Disclaimer: IF they were mine, I would actually be making money off this -
haha!
Author's Note: Hello Everyone! Sorry it took so long to produce new material. I do apologize but I haven't exactly been slacking. I've been working on two stories simultaneously. I've decided to take a stab at writing a "Hack" fanfic. The first chapter shall be posted if and when fanfiction.net decides to add "Hack" to its list of TV shows. But until then, here is my latest Everwood fic. This was an idea that came to me while romping through the trails of the Front Range and experiencing wildlife first hand during my recent trip to Colorado. The story takes place sometime during Everwood's first season. Enjoy!
Title: Bear Essentials
Chapter 1: Grizzly Encounters
A burning sensation from the tightness of coarse rope against raw flesh around his wrists woke him from his darkened state. He had no idea how long he'd been out. He squinted into the darkness for any hints on his whereabouts. It appeared to be some sort of jail or dungeon or torture chamber. Four stoned walls surrounded him. It was definitely not a time to be claustrophobic. Suspended from the ceiling was a twine of thick rope. The end of this rope bound his skinny wrists together holding up his weight. His knees sagged almost touching the ground. He looked down at his body. His tattered clothes had been ripped to near shreds. There appeared to be no signs of injury to his torso nor did he feel any pain. How did he get here? He pulled at the rope to free himself but it was useless. The more he tugged and struggled, the tighter the rope became.
"Help!" He cried. "Oh Somebody, Help!" His voice echoed in the darkness. He wanted to cry.
Somewhere in the distance, a rumbling sound emerged causing the ground to shake. He thought for sure the ground was going to split open and swallow him whole. Sounding like a jackhammer, the noise grew louder and louder. The dull stones of his cell trembled and loose soil sprinkled over him resembling black rain. He spat out the dry debris that got caught in his mouth. The strange noise continued to grow closer and closer. Suddenly, the noise stopped short for a few seconds followed by a deafening explosion as one of the stoned walls crumbled to the ground. In an instant, something ripped through the twine of rope above him severing its hold on his wrists. He fell over backwards and landed flat on his back. An unexplainable magnetic force was pulling his body to the cold floor making it impossible to budge no matter how hard he struggled.
He turned his head to the direction of the crumbled wall. Through the murky hole appeared a blinding white light. After the big cloud of dust settled, he was able to see a shadow approaching out of the fog. It was in the silhouette of a woman. The light outlined her tall slender hourglass figure. Her hips swayed from side to side as she walked towards him in a calm fashion. His eyes widened with excitement as she came into focus. She held something in her hand.
It was a Colt military firearm. The barrel of the gun was still smoking as she gripped it casually in her right hand. It just dawned on him that the mysterious woman had shot off the rope that bound his bruised wrists together. He held his breath as the woman came into view. She was strikingly beautiful and equally sexy. Her long black hair was tied back and weaved into a single braid down her back. She wore a shiny skintight black, cropped tank top and matching short trunks that revealed her long tanned athletic legs. Twin black leather gun holsters were strapped to her bare thighs. The heel of her tall, laced combat boots scuffed the ground creating little puffs of dust as she walked.
"I've come for you, Ephram." She said while inserting the automatic pistol back into her holster.
*She knows my name. How did she know my name??* Thoughts raced through his mind.
The woman came to a stop in front of his body. She dropped to her knees and examined him with her blazing green eyes. Not only was he robbed of his ability to move, his vocal chords were taken as well.
"Don't you know who I am?" The mysterious woman said with her nose coming just inches away from his. "I know who you are. Ephram Brown. I've kept tabs on you for a long time now."
Ephram opened his mouth to talk but his words only came out in exhaled grunts. *Why can't I talk??* He thought.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" She spoke as her stoic and professional facial expression turned into a playful one. "I think I know what you want." She purred with a raised eyebrow.
With a nervous eye, Ephram blinked at her both curiously yet afraid that his teenage fantasy was coming true. He wasn't sure whether he should be scared or extremely happy. Her huge fierce green eyes were two icy emeralds. They pierced through his dull greenish-gray eyes. She was reading him. To avoid eye contact, he decided to focus his gaze at something else to deter the awkward position - which proved to be a big mistake as she stood on all fours hovering a good distance above him. His eyes absentmindedly trailed down to her chest. Her low cut tank top hugged her bosoms tightly exposing her cleavage adding even more seduction to her voluptuous figure.
"Do you like what you see?" She said with a flirtatious grin.
"Yes." Ephram piped finally finding his voice. 'Yes' was the only word his throat allowed him to say. He wanted to add to his response but it was like as if a big cotton ball clogged his voice box.
"I knew you would." She curled her thick red pouty lips. Moving closer to the boy, she breathed on his cheek. "You like me, don't you?" She whispered into his ear.
"Yes." Ephram gulped. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead. The minty scent of her breath lingered as he watched her through the corner of his eye.
"Then you won't mind if I touched you." She declared. Her hands innocently massaged his shoulders with gentle pleasure. Ephram was shaking like a leaf from pure shock and stimulation. "Does that feel good?" She asked.
"Yes." Ephram replied obediently.
"Would you like me to kiss you?" She said with mischief written all over her voice when the massage came to an end.
"Yes." Ephram said anxiously. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the heavenly lip lock promised by this Goddess. The mysterious woman gave him a peck of a kiss on his forehead. He opened his eyes, slightly disappointed.
"Uh-uh. You naughty boy." She scolded. "You never said where." She let the tip of her nose nudge the tip of his nose playfully. "Say not a word. I know where you want to be kissed. Um, how about here?" She poked a bare spot on his chest where a tear in the fabric exposed his flesh. The nail of her perfectly manicured index finger tickled his skin.
"Yes." He mumbled. She placed a kiss on that very spot.
"OK. How about here next?" She suggested while touching his neck.
"Yes." He mumbled again. She breathed on his neck and slid her tongue over his Adam's apple before placing a kiss on a spot on his neck right under his earlobe. He moaned.
"I'm sure your fire is lit now, loverboy. You have completed round one. We are going onto the next level. Do you want me to kiss here next?" She patted two fingers against his lips.
"Mmmm. Yes." Ephram replied with a wide grin. *Have I died and gone to Heaven? Here I am, the woman of my dreams is making out with me - with ME of all people. This can't be really happening. I never have this kind of luck. Ever.* He thought to himself.
At this moment he wished he had more practice in lip kissing. Most kids his age would've considered themselves experts in the field. They bragged about how many times they've been "around the block" - which is much less for what Ephram can say for himself. Around the block?! He hasn't even left the curb. He's always been more of a wallflower than a wildflower. Inexperience is written all over his face. In all his fifteen years, he'd only lip kissed twice. The first kiss happened in the first grade by the monkey bars in the kiddie playground of PS 207 elementary school. Lindsay Duncan was her name. She had long curly strawberry hair tied into two pigtails. He made it known to his friends that he despised her when he actually had a secret crush on her. Though, the kiss was more of a dare his friends put him up to rather than one of mutual consent. He never forgot the disgusted look on her freckled face when he landed the big wet one on her lips. The second kiss was, of course, more recent. Amy Abbott. It was a huge mistake but it was the first "real" kiss he'd ever had. The only catch was that she belonged to someone else. Amy toyed with his emotions and broke his heart. He hated her for that.
The mysterious woman leaned in dangerously. His pulse quickened and breathing became more difficult. *Can't she tell that I'm a nervous wreck?* He thought and closed his eyes again. He cursed himself for not spending more time practicing his kissing techniques on his arm. But who cares now! In a few measly seconds he was going to feel her soft puffy red lips press up against his.
He waited.
And waited.
Nothing happened. Ephram opened his eyes to see what the big hold up was. His seductress was looking squarely at him. He watched her long black mascara-ed lashes flap up and down as she blinked. It was like time had stood still. She finally spoke.
"Ephram. You have been terminated. Game over." She said looking down at Ephram.
He stared at her with confusion. Even though she was smiling, her desire for him had been extinguished. She seemed - almost robotic to a point where her beautiful facial features hardened and the genuine sincerity had vanished.
"W-what? What's wrong?" Ephram managed to say.
"Game over. Game over. Game over." She repeated in a cold and lifeless tone.
"I don't understand." He cried out in frustration.
"You lose. I win." She cocked her head to one side and cracked a smile at her defeated opponent.
"Please give me a kiss." Ephram closed his eyes tight hoping to feel her warm lips on his soon.
"Ephram." The female voice called.
"Kiss me! Oh, kiss me, please?" Ephram begged.
"Ephram." The female voice called again.
"I want a kiss!!" He shouted.
"Ephram." The female voice calling him had turned into a male voice. "Ephram." The husky voice repeated. "Ephram, wake up." Said the deep voice.
Startled, Ephram slowly blinked his eyes open. He recognized the man looking down at him and groaned. It was his father.
"Rise and shine!" His father beamed and stared at his son who was comfortably tucked into his quilted navy blue sleeping bag.
"Dad - why are you waking me up at the crack of dawn?" Ephram grumbled and covered the blanket over his head.
"Ephram, it's nearly nine o'clock!! And no, I will NOT kiss you." Andy joked and pulled the blanket off his son.
"Huh?" Ephram said sleepily tugging back at the blanket.
"Huh?" Andy mimicked. "You were talking in your sleep, buddy."
"What'd I say?" He drawled.
"Well, you kept saying 'yes'. Then you said you wanted a kiss." Andy replied. "Ephram, do you always smile in your sleep?" He laughed.
"You would too if you had the dream I was having." Ephram rubbed his eyes.
"Must've been something because I think you were drooling a little too."
"Why'd you have to wake me up?" Ephram sounded annoyed that his dream was so rudely interrupted. "She was going to kiss me."
"OK, who was the hot chick?" Andy said curiously trying to humor Ephram.
"Lara Croft. You know - in Tomb Raider." He folded his hands behind his head with a wide bushy-eyed grin. The sparkle in his eyes twinkled as he reminisced the dream.
"A girl from a video game?" Andy chortled. "OK, that's it. I'm putting my foot down. No more explicit video games. It's back to The Adventures of Wallace and Grommit for you mister. You do know she's not real, right?"
"It wasn't exactly like the image from the video game. It was more like Angelina Jolie from the movie." His grin got wider when he said her name.
"Oh. Well now, THAT'S different. I was beginning to worry about you." Andy laughed. "So, enough of this chit chat. It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining, birds are singing. Nature beckons. We should make an effort to enjoy it." He added while gathering and folding Ephram's blanket.
"Dad - I hate camping. I don't know why you're making me do this. I could be at home in my own soft bed sleeping till noon. But no. I have to be stuck in the wilderness in this crummy tent spending MY spring break living like a Neanderthal." Ephram whined.
"Stop being a baby. It's only for the weekend - two days." Andy made a two- fingers gesture with his hand. "You'll still have the rest of next week to vegetate in front of the TV. Besides, a little fresh air won't kill you. In fact, it'll do your lungs some good. And where's your sense of adventure?"
"I left it in my sock drawer at home."
"Being one with the good earth - it's needed every now and then. Just think of yourself as being on, what's that show called? - Survivor: The Outback." Andy reasoned.
"You're not helping. Besides, it's Survivor: Pearl Islands now. You're only several seasons behind. Eating bugs for protein is not my idea of a relaxing getaway." Ephram taunted. "Can't you be a pal and let me sleep another ten minutes?" He begged.
"Nope. Permission for additional sleep minutes is denied. Nina and Delia are up already getting ready for breakfast. And you'd better hustle if you want to get your share of earthworm omelets. The worms were freshly dug this morning, by the way. Castaway Brown of the Couch Potato Tribe." Andy added in attempt to get a smile on his son's dreary, sleep deprived face.
"Ha, Ha. Very funny." Ephram rolled his eyes and chuckled. "So does this mean you and Nina are an item now? We are on a family vacation after all." He put emphasis on the word "family."
"Stop goofing off and get dressed." Andy instructed avoiding the subject.
"Yes, your majesty. Right away, your majesty. Whatever you want, your majesty." Ephram mocked with sarcasm. He kicked the flap of his navy sleeping bag off lazily. His sleep clothes consisted of a green long sleeved T-shirt and an old pair of blue plaid flannel pants.
"Are you awake?" Andy pressed impatiently.
"Yea. Yea. Yea. I'm awake." The boy stretched and sat up. Andy tried to not laugh at the piece of hair that was sticking up on the back of Ephram's head. Instead, he licked his hand and slapped it on the boy's head to smooth the hair as a joke.
"Ew! What did you do that for?!" Ephram screamed and shoved his father's hand away.
"You had an alfalfa sprout thing going on there and I thought I'd fix it." Andy quipped. He laughed upon seeing the annoyed look on his son's face.
"Oh gross. Now I have to go disinfect my hair. Thanks a lot dad." Ephram groaned. He tried to groom his dark brown hair by combing his fingers through it.
"Great. Now that I've got your attention, you may wish to join us for breakfast." Andy said while exiting the tent.
Spring break was supposed to be spent lounging about and doing a whole bunch of nothing. At least that was what Ephram planned. Apparently, the great Dr. Brown had other things in mind. All of a sudden, it was the perfect opportunity for family bonding. The only type of bonding Ephram wanted to do was with the living room couch and the cable TV. The weekend camping trip was his father's attempt at being spontaneous. Ephram cursed himself for constantly giving his father lip about how predictable he was and that he should loosen up and go with the flow for a change - be a little risqué. Talk about a plan backfired. Facing the rugged outdoors was not really Ephram's forte. Though, it wasn't a total loss - Nina was here. Ephram was glad for that. Andy had invited Nina to join them partly because he liked her and partly because it would be good for Delia to have some female influence. Besides, it was Carl's weekend to have Sam and that left a big convenient empty space on her weekend agenda. Ephram reluctantly got dressed and climbed out of his tent.
"Well, good morning sleepyhead! Care for some breakfast? Eggs and ham?" Nina chirped merrily. She looked stunning - even in a pair of faded blue jeans and a denim jacket. Her long corn silk hair was tied into a ponytail. Nina sat on her heels by the fire poking occasionally at the strips of ham cooking in the skillet. Delia was patiently waiting for her share of grub. She sat Indian style by the fire watching the ham being cooked. If she gripped that metal plate in her hand any tighter, she could've produced aluminum juice. Andy was tending to a pot of boiling water for coffee.
"Sure. Sounds good." Ephram replied and took a seat on the ground next to his sister.
"See, it's not so bad." Andy said. "After breakfast, we'll go on a nice nature walk. We'll pack a lunch and have a picnic by the lake. We may even get to see some elk."
"You have our day all mapped out for us, don't you? Ooo, maybe by the end of the day Delia can identify three different types of fungi." Ephram said in an ironic tone pretending to be excited. "Whoop-pee." He retorted as he circled his index finger in the air unenthusiastically.
"I love camping." Delia shouted cheerfully. "It's exciting!!"
"There we go. I'm glad some one here appreciates this trip." Andy said. Nina placed a big slice of ham onto Delia's plate.
"Suck up." Ephram said to his sister in jest. "There is nothing exciting about being completely cut off from civilization." He continued. Delia wolfed down the food ignoring her brother.
"You young people don't know the meaning of making do with what you got." Andy shook his head in disappointment.
"I know what's comin' next - when life hands you lemons, make lemonade." Ephram rolled his eyes and sighed.
"I WAS going to say, kids today are so caught up with luxuries that they probably won't last one day out in the wilderness with just the clothes on their backs. It doesn't hurt to learn an extra skill."
"If I ever want to be a boy scout, then I'll let you know."
"Come on you guys. Can you not argue for one weekend???" Nina interjected. "As far as I'm concerned, both of you are so full of hot air! We should be appreciating the time we have off. Can't you call a truce??"
"You go girl!" Delia exclaimed with a greasy mouth giving Nina moral support.
"See, even an eight year old can see you are being ridiculous." Nina nodded.
"Can I have some eggs next?" Delia said when she finished her share of the ham.
"Alright. Fine. I promise not to complain if you promise to stop nagging me." Ephram offered his hand.
"Deal." Andy said giving his son a firm handshake. Satisfied, Nina smiled and focused her attention to cooking.
"Hmm. Looks like we're gonna need some more wood. The fire is starting to go out." Nina observed as she scraped the scrambled eggs onto an aluminum mess tray.
"I'll go find some branches." Ephram volunteered, sounding a little too eager. "You know, to get myself acquainted with nature." He justified.
"I'm coming with you." Andy declared as he stood up and dusted his knees.
"NO." Ephram said slightly too loudly. "Uh, I mean - you don't need to. Delia can come with me." He stepped over to his tent and grabbed his backpack. "We'll be ok. What can go wrong in gathering a couple of sticks?"
"What are you up to?" Andy eyed him suspiciously.
"Nothing. You are so paranoid. You always think there's a catch to everything." Ephram scolded. He leaned in and said to his father, "Besides, I'm giving you an opportunity to be alone with her."
"Ephram." Andy began.
"I know. I get it. You don't have to tell me - you're just friends.Blah, blah. Um-hm. I know." Ephram smiled and winked. "You comin', munchkin?" He called to his sister.
"I'm ready." Delia stated while she adjusted her navy blue baseball cap. Ephram swung his backpack over his shoulders.
"Do me a favor - don't go off too far." Andy instructed.
"Alright. Tsk, don't worry." Ephram waved off and started walking.
"Kids." Andy shrugged and watched his children disappear into the woods. He sat down and poured two cups of coffee.
"Can't live with them, can't live without them. I know the feeling." Nina laughed. She handed Andy a mug of black coffee.
"They drive me up the wall and through the roof sometimes, but truth is, I don't know what'd I do without either of them in my life." Andy blew on his coffee before sipping it.
****
"What on earth are you doing?" Ephram said to Delia.
"In case we get lost." Delia responded. "We can follow it back." She held in her hands a large Ziplock bag of multi-colored M & M's candies. Ephram watched her drop a few pellets onto the ground every so often as they walked further away from the campsite.
"We're not going to get lost. You totally underestimate my sense of direction." He put his hands on his hips.
"Just like in the Hansel and Gretel story - only they used bread. But M & M's are just as effective." Delia beamed.
"But in that story, the birds ate the bread so the kids get lost anyway - I doubt any bird who eats your M & M's will miraculously guide us back if we get lost."
"Birds don't eat M & M's." She argued with a pout forming on her lips.
"Yea, but maybe some chipmunk or rock squirrel will." Ephram shot back.
"I don't care what you say." Delia said continuing to scatter her candy onto the ground amongst the array of twigs.
With that, Ephram proceeded onward leaving his naive sister to her absurd task. Instead of gathering firewood like he was supposed to, he continued walking further and further away. He ignored a few good-sized fallen branches in his path. The foliage got thicker as he went deeper into the woods.
"Ephram, I don't think we should go so far away. I ran out of M & M's. And aren't we supposed to be collecting wood? Dad said -" Delia began to say.
"I know what Dad said." Ephram interrupted. He looked around him. The sounds of wild birds purred and cooed in the leafy aspen trees. The treetops nearly touched the clear blue skies. A breeze swept through the shrubbery and made a rattling noise. He took a deep breath. "OK then, we shall gather wood." He nodded. "You'd better get to it. Time is wastin'. I see a few over there and there." He pointed.
"By myself?!? What are you gonna do?" She cried.
"I'm gonna sit right there and supervise." He thumbed to half-rotted log.
"No fair. Why do I have to do all the work?" Her big brown eyes started to water.
"Aw Geez. Come on, Del. Don't cry. You know I was just kidding." Ephram finally said seeing her about to burst into tears. "Just give me a few minutes to goof off - I mean - rest. OK?" He promised and smiled warmly. Catching a small grin forming on her solemn face told Ephram that she wasn't sad anymore. She offered to start getting together some of the smaller branches.
Ephram plopped down on the log and unzipped his black JanSport backpack. With his tongue on the corner of his mouth, he anxiously fished the inside of his bag. After a while of groping, he finally found the item of his desire. First, he whipped out a little silver coated Nokia cell phone followed by a flat metallic MP3 player the size of a Post-It pad. A single wire attached to the sleek box snaked its way out the side. At the end of the wire were two tiny earplugs. Never was he so glad to see technology.
"Hey!! You're not supposed to bring anything electronic on this trip!!" Delia exclaimed when she noticed the phone balancing on the rotted crevices of the log next to where her brother sat. "You're gonna get into trouble."
It was "Dad's Golden Rule" for this camping trip. Andy was determined to make this weekend a true camping experience. All unnecessary electronics were forbidden. That included pagers, cell phones, Discmans, Game Boys, MP3s, Palm Pilots, and any other battery operated devices of the modern world. He felt they were rude distractions in enjoying each other's company. The only exception was a small AM/FM radio in case of an emergency. For Ephram to be without his MP3 for one day was equivalent to going without water for three days. At least in his teenaged mind, it felt that way. Besides, no one was going to find out. Delia certainly wasn't going to tattle on someone she favored so much. She would never betray him. That's what he assumed.
"No I won't. Dad will never know." Ephram replied as he pressed a few buttons on his phone to check for new messages. "It's on vibrate mode." He cackled cleverly.
Discovering there were no new messages, he tossed the phone into his backpack. He happily untangled the long headphone wires.
"I won't tell dad." Delia began.
"I know you won't." Ephram smiled confidently and plugged the earpieces into his ears.
"I won't tell - for a price." Delia finished. Her eyes lit up and she crossed her arms.
"What?!" Ephram squealed as his smirk turned into a frown.
"What are you going to give me in return for not telling dad?" Delia eyed her brother feeling the power engulf her small body. "Well?"
"You can't be serious!! Whatever happened to 'I've got your back and you've got mine'?" Ephram questioned.
"Really, Ephram. You're always getting yourself into trouble and making me cover for you. Well, I'm not going to do it for free this time. Especially when there's something in it for me." She gave Ephram a sly grin. "So?"
Ephram searched Delia's face to see if there were any signs of jest. The controlling sparkle in her eyes told him she was serious to the bone. He may have gotten away with mischief dozens of times but this time, it was going to be different. He was going to have to pay.
"No deal." Ephram said strongly.
"Fine. But when dad finds out you brought your MP3 AND cell phone when he clearly said not to, he's not only gonna ground you, he's gonna confiscate it for God only knows how long. You ain't ever going to see it again." Delia said throwing her arms up in a see-if-I-care manner. "So - you'd better enjoy your - what - five minutes of pleasure now. Say good-bye to the rest of the Spring break with no TV, no music, no phone, no going out, no - "
"ALRIGHT!! Alright. Fine. I get the picture. What do you want??" Ephram finally gave in with a puff. * Damn, Delia's getting too smart. Never thought she would do something like this. It's something I would pull. But not her. * Ephram thought. He was secretly proud of the monster he created.
"What'cha got?" She questioned back. Ephram looked in his backpack.
"How about a king size Snickers?" He said handing her the candy bar.
"Ok, that's a start. What else?" She said accepting the initial payment. Ephram made a face when his little sister was demanding more.
"Um. a pack of Jelly Belly jellybeans, a box of Cracker Jacks, a box of Junior Mints, and four Blow Pops." Ephram placed the goods between where he and Delia sat.
"I also want all four packs of your Sour Patch Kids, the Bubble Tape, AND all five Slim Jims. Then we'll call it even." Delia demanded as she peered into her brother's backpack.
"You can have just two packs of Sour Patch Kids. No Bubble Tape. No Slim Jims." Ephram was putting his foot down. He would be running awfully low on sugar and junk food after this negotiation with the little devil in sheep's clothing.
"Look, it's not like I'm taking everything. You still have the Chuckles, Reeses Pieces, Mike N Ike, Gumballs, Lifesavers, Swedish fish, Jolly Rancher sticks, Butterfinger bar, and Mentos. I think I'm being very fair." Delia reasoned amiably.
"Two packs of Sour Patch Kids, the Bubble Tape and one Slim Jim." Ephram said.
"Three packs of Sour Patch Kids, Bubble Tape and three Slim Jims. That's my final offer. Take it or leave it." Delia sighed. "I know it's hard to part with the Slim Jims since it's your favorite. But then again, that's why it's so valuable." She tapped her red converse sneaker on the dirt impatiently.
"Fine. Deal. Here take it. Now leave me alone." Ephram said in frustration. "I swear, this is blackmail. Blackmail I tell you!!" He hollered as Delia stuffed the goodies into the pouch of her orange hooded sweatshirt.
"Yes, I know. I picked up that technique while watching an episode of Days of Our Lives with Nina." She revealed. Happy with her loot, she skipped a few feet away and began gathering some wood pieces.
"And all this time, I thought I was the one who taught you everything I know on the subject. I don't get any credit?" Ephram said dramatically.
Hearing Delia's laughter, he smiled. Heck, she could have taken all his candy away from him, for all he cared. He could never remain too angry with her. Ephram re-plugged in his earplugs and enjoyed listening to his MP3 for the next ten minutes.
It came closer. They were too busy bargaining and negotiating to realize that they were not alone in the woods. Deep within the shrubbery and foliage, something big was lurking. They were just a couple of city kids, what did they know about the "sounds" of danger. They figured it was some squirrel or little fuzzy woodland creature snapping on twigs.
Satisfied with the bundle of branches she collected, Delia stopped to take a break. She found a huge rock to sit on. She felt in her pouch pocket for the Slim Jims. It was indeed time for a snack. She had difficulty opening the packaging of the Slim Jims. But once she succeeded by ripping the plastic open with her teeth, she held all three sticks in her tiny hands greedily. Ephram wasn't the only one who liked Slim Jims. Delia enjoyed them too. She looked hungrily at the beef jerky sticks giving them her undivided attention. It was eleven inches of instant gratification.
Ephram sat a few feet away humming merrily to Blink 182's new song - Easy Target. He often closed his eyes when he listened to music. It was something he did to block out everything else around him. HeHe wanted to loose himself in the world of lyrics and intricate melodies. It was the only moment when he could forget where he was and live inside his mind. Perhaps this was the sole reason why music in general was so important to him. Anyone who knows Ephram, often sees him with earplugs in his ears acting like he's totally dead to the world - completely zoned out. It was his trademark. Most kids misinterpret his actions to be the stuck up New Yorker attitude but they don't understand what it's like to be Ephram. Music was his escape. People can strip him naked of everything he owns, but no one can take his music away. He'll sacrifice an arm and a foot before it comes to that. Music is the one thing he could retreat into when the world was cruel to him. It was comforting. Ephram never believed horrible music existed. He saw each piece of music as a unique entity. However rhythmic or syncopated they may appear, he appreciated it. He was always able to differential between noise and music.
Nearby, a rustle of leaves caught Ephram's attention. At first, he thought it was just the wind playing tricks on his mind and dismissed the noise. But when it happened again, he grew slightly more concerned. He pulled his earplugs out of his ears to get a better sense of where the noise was coming from exactly. It came from behind Delia - he was almost positive. Ephram quickly placed his MP3 player in his backpack and started walking towards his sister.
"Delia?" He froze in his tracks when the crackle of broken twigs came closer. He felt something terribly wrong.
"Hmm?" Delia mumbled while still chewing on a mouth full of beef jerky.
"Don't move. Be very still." Ephram coached sternly. Delia looked at him quizzically.
"Oh very funny Ephram. What? Do I have a spider on me or something?" She rolled her eyes. She stood up quickly expecting a big joke to immerge from somewhere.
"No, you don't understand. Just back away from there slowly." Ephram instructed seriously.
"Why?"
"There is something in the bushes." He pointed nervously.
"Ephram, if you are trying to scare me to get back at me for blackmailing you. It's not working." She took another bite of a Slim Jim.
"I'm not kidding. Do I look like I'm kidding?!" He fretted. The leaves moved again. This time, Delia noticed it.
"Well, uh. maybe it's dad coming to see what's taking us so long." She guessed hopefully. She walked towards Ephram slowly.
"Somehow, I doubt it. This place is giving me the creeps. Let's get outta here." Ephram said when Delia reached him.
"I hear ya." Delia replied.
The massive creature stepped out into the light revealing itself in broad daylight. The sun glistened on its back highlighting endless rows of black velvet fur. Its enormous body appeared to resemble a pear-shaped silhouette the size of a Volkswagen Beetle - or at least through the eyes of the children it seemed that big. The perked up rounded ears and small bead-like eyes gave the creature a most threatening demeanor. Dark patchy chocolate- colored fur on the head made its eyes hardly visible above a tapered brownish muzzle. It opened its mouth and stuck out a long tongue to draw breath. Two ferocious rows of elongated sharp ivory teeth protruded out of its pink gums. The beast's well-furred paws pounded the soil with each thundering step towards the petrified children.
"Holy shit!!! A black bear." Ephram shouted while grabbing Delia by the shoulder.
"Oh no!! What are we gonna do?" Delia said while nervously clinging to her brother's waist. He showed no signs of letting go for he was just as frightened of the animal as his little sister.
"Don't make any sudden movements." Ephram instructed. "Bears have very poor eye sight so maybe it that can buy us some time to get away. Just follow my lead." He whispered. They took baby steps away from the enormous creature hoping and praying it didn't notice them.
"I'm scared Ephram." Delia started to cry.
"We'll be ok. Now come on, let's not draw any attention to ourselves." Ephram tightened his grasp on Delia and flung the backpack over his shoulder.
They backed up not more than five steps before the black bear found its interest. Taking a few clumsy strides forward, it curiously raised its head in the children's direction. Its black wet leathery nose sniffed the air with expertise. Identifying its next meal, the creature began its venture towards the trembling twosome. What the bear lacked in eye power, it gained in all the other senses - especially the sense of smell.
Ephram's heart exploded into a pounding frenzy. People often had misconceptions of what frightened bears and kept them away from campsites. In this case, no singing, or clapping, or banging two sticks together, or whistling will drive this hungry fellow away. There is no doubt that when a bear is hungry, it usually meant he was HUNGRY. There are no sounds or smells that could repel a ravenously hungry black bear who've just awakened from winter hibernation. Whatever the outcome, Ephram knew it was his duty to protect his sister and keep her safe.
"It's coming this way!!" Delia squealed between sobs.
He said not a word - not because he didn't want to spook the bear further - but because his teeth were chattering so fiercely that he couldn't speak. They quickened their pace as the bear came closer. When the bear realized its meal was escaping, the bear's stride turned into a skip, then a jog as it charged towards the children.
"RUN!!" Ephram shrieked. Without a moment of hesitation, they spun around and ran as fast as they could. It didn't matter in which direction they ran - as long as it was away from the beast.
With the famished bear trailing dangerously close behind, he gave Delia a firm push whenever she lagged in her speed. Ephram kept his sister in sight.
Scared as she was, Delia was not going to let the fatigue set in regardless of how tired her short legs were. Her whole body was throbbing with fear. It was hard enough to command her legs to move faster. Tears welled in her eyes as she hurdled over fallen branches and pushed her way through the fern leaves. Her vision blurred as tears fell and stained her white face.
Delia was ahead of Ephram by a few feet when the unthinkable happened. All it took was one brief turn of the head. With frightened tears coming down her face in continuous streams, she turned her head to see if Ephram was still behind her. In doing so, she inadvertently tripped over her own feet and tumbled onto the ground eating a mouth full of dirt. Ephram rushed headlong ultimately tripping over Delia in the process and came crashing down beside her. His backpack fell a few paces away.
"Come on. Get up. We gotta keep running." Ephram said with stress written all over his voice. He reached over and grabbed Delia under the armpit to hoist her up.
A loud warbling roar from above stopped them dead in their tracks. Ephram and Delia turned their heads simultaneously to find the creature standing on its two hind feet directly over them. It roared as thick drool came dripping out of the corner of its mouth. * How did it catch up with us so fast? * Ephram wondered as hope started to slip away from his grasp. He heard Delia scream on the top of her lungs. The high-pitched scream threw the bear off for a split second as it went back down on all fours. It sniffled the air again and the rage returned as it remembered the grumbling noise coming from its empty stomach. The survival of the fittest instinct returned to its mind.
Ephram saw the bear raise a mighty paw. There was no way of escaping. The beast was too quick. But the boy knew what he must do. He pushed Delia down and buried her under his body. He threw a palm gently over the back of his sister's head and held her to his chest. Shielding her with his body, he closed his eyes tight for whatever may come next. The powerful curved claws struck Ephram's right shoulder blade shredding passed his gray sweatshirt and ripped open his flesh.
The pain tore through his body almost instantly. He let out a sharp cry. The blood came. Delia felt a splatter of some warm liquid ooze onto her neck in thick drops. She brushed the nape of her neck and when she pulled out her hand, a wet smear of crimson appeared across her palm. It didn't take her long to realize it was Ephram's blood. He had a hard time keeping up his strength. He coached himself to not pass out. Almost smothering his sister with his weight, Ephram opened his eyes and the first thing he saw were the half eaten sticks of Slim Jims that Delia had dropped when she tripped.
"Oh my God! Ephram!! You're bleeding!!" Delia cried in horror.
"Don't worry, it's just a scratch." Ephram spoke biting down as he swallowed the excruciating pain. "Have a plan." He continued in labored breaths. He reached for the soiled beef jerky. After waving the Slim Jims in front of the bear with his good arm, he tossed it a few inches away from its paws.
The bear sniffed the object that was thrown in front of him. Deciding that it was edible, it stopped tormenting the children momentarily and focused on the beef jerky. Meanwhile, Ephram had his eyes set on a thick aspen branch within reaching distance.
"Delia, when I tell you to run, you run as fast as can and don't look back - no matter what happens. He can't get both of us." Ephram clutched the branch in his hands like a baseball bat digging his nails into the wood with vengeance.
"I'm not leaving you here." Delia protested. "You're hurt."
"This is no time to argue. You are going to run like the wind. Find dad. I'll join you as soon as I can get away. OK? You hear me?" He breathed harder. The twisting pain in his shoulder was not easing. The more he moved, the more it hurt. The gash was deep - he knew. He grunted in discomfort catching a worried look on Delia's sweet face.
"I can't." Delia refused. "I won't do it. You come with me." She wailed.
"Delia, those Slim Jims won't hold him forever." Ephram watched the bear chew on the jerky. "Do as I say. I'll be fine. Honest."
"Are you sure?" Delia questioned skeptically. A few tears fell from her big brown eyes.
"I'm sure. Wouldn't lie to you." Ephram hid a wince in a cough.
"You're bleeding an awful lot." Delia noticed the blood from the wound had already slid down and stained the entire right sleeve of Ephram's sweatshirt.
"Looks worse than it feels. I'll be ok." He lied and forced a smile. He reached over and kissed his sister firmly on the forehead. It may be the last time he'll be able to do that.
"Ephram.no." Delia whimpered. Somehow, she couldn't deny the eerie feeling in the pit of her stomach that something bad was going to happen. She felt it in his kiss.
"Shhh." Ephram hushed. "I love you. Always know that."
The bear finished his appetizer and sniffed the air once again. It recognized the sweet, delicious smell of fresh blood and moved in for the main course. The creature approached with caution and made a monstrous snort. By now, Ephram was sitting up with his back to Delia. His eyes widened and shook with fear as he looked up at the enormous animal before him. Ephram clutched the tree branch with both hands. His heart pounded and the blood ran cold through his veins. With all his strength, he swung the branch as hard as he could, not allowing it the advantage of making the first move. The hitting blow landed squarely across the bear's cheek. It grumbled in pain. The temporary distraction allowed Ephram and Delia to scramble away but obviously not by too far as the bear regained its stamina quite fast.
"RUN DELIA!! RUN!!" Ephram screamed with all his might. "RUN NOW!"
Startled, Delia jumped up and stood there for a moment. She watched Ephram take another swing at the bear, this time hitting it in the gut.
"RUN! GO!!" Ephram yelled and gave Delia a shove. With tears in her eyes, she ran. She ran and ran - obeying her brother's orders. She did not look back.
Ephram raised the branch one more time in batting position and prepared himself for another swing. His shoulder was killing him and he could feel himself weakening. He could barely lift the branch. Just as Ephram swung the branch again, the bear's reflexes caught on and knocked the piece of wood out of the boy's hands easily like a flick of a toothpick. The branch went flying through the air and disappeared into the thick foliage. Woozy from the blood loss, Ephram totted backwards and fell over landing on his back. The raw flesh peeking out of the tattered sweatshirt came into contact with the soil and stung so badly he thought he was going to black out for sure. But he wasn't going to be bear-breakfast without giving one helluva fight. He hadn't even completely stood up yet when he felt the next blow forcing him to be thrown a few feet away. The impact pushed him so hard it nearly knocked the wind out of him.
He screamed in horrible agony as the torturous pain emitted from the new laceration on his side. One more strike of the claws would no doubt finish him off. Sweat beaded on his face and his breath came in loud grunts. The back of his hand had hit against something soft. He realized it was his backpack and crawled to it as quick as he could. Grabbing a fist full of candy, he threw it at the bear. Black bears loved the taste of freshly killed prey but sweets were something they found hard to resist. The distraction worked. The creature sniffed the enticing scent of sugar and began eating whatever Ephram threw at it. It was so preoccupied with the candy that it failed to realize Ephram had crawled away.
His head was spinning so fast it was difficult to think straight. Ephram wasn't sure which way it was that Delia ran. There was no time to stand there and ponder. He didn't want to wait to see what the bear would do next when it found out its meal had disappeared. Holding his side with his good arm, he half limped and half ran in any random direction. Ephram wanted so badly to rest and pass out but he refused to allow his body to give up. He had to get as far away as possible.
When he realized the bear was not following him, he found a thick spruce tree trunk and leaned against it to rest. It was time to inspect the damage. A bloody mess had leaked through the hand that held the wound on his side. Thick blood dripped from between his fingers and splattered onto his brown hiking sneakers in round droplets. He took away his hand and found three deep claw mark lacerations through the tears in his sweatshirt. The gashes were located on the left side of his torso under the last rib. He got scared at the sight of his flesh being turned inside out. The old wound on his shoulder was starting to numb. He could barely feel his right arm anymore.
Ephram surveyed the area with a careful eye. All the trees and rocks looked the same. He was lost. Didn't know where he was or what he should do, he decided the best thing was to keep moving. Pushing himself off the tree, he took five clumsily shuffles before his vision blurred. He wasn't even aware his body had fallen until he felt his face met with the small rocks on the ground. Unable to clear or lift his head, he allowed his body to relax and gave into the darkness.
* End of Chapter 1 *
A/N: Am I being too cruel in leaving it off here? If you want to know what happens next, you'll just have to wait for chapter 2!! Haha!!
Author's Note: Hello Everyone! Sorry it took so long to produce new material. I do apologize but I haven't exactly been slacking. I've been working on two stories simultaneously. I've decided to take a stab at writing a "Hack" fanfic. The first chapter shall be posted if and when fanfiction.net decides to add "Hack" to its list of TV shows. But until then, here is my latest Everwood fic. This was an idea that came to me while romping through the trails of the Front Range and experiencing wildlife first hand during my recent trip to Colorado. The story takes place sometime during Everwood's first season. Enjoy!
Title: Bear Essentials
Chapter 1: Grizzly Encounters
A burning sensation from the tightness of coarse rope against raw flesh around his wrists woke him from his darkened state. He had no idea how long he'd been out. He squinted into the darkness for any hints on his whereabouts. It appeared to be some sort of jail or dungeon or torture chamber. Four stoned walls surrounded him. It was definitely not a time to be claustrophobic. Suspended from the ceiling was a twine of thick rope. The end of this rope bound his skinny wrists together holding up his weight. His knees sagged almost touching the ground. He looked down at his body. His tattered clothes had been ripped to near shreds. There appeared to be no signs of injury to his torso nor did he feel any pain. How did he get here? He pulled at the rope to free himself but it was useless. The more he tugged and struggled, the tighter the rope became.
"Help!" He cried. "Oh Somebody, Help!" His voice echoed in the darkness. He wanted to cry.
Somewhere in the distance, a rumbling sound emerged causing the ground to shake. He thought for sure the ground was going to split open and swallow him whole. Sounding like a jackhammer, the noise grew louder and louder. The dull stones of his cell trembled and loose soil sprinkled over him resembling black rain. He spat out the dry debris that got caught in his mouth. The strange noise continued to grow closer and closer. Suddenly, the noise stopped short for a few seconds followed by a deafening explosion as one of the stoned walls crumbled to the ground. In an instant, something ripped through the twine of rope above him severing its hold on his wrists. He fell over backwards and landed flat on his back. An unexplainable magnetic force was pulling his body to the cold floor making it impossible to budge no matter how hard he struggled.
He turned his head to the direction of the crumbled wall. Through the murky hole appeared a blinding white light. After the big cloud of dust settled, he was able to see a shadow approaching out of the fog. It was in the silhouette of a woman. The light outlined her tall slender hourglass figure. Her hips swayed from side to side as she walked towards him in a calm fashion. His eyes widened with excitement as she came into focus. She held something in her hand.
It was a Colt military firearm. The barrel of the gun was still smoking as she gripped it casually in her right hand. It just dawned on him that the mysterious woman had shot off the rope that bound his bruised wrists together. He held his breath as the woman came into view. She was strikingly beautiful and equally sexy. Her long black hair was tied back and weaved into a single braid down her back. She wore a shiny skintight black, cropped tank top and matching short trunks that revealed her long tanned athletic legs. Twin black leather gun holsters were strapped to her bare thighs. The heel of her tall, laced combat boots scuffed the ground creating little puffs of dust as she walked.
"I've come for you, Ephram." She said while inserting the automatic pistol back into her holster.
*She knows my name. How did she know my name??* Thoughts raced through his mind.
The woman came to a stop in front of his body. She dropped to her knees and examined him with her blazing green eyes. Not only was he robbed of his ability to move, his vocal chords were taken as well.
"Don't you know who I am?" The mysterious woman said with her nose coming just inches away from his. "I know who you are. Ephram Brown. I've kept tabs on you for a long time now."
Ephram opened his mouth to talk but his words only came out in exhaled grunts. *Why can't I talk??* He thought.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" She spoke as her stoic and professional facial expression turned into a playful one. "I think I know what you want." She purred with a raised eyebrow.
With a nervous eye, Ephram blinked at her both curiously yet afraid that his teenage fantasy was coming true. He wasn't sure whether he should be scared or extremely happy. Her huge fierce green eyes were two icy emeralds. They pierced through his dull greenish-gray eyes. She was reading him. To avoid eye contact, he decided to focus his gaze at something else to deter the awkward position - which proved to be a big mistake as she stood on all fours hovering a good distance above him. His eyes absentmindedly trailed down to her chest. Her low cut tank top hugged her bosoms tightly exposing her cleavage adding even more seduction to her voluptuous figure.
"Do you like what you see?" She said with a flirtatious grin.
"Yes." Ephram piped finally finding his voice. 'Yes' was the only word his throat allowed him to say. He wanted to add to his response but it was like as if a big cotton ball clogged his voice box.
"I knew you would." She curled her thick red pouty lips. Moving closer to the boy, she breathed on his cheek. "You like me, don't you?" She whispered into his ear.
"Yes." Ephram gulped. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead. The minty scent of her breath lingered as he watched her through the corner of his eye.
"Then you won't mind if I touched you." She declared. Her hands innocently massaged his shoulders with gentle pleasure. Ephram was shaking like a leaf from pure shock and stimulation. "Does that feel good?" She asked.
"Yes." Ephram replied obediently.
"Would you like me to kiss you?" She said with mischief written all over her voice when the massage came to an end.
"Yes." Ephram said anxiously. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the heavenly lip lock promised by this Goddess. The mysterious woman gave him a peck of a kiss on his forehead. He opened his eyes, slightly disappointed.
"Uh-uh. You naughty boy." She scolded. "You never said where." She let the tip of her nose nudge the tip of his nose playfully. "Say not a word. I know where you want to be kissed. Um, how about here?" She poked a bare spot on his chest where a tear in the fabric exposed his flesh. The nail of her perfectly manicured index finger tickled his skin.
"Yes." He mumbled. She placed a kiss on that very spot.
"OK. How about here next?" She suggested while touching his neck.
"Yes." He mumbled again. She breathed on his neck and slid her tongue over his Adam's apple before placing a kiss on a spot on his neck right under his earlobe. He moaned.
"I'm sure your fire is lit now, loverboy. You have completed round one. We are going onto the next level. Do you want me to kiss here next?" She patted two fingers against his lips.
"Mmmm. Yes." Ephram replied with a wide grin. *Have I died and gone to Heaven? Here I am, the woman of my dreams is making out with me - with ME of all people. This can't be really happening. I never have this kind of luck. Ever.* He thought to himself.
At this moment he wished he had more practice in lip kissing. Most kids his age would've considered themselves experts in the field. They bragged about how many times they've been "around the block" - which is much less for what Ephram can say for himself. Around the block?! He hasn't even left the curb. He's always been more of a wallflower than a wildflower. Inexperience is written all over his face. In all his fifteen years, he'd only lip kissed twice. The first kiss happened in the first grade by the monkey bars in the kiddie playground of PS 207 elementary school. Lindsay Duncan was her name. She had long curly strawberry hair tied into two pigtails. He made it known to his friends that he despised her when he actually had a secret crush on her. Though, the kiss was more of a dare his friends put him up to rather than one of mutual consent. He never forgot the disgusted look on her freckled face when he landed the big wet one on her lips. The second kiss was, of course, more recent. Amy Abbott. It was a huge mistake but it was the first "real" kiss he'd ever had. The only catch was that she belonged to someone else. Amy toyed with his emotions and broke his heart. He hated her for that.
The mysterious woman leaned in dangerously. His pulse quickened and breathing became more difficult. *Can't she tell that I'm a nervous wreck?* He thought and closed his eyes again. He cursed himself for not spending more time practicing his kissing techniques on his arm. But who cares now! In a few measly seconds he was going to feel her soft puffy red lips press up against his.
He waited.
And waited.
Nothing happened. Ephram opened his eyes to see what the big hold up was. His seductress was looking squarely at him. He watched her long black mascara-ed lashes flap up and down as she blinked. It was like time had stood still. She finally spoke.
"Ephram. You have been terminated. Game over." She said looking down at Ephram.
He stared at her with confusion. Even though she was smiling, her desire for him had been extinguished. She seemed - almost robotic to a point where her beautiful facial features hardened and the genuine sincerity had vanished.
"W-what? What's wrong?" Ephram managed to say.
"Game over. Game over. Game over." She repeated in a cold and lifeless tone.
"I don't understand." He cried out in frustration.
"You lose. I win." She cocked her head to one side and cracked a smile at her defeated opponent.
"Please give me a kiss." Ephram closed his eyes tight hoping to feel her warm lips on his soon.
"Ephram." The female voice called.
"Kiss me! Oh, kiss me, please?" Ephram begged.
"Ephram." The female voice called again.
"I want a kiss!!" He shouted.
"Ephram." The female voice calling him had turned into a male voice. "Ephram." The husky voice repeated. "Ephram, wake up." Said the deep voice.
Startled, Ephram slowly blinked his eyes open. He recognized the man looking down at him and groaned. It was his father.
"Rise and shine!" His father beamed and stared at his son who was comfortably tucked into his quilted navy blue sleeping bag.
"Dad - why are you waking me up at the crack of dawn?" Ephram grumbled and covered the blanket over his head.
"Ephram, it's nearly nine o'clock!! And no, I will NOT kiss you." Andy joked and pulled the blanket off his son.
"Huh?" Ephram said sleepily tugging back at the blanket.
"Huh?" Andy mimicked. "You were talking in your sleep, buddy."
"What'd I say?" He drawled.
"Well, you kept saying 'yes'. Then you said you wanted a kiss." Andy replied. "Ephram, do you always smile in your sleep?" He laughed.
"You would too if you had the dream I was having." Ephram rubbed his eyes.
"Must've been something because I think you were drooling a little too."
"Why'd you have to wake me up?" Ephram sounded annoyed that his dream was so rudely interrupted. "She was going to kiss me."
"OK, who was the hot chick?" Andy said curiously trying to humor Ephram.
"Lara Croft. You know - in Tomb Raider." He folded his hands behind his head with a wide bushy-eyed grin. The sparkle in his eyes twinkled as he reminisced the dream.
"A girl from a video game?" Andy chortled. "OK, that's it. I'm putting my foot down. No more explicit video games. It's back to The Adventures of Wallace and Grommit for you mister. You do know she's not real, right?"
"It wasn't exactly like the image from the video game. It was more like Angelina Jolie from the movie." His grin got wider when he said her name.
"Oh. Well now, THAT'S different. I was beginning to worry about you." Andy laughed. "So, enough of this chit chat. It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining, birds are singing. Nature beckons. We should make an effort to enjoy it." He added while gathering and folding Ephram's blanket.
"Dad - I hate camping. I don't know why you're making me do this. I could be at home in my own soft bed sleeping till noon. But no. I have to be stuck in the wilderness in this crummy tent spending MY spring break living like a Neanderthal." Ephram whined.
"Stop being a baby. It's only for the weekend - two days." Andy made a two- fingers gesture with his hand. "You'll still have the rest of next week to vegetate in front of the TV. Besides, a little fresh air won't kill you. In fact, it'll do your lungs some good. And where's your sense of adventure?"
"I left it in my sock drawer at home."
"Being one with the good earth - it's needed every now and then. Just think of yourself as being on, what's that show called? - Survivor: The Outback." Andy reasoned.
"You're not helping. Besides, it's Survivor: Pearl Islands now. You're only several seasons behind. Eating bugs for protein is not my idea of a relaxing getaway." Ephram taunted. "Can't you be a pal and let me sleep another ten minutes?" He begged.
"Nope. Permission for additional sleep minutes is denied. Nina and Delia are up already getting ready for breakfast. And you'd better hustle if you want to get your share of earthworm omelets. The worms were freshly dug this morning, by the way. Castaway Brown of the Couch Potato Tribe." Andy added in attempt to get a smile on his son's dreary, sleep deprived face.
"Ha, Ha. Very funny." Ephram rolled his eyes and chuckled. "So does this mean you and Nina are an item now? We are on a family vacation after all." He put emphasis on the word "family."
"Stop goofing off and get dressed." Andy instructed avoiding the subject.
"Yes, your majesty. Right away, your majesty. Whatever you want, your majesty." Ephram mocked with sarcasm. He kicked the flap of his navy sleeping bag off lazily. His sleep clothes consisted of a green long sleeved T-shirt and an old pair of blue plaid flannel pants.
"Are you awake?" Andy pressed impatiently.
"Yea. Yea. Yea. I'm awake." The boy stretched and sat up. Andy tried to not laugh at the piece of hair that was sticking up on the back of Ephram's head. Instead, he licked his hand and slapped it on the boy's head to smooth the hair as a joke.
"Ew! What did you do that for?!" Ephram screamed and shoved his father's hand away.
"You had an alfalfa sprout thing going on there and I thought I'd fix it." Andy quipped. He laughed upon seeing the annoyed look on his son's face.
"Oh gross. Now I have to go disinfect my hair. Thanks a lot dad." Ephram groaned. He tried to groom his dark brown hair by combing his fingers through it.
"Great. Now that I've got your attention, you may wish to join us for breakfast." Andy said while exiting the tent.
Spring break was supposed to be spent lounging about and doing a whole bunch of nothing. At least that was what Ephram planned. Apparently, the great Dr. Brown had other things in mind. All of a sudden, it was the perfect opportunity for family bonding. The only type of bonding Ephram wanted to do was with the living room couch and the cable TV. The weekend camping trip was his father's attempt at being spontaneous. Ephram cursed himself for constantly giving his father lip about how predictable he was and that he should loosen up and go with the flow for a change - be a little risqué. Talk about a plan backfired. Facing the rugged outdoors was not really Ephram's forte. Though, it wasn't a total loss - Nina was here. Ephram was glad for that. Andy had invited Nina to join them partly because he liked her and partly because it would be good for Delia to have some female influence. Besides, it was Carl's weekend to have Sam and that left a big convenient empty space on her weekend agenda. Ephram reluctantly got dressed and climbed out of his tent.
"Well, good morning sleepyhead! Care for some breakfast? Eggs and ham?" Nina chirped merrily. She looked stunning - even in a pair of faded blue jeans and a denim jacket. Her long corn silk hair was tied into a ponytail. Nina sat on her heels by the fire poking occasionally at the strips of ham cooking in the skillet. Delia was patiently waiting for her share of grub. She sat Indian style by the fire watching the ham being cooked. If she gripped that metal plate in her hand any tighter, she could've produced aluminum juice. Andy was tending to a pot of boiling water for coffee.
"Sure. Sounds good." Ephram replied and took a seat on the ground next to his sister.
"See, it's not so bad." Andy said. "After breakfast, we'll go on a nice nature walk. We'll pack a lunch and have a picnic by the lake. We may even get to see some elk."
"You have our day all mapped out for us, don't you? Ooo, maybe by the end of the day Delia can identify three different types of fungi." Ephram said in an ironic tone pretending to be excited. "Whoop-pee." He retorted as he circled his index finger in the air unenthusiastically.
"I love camping." Delia shouted cheerfully. "It's exciting!!"
"There we go. I'm glad some one here appreciates this trip." Andy said. Nina placed a big slice of ham onto Delia's plate.
"Suck up." Ephram said to his sister in jest. "There is nothing exciting about being completely cut off from civilization." He continued. Delia wolfed down the food ignoring her brother.
"You young people don't know the meaning of making do with what you got." Andy shook his head in disappointment.
"I know what's comin' next - when life hands you lemons, make lemonade." Ephram rolled his eyes and sighed.
"I WAS going to say, kids today are so caught up with luxuries that they probably won't last one day out in the wilderness with just the clothes on their backs. It doesn't hurt to learn an extra skill."
"If I ever want to be a boy scout, then I'll let you know."
"Come on you guys. Can you not argue for one weekend???" Nina interjected. "As far as I'm concerned, both of you are so full of hot air! We should be appreciating the time we have off. Can't you call a truce??"
"You go girl!" Delia exclaimed with a greasy mouth giving Nina moral support.
"See, even an eight year old can see you are being ridiculous." Nina nodded.
"Can I have some eggs next?" Delia said when she finished her share of the ham.
"Alright. Fine. I promise not to complain if you promise to stop nagging me." Ephram offered his hand.
"Deal." Andy said giving his son a firm handshake. Satisfied, Nina smiled and focused her attention to cooking.
"Hmm. Looks like we're gonna need some more wood. The fire is starting to go out." Nina observed as she scraped the scrambled eggs onto an aluminum mess tray.
"I'll go find some branches." Ephram volunteered, sounding a little too eager. "You know, to get myself acquainted with nature." He justified.
"I'm coming with you." Andy declared as he stood up and dusted his knees.
"NO." Ephram said slightly too loudly. "Uh, I mean - you don't need to. Delia can come with me." He stepped over to his tent and grabbed his backpack. "We'll be ok. What can go wrong in gathering a couple of sticks?"
"What are you up to?" Andy eyed him suspiciously.
"Nothing. You are so paranoid. You always think there's a catch to everything." Ephram scolded. He leaned in and said to his father, "Besides, I'm giving you an opportunity to be alone with her."
"Ephram." Andy began.
"I know. I get it. You don't have to tell me - you're just friends.Blah, blah. Um-hm. I know." Ephram smiled and winked. "You comin', munchkin?" He called to his sister.
"I'm ready." Delia stated while she adjusted her navy blue baseball cap. Ephram swung his backpack over his shoulders.
"Do me a favor - don't go off too far." Andy instructed.
"Alright. Tsk, don't worry." Ephram waved off and started walking.
"Kids." Andy shrugged and watched his children disappear into the woods. He sat down and poured two cups of coffee.
"Can't live with them, can't live without them. I know the feeling." Nina laughed. She handed Andy a mug of black coffee.
"They drive me up the wall and through the roof sometimes, but truth is, I don't know what'd I do without either of them in my life." Andy blew on his coffee before sipping it.
****
"What on earth are you doing?" Ephram said to Delia.
"In case we get lost." Delia responded. "We can follow it back." She held in her hands a large Ziplock bag of multi-colored M & M's candies. Ephram watched her drop a few pellets onto the ground every so often as they walked further away from the campsite.
"We're not going to get lost. You totally underestimate my sense of direction." He put his hands on his hips.
"Just like in the Hansel and Gretel story - only they used bread. But M & M's are just as effective." Delia beamed.
"But in that story, the birds ate the bread so the kids get lost anyway - I doubt any bird who eats your M & M's will miraculously guide us back if we get lost."
"Birds don't eat M & M's." She argued with a pout forming on her lips.
"Yea, but maybe some chipmunk or rock squirrel will." Ephram shot back.
"I don't care what you say." Delia said continuing to scatter her candy onto the ground amongst the array of twigs.
With that, Ephram proceeded onward leaving his naive sister to her absurd task. Instead of gathering firewood like he was supposed to, he continued walking further and further away. He ignored a few good-sized fallen branches in his path. The foliage got thicker as he went deeper into the woods.
"Ephram, I don't think we should go so far away. I ran out of M & M's. And aren't we supposed to be collecting wood? Dad said -" Delia began to say.
"I know what Dad said." Ephram interrupted. He looked around him. The sounds of wild birds purred and cooed in the leafy aspen trees. The treetops nearly touched the clear blue skies. A breeze swept through the shrubbery and made a rattling noise. He took a deep breath. "OK then, we shall gather wood." He nodded. "You'd better get to it. Time is wastin'. I see a few over there and there." He pointed.
"By myself?!? What are you gonna do?" She cried.
"I'm gonna sit right there and supervise." He thumbed to half-rotted log.
"No fair. Why do I have to do all the work?" Her big brown eyes started to water.
"Aw Geez. Come on, Del. Don't cry. You know I was just kidding." Ephram finally said seeing her about to burst into tears. "Just give me a few minutes to goof off - I mean - rest. OK?" He promised and smiled warmly. Catching a small grin forming on her solemn face told Ephram that she wasn't sad anymore. She offered to start getting together some of the smaller branches.
Ephram plopped down on the log and unzipped his black JanSport backpack. With his tongue on the corner of his mouth, he anxiously fished the inside of his bag. After a while of groping, he finally found the item of his desire. First, he whipped out a little silver coated Nokia cell phone followed by a flat metallic MP3 player the size of a Post-It pad. A single wire attached to the sleek box snaked its way out the side. At the end of the wire were two tiny earplugs. Never was he so glad to see technology.
"Hey!! You're not supposed to bring anything electronic on this trip!!" Delia exclaimed when she noticed the phone balancing on the rotted crevices of the log next to where her brother sat. "You're gonna get into trouble."
It was "Dad's Golden Rule" for this camping trip. Andy was determined to make this weekend a true camping experience. All unnecessary electronics were forbidden. That included pagers, cell phones, Discmans, Game Boys, MP3s, Palm Pilots, and any other battery operated devices of the modern world. He felt they were rude distractions in enjoying each other's company. The only exception was a small AM/FM radio in case of an emergency. For Ephram to be without his MP3 for one day was equivalent to going without water for three days. At least in his teenaged mind, it felt that way. Besides, no one was going to find out. Delia certainly wasn't going to tattle on someone she favored so much. She would never betray him. That's what he assumed.
"No I won't. Dad will never know." Ephram replied as he pressed a few buttons on his phone to check for new messages. "It's on vibrate mode." He cackled cleverly.
Discovering there were no new messages, he tossed the phone into his backpack. He happily untangled the long headphone wires.
"I won't tell dad." Delia began.
"I know you won't." Ephram smiled confidently and plugged the earpieces into his ears.
"I won't tell - for a price." Delia finished. Her eyes lit up and she crossed her arms.
"What?!" Ephram squealed as his smirk turned into a frown.
"What are you going to give me in return for not telling dad?" Delia eyed her brother feeling the power engulf her small body. "Well?"
"You can't be serious!! Whatever happened to 'I've got your back and you've got mine'?" Ephram questioned.
"Really, Ephram. You're always getting yourself into trouble and making me cover for you. Well, I'm not going to do it for free this time. Especially when there's something in it for me." She gave Ephram a sly grin. "So?"
Ephram searched Delia's face to see if there were any signs of jest. The controlling sparkle in her eyes told him she was serious to the bone. He may have gotten away with mischief dozens of times but this time, it was going to be different. He was going to have to pay.
"No deal." Ephram said strongly.
"Fine. But when dad finds out you brought your MP3 AND cell phone when he clearly said not to, he's not only gonna ground you, he's gonna confiscate it for God only knows how long. You ain't ever going to see it again." Delia said throwing her arms up in a see-if-I-care manner. "So - you'd better enjoy your - what - five minutes of pleasure now. Say good-bye to the rest of the Spring break with no TV, no music, no phone, no going out, no - "
"ALRIGHT!! Alright. Fine. I get the picture. What do you want??" Ephram finally gave in with a puff. * Damn, Delia's getting too smart. Never thought she would do something like this. It's something I would pull. But not her. * Ephram thought. He was secretly proud of the monster he created.
"What'cha got?" She questioned back. Ephram looked in his backpack.
"How about a king size Snickers?" He said handing her the candy bar.
"Ok, that's a start. What else?" She said accepting the initial payment. Ephram made a face when his little sister was demanding more.
"Um. a pack of Jelly Belly jellybeans, a box of Cracker Jacks, a box of Junior Mints, and four Blow Pops." Ephram placed the goods between where he and Delia sat.
"I also want all four packs of your Sour Patch Kids, the Bubble Tape, AND all five Slim Jims. Then we'll call it even." Delia demanded as she peered into her brother's backpack.
"You can have just two packs of Sour Patch Kids. No Bubble Tape. No Slim Jims." Ephram was putting his foot down. He would be running awfully low on sugar and junk food after this negotiation with the little devil in sheep's clothing.
"Look, it's not like I'm taking everything. You still have the Chuckles, Reeses Pieces, Mike N Ike, Gumballs, Lifesavers, Swedish fish, Jolly Rancher sticks, Butterfinger bar, and Mentos. I think I'm being very fair." Delia reasoned amiably.
"Two packs of Sour Patch Kids, the Bubble Tape and one Slim Jim." Ephram said.
"Three packs of Sour Patch Kids, Bubble Tape and three Slim Jims. That's my final offer. Take it or leave it." Delia sighed. "I know it's hard to part with the Slim Jims since it's your favorite. But then again, that's why it's so valuable." She tapped her red converse sneaker on the dirt impatiently.
"Fine. Deal. Here take it. Now leave me alone." Ephram said in frustration. "I swear, this is blackmail. Blackmail I tell you!!" He hollered as Delia stuffed the goodies into the pouch of her orange hooded sweatshirt.
"Yes, I know. I picked up that technique while watching an episode of Days of Our Lives with Nina." She revealed. Happy with her loot, she skipped a few feet away and began gathering some wood pieces.
"And all this time, I thought I was the one who taught you everything I know on the subject. I don't get any credit?" Ephram said dramatically.
Hearing Delia's laughter, he smiled. Heck, she could have taken all his candy away from him, for all he cared. He could never remain too angry with her. Ephram re-plugged in his earplugs and enjoyed listening to his MP3 for the next ten minutes.
It came closer. They were too busy bargaining and negotiating to realize that they were not alone in the woods. Deep within the shrubbery and foliage, something big was lurking. They were just a couple of city kids, what did they know about the "sounds" of danger. They figured it was some squirrel or little fuzzy woodland creature snapping on twigs.
Satisfied with the bundle of branches she collected, Delia stopped to take a break. She found a huge rock to sit on. She felt in her pouch pocket for the Slim Jims. It was indeed time for a snack. She had difficulty opening the packaging of the Slim Jims. But once she succeeded by ripping the plastic open with her teeth, she held all three sticks in her tiny hands greedily. Ephram wasn't the only one who liked Slim Jims. Delia enjoyed them too. She looked hungrily at the beef jerky sticks giving them her undivided attention. It was eleven inches of instant gratification.
Ephram sat a few feet away humming merrily to Blink 182's new song - Easy Target. He often closed his eyes when he listened to music. It was something he did to block out everything else around him. HeHe wanted to loose himself in the world of lyrics and intricate melodies. It was the only moment when he could forget where he was and live inside his mind. Perhaps this was the sole reason why music in general was so important to him. Anyone who knows Ephram, often sees him with earplugs in his ears acting like he's totally dead to the world - completely zoned out. It was his trademark. Most kids misinterpret his actions to be the stuck up New Yorker attitude but they don't understand what it's like to be Ephram. Music was his escape. People can strip him naked of everything he owns, but no one can take his music away. He'll sacrifice an arm and a foot before it comes to that. Music is the one thing he could retreat into when the world was cruel to him. It was comforting. Ephram never believed horrible music existed. He saw each piece of music as a unique entity. However rhythmic or syncopated they may appear, he appreciated it. He was always able to differential between noise and music.
Nearby, a rustle of leaves caught Ephram's attention. At first, he thought it was just the wind playing tricks on his mind and dismissed the noise. But when it happened again, he grew slightly more concerned. He pulled his earplugs out of his ears to get a better sense of where the noise was coming from exactly. It came from behind Delia - he was almost positive. Ephram quickly placed his MP3 player in his backpack and started walking towards his sister.
"Delia?" He froze in his tracks when the crackle of broken twigs came closer. He felt something terribly wrong.
"Hmm?" Delia mumbled while still chewing on a mouth full of beef jerky.
"Don't move. Be very still." Ephram coached sternly. Delia looked at him quizzically.
"Oh very funny Ephram. What? Do I have a spider on me or something?" She rolled her eyes. She stood up quickly expecting a big joke to immerge from somewhere.
"No, you don't understand. Just back away from there slowly." Ephram instructed seriously.
"Why?"
"There is something in the bushes." He pointed nervously.
"Ephram, if you are trying to scare me to get back at me for blackmailing you. It's not working." She took another bite of a Slim Jim.
"I'm not kidding. Do I look like I'm kidding?!" He fretted. The leaves moved again. This time, Delia noticed it.
"Well, uh. maybe it's dad coming to see what's taking us so long." She guessed hopefully. She walked towards Ephram slowly.
"Somehow, I doubt it. This place is giving me the creeps. Let's get outta here." Ephram said when Delia reached him.
"I hear ya." Delia replied.
The massive creature stepped out into the light revealing itself in broad daylight. The sun glistened on its back highlighting endless rows of black velvet fur. Its enormous body appeared to resemble a pear-shaped silhouette the size of a Volkswagen Beetle - or at least through the eyes of the children it seemed that big. The perked up rounded ears and small bead-like eyes gave the creature a most threatening demeanor. Dark patchy chocolate- colored fur on the head made its eyes hardly visible above a tapered brownish muzzle. It opened its mouth and stuck out a long tongue to draw breath. Two ferocious rows of elongated sharp ivory teeth protruded out of its pink gums. The beast's well-furred paws pounded the soil with each thundering step towards the petrified children.
"Holy shit!!! A black bear." Ephram shouted while grabbing Delia by the shoulder.
"Oh no!! What are we gonna do?" Delia said while nervously clinging to her brother's waist. He showed no signs of letting go for he was just as frightened of the animal as his little sister.
"Don't make any sudden movements." Ephram instructed. "Bears have very poor eye sight so maybe it that can buy us some time to get away. Just follow my lead." He whispered. They took baby steps away from the enormous creature hoping and praying it didn't notice them.
"I'm scared Ephram." Delia started to cry.
"We'll be ok. Now come on, let's not draw any attention to ourselves." Ephram tightened his grasp on Delia and flung the backpack over his shoulder.
They backed up not more than five steps before the black bear found its interest. Taking a few clumsy strides forward, it curiously raised its head in the children's direction. Its black wet leathery nose sniffed the air with expertise. Identifying its next meal, the creature began its venture towards the trembling twosome. What the bear lacked in eye power, it gained in all the other senses - especially the sense of smell.
Ephram's heart exploded into a pounding frenzy. People often had misconceptions of what frightened bears and kept them away from campsites. In this case, no singing, or clapping, or banging two sticks together, or whistling will drive this hungry fellow away. There is no doubt that when a bear is hungry, it usually meant he was HUNGRY. There are no sounds or smells that could repel a ravenously hungry black bear who've just awakened from winter hibernation. Whatever the outcome, Ephram knew it was his duty to protect his sister and keep her safe.
"It's coming this way!!" Delia squealed between sobs.
He said not a word - not because he didn't want to spook the bear further - but because his teeth were chattering so fiercely that he couldn't speak. They quickened their pace as the bear came closer. When the bear realized its meal was escaping, the bear's stride turned into a skip, then a jog as it charged towards the children.
"RUN!!" Ephram shrieked. Without a moment of hesitation, they spun around and ran as fast as they could. It didn't matter in which direction they ran - as long as it was away from the beast.
With the famished bear trailing dangerously close behind, he gave Delia a firm push whenever she lagged in her speed. Ephram kept his sister in sight.
Scared as she was, Delia was not going to let the fatigue set in regardless of how tired her short legs were. Her whole body was throbbing with fear. It was hard enough to command her legs to move faster. Tears welled in her eyes as she hurdled over fallen branches and pushed her way through the fern leaves. Her vision blurred as tears fell and stained her white face.
Delia was ahead of Ephram by a few feet when the unthinkable happened. All it took was one brief turn of the head. With frightened tears coming down her face in continuous streams, she turned her head to see if Ephram was still behind her. In doing so, she inadvertently tripped over her own feet and tumbled onto the ground eating a mouth full of dirt. Ephram rushed headlong ultimately tripping over Delia in the process and came crashing down beside her. His backpack fell a few paces away.
"Come on. Get up. We gotta keep running." Ephram said with stress written all over his voice. He reached over and grabbed Delia under the armpit to hoist her up.
A loud warbling roar from above stopped them dead in their tracks. Ephram and Delia turned their heads simultaneously to find the creature standing on its two hind feet directly over them. It roared as thick drool came dripping out of the corner of its mouth. * How did it catch up with us so fast? * Ephram wondered as hope started to slip away from his grasp. He heard Delia scream on the top of her lungs. The high-pitched scream threw the bear off for a split second as it went back down on all fours. It sniffled the air again and the rage returned as it remembered the grumbling noise coming from its empty stomach. The survival of the fittest instinct returned to its mind.
Ephram saw the bear raise a mighty paw. There was no way of escaping. The beast was too quick. But the boy knew what he must do. He pushed Delia down and buried her under his body. He threw a palm gently over the back of his sister's head and held her to his chest. Shielding her with his body, he closed his eyes tight for whatever may come next. The powerful curved claws struck Ephram's right shoulder blade shredding passed his gray sweatshirt and ripped open his flesh.
The pain tore through his body almost instantly. He let out a sharp cry. The blood came. Delia felt a splatter of some warm liquid ooze onto her neck in thick drops. She brushed the nape of her neck and when she pulled out her hand, a wet smear of crimson appeared across her palm. It didn't take her long to realize it was Ephram's blood. He had a hard time keeping up his strength. He coached himself to not pass out. Almost smothering his sister with his weight, Ephram opened his eyes and the first thing he saw were the half eaten sticks of Slim Jims that Delia had dropped when she tripped.
"Oh my God! Ephram!! You're bleeding!!" Delia cried in horror.
"Don't worry, it's just a scratch." Ephram spoke biting down as he swallowed the excruciating pain. "Have a plan." He continued in labored breaths. He reached for the soiled beef jerky. After waving the Slim Jims in front of the bear with his good arm, he tossed it a few inches away from its paws.
The bear sniffed the object that was thrown in front of him. Deciding that it was edible, it stopped tormenting the children momentarily and focused on the beef jerky. Meanwhile, Ephram had his eyes set on a thick aspen branch within reaching distance.
"Delia, when I tell you to run, you run as fast as can and don't look back - no matter what happens. He can't get both of us." Ephram clutched the branch in his hands like a baseball bat digging his nails into the wood with vengeance.
"I'm not leaving you here." Delia protested. "You're hurt."
"This is no time to argue. You are going to run like the wind. Find dad. I'll join you as soon as I can get away. OK? You hear me?" He breathed harder. The twisting pain in his shoulder was not easing. The more he moved, the more it hurt. The gash was deep - he knew. He grunted in discomfort catching a worried look on Delia's sweet face.
"I can't." Delia refused. "I won't do it. You come with me." She wailed.
"Delia, those Slim Jims won't hold him forever." Ephram watched the bear chew on the jerky. "Do as I say. I'll be fine. Honest."
"Are you sure?" Delia questioned skeptically. A few tears fell from her big brown eyes.
"I'm sure. Wouldn't lie to you." Ephram hid a wince in a cough.
"You're bleeding an awful lot." Delia noticed the blood from the wound had already slid down and stained the entire right sleeve of Ephram's sweatshirt.
"Looks worse than it feels. I'll be ok." He lied and forced a smile. He reached over and kissed his sister firmly on the forehead. It may be the last time he'll be able to do that.
"Ephram.no." Delia whimpered. Somehow, she couldn't deny the eerie feeling in the pit of her stomach that something bad was going to happen. She felt it in his kiss.
"Shhh." Ephram hushed. "I love you. Always know that."
The bear finished his appetizer and sniffed the air once again. It recognized the sweet, delicious smell of fresh blood and moved in for the main course. The creature approached with caution and made a monstrous snort. By now, Ephram was sitting up with his back to Delia. His eyes widened and shook with fear as he looked up at the enormous animal before him. Ephram clutched the tree branch with both hands. His heart pounded and the blood ran cold through his veins. With all his strength, he swung the branch as hard as he could, not allowing it the advantage of making the first move. The hitting blow landed squarely across the bear's cheek. It grumbled in pain. The temporary distraction allowed Ephram and Delia to scramble away but obviously not by too far as the bear regained its stamina quite fast.
"RUN DELIA!! RUN!!" Ephram screamed with all his might. "RUN NOW!"
Startled, Delia jumped up and stood there for a moment. She watched Ephram take another swing at the bear, this time hitting it in the gut.
"RUN! GO!!" Ephram yelled and gave Delia a shove. With tears in her eyes, she ran. She ran and ran - obeying her brother's orders. She did not look back.
Ephram raised the branch one more time in batting position and prepared himself for another swing. His shoulder was killing him and he could feel himself weakening. He could barely lift the branch. Just as Ephram swung the branch again, the bear's reflexes caught on and knocked the piece of wood out of the boy's hands easily like a flick of a toothpick. The branch went flying through the air and disappeared into the thick foliage. Woozy from the blood loss, Ephram totted backwards and fell over landing on his back. The raw flesh peeking out of the tattered sweatshirt came into contact with the soil and stung so badly he thought he was going to black out for sure. But he wasn't going to be bear-breakfast without giving one helluva fight. He hadn't even completely stood up yet when he felt the next blow forcing him to be thrown a few feet away. The impact pushed him so hard it nearly knocked the wind out of him.
He screamed in horrible agony as the torturous pain emitted from the new laceration on his side. One more strike of the claws would no doubt finish him off. Sweat beaded on his face and his breath came in loud grunts. The back of his hand had hit against something soft. He realized it was his backpack and crawled to it as quick as he could. Grabbing a fist full of candy, he threw it at the bear. Black bears loved the taste of freshly killed prey but sweets were something they found hard to resist. The distraction worked. The creature sniffed the enticing scent of sugar and began eating whatever Ephram threw at it. It was so preoccupied with the candy that it failed to realize Ephram had crawled away.
His head was spinning so fast it was difficult to think straight. Ephram wasn't sure which way it was that Delia ran. There was no time to stand there and ponder. He didn't want to wait to see what the bear would do next when it found out its meal had disappeared. Holding his side with his good arm, he half limped and half ran in any random direction. Ephram wanted so badly to rest and pass out but he refused to allow his body to give up. He had to get as far away as possible.
When he realized the bear was not following him, he found a thick spruce tree trunk and leaned against it to rest. It was time to inspect the damage. A bloody mess had leaked through the hand that held the wound on his side. Thick blood dripped from between his fingers and splattered onto his brown hiking sneakers in round droplets. He took away his hand and found three deep claw mark lacerations through the tears in his sweatshirt. The gashes were located on the left side of his torso under the last rib. He got scared at the sight of his flesh being turned inside out. The old wound on his shoulder was starting to numb. He could barely feel his right arm anymore.
Ephram surveyed the area with a careful eye. All the trees and rocks looked the same. He was lost. Didn't know where he was or what he should do, he decided the best thing was to keep moving. Pushing himself off the tree, he took five clumsily shuffles before his vision blurred. He wasn't even aware his body had fallen until he felt his face met with the small rocks on the ground. Unable to clear or lift his head, he allowed his body to relax and gave into the darkness.
* End of Chapter 1 *
A/N: Am I being too cruel in leaving it off here? If you want to know what happens next, you'll just have to wait for chapter 2!! Haha!!