Cold Spell

Chapter 9

What do I do…what do I do? Frank thought desperately as he looked at the dark brown bear. Outwardly he appeared unfazed by being faced with one of the largest omnivores in North America, which was a good thing, as any hysterics would end badly…for him. Inwardly, he was panicking!

This bear wasn't huge by grizzly standards but still the teen was figuring it would be somewhere in excess of 300 pounds, and it stood about 3-½ feet high at the shoulder – huge enough to him!

And that wasn't even taking into consideration the slightly curved front claws or teeth!

The only thing he knew for sure was that he shouldn't run. Running would pretty much guarantee an attack. And right now, while the bear was approaching him, it still hadn't done anything to make him think that it was going to attack – it was mostly grunting actually.

"O-okay big fella…" Frank said softly. The bear had stopped and was watching him now, its attention having moved from the fish to him. He avoided looking it straight in the eye and continued in as soothing a voice as he could manage, all things considered, "And…and what a big fella you are…aren't you?"

The bear snorted.

Frank glanced down at the fish, which was no longer wriggling.

"You want this, right?" he asked hopefully, being careful to keep his voice low so the bear wouldn't decide he was a threat.

Frank was hungry, not stupid. If the bear was willing to leave him alone after it got the fish, then so be it.

The teen knew he could catch another one…or at least he'd still be alive to make the attempt!

The bear's gaze followed the boy's to the fish, and it snorted loudly.

Slowly, Frank began to back away from the fish. As he was standing next to the pond and had no intention of going for a swim if he didn't have to, he more moved to the side than anything, letting the bear know he was giving up his catch.

"You can have it," he whispered, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "Go…go ahead….It's all yours!"

The bear watched him move away, and once Frank had put about ten or fifteen feet between them, it slowly lumbered towards the fish and picked it up with amazing gentleness, considering what it was going to do with it!

Frank continued backing away; having to keep glancing behind him to make sure he didn't trip, as he did so. His biggest fear now, as he watched the grizzly make a snack out of the decent sized trout, was that it would consider the fish an appetizer….

Bears were fast. They didn't look it, but Frank knew this animal could quickly cover the distance between them. He'd never have a chance of outrunning it.

Curl up in a ball…if it attacks….Make yourself as non-threatening as possible, he reminded himself, as he chanced a glance down at his chest to see if his hammering heart was actually visible through his sweater. It wasn't.

But when he quickly looked back up to see what the bear was doing, his legs almost gave out in relief. The large predator had turned its back on the boy and was slowly ambling away.

"Oh man…" he sighed, and then crouched down, holding his midsection tightly and taking a couple of deep breaths to calm down. "Oh man…" he gasped again, trying to get his breathing under control, "that…that was just a little…too much…getting to know nature…for my liking!"

Straightening up, he sighed and moved back towards the spot where he'd caught the fish. He still had the improvised fishing line. But as he stood and gazed out over the pond, his heart just wasn't into it.

A thin layer of fog caressed the water and gave it a surreal look, as around him the world had become hauntingly still. Although he knew he should make another attempt, he couldn't…not right now.

Realizing it had been longer than five minutes since he signaled for Joe, an exhausted Frank put the whistle to his lips and blew it for two minutes this time to make up the difference.

"Come on little brother," he said as he put the whistle away, "stay put wherever you are….Stay put and stay safe."

Letting out another big sigh, Frank checked his watch again and decided to call it a day on the fishing.

It had been made humiliatingly clear to him that he had no way of knowing what kind of danger could be watching, stalking him right now – as close as twenty feet away, and he'd never see it!

The bear had been a brutal brush that left him uneasy, as echoes from the previous night reminded him of something else. There were also wolves around.

No, he'd start back to camp and wait. There wasn't anything else really that he could do. He had berries, 'sticks' and water – enough that he didn't need to go anywhere else today if he didn't want to.

Joe had been gone over twenty-four hours now, and Frank just hoped the fog would dissipate so his brother could come back. He'd been gone long enough now…too long for the older boy's liking…way too long.

The trek back was uneventful, with Frank still keeping up his whistle blowing every five minutes, and his chapped lips hated him for it.

By the time he had gotten back, the teen was exhausted, having been up for almost twenty-fours now.

Staggering back into the burrow, he sat down on his 'bed' and closed his eyes for just a moment – he needed to, as he was almost dead on his feet right now – but that one moment was just enough…. And without his leave, sleep stole Frank…

The wolf pack had followed their prey to the pond. They didn't need to see him to keep track of him – they could hear him and smell him and that was more than enough.

Like Pup, these wolves had never seen a human being before, and so the alpha male, a large reddish-grey animal, exercised caution and did not attack yet.

But although he had not decided if this new creature posed a threat or not, he couldn't put this off much longer. His pack, his family, was starving to death around him.

They had already lost this year's pups and the weaker animals, dwindling the pack down to four, including himself. And even the alpha had suffered, although he always got first choice of their kills.

At one time he was as large as Pup, and while he retained his height, he had lost much of his weight and muscle, dwindling down to only about 125 pounds right now.

They had planned on taking down their prey while he was fishing, but then the wind changed direction…and that changed everything.

It was a subtle breeze, unnoticed by the prey and having no effect on the irritating insects or still pond waters, but it was very noticeable to an animal that relied on its nose as did these wolves.

The alpha male picked up a scent….

Twitching his tail, and giving an almost inaudible growl, the wolf disappeared silently, flanked by his pack, and the prey never had any idea they'd been there….

Frank awoke with a start and then immediately looked at the time.

"Bloody hell," he muttered groggily, "I fell asleep!"

Immediately he forced his body, still leaden with sleep, not having realized he was awake now, towards the burrow entrance and then signaled for Joe again.

The fog was thick as ever and Frank felt disheartened. His mind was overcome with images of his brother wandering aimlessly though the gloom, depending on hearing the faithful whistle…and then walking on past while the older boy slept.

Struggling out of the burrow and standing up, Frank cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, "JOE! JOE!" Then he listened, but heard nothing, only a faint echo of his voice across the tundra, muffled by the fog.

Running a hand across his sleep-filled face, he shivered and reached back inside the burrow for his parka.

"I need a coffee," he muttered, zippering the parka up as the temperature had begun to drop again. "A nice, good, black cup of java."

Putting the whistle to his lips, he signaled again and then put it away.

He briefly toyed with the idea of fishing again, as the thought of the lost trout made his stomach cramp painfully, but then dismissed it as being too late to start right now. Although it was no different than it had been this morning, it was still 8:30 PM, and Frank didn't want to mess with his internal clock and these endless days, if he didn't have to.

Frank sighed, and looked at the time again – he wished this fog would lift so his brother could hurry and get back….He missed him something fierce!

Going back inside, he sat down and leaned back against the burrow wall, sighed, and closed his eyes. He started doing formulas in his head to keep himself awake… it was going to be a very long night!

The wolves were back.

The alpha was disconcerted and this fueled his need to finish this hunt, tonight. He would need his strength, and this prey would give it to him.

Cautiously, the small pack approached the burrow, coming much closer than before. They knew the strange animal was inside, they could hear him breathing and smell him.

The fire, smoky and low, offered them some deterrent as natural aversion was self-preserving…but even that was quickly dwindling in light of survival.

When the flap was suddenly thrown open and the boy thrust his head out, the carnivores heard that dreadful sound again and retreated noiselessly into the gloom.

The creature did that with an alarming regularity. The noise was piercing and made them lay back their ears and bare their teeth. For anything with hearing as good as theirs, it was deafening!

And then within a short time, the noise ceased, the boy tossed more moss on the fire, and then disappeared into his hole again.

The wolves watched the small fire flare up briefly before settling down and smoking again, their hunger battling their fear…and then, lifting his head to the sky, the alpha male let out a haunting howl.

Immediately the alpha female and the two beta wolves that were left joined him, and their chorus was chilling….

Starvation won.

Frank heard them again tonight. This time they sounded like they were right outside the door! He could hear their heavy breathing and excited little yips as they could smell him and knew he was close.

The teen was even more thankful than ever for Joe's foresight in using the seat leather to make a 'door,' as he was sure that was the only thing that kept them from ripping him apart. But he didn't know how much longer it would continue to act as a deterrent!

Wolves were smart; too smart if you asked Frank right now.

The hair rose on his neck as he felt a new fear spear him – how was Joe going to get past the pack? If he even made it back to the camp…that was.

Swallowing that disturbing thought, Frank crawled towards the flap and lifted it – he had to see just how close the wolves were now….

And then he froze as he looked right into a pair of yellow eyes!