Chapter 14: The Bear Family

It was surprising to see that even as the truck zoomed ever deeper into the swamp, they were soon back on dry land. Wherever this bear lived, it had to be on higher ground. Though the muck filled part of the swamp still came into view here and there, Papa Grizzly seemed to be sticking to a certain path now and wasn't making any effort to go near the water again.

A huge scrapyard flew past them, one of which that was filled to the brim with rusting machinery parts. Computer, who wasn't very fond of the concept of junkyards to begin with, questioned why such a thing existed in the middle of a swamp. Papa Grizzly merely grinned at the question and then went into a long winded explanation.

"I'm a bit of a tinkerer, ya see. Actually, tinkerin' kinda runs in the family. My great, great, great, great grandpapy started that big ol' pile of scrap when he settled down in this here swamp. Always used to say nutt'n should ever be wasted."

To say that Computer looked mortified would have been an understatement. "How on earth do you expect to use any of those parts when they've all rusted to near uselessness?"

Papa Grizzly let out one of his ever characteristic booming laughs. "A little bit of rust ain't never hurt nobody!" He patted the dashboard of his truck. "This here girl has been in my family for seven generations! Built her back up into the beauty you see here myself! Ol' Grandpa Grizzly wrecked it back in his day. He picked it up and threw it at some silly city boy who was courting my mamma without his approval!"

Neither dog had any comment to give on Papa Grizzly's story, so he then went into another tale about how his grandpapy had gone hunting for the 'Great Bogman of The Swamp', but the story was cut short when he stopped to announce that they were almost home.

The truck soon drove into a clearing and both Courage and Computer were treated to the sight of one of the most lopsided houses they'd ever seen. It looked as though a fairly modest, if not slightly disproportionate wooden home, not unlike Muriel and Eustace's, had had another house built right on top of it, and then another. It seemed as though every person who had added to the house hadn't bothered to get the proportions right and it now looked like a massive stack of cards just waiting to topple over.

"Home sweet home!" Papa Grizzly exclaimed. "It ain't the prettiest homestead around, but it get the job done!"

He hadn't even pulled up to the house before a pack of equally large grizzly bears piled out of the rickety house. One even climbed down from one of the highest windows in a rush to greet his papa. As soon as the truck slowed to a stop, Courage opened the door and both he and Computer flopped out onto the ground.

"I'm home!" Papa Grizzly announced as his family gathered around him. "And I've brought us pair of visitors as well!"

Before either dogs even had a chance to stand back up after toppling out of the truck, they were surrounded by the curious grizzly bears.

"Why does that one glow?" One voice whispered.

"They're awfully weird look'n for dogs." Another one said. "They don't look nuttin' like Stump."

"Alright, alright!" Papa Grizzly interjected as he pushed his way into the tight circle and dispersed his family. "Don't go crowding 'em! Give 'em some room to breathe!" He grabbed both dogs by the scruff of their necks and stood them up. "Well, don't be shy. Introduce yourselves to my family! They love having visitors!"

Courage glanced around. No matter where he looked it seemed like there was a pair of bear eyes fixated on him. "I-I'm Courage." He said in a small voice. "And h-he's, well, his name is-" He slowly trailed off. He honestly didn't know what he should tell them. They probably didn't even know what a computer was and likely wouldn't take Computer's current name as a weird one, but it still didn't feel right to introduce him like that, not anymore at least.

Finally, when he couldn't decide what to do, Computer took over for him. "My name is a bit of a, uh, debatable subject, but for now I prefer to be called Computer."

"You don't have a name?" One bear asked. "Didn't yer momma give you one?"

That was enough to throw Computer off. He must not have expected such a question. "Well, no." He answered. "I don't even have parents to begin with."

A gasp ran through his audience and then a stream of questions was thrown his way.

"You don't got no parents?"

"Are they dead?

"Did they abandon you as a puppy?"

"Who raised you then?"

He was starting to become more than just a little flustered. "It's not quite like the way you're all thinking. When I say I don't have parents, I mean that I wasn't-"

Courage quickly interjected, figuring that it would be best if he didn't let Computer tell them what he really was. "H-he lost his parents in a nuclear explosion! T-that's why he glows like that! He's radioactive!"

Another gasp ran through the bear family. The unamused look Computer gave him told all that needed to be said on how he felt about his new origin story. Despite that, more questions were thrown his way.

"Why are you called Computer then? Those are them fancy machines city folk use and you don't look nuttn' like one."

...So these bears weren't quite as backwards as they seemed.

"Oh, he's just r-really good with them!" Courage answered. "Since he doesn't have a name, that's what I nicknamed him!"

"What about you, Courage? Where do you come from?"

Computer was the one to answer this question for him. "His parents were shot off into space by an evil veterinarian who wanted to breed a group of super dogs. He was adopted by an old couple and now lives on a farm in the literal middle of nowhere. Oh, and he also fights off supernatural beings on a day to day basis. From living shadows to scheming cats, he's seen it all."

Papa Grizzly broke out into a massive grin. "Naw, now you're just kidding with us!" He mirthfully laughed.

Courage and Computer exchanged glances. These bears would buy a nuclear explosion, but they wouldn't take the real backstory as truth, despite how equally weird it sounded?

"Alright, you got us." Computer replied, trying to give a convincing laugh and failing. "He was abandoned by his parents and adopted by an old couple, just like I said, but the rest was a joke."

The bears all laughed in unison, as though they had just been told the greatest joke in the history of the universe...

"Well, then! With that out of the way, why don't I introduce you to my family now!" Papa Grizzly exclaimed, clapping his paws together. As if on cue, the bear family lined up.

"My oldest son, Johnny, is out in one of them big cities work'n under one of those bigwigs." He then pointed to the first bear in line. "That's Bubba, and these two are the twins Billy Joe and Billy John," The next bear to come up was the only girl in the group. She was notable for her much lighter brown fur and bright, blue dress. "This is my only daughter, Jenna. That trouble maker next to her is Dale, and last but not least, my little grizzly bear himself!" He opened his arms up and the smallest bear of the group jumped into them. "This here is Grizzly Jr., a rascal like no other!" He ruffled the fur atop the bear's head.

"I'm only four years old!" The kid announced.

"Be careful around him though, unlike me, he 'does' bite." Papa Grizzly warned. Jr. gave a wide smile, putting all of his sharp, shiny teeth on display. "Little scamp will take your fingers off!" Papa laughed.

"Daddy, yer fergittin' Granny." The bear called Bubba spoke.

"Dangit Granny, you still ain't out here?" He called out towards the house. "Oi, Granny! Wake up! We got visitors!"

A couple of seconds later and an old, withered bear shuffled out onto their porch. She looked an awful lot like Muriel in bear form. She wore a bright green dress with an apron tied around it along with a pair of worn, murky glasses sitting atop her muzzle. The old bear needed a cane just to walk.

"Stop yer yell'n! I'm comin', I'm comin'!" She called out. "Yer gonna wake the dead with all the hollering you do!"

"Ah, yes, and there's also..." Papa Grizzly went on, placing Jr. back onto the ground. He reached up and pulled out a picture from the inside of his hat. "Can't forget about Momma Grizzly, bless her dearly departed soul." He showed the two dogs her picture as he wiped several tears from his eyes. Clearing his throat, he then pointed to a small, shaggy, gray haired dog who had been sitting beside the female bear, Jenna, the whole time. "And that there's Stump, the most useless dog in all the country. He comes from a long line of proper huntin' dogs, but he ain't never been good at that. All he's good fer is watching over Jenna. He's always been so protective of her, but he ain't very fond of the rest of us. If he knew what his grandpappy did as my grandpappy's huntin' dog, he'd try to live up to his legacy a little more!"

Stump merely rolled his eyes and turned his head away rather indignantly. If he cared at all that there were two new dogs around, he didn't exactly show it.

"Alright, you lot!" Papa Grizzly yelled. "Get a fire goin' cause we're eating outside tonight! Let's show our guests what the Bear family hospitality looks like!"

There was a flurry of motion as everyone ran this way and that to prepare dinner. Even Grandma Grizzly was shuffling about at a quicker pace as she barked orders to anyone who passed her by. Papa Grizzly went to the back of his truck and returned with a whole load of dead squirrels and frogs. They had to have been what he was hunting before. He stopped the twins and had the two of them take his kills to be prepare them for supper.

"There really is such a thing as a swamp squirrel?" Computer asked, surprised.

"Nasty little critters." Papa Grizzly answered. "I'd love to eradicate every last one of 'em from my swamp if I could."

Computer crossed his arms. "I hope you do! As far as I'm concerned, the only good squirrel is a dead one!"

Courage merely glanced between the two of them. "W-we're having squirrels and frogs for dinner?" He asked, suddenly feeling a lot less hungry.

"Yes sir!" Papa Grizzly laughed. "They are delicious! Although I don't expect city folk like you to enjoy our simple tastes when yer used to all that fancy food you've got. Had you two not shown up on such short notice, we would have had a right good feast going fer ya."

"I'm more than willing to find out what these squirrels taste like." Computer replied. "I'm always ready to try new and exotic foods. You can't call me a picky eater."

Papa Grizzly let out yet another booming laugh. "I wouldn't call our eatin' exotic, city boy!"

Courage ultimately kept his thoughts on the matter to himself. All he knew for certain was that supper was suddenly looking a lot less appetizing to him, but who knows, maybe he'd come to like it. As the clamor continued all around him and as Papa Grizzly left to go help his family out, he leaned over to Computer and said,

"We really need to hurry up and find an actual name for you."

"No kidding." His friend agreed. "Perhaps back in Nowhere being called Computer wasn't such a big deal, but outside of there it's obviously going to raise a few eyebrows. Especially when even a pack of backwards grizzly bears know that something is up. I already attract enough unwanted attention as is with my 'radiation poisoning'." He crossed his arms upon saying that. "And seriously, dog. Could you have picked a more idiotic story to give me?"

"I had to explain why you glow somehow."

"I can't believe they actually bought that but still thought that your own past was farfetched. At this rate you might have been better off just telling them that I'm a machine walking around in a dog body."

They both fell silent when Papa Grizzly tromped back up to them again, this time with his daughter in tow. The lightly colored grizzly bear smiled down at them and waved. Computer, who was never the most sociable to begin with, especially when it came to people he did not know or care about, made an effort to pretend that there was no attention being given to him. Apparently he'd had enough of these bears already. Courage on the other hand, with most of his fears about these people having been alleviated, stepped forward to talk with them. They felt like they could be trusted, and after years of having dealt with people who had bad intentions, he was pretty good at telling when someone was putting on an act. Though this ability of his was far from infallible, these bears seemed genuine enough.

Papa Grizzly thumped Jenna on the back. "My daughter here has offered to show you two around while we get dinner cookin'."

Courage nodded. "Okay."

Computer on the other hand wasn't nearly as enthusiastic. "I think I'll pass."

Jenna knelt down so that she could get a better look at the strange, glowing dog. "No need to be shy, darli'n."

Computer finally glanced up at her. "Don't call me that, and I'm shy either, thank you very much."

"Don't you wanna see where you'll be sleepin' tonight, at the very least?"

"Courage can tell me once you've given him the tour. I'd rather just sit out here and wait for-"

Jenna let out a whoop of a laugh, scooped him up, and then very nearly crushed him in a hug. "Well, aren't you just the cutest, shyest thing around! And you've got yerself the fanciest way of speakin' I ever did hear! You and I are gonna get along real fine! I just love fancy talkin' city folk like you!"

Stump, who had largely ignored both Courage and Computer since they showed up, looked on in shock with his mouth hanging open. Papa Grizzly didn't appear to be all that amused with Jenna's 'affection' for Computer as well.

"I am NOT-" Computer choked out, as Jenna was still squeezing himself half to death. "cute or shy! Now would you please stop crushing my spine!"

Papa Grizzly cleared his throat. "Jenna, I know how you feel 'bout city folk, but these are our guests and not-"

"I know, I know." The bear relented, and although she immediately stopped crushing Computer, she did not let him go. "C'mon, you two! There's a lot fer me to show ya!"

She bounded off over to the house with her new 'friend' still in her arms. Courage, unsure of what to think about all this, followed after them.

End Of Chapter

A/N: I'll give an internet cookie to whoever can figure out who I named Stump after. He was originally supposed to have an even more generic name like Spike but a certain obnoxious character I loath made me decide to name Stump after said character's dog. Seriously, I hate that little bastard. LOL