Chapter 8: Ursis

"After all we've been through...Everything that I've done...It can't be for nothing."

Ellie

The Last Of Us (2013)


The Latin term for Grizzly Bear is Ursis Horriblus. I always thought that it meant that meeting one would be horrible.

That was something I said when I was in Port Angeles, hunting rabbits and deer. My Dad wanted me to go through the Blake's hunting rite of passage. For the past 4 generations of hunters, the Blake's son, when he was in his adolescence, hunted a full sized grizzly bear, and took both it's head and skin as trophies. I was 15, and my old man was getting desperate for me to get my chance to hunt. My chance came soon enough.


"And this really happened?"

"Oh, yes. What, does my sister not believe me?"

Juno shrugged. "It depends on how this story goes." She said.

I nodded. This was the night before the wedding, and I had decided to tell her this, as I had told others already. But let's back up to earlier that day.


When I came back to the Inn, it was 5 PM. I had caught Robin and Barney at a bad time, because she was really upset over something.

"Ring bear-er!" Said Robin. "ER! ER!"

"Yeah, that's what I said: ring bear."

"I am not having a wild animal at my wedding, Barney!" Said Robin.

I was just walking into the bar when I heard this. I jumped.

"Bear? Did you say bear?!"

"RING BEARER!" Shouted Robin. "It's supposed to be a ring bearer."

"Yeah..." I said. "I'm not gonna be at the ceremony if there's gonna be a bear there."

"Discrimination against the Grizzlies? Is this another tale from the Hunter?" Said Barney.

"The year was 1998. The place, Port Angeles, Washington." I sat down.


15 years ago

As a hunter, I wasn't jobless. My family also owned a hunting store in the town, where I worked as a cashier and cleaning guns. Hunters came and went through the store, and in the last month I heard tales of something. A monster that had been terrorizing several smaller towns a few hours outside of Port Angeles.

"It's said this one has the fur the color of mud, and the fury of the greatest beast alive." Said one of the hunters gathering around the store.

My Dad had also heard about this. He was a bit interested in it. "What's this? Another sighting?"

The hunter nodded his head. "Yes sir, Mr. Blake. This thing looks like a bear, but it's the devil's pet. Gotta be at least two hundred pounds and ten feet tall."

"Who saw this 'Devil Bear'?"

One of the hunters walked out. He was paper white, and a massive look of terror painted his place.

"I did, and I consider myself beyond lucky that I made it out of there alive. I didn't bother to try to kill it because this thing looked like it could take the bullets of seventy hunting rifles and brush them off. This thing knocked over a regular dumpster like it was a Lego house."

"Oliver, you wanna come over to the ammo supply?" Said Dad.

We both walked over into the back room. I knew what he was going to say about this. And I was afraid that it was what I suspected.

"I think you can track this beast and kill it, son."

"Dad, are you out of your mind?!" I asked. "That thing has been terrorizing the local hunters for 2 whole months. We already have one fatality from someone who tried to track it down. What makes me any different?"

"Because most of these guys rely on guns. You won't be going in with high tech."

My Dad pulled out a flat wooden box and flipped open the lid. A beautifully hand crafted recurve bow laid gently in the box.

"I just had a shipment of three of these. That bear won't be expecting something as simple as a bow and arrow. The noise from guns will attract him."

"You do realize that if I don't come out of this, you're gonna have to live with that the rest of your life, right?"

"I know that, son. But I know that you'll make it out of this."


I spent two weeks planning the hunt. I got special arrows sharpened to extreme lengths and possessing shafts made of a durable carbon alloy. Lucy had been helping me with this.

"If I was with you, I'd try to find out why this bear is wrecking people's trashes, yards, and killed that guy. Everything happens for a reason."

"That's where I come in, Lucy. I'm gonna find this bear, and hopefully come back alive after I've stopped it."

"If you do come back alive, you gotta promise me something. I've seen too many hunters lose a part of who they are when they come back from these hunts. Always remember who you are, no matter what happens in there."


"Bears are one of the most defensive and territorial animals on the planet. My first thought was that this bear was on the defensive because hunters moved in on it's territory. But it was so much more than that. Like always, there's more to this story than meets the eye."

"I bet my father would be glad to meet you, Ollie." Said Robin. "He has the upmost respect for those who can hunt like you. I'll introduce you to him later."

"I'm not so sure he'd like where this story ends. Spoiler alert: I developed a severe case of Ursaphobia as a result. I had been through many dangerous hunts through my life, but this one was the one that had an impact on my life."

"How so?"

I pulled out my necklace from under my shirt. It was a leather cord that carried one of the grizzly's claws. Robin stared at it.

"That's too damn big for a bear's claw."

"You'd think, but no."


Dad provided me with as many supplies as he saw necessary. I was given over 20 arrows in a larger quiver with a sharpening block, a first aid kit, and basically anything else I'd need for surviving the hunt.

"Why are you doing this, Dad?"

"Because I've seen you survive many other things when we've hunted. There's been that old story of many skilled warriors who couldn't defeat the monster that terrorized the town, but then there was that one humble person who saved them all. I know you can be that person. Only try, and you will succeed."


"Now, you can choose to believe this story as much as you want, but all I'm saying is that I didn't tell much of this story anyone before you guys because even I didn't believe what I saw that week."

"Did you see Bigfoot?"

"No. What I did see was just as unbelievable."


That day I was given an escort by Dad and several of the hunters that frequently bought supplies from my family. There was no celebration as people saw me enter the woods, but many wished me luck. Lucy even came to see me off.

"I'll see you soon, Ollie." She said.

Dad then gave me one small box, last of all.

"Those supplies in that box could save your life, Ollie. Don't waste them. The flare gun is to signal that you've done it. Mark your path on the trees, and we'll find you."

And with that, I set off. No one cheered for me. Only murmurs and prayers came from them.

I was given a map of the surrounding area and marked areas of recent sightings. Dad said no one was to help me with this as it could lead to more fatalities.

Now you can think that my Dad was pushing me into a situation where I would be killed, and I'll agree that that's what I was thinking for the first few days. But I understood that he wanted to not give me greatness, but provide me with the opportunity to earn it. He was only giving me the opportunity to go through my Blake rite of passage.

After about an hour of wandering the woods, I found myself at a stream. I sat down at a rock to go over my supplies.

Weapons wise I was given along with my bow and arrows, a lightweight tomahawk which I could use to get firewood, a hunting knife, and when I opened the box, I found a Python revolver with 2 dozen bullets.

"Last resort." I said to myself. Not in terms of suicide, but in case if my arrows didn't work.

A small block of flint, some dryer lint nestled in a ziplock bag, and a thermal blanket were in my backpack, along with a notebook and a camera.

I checked the map, and using my knowledge of the surrounding area, determined that I was about 2 miles out from the closest sighting area.

"Day 1." I started writing. "I've been out in the woods for about an hour. My Dad has practically sentenced me to death by having me get mauled by a grizzly bear the locals are calling the 'Devil Bear'. This ruthless bastard has already mauled one person and has practically destroyed the garbage bins of several local stores. My job is to hunt it down and end it's life. But Lucy says to me that there must be more to this story. I may want to try to find out why this bear has been destroying the local businesses before taking it from this world."

I finished up and piled my supplies back into my backpack. I headed up stream to find a cleaner water source. After about thirty minutes of trudging up the stream I found a small waterfall where I then used to fill my pot. I then set up a small fire to help boil the water. By that time the sun was starting to set, and I figured I would set up camp and head off in the morning.

I managed to build a solid shelter using branches and moss propped up against the tree. It wasn't the best shelter in the world, but at least it kept me warm.

As I struggled to sleep with the cool spring air, I heard a rustling in the bushes. At first I was thinking it was a bird, but then I heard a growl.


"Now you're lying, man." Said Barney. "If that 'Devil Bear' got anywhere close to you, he'd have ripped you a new one."

"Yeah, I can see how you'd think that way, but there's still more."


Survival instinct has taught me that you always have to be ready no matter what. As soon as I heard the rustling, I whipped out my bow and let an arrow fly. It hit the animal dead on.

It turned out the rustling and the growling were two completely different things. The rustling came from a deer, and the growling was my stomach. While I was given food rations, I decided to save all my best resources as last resorts. I went to sleep with barely anything to eat, so that explained why my stomach growled. Although I found it hilarious that it woke me up.

Thanks to my quick thinking, I now had meat to eat. With little sleep and quick determination, I skinned the deer and put the meat onto a fire. After a while the sun started to rise on my second day. Now it was time to find the bear, and stop it's shenanigans.

I was easily able to locate where I was on my map and find that I still had a good hour's walk before I'd get to the closest sighting area. I wrote in my journal a bit before leaving.

"As the sun rises on my second day out in the woods, I found myself with the good fortune of finding a fairly good deer. It should provide me with enough meat to last me at least a week out here if the situation calls for that. But it shouldn't be too hard to track the animal once I get to the sighting area."

I closed the book, put the meat into a few bags, and started on my way.

Presently, I reached a river. It wasn't one with raging rapids, nor was so slow I could just walk in it. It was just a river. But as I got closer, I saw that there was legit salmon swimming up the river. And pretty good sizes at that.

"Looks like it's my goddamn lucky day." I muttered. I started writing.

"Day 2: a stroke of early luck has provided me with a river which I have found to be a local fishing hotspots about 7 miles downstream. The deer has provided me with a good supply of meat, so I'll leave the river behind, but will come back when I need it."

I decided that I would have to cross the river if there was any chance I'd find the Devil. I carefully waded through the water so as not to scare any of the salmon. Once I got across, I found a rock to sit on and had some of the deer. A little cold, it was still just as good as it could get.

"With all that salmon, I could have food on the table for my family for at least a month." I murmured.

Checking the map, I was at least a good ten minutes from the sighting area. I took my knife out and marked one of the trees. I started marking a trail to get back to the river. Food and water supplies here were good, so all I needed was to find shelter. But I would worry about that later. Right now I had to focus on finding the bear.

The bear had been sighted in 7 difference spots on my map, with me being close to about two of them, and the furthest away being about 2 miles. The latest sighting was a half hour walk from here. I decided to start with the closest area, then make my way over to the latest. I had some starting point, but I would just have to make sure this animal didn't know where I was. Stealth was the key to survival. I pulled up my hood and set off.

When I got to the sighting area, it looked just as bad as I was told. A week ago a group of hunters had seen this bear go head on with a deer. It didn't have any chance of getting out alive. Several trees around there were tilted to the side, and the bear had slashed one so much I had seen the claw marks. This thing was no bear. It was indeed the Devil in disguise.

The recent rain had washed away the tracks left by the bear, but it had left several claw marks headed in the direction away from the next closest sighting area. Before leaving, I took pictures of the site with my camera, then set off; the hunters didn't take photo evidence.

Ripping apart deer, and mauling a hunter, let alone one that I had known once. It made me mad. This thing would pay. I would make sure it felt the pain that every single thing it killed had felt.

But then I remembered what Lucy said. "Don't forget who you are. It could be an animal trying to defend it's territory." She said.

"I will, Lucy. I promise." I said out loud. As I stepped across what I thought was solid rock, I felt the ground give way and I fell in with a loud scream.


"Ollie, I see what you're doing here. You're siding with Robin so that I don't have a ring bear at the wedding, and trying to scare me with this story."

"No, Barnacle." I replied. "I'm just telling a story of something amazing that I saw when I was a kid."

"Never mind him, Ollie. Please continue."

I looked up in surprise to see that I had attracted a small group of people. I saw Linus and Curtis were also there, along with both James and Barney's dads.

"Going ahead, you have a choice, for those listening. You can choose to believe this story, or think I'm bullshitting you. Believe what you want." I said.


I had fallen into a hole that had been covered by fallen twigs and leaves. It wasn't a man made trap. It just had been covered by the years and seasons.

I had fallen in a cave, which I at first thought was the bear's den, but I soon found was in no way like that. But it could have served as a good shelter for the bear.

"This is perfect." I muttered. "I can use this place as a shelter while I look for the bear."

I had shelter, a water source, and plenty of meat to eat from the river. But it wouldn't last long either way. I couldn't live out here like a hermit. I would still have to look for the bear.


Checking the next sighting area, my findings weren't too much of an improvement. There were bear paw prints in the ground, but beyond that, nothing but the same as last.

"You tricky bastard." I muttered. "I'll find you, yet."

5 hours passed as I hunted through the areas, with the few prints I found leading in all kinds of crazy directions. By that time I was almost out of water, and decided to go back to the salmon river. I headed back and filled my pot just as the sun started setting. I caught a single salmon for dinner that night and made shelter in the cave.

"This bear is showing the exact opposite signs of what I've heard of it." I wrote. "I'd been told that it'd be really easy to find, and yet I'm spending my third day tomorrow trying to track him down. I'm gonna die out here if I don't go insane from isolation first."

I had my options laid out for me. The resources I had would give me enough energy and time to head back home at least 3 times, but I also had the option to keep going.

I constantly thought hard about going home. I'd be hated among the hunters for not ending their fear, but at least I'd be alive and calm.

But I also was curious. No one had taken pictures of this bear, and yet I had heard stories that were scaring the local kids and making the hunters fear for their lives. I'd be a local hero if I found this thing. I'd keep going.

I set up another fire under the open pit to allow ventilation. There wouldn't be rain for this week, so I had good faith that the pit wouldn't let anything in to cause the fire to go out.

I slept much better than the other night, but woke up with less faith that I would find this bear.

Another day went by, after I kept checking the other sighting areas. I checked every one by nighttime. I pulled out my map from my pack, and took a look at it after I had a fire going.

"There must be something I'm not seeing here." I said. "If he's leading me into other sighting areas, then something isn't right. I'm not finding him where I'm supposed to; I'm going in circles."

Then, I started drawing on the map. I connected the sighting areas together like a connect-the-dots game. It made a circle around the map, although not really that perfect.

"I watch too many conspiracy shows." I muttered. "I really *am* going in circles."

Then I made an giant X in the center of the circle. From what I saw in conspiracy theorists, the areas were a circle, and the source was at the center.


"This better work." I said the next morning.

I stomped out the fire, and set off, tomahawk in hand.

The X marked an area not a mile away from my campsite. It wouldn't be a place I'd find the bear, but it could suffice for another lead.

If I had a choice, I wouldn't have bothered trying to hunt down this bear. I was really conflicted with the whole thing, but ultimately I didn't feel too invested in it. Why should an animal acting by instinct just die because he messed with the wrong crowd? It shouldn't be him who has to pay. The other side of me wanted to rip it up for everything that it killed.

I stopped suddenly when I heard a noise. A loud growling noise. I immediately dropped to the ground, my heart trying so hard to kick it's way past my ribs and out my chest. I resorted to a slow crawling, drawing out my revolver just in case. I climbed up a large boulder, and looked down into the clearing below.


The biggest deer I ever hunted was the same height as me when I was young, at about 4'5". This monster looked like it could swallow the deer like a pill. I was amazed I was able to see this thing, standing on all fours at least a good 7 feet. It stood up on it's hinds to swipe at a few nearby trees, and when it did, I tried with all the strength left in my sleep, water, and food deprived soul, not to scream. The teeth it was bearing (absolutely no pun intended) were like white painted ax blades. I had never seen something like this animal before. If I made it out alive, forget the fur and head as trophies. I'd just be thankful for every breath I'd have from here to eternity.

"*sniff sniff*" It started to sniff. As though something wasn't right. Then I realized something that made my blood turn to water just as I almost shit myself: it smelled me.


"What happened next?!" Cried Barney.

I looked up in surprise. Barney was clutching Robin's hand with a firm grip. It was clear that something was happening, because the Master of Awesome had turned into Private Scaredy Cat. I decided to use this to my advantage.

"I'm not sure Barney. But I think a ten year old scotch would make me remember..." I said.

"GIVE HIM WHAT HE WANTS, LINUS!" He screeched.

Linus jumped up to get my drink as I continued.


"*sniff sniff*" the Devil kept sniffing around.

"Please, God alive in the goddamn fucking sky!" I begged. "Don't do this to me! Let me live!"

The beast started lumbering over to my way, sniffing the air around.

"Ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit!" I kept trying hard not to yell it out loud.

"*rawr*"

The bear then looked over at the last second, and lumbered away.

What did I do when he left? I'd like to say that I pulled out my gun and ended my fear for my life by ending his. But instead I ended up crying my eyes out.

"I'm gonna fucking die out here." I sobbed. "And I never even got a chance to live my life. I never got my first beer, my first time spending the night with a girl, and the first time in New York."

All of the sudden, I heard a loud roar pierce the air. Keeping a very great distance between me and the bear, I followed the noise.

I scaled up a tree as I followed to get a better look. What I saw there almost made me fall out of the tree.

The bear had several animals in it's mouth for food, but that's not what surprised me. All this time the hunters were wrong. They thought the bear was a loner, but all this time, the bear was a mother, and she was defending her 2 cubs. The whole reason why the townspeople never saw the bears before now was that these cubs had to be around 6 or 7 months old by their size. The mother had something to lose, now, so she was spending her days scaring us off.

"*GWAAAARRR*"

I almost fell out of the tree at that noise. And it didn't come from the mother bear.

The ground started to shake. An earthquake? No. It was like the water glasses in Jurassic Park. Now I know how those kids in the movie felt as I heard the *boom boom boom*.

I looked across the clearing at a cave entrance. This looked to be the bear's den. And then I realized where the booming was coming from as it came out of the entrance: if there was a mother, where was the father?


"You did not face off against that bear, Ollie."

"Remember my gunshot wound? There's another set of scars."

"Show me." Said Juno.

I rolled up my sleeve. She didn't notice before the 3 deep grooves in my arm.

"How did you survive this?" She gasped.

"When you have the strongest grip on your will to live, you can survive almost anything."


The leviathan of a bear lumbered out of the cave, over to his family. He and his wife gave an exchange of growls and snarls. I don't speak bear, and they don't speak English, but I was almost fully able to understand what they were saying. But I needed a better view.

The father growled to the mother, pawing the food she had brought. He roared at her for reasons I didn't understand. The mother suddenly roared right back, and he chomped into her side. I couldn't believe my eyes. I was expecting the mother to roar again, but it didn't happen. She just backed down, whimpering. But not before backing towards her cubs and huddling close to them.

The father grunted and trudged back to the den.


I was so frightened by what I saw, I jumped down from the tree and started sprinting off. There would be no way I'd be able to kill either of the parents without getting slashed in half by the other. I would have to run back to the hunters and explain the situation to them.

"*GWRAARRR*"

I turned suddenly to see that I had made too much noise. The mother bear had followed me. Luckily it wasn't too close to my own shelter. She couldn't find where I was living.

I drew out an arrow and aimed. The mother approached with a sprint, but then slowed down and started circling around me. I kept my arrow drawn, daring her to make a move.

"I'm not afraid." I claimed. "You can try to scare me off, but I'm here to do a job."

I was lying. I was terrified

The mother bared her teeth, but then collapsed to the ground, groaning.

I was amazed. Here I had my target down on the ground in front of me, on a silver platter. All I had to do was let the arrow loose.

But Lucy's voiced suddenly echoed through my head. Almost as if she was really there.

"Look closer, Ollie. Why is it that she fell?"

I did as she said, and suddenly noticed that there was a lot of blood dripping down her face. It was from the father's teeth marks.


"I'm not going to purposely hurt you, but this will sting." I said to her.

The mother growled, as if to say "I understand."

Using my knife, I made a makeshift cloth with one of my socks, and applied a small amount of rubbing alcohol to it.

"3...2...1" I said, and I pressed the cloth to her scratches.

She thrashed and wailed, but I kept it firm to her side. After a minute she calmed down and I tied the cloth to her side with some thread.

"I now see what's going on." I murmured. "You're not only hurting us to protect your cubs. You're trying to protect us from your mate. He's more dangerous than you in every way possible. If he was let loose to the town, who knows what kind of chaos would ensue?"

"*Grrr*" the mother replied.

"You didn't bring enough food to last today. So your husband became angry with you."

"*Grrr*"

"You need a closer food source, and shelter. And I know just where to find one."

I got up.

"Stay here. I'll be back with what you need."


15 minutes later I was shooting several salmon by the river with my bow. The mother could provide for her cubs if she had a better food supply. But the husband wouldn't get a scrap of them. No matter what species anyone is a part of, an abusive relationship between two spouses is bullshit.

I came back to the mother with 6 salmon, 2 for each of her family. I meant her real family.

"Your husband can't get any of this." I said. "Bring your cubs to this place and I will show you where the salmon comes from. All I ask is that you let me help you rid you of your problems."

The mother gave me a look. This I wasn't sure of, but I hoped it meant she would oblige.


The next day, after a few hours of waiting, she did indeed come back with her cubs. I was still amazed that this was happening. I was feeding bears, and they weren't trying to kill me.

I led the bears to the river, pointing over to the salmon's spawning area.

"It's not perfect, but if you can get the salmon from out of the river, it'll last you a good season or so before winter comes."

The mother gave me a growl of "thanks", and walked into the river to get a few salmon out. She came back and gave them to her cubs.

"Before you go, I want to show you this."

I led her over to the cave where I had set up camp in. The mother growled and snapped at the sight of it, and I understood.

"It's my shelter, but when I'm finished here, I will take my stuff out and you can live here."

The mother growled more, but I understood it was a sign of gratitude.

"But now comes your end of the bargain." I said. "You must let me kill the Devil."


The mother took her cubs back to their den, while I prepared for the next day. My first hour without sleep, I spent sharpening my arrows to the point where even touching them slightly would cut my fingers. My Dad taught me how to sharpen them so that no animal could take their pain and live.

My second hour without sleep, I spent attaching leaves to my hood, ensuring that the bear wouldn't seem me coming, until it was too late. Camouflage was my best bet in this fight for survival, so I would use it to my advantage.

My third hour without sleep, I used my time wisely in making myself a holster for my gun in case nothing else would work. I couldn't take any chances; even if I failed, the Devil would die.


The next morning I wrote in my journal one last time.

"If you are reading this, you have found the hunting journal of Oliver Jason Blake of Port Angeles, WA. Employee and co-owner of Blake and Son's Hunting Supplies. It's most likely you'll find my remains at the x in the circle on the map provided. To my parents, my uncle, my aunt, my grandparents, my cousins, and most of all, my beloved cousin Lucy, I let them do with what I had owned as they wish. All I ask is that they bury me overlooking the water to the North. And ensure that the Devil that killed me is sent back to Hell if I didn't do it first. Goodbye."

I left my journal and map on a rock by the river, then set off.

I didn't live the life I wanted to live. But I would die fighting for it. And that's what mattered. I didn't bother running to the fight; The Devil could wait for my soul.


When I finally got to the clearing, I took the slowest approach possible. I looked down from the rock, and watched from afar.

The father was clawing at the mother again, but this time it was because he was deprived of food, as I learned afterwards. It meant he was weak in some area, so I at least had that going for me.

"Here's to the fucking idiots." I muttered.

"ASSHOLE! OVER HERE!" I cried, flinging an arrow into the air.

The arrow sliced through the air and hit the father right in his head, but somehow it didn't work! It just stuck out of his head like a splinter.

"Oh, fucking shit..." I groaned.


How fast have you ever run in your life? The fastest I assume you thought you ran was when you were running away from what scared you. When the Devil bear saw me from up above, all the thoughts in my brain shut off and I started to run.

I shot arrow after arrow right on his head, but the four I shot barely slowed him down.

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE?!" I screamed. "LEAVE THESE OTHERS ALONE! THIS IS BETWEEN YOU AND ME!"

The Devil replied by roaring the loudest thing I had ever heard in my life. My ears were ringing like an old car alarm, and I swore the ground shook beneath my feet with every step.

"Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results." I recited. I pulled out my revolver and emptied all 6 rounds into the bear.

I was referring to the insanity of shooting several arrows into the bear and expecting them to slow him down. What I should have referred to is the insanity of expecting anything I did to this guy to slow him down. I was starting to get exhausted, while the Devil started to lumber closer and closer.

"I'm sorry, Lucy. I'm sorry if I ever let you down." I murmured.

I closed my eyes as the force of the Devil Bear slammed me backwards into the ground.

"This'll only hurt for a second, Ollie." I said. "You'll see your family soon enough."

But then I saw things. It wasn't my life flashing before my eyes. This was a strange moment. I saw things I never had seen. A girl with a yellow umbrella. A feather, falling slowly through the sky. And a couch with two kids on it, listening to a story.

This wasn't my life I was seeing. I was seeing things yet to come. And they would not happen without me. That's what I was being told!

Time slowed down within that second. My first move I moved my arm in front of my face. I should have felt pain from what I knew had been coming, but it didn't happen. Instead I pulled an arrow out of my quiver, and with every last pinch of strength, I pulled the arrow back.

"Go back to your fiery pit, you horned motherfucker." I cried.

And I shoved that arrow hard into that asshole's forehead..


I woke to a white light in my eyes. I saw a young girl around my age in a white toga walking over to me. But it didn't look like she was walking. Almost as if she was floating.

"Am I dead?" I asked.

"Not yet, but you will be, soon." She giggled a bit.

"I should just lay here and wait for you to carry me up the stairs."

"If only it were that simple. First, you must do as we ask. Then, you may do as you wish."

"I don't understand. Are you an angel?"

"No. I'm Fate. Now, listen closely. From now on, always listen, and I will guide you..."


I felt a wet rough cloth wiping my face. I stirred and saw one of the bears looking down on me. It was one of the cubs, licking my face. I looked at my right arm. It was the one that saved my life. When the bear flung me to the ground, I used that arm to keep him from biting my face off. Instead it bit firmly into my arm. I couldn't feel any pain in it, yet I knew that if I didn't get help soon, I would die; I was bleeding heavily.

"It's done." I strained to speak.

"*Grf*" the mother said to me.

"Go to the cave. Don't ever come back to this place. Don't ever disturb my town again, or I'll regret practically losing my arm over this. If you hurt another person in this town, I will find you. Let this be your only warning."

The mother turned, and lumbered away, her two cubs following behind.

I looked at the bear's body, it's jaws still firmly planted in my arm. With my last minutes draining away like grains of sand, I worked as fast as I could, finally ripping free of his grip. I reached in my bag, and pulled my way out: the flare gun.

"Let this be my only hope." I groaned, and I fired it up into the air. The flare soared high above the trees, and I fell to the ground just as I heard a familiar motorized flapping noise.


"An emergency rescue team had come looking for me on my fourth day, and was waiting for the flare from me." I said. "They found me with almost an eighth of my blood in the grass or on my hood, and the body of the Devil bear lying on the ground next to me. No one could explain why it practically doubled in size in the past few weeks, but one person made the theory that whatever the bear was eating was enough to give it growing strength. When they found me, it turned out the bear had bit me so hard he had broken three bones in my arm, and in the process wedged several of his teeth in there. I was taken into surgery where they were able to get the teeth out of my arm, and after 2 months in the hospital, I was awarded with a medal for services to the town by the mayor. The teeth they got from my arm I kept in a box at home, along with one of the bear's claws which I now wear around my neck the whole time. Not one bit of the beast went to waste. The fur and head now decorate my dad's trophy room at home, and one of it's paws is on display at a local museum. I even remember a local bakery asking for permission to name a pastry after me: Ollie's Bear Claw. When I was finally well enough, I got this tattooed onto my arm." I pointed at my first tattoo: an outlined silhouette of a bear.

"But with the good, came the bad." I continued. "I could barely use my arm for almost 2 years, and even though it's fully healed now, it still gives me pains every once in a while. And even after years of therapy for my small PTSD, I still couldn't shake the severe case of Ursaphobia for the rest of my life. And even the bears saw me differently."

"How so?" Asked Robin.

"I had killed their biggest and baddest. It left me exuding some kind of pheromonal stink like what Barney said with Liddy. I went to the Central Park Zoo once in 2001, and the bears inside tried to maul me when they saw me, even behind their glass cases. Now any bear that sees me will know me as the one that killed their 'king'. I'll never leave behind what happened that day, and neither will they. When a bear sees me, it won't stop until it takes me down. The only exception to this is that mama bear and her two cubs."

"So no ring bears?"

"That's not what I'm saying Barney. What I am saying is that if you have a ring bear at the wedding, it'll just try to maul me. Either I'm there, or the bear's there. Your call."

As people started clearing out as I finished the story, Robin spoke up.

"Those images you saw. Right before you 'died'. What were they?"

I realized in that moment what two of them were. The girl was Juno, and the feather was the one I released yesterday.

"I have no idea. Especially the two kids. I don't know who they are. But I'm positive I'll meet them one day."


Who were those kids? I'm proud to say that they call me "Uncle Ollie". I remember once that Marshall said their group doesn't extend past the five of them. But it meant so much that the five of them let me and Juno in with open arms.