Chapter VIII: Solace
Not long after Grizz had left him, Nom Nom retreated back inside the hollowed tree trunk, feeling completely at a loss. He drifted in an and out of sleep for several hours, never feeling compelled enough to attempt to find his way back to the city on his own. The hope that Grizz would eventually come to his senses and come back for him was mostly what made him want to stay where he was and not wander off, but after so many hours of waiting, it became evident that Grizz was never coming back. Realizing he was only sentencing himself to death if he stayed put, Nom Nom forced himself to continue on, though not having someone there to listen to him didn't stop him from expressing his contempt.
"I'm gonna kill 'im….I'm gonna kill 'im…I'm gonna kill 'im," he growled over and over again as he slowly made his way through the darkening forest. "I swear, if I ever see him again-"
Hearing a rustle in the bushes nearby, Nom Nom gasped and quickly hid himself behind the trunk of a tree. As he cautiously peeked his head from around the trunk, he saw a small brown rabbit emerge from the bushes and scurry away in a burst of speed. He let out a sigh but then immediately yelped when he heard the distant howl of a wolf. "Grizz, if I die out here, I will haunt you, this I swear!" he cried out. "Never again will you get a full night's sleep because I'll be turning on every faucet and light in your house and rearranging all your furniture and useless junk! I hope you find a way to anchor all that stuff, 'cause it's gonna be pretty awkward trying to explain to your guests why all all the chairs and pictures are flying around the room!"
Moments after his sudden outburst, the koala sighed loudly, rubbing his tired eyes. "You're losing it, Nom Nom."
Getting an idea of where he was seemed impossible. It was all guesswork. He knew the city was close, but if he made another wrong turn, he could easily end up putting more and more distance between himself and civilization.
He stopped and peered up at the trees surrounding him, setting his sights on the tallest one he could find. He staggered towards the tree and very carefully started to climb its trunk, hoping he could get high enough to where he could get a glimpse of the city, but he was reminded of his limitations when he felt another sharp pain in his ribs, which ultimately sent him falling back down to the ground with a pained cry. He let out a defeated sigh as he slumped against the trunk, staring up through the canopy at the pinkish blue sky. They could have easily been home by now if this morning's events hadn't transpired.
A part of him wanted to try looking for Grizz, because as much as he wanted to beat the bear over the head for deserting him, he still didn't want to leave him behind. The only thing that stopped him was the thought that he may have been right in what he had said. What if he was still dangerous? At the end of the day, Grizz was a predator, and he was prey. This was nature's original design, even if neither one of them followed the traditional roles of their respected species. While Grizz may have become domesticated over the years, he was still a powerful animal with the natural instincts of a predator buried deep within him, and Nom Nom was a small marsupial, who had about as much defense against an attack as a stuffed animal. He had been given his first taste of life the way nature had intended for him, and it sucked.
After walking for nearly an hour, the koala felt his energy deplete and he was forced to stop again. As he started to contemplate whether he should seek shelter for the night, he suddenly heard something that sounded distinctively like voices. He was unable to see anyone through the dense vegetation surrounding him, but they sounded close. His hope returning at the prospect of being rescued, he got back on his feet and started moving again. As he pushed his way past bushes and climbed over fallen trees, he could hear the voices becoming progressively louder, and he couldn't be sure, but he thought one of them sounded familiar.
The koala yelped loudly as he roughly fell to the ground after tripping over an exposed tree root.
"Hey, did you hear that?" one of the voices spoke, the one he was certain he recognized.
"Do you think it was an animal?" another voice responded, this one unfamiliar to him.
"Hello?!" the familiar voice cried out.
As Nom Nom managed to get to his feet again, he was able to make out three figures through the small gaps in the vegetation ahead of him. He could see them making their way towards him, the dull white beams of their flashlights moving sporadically as they walked. Nom Nom pushed forward through the vegetation to meet the approaching figures. He winced and held up a paw to shield his eyes as one of the figures shined their flashlight directly in his face.
"Oh my gosh, it's Nom Nom!"
Nom Nom immediately put a face to the voice before he even laid eyes on him.
"Dude, what happened to you?"
Nom Nom could sense Panda crouching down in front of him, but the giant red spot that had invaded the center of his vision after being blinded by the flashlight made it hard for him to focus on him.
"Is he all right?" he heard the unfamiliar voice ask.
"I don't know, he looks really banged up. Nom Nom, are you with me? Talk to me."
The koala flinched slightly as he felt a paw touch his arm. "How…?" He tried to formulate a sentence but it felt as though someone had crammed cotton balls down his throat, causing his voice to sound incredibly raspy. He could hear Panda unzipping something, though he still couldn't see much in front of him. He then heard what sounded like a cap being unscrewed.
"Here," he heard Panda say to him before he placed something into his paw. Nom Nom's eyes immediately brightened as he realized what it was, and he lifted the object to his lips, allowing the cool water to soak his parched mouth and throat. He didn't stop to consider if that was the last of their water, as he was too thirsty to care.
As he polished off the last drop, his vision finally started returning to normal, and he was able to make out the three figures more clearly. He could make out the polar bear standing just a few feet behind Panda, but upon seeing the tall furry creature standing on the other side of him, he nearly screamed. "W-Who are you? What are you?" he asked as he took a cautious step back.
"Name's Charlie!" the creature greeted him cheerfully. "I'm a friend of the bears! We've been looking high and low for you guys! Man, you two sure went way out of the way. You really didn't know where you were going, did you?"
"That is the general idea of being lost, genius," Nom Nom growled before looking back to Panda. "How did you know to come looking for us out here?"
"Well, we spotted your footprints in the woods near our cave…and I found your phone on the ground. We knew you guys were out here somewhere. Charlie spends a lot of time out in these woods, so he's been helping us maneuver around. He knows his way back," Panda replied as Charlie nodded his head with a smile. Nom Nom continued to eye the creature wearily, still not sure what to make of him. Leave it to the bears to make friends with such an odd creature.
Hearing his stomach growl loudly, Nom Nom glanced down at the yellow backpack Panda was clutching. "Do you have anything to eat in there?" he mumbled, his voice still a bit hoarse.
The bear perked and reached back inside the bag. "I've got some granola bars."
Nom Nom eagerly took the granola bar as it was offered to him and attempted to tear it open, momentarily forgetting about his injured wrist. He hissed in pain and let his paw fall back to his side again, glaring at the ground in frustration.
"Here, let me-"
Undeterred by his injury, Nom Nom lifted the granola bar to his mouth and took the corner of the wrapper between his teeth, tearing it open in one swift jerk of his head. Finally free of its wrapper, Nom Nom wasted no time and quickly crammed the bar into his mouth, sighing contently as he ate. Normally he detested granola bars, but right now it was the most delicious thing to grace his taste buds in three days.
"Nom Nom, where's Grizz?" Panda asked seriously, looking him straight in the eye. "Why isn't he with you?"
Nom Nom swallowed the last of the granola bar before answering. "I don't know. He left me behind."
Panda looked startled upon hearing this. "What? Why would he do that?"
"Something's wrong with him. He…He went crazy and attacked me. He did this to me," Nom Nom replied as he gestured to his injuries. Both Charlie and Panda looked horrified, though Ice Bear's gaze had hardened after hearing this accusation.
"Ice Bear doesn't believe you," he said flatly. Nom Nom turned to him, matching the polar bear's glare with one of his own. He balled up the wrapper in his paw and threw it to the ground before staggering towards the large white bear.
"Aw, man, don't be a litter bug," Charlie commented as he went to pick up the discarded trash and place it inside the backpack. Nom Nom ignored him, however, keeping his angry glare focused on Ice Bear.
"What, you think I just gave myself these injuries?" the koala challenged.
"Ice Bear knows his brother. He would never do that," Ice Bear affirmed, his angry glare intensifying slightly.
"You think I'm lying?" Nom Nom growled.
"Ice Bear knows you lack honesty."
"Guys, that's enough. Stop," Panda warned as he stood up and placed himself directly between the two. "Nom Nom, tell us exactly what happened. What do you mean Grizz 'went crazy'?"
Nom Nom stepped away and seated himself against a rotting stump. "I woke up this morning, and I didn't see him anywhere, so I went looking for him. When I finally found him, he…wasn't himself. It was like he was wild…feral. There was nothing I could say or do to get through to him. I was nothing but prey to him. He was about to kill me, but a deer just happened to pass through at that very moment, so he went after it instead. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here talking to you right now."
"Is that when you got separated?"
The koala shook his head slowly, tired eyes staring at the ground. "He came looking for me. He seemed like he was back to normal, though I was still nervous about being around him. Apparently he knew it was going to happen."
Panda arched a brow. "What? How would he even know that?"
"Because he said the same thing happened to you…and you," Nom Nom replied, looking from Panda to Ice Bear. The two brothers looked at each other with startled expressions.
"What? No, that never happened," Panda replied as he looked back down at the marsupial. "We would have remembered something like that."
"That's just it, though. He said you didn't remember."
Panda looked absolutely astonished. "When did this even happen? And why didn't he tell us about it?!"
"He said it happened a couple of months ago when he got the stupid idea for you guys to live out in the woods. I guess he didn't want to worry you with it," Nom Nom responded with a shrug.
Panda stiffened slightly as he tried to recall the events of that day. He turned to his younger sibling, looking startled. "Now that I think about it…I don't really remember a lot from that night, do you?"
Ice Bear only shook his head.
"And Grizz did seem kinda rattled around us…"
"So why did he act the way he did?" Charlie interjected this time. "What set him off?"
"It sounds stupid…but he said it'll happen if he goes too long without food."
There was a brief exchange of odd looks between the trio before Charlie suddenly felt compelled to make light of the situation. "Well, there's a simple solution to that. Anybody here got a Snickers?" he laughed, waiting expectedly for the others to join him in laughing, but the three animals simply turned to look at him with the most deadpanned expressions he had ever seen.
"Seriously, why is he here?" Nom Nom snapped.
"Heh…sorry. I have a tendency to make lame jokes at inappropriate moments when I get nervous," the Bigfoot muttered sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.
Rolling his eyes, Panda turned back to Nom Nom. "But why did he leave you?" he asked, bringing everyone's attention back to the main subject.
"He was afraid he'd go crazy and try to hurt me again."
"So what's he gonna do?!" Panda asked urgently. "Is he just gonna stay in the woods and never come back?!"
"I don't know," Nom Nom sighed, lowering his head.
Panda looked back to his brother worriedly. "We need to find him," he asserted, earning a nod from Ice Bear.
Charlie glanced down at the wounds covering Nom Nom's body and looked back to Panda with a look of skepticism. "Are you sure we should? If Grizz is really as vicious as he says, then-"
"We are not leaving our brother out there all alone!" Panda shouted as he spun around to face Charlie, who held up his hands defensively.
"Pan-Pan, take it easy," he said gently. "Believe me, I don't want to leave him. I'm just saying that maybe you guys should go back and get some help. This might be more than we can handle. I've lived in the woods a long time. I've seen what grizzly bears can do. It ain't pretty, trust me."
Nom Nom carefully rose to his feet. "I say we go find him," he said, prompting everyone to look his way. Ice Bear couldn't help but raise a brow.
"But…you said there was nothing you could say to get through to him," Charlie pointed out. Nom Nom paused before looking towards the two bears.
"Well…I couldn't, but maybe they can," he said as he nodded to the brothers.
"Three to one, Charlie. We're going to find him," Panda said firmly.
Charlie sighed, nodding once. "All right, then. Let's get a move on."
ooooooo
While getting some food into his stomach had given him a small boost in strength, his stamina was still wavering. Keeping up with his three traveling companions was proving to be a bit of a challenge as they started traversing up and down natural inclines and slopes. Going downhill was fairly easy, but getting up was a challenge. Nom Nom kept quiet for most of the search, his throat too strained for him to call out to the lost bear. Panda and Charlie were handling that task just fine, anyway.
"How long ago was it since you last saw him?" Panda asked, glancing back over his shoulder at the staggering koala.
"I don't know…Eight…maybe nine hours ago? But I didn't travel too far from the last place I saw him. I spent a lot of that time sleeping on and off."
"Well then, hopefully he didn't venture too far," Panda murmured to himself. "Grizz?!" he called again, shining his flashlight in different areas of the forest "Grizz, can you hear me?!"
As the group halted for a moment to shine their lights throughout the darkened forest, Nom Nom breathed a soft sigh of relief and leaned against the trunk of a tree to rest momentarily, still clutching his ribs.
"Hey, are you okay?" he heard Panda ask as he turned his light on him, though he was generous enough to not shine it directly in his face this time. "Do you need one of us to carry you?"
"No!" Nom Nom responded, not intending to come off as harsh as he did. He sighed before muttering a quick apology and readjusting his tone. "No, I'm fine. I…just need to rest for a minute."
"Okay, time out for a sec," Panda declared, forming a T with his paws. "Charlie, how about you and I keep looking for Grizz," Panda turned to look towards Ice Bear, "and you stay here with Nom Nom?"
Nom Nom's head shot up, and he quickly looked towards the polar bear with apprehension, while Ice Bear didn't look too pleased by the suggestion himself.
"Um…shouldn't you take him with you?" Nom Nom replied, eyes shifting rapidly between the two bears. "I mean, you might need his help in case…you know."
"Look, we can't just leave you alone, and you're really in no condition to be moving around much, anyway. You guys just hang here and we'll keep going. If we aren't back in an hour, then come find us."
"Does Ice Bear get a say in this?" the stoic polar bear replied flatly, crossing his arms.
"Dude, come on," Panda sighed. He knew his brother detested the koala, but now was not the time to be difficult.
"But…But what if you two end up getting lost, too?" Nom Nom asked.
"No worries!" Charlie answered confidently as he lifted one of his large feet. "I always leave a trail. We can find our way back here no sweat!"
Nom Nom felt compelled to keep protesting, but it was clear the panda was set in his decision. Moments after Charlie and Panda disappeared from sight, Nom Nom felt a heavy awkwardness set in as he was left alone with the polar bear. He could feel him staring at him, and he wondered how long it'd be before he took his revenge now that there was no one else there to stop him from doing so. Nom Nom didn't know which was more intimidating, a feral Grizz, or a vengeful Ice Bear. He really didn't know what this bear was capable of. He was intelligent and crafty, this much he knew.
The koala tensed slightly as he noticed Ice Bear finally shift away from the spot he had been standing in for the last five minutes. He kept his gaze lowered as he saw the white bear walk past him and take a seat on the ground just a few feet away from him, never uttering a word. Nom Nom slid to the ground, always watching the bear out of the corner of his eye.
ooooooo
"Grizz?! Hey, Grizz!"
Panda had been doing most of the shouting for the last ten minutes, while Charlie remained fairly quiet as he shined his flashlight through the woods, the troubling thoughts in his mind distracting him from the task at hand. He glanced worriedly at the back of the panda bear's head as one thought in particular kept nagging him.
"What if he doesn't want to be found?" he finally asked.
The question forced Panda to slow to a stop and turn to face Charlie. "What?" he responded quietly.
"Well…what if he's hearing us calling to him and he's staying hidden? Nom Nom said he ran away 'cause he thought he was too dangerous to be around."
Panda turned away sharply as he felt his eyes well with tears. "Charlie, don't say that!" he cried, clenching his fists. "Grizz wouldn't do that! He wouldn't leave us behind!"
Charlie started to reach out to hug the bear, but he hesitated, pulling his hand back and holding it against his chest as he stared at the ground sadly. "I'm just saying that…maybe in his mind he thinks he's doing the right thing. Maybe he's afraid of hurting you and your brother. If I was in his shoes, and I thought I was a danger to my family…I'd probably want to run away and never be found, either."
"Well, then he's stupid for thinking that!" Panda snapped as he wiped his eyes angrily. "He's not a danger to us! Whatever this is…Whatever's going on with him….we can deal with it. That's what a family always does! They face a problem, not run away from it."
Charlie hung his head slightly, looking incredibly guilty. "Panda, I'm sorry if you thought that I wanted us to just leave your brother behind. That's not what I wanted to do at all!"
"I know, Charlie. I know you're just scared. I'm scared, too, but Grizz is probably more scared than any of us. He's all alone out there, and we need to find him," Panda responded as he started walking again, prompting Charlie to follow, silently nodding his head in agreement. Panda was silent for a moment before glancing back at his companion with a softened gaze. "Listen…thanks for all your help. I don't think we would have gotten this far without you."
Charlie's face promptly brightened. "That's what best friends do!" he said cheerfully.
ooooooo
After ignoring the koala for close to fifteen minutes, Ice Bear finally embraced his own curiosity and glanced at the silent marsupial, his gaze immediately settling on the large gash on his shoulder, which still stood out even in the diminishing light. Judging by the amount of blood, he figured it had to be fairly deep. Seeing such a wound immediately reminded him of the fact that he had thankfully packed his bag with more than just food. He slid the backpack from his shoulders and unzipped one of the side pockets, where he found washcloths, a bottle of peroxide and a roll of bandages, among other things. First aid supplies had been the very first thing he went for when he had started gathering supplies, knowing they would be needed at some point, given the fact that they would be traveling rough terrain. Cuts and scrapes were to be expected.
Ice Bear turned on his flashlight and grabbed the peroxide and a clean washcloth before quietly scooting closer to Nom Nom, who he noticed had dozed off and was now slumped against the tree. He shined the light on his injury to get a better look, squinting his eyes as he inspected it. So much blood had gathered and dried around the surface of the wound that it was almost black. Ice Bear slowly reached out, touching his paw against the dozing koala's arm.
In an instant, Nom Nom recoiled, jumping back with a yelp and scrambling away from the polar bear as though someone had pressed a hot iron against his flesh. The reaction was enough to make Ice Bear jump back in surprise. It quickly became apparent to him that there was no way Nom Nom could have been lying about being attacked, regardless of how much he distrusted him. A reaction like that was a clear indication of trauma, and it made the bear feel mildly guilty for having not believed him.
"W-What're you…what're you doing?" the koala asked fearfully, chest still heaving as he rode out his sudden wave of panic. Ice Bear simply held up the bottle of peroxide and bandages for him to see, still maintaining his silence. Nom Nom glanced at the supplies in his paws and then back up at Ice Bear, still eying him skeptically. After hesitating a moment, he finally scooted back towards the bear, keeping his head down and avoiding eye contact. He watched him out of the corner of his eye as he carefully unscrewed the cap to the peroxide and soaked a washcloth with it.
Ice Bear leaned in and pressed the dampened cloth against the open wound, hearing the koala hiss in pain. He gently wiped around the gash, breaking off small chunks and flakes of dried blood and gradually revealing the gash in better detail. After quickly soiling one side of the washcloth, he flipped it over to a clean side and dampened it with more peroxide. He pressed it back against the wound, noticing Nom Nom had less of a reaction this time.
"It's my fault he ran away."
Ice Bear stilled slightly upon hearing Nom Nom speak, though he didn't shift his attention away from his task.
"I got angry….I yelled at him." The koala paused for a moment before heaving a sigh. "I was just mad because he didn't tell me about all this. I didn't think he'd run off like that."
Genuine guilt had never been something Ice Bear ever would have thought he'd see the koala express, nor was it something he thought he was even capable of. He couldn't really get his head around it. What could have possibly changed in just a few short days?
"You were scared," came Ice Bear's emotionless response. After discarding the washcloth, he reached for the bandages and began unraveling them.
"I know, but…I still feel like it was my fault."
A part of Ice Bear wanted to pile on. He wanted so much to make Nom Nom suffocate under the weight of his own guilt by adding to it. Now that the blade was already in, he wanted to twist it, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He never made apologies for not trusting someone after they had wronged him or his family, but he also knew when to step back and not let personal feelings cloud his judgement. As far as he was concerned, Nom Nom had suffered more than enough for what he had done. Kicking him while he was down would have just been cruel.
Ice Bear leaned forward and began wrapping the bandages over the wound, making about four passes before he cut the end and secured it. Nom Nom glanced down to inspect his work, gently prodding it with his claw. He finally looked up at the bear, his expression a mix of gratitude and guilt.
"It's not your fault."
Nom Nom just stared, his mouth agape as the polar bear silently placed the first-aid supplies back inside the backpack and resettled himself on the ground just a few feet away. The koala exhaled slowly, leaning back against the tree. The air still felt heavy with awkwardness, and while he knew the reason why, he didn't know if it would be wise to bring up the subject. However, ignoring the elephant in the room was never a good thing, either.
"I wasn't going to leave you there, you know," he said after nearly five minutes of silence. He spared a nervous glance at the bear, noticing he had become very still. It almost looked like the bear wasn't even breathing. "I was going to come back…when we were done."
"You wouldn't have come back," Ice Bear replied quietly.
"Yes, I would-"
"You'd be dead," the bear interrupted him, finally turning his head to look at him sternly. It took Nom Nom a moment to interpret the meaning of his words.
"Oh…yeah, I guess I probably would be." He suddenly chuckled. "The more I think about it, the more I realize how much I didn't think that whole thing through. I mean…you knew about my plans, and it's not like you weren't going to tell your brothers what I had done once you got out of there."
"Ice Bear's not entirely sure they would have believed him."
Nom Nom glanced at the larger animal, staring at him silently for a moment as he mulled over his words, inwardly wincing at the nip of guilt he felt for purposely driving a wedge between the polar bear and his brothers. "Is that why you didn't tell them?"
Ice Bear looked at the koala with as much confusion as a typically expressionless animal could muster.
"I told Grizz. Well…I brought it up thinking he had already known about it…and he didn't. It wasn't a good night for me after that."
Ice Bear raised a brow at this.
"Yes, you can take pleasure in knowing that he ripped me a new one. He let me have it. Very loudly."
"Ice Bear is pleased to hear that."
"I'm sure," the koala mumbled, rolling his eyes.
"Ice Bear only cares about protecting his brothers. Ice Bear didn't tell them because it wasn't important. They were safe. That was all that mattered."
Nom Nom looked down, momentarily deeming the discussion closed, though his conscience was still not satisfied. He dug his claws into the soft earth beneath him as the feeling nagged beyond toleration. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?!" he blurted out, startling the bear. "It was dumb, it was selfish, it was reckless, and I can't make excuses for it!" The koala took a deep breath and then slowly let it out before finally looking the bear in the eye. "I'm sorry," he repeated softly. Unable to tolerate Ice Bear's silent staring, he looked elsewhere, though he could still feel his gaze.
"Ice Bear thanks you for the apology," was all he said.
The two animals didn't share another word after that.
ooooooo
Panda and Charlie finally returned after nearly forty-five minutes, but the grizzly bear was not accompanying them.
"No luck," Panda sighed. He had a seat across from his younger sibling, Charlie placing himself beside him. "Let me see your bag for sec," he said as he extended a paw out to his brother, who handed him his backpack. Panda quickly searched both his and Ice Bear's bag, taking inventory of all their supplies. "Okay…so it looks like we've got two bottles of water left, about three granola bars, and a box of Pop-Tarts. We should still be good for another day, maybe two if we ration the water."
"Where do we go from here?" Nom Nom asked.
"We should probably call it a night, don't you think?" Charlie inquired, his gaze shifting between the bears and Nom Nom. "It's already dark, and everyone's tired."
"Yeah…that's a good idea." Panda eyed their supplies again. "If we can't find Grizz before we run out of food, then we'll have no choice but to turn back."
"Look, I still think we should turn back now, or at least first thing in the morning," Charlie replied seriously before pointing a finger at Nom Nom. "He's hurt pretty bad and probably needs to see a doctor."
Nom Nom opened his mouth to dismiss Charlie's concerns but stopped himself as he remembered the pain in his ribs. He knew that was something that couldn't be ignored.
"Yeah…maybe you're right," Panda sighed. "I just can't stand the thought of leaving him alone out here."
"It won't be for long. Besides, once we make it back, you can get help. A search team could probably find him easily. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll spot him on the way back."
Panda nodded his head silently.
"Try to think positive, Pan-Pan," Charlie reassured.
"So…is it settled then?" Nom Nom questioned, looking between Panda and Charlie. "Are we going back?"
Panda lifted his head and opened his mouth as he prepared to answer, but an unsettling noise caused him to stiffen and avert his attention to the dense forest in front of him. Charlie followed his gaze, while Nom Nom and Ice Bear both turned to glance over their shoulders. They all held their breath, staring intently into the darkness as they listened for the sound again. There came a rather loud rustle, and the group was able to make out a large silhouette slowly edging towards them.
"Grizz? Grizz is that you?!" Panda called out hopefully, getting to his feet. As he started to make his way forward, Charlie immediately jumped up and grabbed the bear's arm, pulling him back. Before he could protest, he heard a low, menacing growl, which sent a cold chill down his spine.
"We need to go," Nom Nom whispered, though the urgency in his voice was still easy to detect. He very slowly began to scoot away from the edge of the trees.
The slow moving silhouette gradually stepped out from the shadows and into the pale moonlight for everyone to see. Instantly, their blood ran cold.
"Oh my gosh, Grizz," Panda muttered softly. Charlie's grip immediately tightened on the bear's arm.
Grizz surveyed the group, huffing loudly and teeth bared for all to see.
"M-Maybe if we don't move…" Charlie whispered fearfully.
"This isn't Jurassic Park," Nom Nom hissed through clenched teeth. "He sees us. It doesn't matter if we move or not."
Their panic surged as they watched the bear slowly rise to his full height before opening his mouth and unleashing a blood-chilling roar.
Author's Note: So Charlie, Panda and Ice Bear show up just in time for everything to go to shit :D
I know I said I wasn't going to let the newer episodes affect how I wrote this story, but I really couldn't help myself as I was writing Charlie and Panda's interactions. Forgive me.
And please don't ask how Charlie knows about those dumb Snickers bar commercials xD I figure if he can get his hands on a computer to put up an internet profile for a home-sharing site, then him having knowledge of dumb TV commercials isn't too much of a stretch either lol. I just wanted an excuse to have Charlie make a lame joke.