Warning for guts.

Chapter Twenty-four

Ashley squeezed her eyes shut with a single lucid thought.

I love you, Spencer.

A deafening crack sounded, echoing through the air, and the woods descended into eerie silence.

Recovering from the start the sound gave her, Ashley cracked an eye open. No brown wall of muscle loomed over her. In the back of her mind, she heard an object being dropped behind her. Lifting her head up, she strained to see what happened, having to raise herself up onto her elbows to get a better look. The large form of the grizzly lay slumped on the ground a mere four feet from her.

It took her several moments to register the hands on her shoulders and the body kneeling behind her. When she did, Ashley looked over her shoulder into Spencer's whitened face. Brown eyes drifted down to where the rifle was resting next to the blonde, then rose back up to meet frightened blue orbs.

"Ash, are you all right?" a shaky voice asked.

"Um…"

The brunette looked down at herself, taking mental stock of her condition. She didn't appear to be bleeding anywhere. Her rear end stung from when she fell onto it. She felt a prick in her back from where she must have landed on the corner of a rock. Her chest hurt from the incessant pounding of her heart, and her gut was swimming with adrenaline. Other than that, she seemed to be in one piece.

"…yeah," Ashley finally answered. "I think…I'm okay." She returned her gaze to the bear. The haze was clearing from her mind, and the shock was wearing off. "Holy shit." She whipped her head around to look at Spencer again. "Spencer…are you all right?"

"Uh, maybe. I don't know yet."

"How did you…?"

"I heard…it. You…left the rifle down with me…I don't know, I just grabbed it and…came up here." The blonde was obviously still stunned.

"Good timing," the brunette croaked.

"Yeah…are you all right? Wait…we did you…"

Ashley nodded in dazed agreement. "We did me. I could…do you again, if you wanted."

At long last, the spell broke, and Spencer gave a wane smile. "Seriously, Ash? Now?"

The brunette grinned. "Sorry. Just wanted to make sure your brain was functioning normally."

"Well, we know yours is."

Ashley's smirk only widened. She abruptly reached her hand up and pulled Spencer's lips down to hers, kissing her firmly. "Thank you. Sweet Jesus, Spence, thank you. You're my lifesaver."

Spencer hummed. "Does that mean you're going to suck on me all day?"

Ashley's jaw dropped. "Spencer," she gasped in mock horror. "…depends on what flavor you are. Cherry?"

Spencer waggled her eyebrows. "Butter Rum."

The brunette's mouth opened again, this time with a whimper of longing. "There is a God."

The blonde laughed, then cleared her throat. "Yes, well…"

"Yeah." Ashley glanced at the bear. "I, uh...I think we solved our meat deficit."

"Yeah, but what are we going to do with it?"

"No idea…Whatever, I'm hungry. Let's get that bunny going."

The rabbit stew was simmering. Spencer was gazing across the lake. Ashley was fingering the hunting knife while staring up at the falls.

"So, basically, we just need something to keep the meat in and somehow keep it cold."

"Right."

"All right, so we empty out the survival case. It's big enough, metal, probably airtight…"

"Airtight…" Spencer echoed, still staring at the lake. "Waterproof?"

"Maybe, why?" Ashley followed the blonde's gaze. "The lake water…"

"…is cold," Spencer finished. "And it's only getting colder. What do you think?"

Ashley grinned. "I think we have ourselves a refrigerator."

With the plan settling their minds, they ate their late lunch in peace. After the meal, they took the remaining supplies out of the survival kit and tested its seal by setting it in the shallows of the lake. They were pleased when no leaks were evident.

Along with the hunting knife and axe, the girls carried the case up to where the bear was. The rifle was also brought long to ease their newfound paranoia. The two of them together rolled the massive animal onto its side. Ashley slid the knife into the soft tissue of its abdomen and cut through fur and muscle from the bear's groin to its chin. A draft of heat met her, along with the poignant odor of blood and various internal…substances. The sheer volume of intestines that could be seen filling the bear's abdomen made Ashley cover her mouth with her hand, her face turning a greenish tint.

"Oh god, I think I'm going to gag."

Spencer didn't look much better. "You're fine with the bunnies and pheasants."

"That's because they're small and have limited…" she gestured at her stomach vaguely, "viscera. You know? You don't have to bury your entire arm in a rabbit to pull its guts out."

"Yeah…" Spencer patted Ashley on the shoulder. "Have fun with that."

The brunette caught her wrist before she could walk away. "Hey, you're helping with this."

"Ew."

"Unless you want to eat tree bark."

"Looks more appetizing at the moment."

"Yeah, it does." Ashley shuddered. "Look, Spence, can you do me a favor and go dig a hole somewhere that I can dump all this crap in?"

"Sure."

Spencer picked up the axe to break up the hard ground with and disappeared into the trees. Ashley took several deep breaths before turning back to the gory sight. As an afterthought, she made a quick trip to camp to take a pair of latex gloves from the medical kit. She made it back just in time for Spencer to tell her the hole had been dug. The brunette slipped the gloves on and, holding her breath, pulled the mass of innards from the bear's inner cavity. She cut the ends to separate the bundle from the body. After following Spencer to the hole and burying the entrails deep in the earth, Ashley rinsed off her gloves and returned to their kill.

Unlike rabbits, the bear's hide did not pull easily away from the muscle. Rather, Ashley had to use the hunting knife to painstakingly cut it away inch by inch. It was over an hour before just that one side was folded back fully.

Spencer sat nearby, watching with a churning stomach. "If we want this meat preserved, we're going to have to get it smoking, like, now."

Ashley sighed as she stared at the large muscular animal. "Gonna be a long night."

"Very." The blonde stood up. "I'll get a fire going up here."

A fire pit was dug out, wood was carried up, and the cooking rack was set over a low flame. Ashley sliced the meat off the bear in individual steaks, handing them to Spencer to put on the rack. She started with the shoulder, then moved down the back muscle, and finally the rump. The cooking rack filled quickly, and the excess meat was stacked on foil packs until the first batch finished curing.

The sun had long since set by the time the one side of the bear had been stripped, forcing Ashley to work by firelight. She and Spencer rolled the beast onto its other side, and the brunette began the process all over again. The blonde continued tending the makeshift smoker, turning the steaks every so often. After about three hours over the small flame, Spencer cut into the meat and found it cooked all the way through. The cured steaks were put into the metal case, and a new stack was placed on the wire stand.

The hide was pulled completely off the carcass, and Ashley dragged it to the stream to wash off the dried blood and dirt. It was then stretched out in front of the low campfire to dry with whatever heat it could absorb. The temperature had fallen to a bitter chill, but they couldn't build up the blaze without charring the meat. Ashley was warm enough as she worked, but Spencer remained crouched in front of the flame, holding her hands out to its meager warmth.

Another hour, and the rest of the muscle had been removed from bone. As they waited for their abundance of meat to smoke, they both took a cooked steak to satisfy their growling stomachs. It was a luxury to be able to eat a large slice of red meat instead of the paltry slivers the rabbits had provided.

Ashley rolled her shoulders as she sat down next to Spencer, glancing at the pile of meat still needing to be cured. Her eyes traveled over to the small rack over the fire, then back to the meat. "Jesus, this is going to take us until morning."

The blonde leaned to the side and let her head fall onto Ashley's shoulder, mumbling some form of agreement. The brunette put her arm around Spencer's waist and kissed the crown on her head.

"Spencer…?"

"Hm?"

"…thank you. For earlier. You…you really…saved me…" Ashley finished in a whisper.

The blonde picked up her head and brushed a lock of dark hair from the girl's face. She placed a kiss on Ashley's temple and rubbed her arm. "Then consider us even for pulling me out of the plane."

"Well, I couldn't let you get blown up."

"Well, I couldn't let you get eaten."

Ashley smirked. "You know—"

"You can let some of them go," Spencer interrupted before her girlfriend could jump on the innuendo.

"Where's the fun in that?" The blonde smiled fondly, granting Ashley a peck on the lips before settling back down against her shoulder. "Tease."

"Sex addict," Spencer returned playfully.

"Only with you."

With a long night ahead of them, Ashley pulled the drying bear hide closer and began kneading the leather to softness. Spencer mimicked the motion, and the two watched the wispy tendrils of smoke rise from the fire. When finally the last of the meat was cured and packed away, the girls hoisted the case down the rock wall and submerged it halfway in the shallows of the lake.

Exhausted, Ashley and Spencer dragged themselves into the grotto and collapsed into bed just as the first rays of morning were coloring the sky. The two fell asleep the moment they were comfortable in each other's arms.