John stood by the tree his son sat under to read and lit a cigarette. Arthur stood at another tree nearby, scrapping his antlers on the bark. A few days had passed since he arrived at the farm and Arthur loved it. Uncle rushed towards John.
"John! John!" he cried.
"What is it, old man?"
"It's Jack. Seems your tales of hunting got the better of him. He's going up the mountain to track that Grizzly that's been seen up there."
"The kid can't hunt a Grizzly. The thing will eat him alive!"
Arthur looked up. A Grizzly? Oh no!
The buck rushed toward them. He let out a call and forced John to his horse with his antlers. John got on and turned his horse around. He shot a look at Uncle.
"If anything happens to him, you'll wish it was you that bear attacked." Then he turned to the deer, "let's go, Arthur."
Rufus ran into the forest and the two followed. The trees loomed over them like long flag poles. Rufus sniffed the ground.
Arthur looked at a tree and sniffed it. Nothing, he thought.
"Come on, Rufus! Find Jack," John called. Rufus barked and ran off. Soon they came to a snowy mountain and began to climb.
Arthur felt his body stiffen from the cold but he ignored it. John's horse struggled, too. The cowboy covered his face with his handkerchief.
"Jack! Can you hear me, Jack!" he called. The wind blew stronger.
Finally, they made it up and John got off his horse. Tracks were in front of them and Arthur peered closely at them. A ROAR made them jump. A 10ft tall Grizzly bear snarled in front of them.
"Pa help me!" Jack appeared from behind a rock.
He'd been cut by the bear's claws and blood ran down his face. A howl made Arthur freeze in place. A wolf pack arrived and stood by the bear. Arthur recognized them immediately. Bill! Javier!
A black timber wolf stood at the head of the pack. It started towards Arthur.
Got ya now, Black lung! he growled
Arthur snorted and reared up on his hind legs. Micah!
Bill, a brown timber wolf, growled and threatened them. John pulled his gun out and cocked it. Javier, a gray wolf, took a moment to scratch his ear with his hind leg, then looked at the bear.
"Dutch!" John yelled. "Get out of here, now!"
The Grizzly bear snarled. The pack ran at Arthur. Dutch ran at John and he shot at him, the bullet grazing the bear's fur. He shot another and another, the bullets hardly having effect. Dutch opened his jaws to reveal sharp teeth.
John looked around for Arthur. He finally spotted him. He was fighting off the wolves. But he was growing tired. He charged at Javier and the silver wolf bit his leg.
Bill and Javier held him down with their teeth and Micah approached them.
Oh, Arthur. I missed you, the black wolf slashed his claws down the buck's face and he yelped. Micah bit his leg and Bill forced him back to the edge of the cliff. John was trying to get Dutch off of him while the bear chomped at him. John shot Dutch in the shoulder and he got off, wincing in pain.
Arthur eventually got knocked out. The pack got him on their backs and went to the cliff. Jack had three bullets left and he grabbed his shotgun that he'd brought. Arthur regained consciousness, but his vision was blurry. Jack shot Javier and Bill.
They yelped and staggered backward. Micah bit the deer's scruff and threw him over the edge down to the rapids below.
"No!" John shot Dutch and aiming his revolver just right, he shot Micah in the back.
Arthur plunged into the cold water. The buck struggled to get the edge of the bank as the water swallowed him. His head surfaced again only for another wave of icy water to hit him. Arthur looked behind him and his eyes widen. A waterfall was behind him and his hooves scraped the pebbles and rocks under him as he tried to grip onto the bottom.
He went over the falls and held his breath as he plunged into darkness...