The instructor had been a hunter and avid hiker. He'd devoted an entire lecture on what to do when confronted with a wild animal. I ran through the checklist in my head:
Do not make eye contact.
Fail.
Retreat backwards very slowly.
Double Fail.
Make a lot of noise to scare off the bear.
Yeah, that sounded desperate enough for me.
Before I could open my mouth the bear edged forward. Oh, yeah, he was fed up with waiting. Time for a quick taste of me.
"Hey! Shoo! Get outta hear" I cried.
I made wild gestures with my arms. Raised above my head, I flailed them in the air, hoping to fool him into thinking I was really six feet.
The bear only hesitated to stare.
"Go on! I'm no ones dinner! Shoo!"
He started walking again.
"Go, you big ugly. Take your rank ass outta here! GO!"
My voice shook as I drew out the last word, trying my best to make it as loud and menacing as was possible. The bear never paused when he opened his mouth. His jowls shook, spittle hanging off his lips. He released a powerful roar that shook me to reality. A look of determination set in his eyes.
What the hell was I thinking? This was a five hundred pound killing machine and I was just a girl.
"Oh, my god…"
Forgetting everything I'd ever learnt I turned and ran. Common sense disappeared and my survival instincts said 'run you fool, run for your damn life!'
The bear kept a good pace. There was a moment when I thought I'd outrun the overweight beast. Jumping over fallen trees, I felt nearly invincible. I was high on endorphins. But things soon caught up to me. It felt as though I'd been running for hours when only a few minutes had passed.
The hours of hiking up slippery inclines and batting away bothersome tree limbs had taken its toll. I was worn right through. My bones ached. I was parched. The sweat felt relentless.
Mr. Bear was not quiet as he raced after me. The forest floor sounded as though it were breaking beneath the creature's weight. I imagined the crunching of twigs as my bones once he got his jaws on me.
I didn't stop though. I continued on thinking that eventually I'd come across a road, or help. Or perhaps I'd stumble upon an Uzi and then…BAM!
The path ended. I came to a stop a few feet from the edge of a cliff. Nothing too big, but it was a good twenty five feet down.
I peered over the side, to where the forest continued on. There were no sharp rocks, jutting out of the ground waiting to catch my soft, pierce able body. It was carpeted with moss and stray branches, the same as the rest of it.
Could bears jump from such a height?
I knew I couldn't. Not without hurting something.
The ground trembled. The hairs along my arms rose. Another ferocious growl cut the air. The bear was back and only several feet from me.
I was trapped.
I tried to think of last rites, or a prayer. Anything to grant me salvation in my last moments of life. The only thing I came up with was…
"When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be. And in my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be…"
The Beatles were close to godliness, right?
The bear roared.
I backed up closer to the edge. I would take my chance with the fall. At least that's what I'd been thinking when a white blur tackled the bear.
The white form stilled and took the shape of a rather large man, no a boy. He was almost equally as big as the bear itself. I caught sight of the man's marble hands; fist in the bears fur. No through the bear. Tearing through the thick mess of meat as though it were nothing.
Blood fell from the animals open mouth. The neck of the once dangerous beast was now twisted too far to one side. The most disturbing part of it all was the blood drying against the man's mouth.
I tripped towards open air. Balance gone, I fell backwards, off the cliff to the drop below. I was still too close to cliff however. It would prove to be dangerous.
As I tumbled downward, I mustered what little strength I had left and reached out with my nearest arm. Grappling for the rock face, I managed a quick hold, if only for a second.
The jagged rocks stabbed against my palm, not enough to draw blood but sure to leave bruises. My body swung and jolted my wrist, twisting it during the mad grab for the rock. The weight pulled down and I felt pain, white hot run the length of my left arm.
I cried out and automatically released my grip. Again I fell, arm pulled protectively against my chest. I waited for the crunch when the rest of me would hit the ground but it never came.
The same boy from before blurred and jumped, thick, muscled arms catching me in the air. Slammed against his chest, we landed with more grace than I'd expected.
Two serious topaz eyes stared down at me. He was unnaturally handsome. Face too pale, hair too dark in contrast. I felt myself caught in a dream as I watched him. A smile turned the corners of his lips.
Blood covered lips.
Blood.
The bear!
This realization stole me from whatever fantasies I'd been having. Although I'd like to believe a good looking man had just saved me from a bear attack it wasn't likely. This man was dangerous. Powerful enough to snap a black bear's neck and then drink its blood?
"Oh, my God!" I screamed.
I jerked against the strange man. The hold was solid and tight, nearly constricting. My heart quickened. I slapped my hands against his chest, forgetting my injured wrist and crying out louder than before.
"Let me go! Help! Someone…"
A cold hand covered my mouth.
"You have to chill, alright?"
Chill? Right, like that would happen.
"I won't hurt you. I promise. If I take my hand away will you be quiet?"
I glared at him.
Not a chance, bud!
"Don't be like that. I just saved you from that bear."
I tired to answer him. Talking into a hand doesn't bode well for a two person dialogue though. The man seemed to understand this and with a warning look, pulled his hand away.
"You…you killed that bear."
He smirked.
"Sure did."
"With your bare hands."
Did he not understand that this was not a normal thing? If it were I'd have done it at the beginning. One could not simply snap a bear in two. It was impossible.
"And you…drank its blood."
That seemed to strike a cord. His eyes darkened. Face turned away from my own, I felt myself lowered to the ground. Back onto my feet.
My brain was telling me to run screaming towards town. Although the chances of me making it even a step without him tackling me back down were impossible. I stayed put despite every other part of me that said to leave.
At first I thought maybe I'd upset this man. I had thought I'd seen him drinking the bear's blood but how normal was that? It had probably been my imagination. As for the blood on his mouth, well, perhaps he banged his chin?
I realized it sounded lame, but how was what I saw possible?
"Did you drink its blood?"
He turned to face me. Regret etched along his pale face.
"Yes."
Okay, weird.
"Umm, why did you drink…?"
"You can't know" he snapped.
The anger caused me to back peddle. A tree root caught the back of my heel. I felt the solid arms catch me again.
"You're clumsy."
"And you're grabby."
I slipped out of his arms.
"And rude. And obviously mentally imbalanced because you just attacked a freakin' bear with your hands and you drink blood and whip around like Superman."
I gasped to take in some much needed air. I felt that any moment and I'd pass out. This was really way too much to handle.
A low chuckle sounded from the man.
"What's so funny?"
He smirked.
"You.This," he gestured to the forest. "I'm sure even Alice didn't see this one coming."
"Alice? What? Who the hell are you? What are you?"
"Sorry, I can't stay. Love to but were too different. Then there's the wife" he snickered like a mischievous child. "Oh wouldn't she enjoy you."
He turned to blur out of sight again.
"Wait, you can't just leave me here! Mentally imbalanced or not, I'm hurt and what if I run into another bear? I'm no Rambo."
The strange, bear killing machine could drink as much blood as he wanted. My worries about what type of person it took to drink blood vanished. He could have been Hannibal Lector's long lost cousin for all I cared, just so long as he swore not to drink my blood and take me as far away from the woods as possible, I'd be happy.
"You can't come with me."
"You're going to leave me here to die then?"
"No."
"Well, then take me with you Superman."
He shook his head.
"I'm not Superman, just Emmett."
"Well, then, Just Emmett lets blur on outta here."
"Blur?"
"That's what you do, isn't it?
"Yeah, I guess I do, huh?"
A smug look appeared on his face.
"Blur, I like that."
I smiled. "So are we?"
"Yeah, but only to the nearest road and then we go our separate ways. Got it?"
"Hey, I'd like to end this just as much as you do."
"I never said I wanted this to end. It just has to."
Before I could get a chance to ask him what he meant, I was hauled off the ground. Cradled against his chest, I felt cold arms seatbelt me in. The smell of sweet pine wafted from the man in dizzying waves.
A mumbled "hold on" reached my ears and we were moving. The trees faded together, meshing as one green streak on either side of us. His feet were quiet as they tore a path through the woods. Zigzagging between unrecognizable forest scenery. I felt myself growing nauseous from the quick movements. I didn't think blurring would make me feel so sick but as luck would have it…
I reached a hand to my mouth to suppress the rising bile. Acidic sludge wound up the back of my throat. I swallowed once. Back tense, I felt the contents of my stomach churn as Emmett took a sharp turn.
"Put me…" I swallowed again. "Superman, put me down."
It came out a hoarse whisper yet somewhere between blurring and carrying me, he'd heard it. An instant later I was kneeling on ground. Hands fisting the grassy floor as I turned out the last of my Mac & Cheese from that afternoon. Yellow bile covered the ground before me.
I felt Emmett hovering somewhere behind. The last of my resources spent, I swayed forward. Were it not for those cold hands coming to my rescue I'd have taken a nose dive into fresh vomit.
"What did I say about being clumsy?"
"Thanks…Superman."
A stark whiteness shot across my vision and before I knew it, my eyes were rolling up into my head and I had lost consciousness.