For the first time in years, Fred didn't feel any anger. He just felt the breeze.
Standing atop a rocky cliffside, all Fred could see was the vast wilderness sprawled before him. As a boy who had grown up in the city, everything here seemed new and exciting to him. The tall evergreen trees with their prickly needles, the massive birds-of-prey swooping across the horizon, and the clear blue sky with almost no cloud in sight.
Almost, save for the plume of smoke far far off in the distance. The school bus that took him out here traveled fairly close to the source of the smoke cloud; an oil refinery, belonging to some company named Endron. Fred remembered the reactions of the other kids on the bus, staring in amazement at the towering pile of rusty pipes and open flames.
To a city slicker like Fred, the refinery didn't seem special at all. Just more of the same… more of what he wanted to get away from.
"Pfft." Fred scoffed, turning away from the cliffside. "Dumb kids."
Fred himself was really not much older than any of his peers, but it felt easy for him to label them as 'dumb kids'. It was always easy for him to stand apart from the other kids, whether at school or even all the way out here. Some people, teachers mostly, tried to tell him he had a bad temper but he never seemed able to get over it.
"Ugh, lame." Fred mumbled, shaking his head as he walked back into the woods. "So lame…"
In an attempt to push some unpleasant memories out of his mind, Fred reached into his black hooded sweatshirt's pocket for his CD player. Placing a pair of headphones over his ears, he began to play some very loud and aggressive music. Losing himself, as he often did, in his song led Fred astray through the wilderness. It wasn't until his boots splashed into come clear water the he broke out of his daydreams.
"A river?" Fred muttered.
Taking off his headphones, Fred gazed across the open waters From where he stood was shallow and fairly calm, but looking out he could see that the current grew much fiercer and the water much deeper. Staring down by his feet, Fred could see fairly clearly his own reflection. He was still a young boy, although he refused to admit it, and was on the cusp of entering high school. Fred was dressed plainly in a black hoody and a pair of baggy blue jeans, all the better to avoid attention. However, his shaggy blonde hair and cold blue eyes often stood out from the crowd.
"Heh, the water's so clear." Fred said with a rare smile. "I should've brought my swimming trunks."
Fred stared down at his reflection as he continued to walk through the shallow side of the river. The new boots his grandmother had bought him were thankfully water proof, and kept him dry as he trod along.
A few moments later, he wished he had worn running shoes.
"Huh?"
Having heard a low, guttural grunt, Fred looked up from his reflection and saw what looked to be a dark brown beast wading through the water on all fours. Whereas but a moment ago Fred had been freely inhaling the crisp mountain air, now he didn't dare breathe.
"A bear?
The hulking mass of fur stood with its back turned to Fred, splashing its sharp claws against the water with each step it took. The bear slowly lowered its head to the water and opened its maw, revealing a row of sharp teeth. Dunking down with another splash, the bear quickly re-emerged with a salmon in its mouth.
"Woah, it caught it."
Fred felt he should've been putting some serious distance between himself and the bear, but at the same time he had never seen anything like this. His curiosity got the best of him as he watched the bear chomp apart the fish with its sharp canines.
"Brutal." Fred chuckled. "Look at it go."
The mangled fish, or what was left of it, flopped freely out of the bear's paw as the beast reared its head. The bear's brown eyes stared unblinkingly at Fred, who reflexively staggered back from it.
"Uh oh." Fred whispered, raising his hands up as he took another step back. "Crap crap crap."
As the bear completely turned toward him, blood splattered across its furry face, Fred watched in horror as the bear began to stomp closer.
"CRAP!" was the only response Fred could muster as he turned and ran!
Back through the underbrush from whence he came, Fred sprinted as fast as he could through the prickly trees. Daring to steal a look behind him as he ran, Fred caught sight of the bear giving chase. Its grunting echoed through the trees as water and blood dripped down its face.
"Just my luck!" Fred wheezed. "Gotta get back to— GAH!"
Fred's feet skid to a halt as he found himself at the precipice of the cliffside he had found but a short while ago. Waving his arms through the air, he just barely regained his balance before tumbling off of the edge. Narrowly avoiding a painful drop, Fred then turned about to face an even more terrifying threat.
The bear's massive head peeked out from the trees, its brown eyes locking with Fred's blue orbs.
"God no." Fred huffed, glancing back at the cliffside again before looking back at the bear. "I'm so screwed… eh?"
Between his rising panic and his desperate attempts to catch his breath, Fred noticed something quite peculiar; the bear had stopped chasing him. While it had more-or-less trapped Fred against the cliff, the bear had decided not to come any closer. For whatever reason, the animal seemed content to hang back and watch him.
"The Hell?" Fred grumbled, wiping a bead of sweat off of his forehead. "You chase me all the way back here, for what?!"
The bear emerged completely from the trees and then sat its big rear down on the ground, causing Fred to shake his head.
"Is this normal?" Fred muttered, burying his face into his hands. "This thing is acting like a big dog."
The bear huffed at Fred, who tensed up and stared as the shaggy brown behemoth sniffed the air. After a few sniffs, the bear then, to Fred's astonishment, raised one of its claws and waved at him.
"Uh, hi…"
Fred slowy raised his own hand and waved back at the bear.
"… unreal. Where did this thing come from?"
Fred's eyes widened as the bear opened its maw and released a bellowing yawn.
"Heh, I guess you're friendly. How you doing bear?" Fred said, smiling at the madness of it all. "My name's Fred. Glad you're not going to eat me."
The bear opened its mouth, and despite the sharpness of its teeth and the blood all over its mouth, Fred could swear it was smiling.
"So uh, you mind if I come a little closer? Before I—"
An ear-splitting boom pierced the silent air, cutting Fred off mid-speech!
"THE HELL?!"
Stumbling about for balance, Fred suddenly found his foot slipping as the stone beneath his feet crumbled away. A feeling of weightlessness took over him as the world tumbled about before his eyes. Speechless at his fate, Fred found his voice once more as his shoulder connected with the hard ground.
"ACK!"
Crashing against the grass and dirt, Fred's body slipped further and further down the cliffside before his vision went totally dark. Even so, as all his senses left him, Fred swore he could hear what sounded like that big goofy bear roaring at him…
"Just… my… luck…"
Fred shivered, his numb body stirring as his hands grabbed fistfuls of grass and dirt. This was just about to be a camping trip, a chance to get out of the house and maybe even make a friend. Instead, he feared he was going to die out here all alone. He thought of his grandmother for a moment, pretty much the only family he had, and he remembered just how much he had to beg her just to sign her up for this camp.
Just imagining how she would react if she found out what happened to you, all because you wanted to go on a little hike by yourself…
"Damnit… damnit. Damnit!"
Fred was on the verge of screaming out his frustration, wailing out his indignation for all the world to hear!
Except, something cut him off.
"GRRRRRR."
Fred's eyes wrenched open and he was not where he thought he should be. The world seemed dark where but a moment before the sun was still shining. Aside from the grass he lied upon, he could barely see more than a few feet in front of him. Surrounded by pitch black darkness, Fred struggled to rise up to his feet and find the source of that vicious growl.
"No more bears, no more—"
Fred lifted his head and found himself face to face with a wolf. Erect on all fours, its gray hairs standing on end, a wolf larger than any dog Fred had ever seen was right in his face. Snarling, the shaggy beast continued to growl.
"…."
Working his way up to his knees, his gaze never leaving the wolf's golden eyes. It all seemed so surreal, but unlike the bear who revealed itself as being friendly, this terrible thing of pure rage did not frighten Fred.
"I know you." Fred whispered, raising a hand out to the gray wolf. "Heh, you remind me of… of Grandma."
Reaching over to the vicious beast, Fred's fingertips reach out and touch the neck of the monstrous wolf.
"ACK!" Fred cried out!
Struck as if by a bolt of lightning, Fred collapsed onto the dirt and shook with pain! The very hand that he had touched the wolf with could not be felt anymore, and his body seemed drenched in sweat!
"AAAAAAAAH!" Fred howled. "Make. It. STOP!"
And seemingly in a flash, the pain disappeared. Closing his eyes, Fred slowly regained his breath until he could hear the chirping of birds up above. On his exposed face, Fred could also feel the warmth of the sun.
"Hey, aren't you gonna wake up now?!"
Fred's opened his eyes again and found someone standing directly over him. It was difficult to make her out, as the sun was shining right behind her.
"Ha! You look like you took quite a spill! Nice one kid."
Furrowing his brow, Fred pushed himself up onto his elbows and stared incredulously up at wide grin of this mysterious stranger.
"I'm not a kid. And who are you?" Fred grunted.
The stranger continued to chuckle a bit, standing tall as she planted her hands on her hips.
"How does Rebecca sound?" she answered.
"How does.. your name sound?" Fred muttered.
Rebecca, if that was indeed her name, snickered down at Fred who took a moment to look her over. She was a fair bit taller than Fred, and apparently quite a bit older. Long and curly dark brown hair seemed to stretch down almost to her thighs, giving her something of a wild look as if she was some kind of savage living out here in the woods. Knee and elbow pads as well as a pair of fingerless gloves made her stand out, and as Fred wondered why she had chosen to wear such things he also took notice of her toned muscles. Much of these muscles were on display, as she only wore cargo shorts and a tight crop top t-shirt that said—
"Camp counselor?"
Fred squinted at the t-shirt, seeing the bright white letters printed on the front of Rebecca's black t-shirt.
"Yup!" Rebecca said with a nod. "And I'm guessing you're new here?"
Staring up at Rebeca, Fred continued to squint at Rebecca's bright smile while nodding at her.
"Awesome! You're gonna love it here." Rebecca chuckled while offering Fred a hand. "Hey, as camp counselor I should probably tell ya— campers aren't supposed to be this far out in the woods by themselves. We don't want kids falling off of cliffs to a daily thing ya know?"
Fred accepted Rebecca's hand while clambering to his feet, although he did not smile or laugh along with her one bit. Flexing his own arms and legs, Fred made quite a discovery.
"I'm… I'm alright."
"Pretty lucky huh?"
Turning to face Rebecca, Fred stared at her as she smiled back without another word.
"How the Hell," Fred muttered. "d-did you see me… did you see a bear, and a wolf?"
"There are lots of both of those all over these parts! Rebecca replied. "That's why its never safe to go alone. Tell ya what, next time you want to go sightseeing just let me know. I'm always up for a hike!"
Rebecca closed her eyes and beamed down at Fred, patting the boy on the shoulder and wiping some of the dirt and grass off of his sweatshirt.
"That wasn't what I, gah." Fred hung his head and sighed, letting the older girl dust him off. "Well, you had to have heard that! It sounded like an explosion!"
Rebecca's hand suddenly gripped Fred's shoulder, catching the boy by surprise. The counselor's smile had finally vanished as she turned her head and scowled.
"Yeah, sounded like it came from… Endron." Rebecca grumbled.
"Endron?" Fred repeated.
"Er, oil company. They run the refinery about 50 miles down the road…" Rebecca muttered back with a shake of her head.
Fred's eyes widened. It had to have been the oil refinery his bus drove past earlier today. What could have happened he wondered?
"I should go and— I should get you back to camp." Rebecca chirped.
Her hand flew off of Fred's shoulder and onto his back as Rebecca began to lead him away down the mountain.
"C'mon Fred, we got all month to go hiking! Hey, do you like swimming? And fishing? Or maybe rock climbing's more your speed? There's all kinds of cool stuff you can sign up for ya know? I bet if you asked around a bit you'd find—"
Fred frowned, his internal thoughts phasing out Rebecca's words. There was so much that happened in so little time that left Fred with all kinds of questions. In fact, one such question was weighing quite heavily on Fred's mind right now.
How did Rebecca know his name was Fred?