14.
~ Alex woke up to the sounds of birds singing. It was early morning in the woods and his head felt heavy and hungover. He had slept soundly thanks to the pain medication and had even slept through the text ping from work.
"Damn it." He said gruffly and looked at his phone. He needed to upgrade his phone, but he found the old fashioned flip phone to be more manageable and less prone to distractions. Romero had never had a social media account. He didn't want to look up old girlfriends or demean himself to online dating.
The text was short and direct.
'Hospital faxed your discharge paperwork to the office. Your pain meds are being filled at the pharmacy. You are on sick leave for the next two days. -R'
Alex grimaced. He didn't dislike Regina, but she wasn't someone who he was close or wanted to be close to. He had lived in White Pine Bay all his life and had very few people he could call friends. Tragic really.
Norma hadn't texted him back, but it was still early. The town was always slow to wake up and Alex felt sleep aching to reclaim him. Despite sitting up in his SUV all night, he easily fell back to sleep and found himself in the dream world, clueless of the outside world.
~ "Alex?" Norma was calling "Wake up."
"I'm awake." He mumbled keeping his eyes closed.
"No, you're not. I heard you snoring." Norma scolded.
"I'm tired." He said groggily and rolled over. "I did get shot you know."
"What?" Norma demanded and Alex felt her hands on his chest. He snapped his eyes open to see her standing over him. Her expression worried.
"When?" She demanded.
Alex had to think a moment.
"Alex?" Norma said harshly "Don't play like that! You know I worry."
"I'm fine." Alex said breathing out slowly. "I… think I had a bad dream."
"Get up and get dressed." Norma scolded. "Your family will be here for dinner."
"My family…" Alex said sleepily.
"Your mother called yesterday and asked if I needed help with the cooking. Why didn't you tell me Scotty and Vivian were coming to dinner too?" Norma said sitting on the edge of the bed.
"I'm sorry." Alex admitted. He didn't remember making plans with his parents or brother.
"I guess today is as good a time as any to tell them about the new-" Norma was saying when a sharp scream rang out from downstairs.
"Annie?" Alex said tossing off the covers and joining Norma to investigate.
"Anne?" Norma called out.
"Daddy!" Annie screamed. Her cries were frightened and Alex raced down the stairs to see his daughter in the living room. Her face pale and her eyes wide.
"Annie? What's wrong?" Alex demanded sharply. The girl wasn't hurt or bleeding. The way she'd been screaming he'd expected her to be half dead at the bottom of the stairs.
"Daddy, look!" Anne cried and Norma had seen it too.
"Alex. The bear." Norma said calmly and nodded to the window. Alex finally saw what his wife and daughter did. The massive hulk of a large brown grizzly. Probably the same bear that had wandered so close to town these past few days.
Annie was crying and Norma looked at Alex worriedly.
The bear was outside on the porch, scratching and sniffing, clawing into the wood of the house. Alex knew bears could easily break down a window or door if given the right motivation.
"Go upstairs, lock you and the kids in the bathroom." He ordered in a calm, dead tone.
"Come on, honey." Norma said gently. "Let's go get your brother."
Annie was sniffing and explaining to her mother.
"I opened the door to go outside and the bear was there and he saw me and I screamed and shut the door." The little girl sobbed.
"You did the right thing." Norma said in a soft and soothing voice. Alex could tell she was scared too, but couldn't show the children that.
The bear, growling with annoyance no doubt, sat on the Romero family porch and made herself comfortable.
"Damn it." Alex said and backed away slowly into the kitchen. The family's only phone, their only link to the outside world was in the kitchen. Like the rest of the county, it was an older phone line, with an operator that connected him to dispatch.
"Number please?" The voice of Debra Allred asked. She had worked for the phone company since the depression and her voice was the most recognizable voice the county.
"Deb." Alex said calmly, relived the phone line was working. It was prone to go out for days after a heavy storm. "This is deputy Romero. I need the sheriff's department please."
"Alex?" Deb asked in a friendly tone. "Emergency or non emergency?"
Alex tried not to smile.
"Deb, that bear we've been trying to keep out of town?" He chuckled slightly. "She's just made herself at home on our front porch."
"Oh my! Oh my goodness!" Deb started and he could hear her readjust her headset. "Oh, I'll put you through to the sheriff's office now."
Alex rolled his eyes. This set up was criminally inefficient. He had to connect to Deb and Deb had to call the police and he had to explain to the police the situation again. There should be a simple number to call to save time. What if Annie had been mauled and was hurt?
Alex shook his head at the idea. No, he couldn't think about that now.
~ Thankfully, Alex kept his army issued M1 rifle in the basement. It was carefully packed in his wooden footlocker. Only ever taken out for cleaning and oiling. He hadn't fired it since the war but hoped it would be enough if the mother bear decided to let herself inside the house.
Alex disliked the idea of shooting and killing the interloper, but he had to protect his family first.
He peered out the living room window, and casually watched the mother bear, who didn't seem at all bothered by him.
That was when Alex saw the two cubs romping around the small field just beyond the front door.
"Son of-" Alex shook his head. Mother bears were more dangerous. He carefully went back into the kitchen, making sure not to make any noise, he'd have to call Deb again and tell her about the cubs.
"Deputy, I think they're already on their way." Deb sounded worried. "Your father was who I talked to."
"Wonderful." Alex said sourly and moved back to the stairs. He wished he could stay on the line with help, but the kitchen phone was tethered to the wall and only gave enough room to wander about ten feet.
"Alex?" Norma called out from the bathroom as he reached the second floor landing.
"We're okay." Alex called out. "Grandpa is on his way."
"Papa!" Annie called out hopefully through the bathroom door. Annie was always the favorite in her grandpa Romero's eyes.
"Is she still out there?" Norma called out.
"She's made herself at home." Alex said. "Keep everyone in the bathroom." He ordered.
Alex made his way to the bedroom he shared with Norma and opened the window to feel the warmth of the summer sun. He could smell honeysuckle and summer grass and hear the growling of bear cubs fighting and playing. Their cries were loud and, had it been any other situation, they would be adorable to watch.
"Shit." Alex spat when he saw the trail of dust heading his way. His dad, Sheriff Romero, had brought plenty of help. Including the wagon they used to haul off large arrests. Alex even saw the new fire engine trailing behind. He tried to wave at the convoy but they only slowed down when they reached the drive.
The stairs to the house would prove problematic. There was a decorative set of concrete steps that crossed up the small, steep hill, preventing cars and trucks from driving right up to the house.
Alex waved out the window and saw his partner Dylan Massette peek out of his patrol truck and wave back.
Then the horns started. The fire engines blared and the Sheriffs car let out a wail. All hoping to scare the mother bear and her cubs away from the house.
"Alex?" Norma called from the bathroom.
"They're just trying to scare her off. We're okay." Alex called out.
Just as he had said this, a roar came from the porch and Alex saw the bear charging the stairs towards the rude invaders.
"Shit!" Alex said and looked through the scope of his M1. He could shoot her, but the bear hadn't attacked anyone, just rushed the rescue party and sent everyone back into their vehicles. It was slightly comical to see that even his father, never afraid of anything, jump back in alarm and shelter inside his patrol car.
"She has cubs!" Alex shouted down to them, trying not to laugh. The mama bear turned lazily back around and ambulated back to the front porch.
"Can you shoot her?" Sheriff Romero shouted back.
"Rather not." Alex replied.
"We have the fire truck, we can hit her with the hose." Sheriff Romero shouted back. "Where are the kids?"
"Bathroom. Back of the house." Alex shouted.
"Good." Sheriff Romero nodded and the firefighters began dismounting from the truck.
"We don't have a hydrant out here." Alex shouted.
"We have a tank in the truck, but we only have one shot." The fire chief shouted. "Hopefully it will scare her off and she'll take the cubs with her."
"I'm more worried about her climbing under the porch." Sheriff Romero shouted. "Hiding there. We won't be able to get you and the kids out of the house easily because of these stairs."
"I'll make sure my family gets out." Alex shouted.
"Alright, let's try the fire hose." Came a shout and Alex wasn't sure who was talking because a great amount of yelling was happening.
The bear had appeared again. Her rough roar sending shouts to the men below. Alex watched in horror as she charged them. Her body moving quickly and there was a sudden barrage of shouting and gunfire.
Alex barely had time to aim his rifle before it was over.
"Stop shooting!" Sheriff Romero was shouting. "God, damn it! Stop shooting now!"
Alex saw the bear, groaning and stumbling down the rest of the stairs, her body bloody and weak.
"Back up! Everyone!" Sheriff Romero shouted. The group of men started backing up patrol cars and the fire engine away from the wounded bear.
They didn't have to bother. Alex saw her gasping her last breath and die on the stairs.
Sorry for the VERY long absence. I was extremely busy the past two years. I went on a long vacation and then started my own business, which is doing very well. Hope to finish this story, it has been in my mind for a long time.