FOUR:
THE BEARMAN STRIKES
Fry was humming Walking on Sunshine as he drove back to the hotel. He now had twenty-five dollars in his pocket, which wasn't much but…it was better than nothing.
Mom and Dad will have to admit that much at least, Fry thought, pedaling around a bend in the road. It was a cloudy night out, and the streets of Springfield were darker than usual due to the absence of the moon, which was completely obscured by dark, angry storm clouds.
"Better hurry," Fry muttered to himself, and stopped humming in order to pedal faster. For some reason he was feeling paranoid and couldn't shake off the feeling that he was being watched or…followed.
Trying to keep his weary eyes on the road, which was dimly lit by streetlights, Fry pedaled faster. He was driving by a grim-looking alley when a shadow suddenly loomed ahead of him, forcing him to screech his bike to a halt.
"W-who are you?" Fry stammered. He accidentally flipped his bike over when the animal unexpectedly bared down upon him.
He was facing a bear. Fry didn't believe it at first but, when the gloomy, ominous clouds above dispersed for a moment to reveal a golden moon shining upon them, there was no doubt as to what this creature was.
Fry screamed bloody murder, backing into the alley as the bear cornered him, waving its paws about blindly as it roared.
The oddest thing happened then: Fry laughed. He couldn't help it. He didn't know if it was where he wasn't thinking straight or what but…for some reason the bear's roaring sounded oddly human and this struck Fry as being hilariously funny.
At the sound of his laughter the bear's rage faltered, only to rise again a second later.
Fry was literally scared shitless. He had stopped laughing for the bear had raked its claws against his neck and Fry whimpered as they traveled down his chest, creating gigantic bleeding wounds that made him pass out at the sight of them.
Fry awoke the next morning to find himself in the Springfield General Hospital, where he met Doctor Hibbert.