Ben crept over to the closest tent, which was Joel’s, and tried his best to quietly unzip the flap, but before he could make much progress, a deep grunting noise came from the woods. It sounded much too close for Ben’s liking. No longer holding back, Gunner unleashed a volley of aggressive barks. Ben stood up and braced himself for whatever was to follow.
He didn’t have to wait long to find out what had been lingering just out of sight. Less than fifteen yards away, a large dark shape materialized. He flipped on his headlamp to its brightest power, allowing it to cut through the smoke and darkness. There, at the edge of camp, was a large black bear; the eyes reflected the bright LED beam with an ominous green glow.
No sooner had Ben spotted the bear than a second bear materialized off to his left. The second animal was just as big and let out a few woofing sounds as it rose up on its hind legs to get a better look at them. Sam began barking now, too, but backed up toward the smoldering fire as she did.
Ben was no stranger to black bears. He and Joel had seen their share of them in the woods and around their house in Durango. They were typically shy animals and would avoid human contact whenever possible. Ben had chased several from their property with nothing more than a few loud claps and a yell.
“Go on, get out of here!” Ben did his best to sound intimidating, but it only seemed to pique the bears’ interest, which he thought was strange behavior. Ben heard the zipper on Joel’s tent.
“What’s going on?” Joel mumbled while rubbing his eyes and peering out of the partially opened tent flap.
“Two bears. They must have smelled the food.” Ben didn’t dare take his eyes off the bears for more than a second. He glanced back and forth from one to the other, trying to keep his eyes on both of them at the same time. The second bear had settled back down on all fours and began circling the camp as if it were sizing them up. For the most part, Gunner had the first bear occupied, and the two were at a stalemate less than ten feet apart from each other.
Joel scrambled out of his tent and clumsily hopped about as he put on his boots and juggled the AR-15.
“Easy, nice and easy.” Ben held his hand out in Joel’s direction. “No sudden movements.”
Allie’s tent flap opened, then Sandy’s. One by one, they emerged and made their way toward the firepit. Ben used his foot to roll the log around in the fire, trying to reignite some flames, all the while keeping his eyes on the two intruders. But the oversized log refused to catch fire again. Neither Allie nor her mother spoke a word; instead, they stared wide-eyed at the two bears, apparently in disbelief of what they had woken up to.
“Throw some smaller pieces on and see if you can get that going again. Make it big,” Ben added. Joel and Allie began to pile the remaining kindling around the log, blowing on the red-hot coals in an effort to speed up the process.
The bears seemed undeterred by the crackle of the fire, and as the flames started to build, Ben was able to get a better look at the animals. They were large, but he’d seen bigger. They were most likely sibling juveniles, maybe a couple of years old and not long ago left on their own to survive by the mother. The one on the left was larger than the other, and it seemed to be taking the lead. Ben flashed his headlamp around the rest of the camp to make sure it was just the two of them and that momma bear wasn’t lurking in the shadows.
“Keep an eye out for any others,” Ben cautioned.
Gunner had given up barking, now putting his efforts wholeheartedly into growling and baring his teeth in an attempt to intimidate the first bear. It looked to be working, at least enough to confuse the animal, and for the time being, it stayed put.
The second bear, however, continued to lumber its way around camp, skillfully managing to keep just at the edge of the firelight, as if it was taunting them. Ben kept his headlamp trained on the moving bear and watched its every move. He couldn’t believe that Bradley and Emma were still asleep. Either that or they were awake and too terrified to move.
Ben couldn’t help but feel like they were being stalked right now, and he thought that the two animals were more interested in the people they had found rather than the smells that had lured them to the camp. Thumbing the magazine selector on the KSG, he switched over to the slugs. Even at this range, birdshot would most likely only irritate the bear and make it angry. He didn’t want to kill them, but if it came down to them or his family, he would have no choice.
The roaming bear stopped, distracted by a whiff of something it found interesting. It was dangerously close to Ben’s tent, the tent that Emma and Bradley were still inside. He had to take action before it moved any closer.
He switched back over to the birdshot and pumped a round into the chamber. The bear rose up on its hind legs again, only this time it released a bone-chilling roar that reverberated through camp. Ben felt the thunderous bellow pass through his body like a shock wave and his muscles tightened.
Boom! The shotgun blast startled the bear, and it dropped to all fours, but to Ben’s dismay, it did not run away. It did retreat a few feet back into the shadows but seemed otherwise undeterred by the sound. He quickly switched back to slugs and pumped another round into the chamber.
“Gunner, no!” Joel shouted. Ben turned just in time to see the first bear disappear into the woods. Gunner broke loose from Joel’s grip and gave chase. Sam ran after them but stopped short of the tree line, barking wildly with excitement.
“Gunner, here!” Joel yelled again. They could hear Gunner barking and snarling in the near distance. The dog would have the upper hand initially, being nimbler than the bear, but if cornered, Gunner would be outmatched and in big trouble when the bear decided to fight back.
“Gunner…come…here!” Ben shouted, enunciating every word clearly and sternly. The barking stopped, but still no Gunner. Ben kept his eye on the other bear and his proximity to his tent. Then, all at once, the kids came bursting out. Barefoot and terrified, they ran straight for the others.
The bear saw the two kids immediately and charged after them, letting out loud huffing sounds as each massive paw hit the ground. Ben took a few steps toward the bear and put himself in the path of the attack in an effort to protect Bradley and Emma. He lowered the shotgun and was about to pull the trigger when the bear slid to an abrupt stop with only several feet left between them. Surrounded by a cloud of dust, the bear pushed out heavy breaths of air and spewed saliva with every loud exhale. Ben noticed a whitish-yellow foam gathered at the corners of its mouth, and for a second, he wondered if the bear was sick in some way.
The charge was a bluff or the bear had been caught off guard by Ben’s advance. Either way, he was now left standing face to face with a very irritated and unpredictable animal. He had to stand his ground; backing up would only encourage another attack. Close enough to smell the bear’s dank, musty odor, he swallowed hard, gripped the shotgun tightly, and pushed it out in front of him.
With the kids safely behind him, Ben’s concern now shifted to his own safety and how he was going to get out of this standoff. He maintained eye contact with the animal as seconds seemed to pass like minutes. The bear was unwilling to yield any ground, and Ben was too scared of the consequences of giving up any ground on his end. He prepared himself to take the shot.
Chapter Sixteen
As far as Ben could see, there was no other way out of this; he was going to have to kill the bear. He aimed for the head when, all of a sudden, Gunner burst from the darkness and buzzed the bear’s right flank. The animal was caught off guard and spun around as it took a late swipe at Gunner. Growling in frustration, the bear steadied itself on all fours and prepared for another attack. Gunner was already headed back in its direction, but thankfully, he gave a wider pass this time around. The bear didn’t bother trying to connect with its attacker and instead looked confused as to whom it should be paying attention to, shifting its gaze from Ben to Gunner and then back again.
Gunner made another wide pass, snarling and barking as he went. Sam wanted in
on the action now but was content to bark and growl from a distance. The bear was growing more and more agitated with each of Gunner’s passes, and Ben feared it would lead to another attack or, worse, that the bear would make contact and seriously wound Gunner.
“Grab him,” Ben yelled to Joel as Gunner prepared to make another pass. Joel barely caught the dog’s collar as he sailed by, and the momentum nearly jerked him off his feet. Gunner resisted, but Joel managed to hang on. Ben had seen Gunner defend Joel and, more recently, Allie before, but never with this intensity. The bloodlust, the likes of which Ben had never seen from the normally mild-mannered dog, was evident in his eyes.
It was apparently enough to rattle the bear’s senses, and after a couple of seconds, it decided to take advantage of the restrained dog and turn tail, running off into the woods. The second bear followed and both quickly disappeared, but the sounds they made as they crashed through the woods were nerve-racking, and Ben braced for another attack from a different direction any second, but it never happened. The snapping branches and heavy footsteps grew distant, and eventually, the forest was silent again, except for Gunner’s heavy panting.
“Everybody okay?” Ben directed the question at the group in general but mostly at Bradley and Emma, who were cowering behind Joel. His attention quickly turned to Gunner as Allie knelt beside the dog and began to examine him for injuries. She pulled a bloody hand away and stared at it before sinking down to both knees beside the dog.
“He’s hurt! Can someone get me the first aid kit?” she asked. Gunner sat down and started to look less crazed. He was enjoying the attention and eventually sank down to a prone position as Allie combed through his fur in search of the source of the blood. They were all still visibly shaken by the encounter with the bears, and nobody responded to Allie’s request immediately. Sandy seemed frozen in place; she resembled a statue except for the fact that she was shaking and breathing heavily, her .38 pistol still drawn and pointed out toward the woods.
“I’ll get it.” Joel started to make his way to the truck, but Emma refused to let go of her brother.
“It’s okay, Em. They’re gone, right, Dad?” Joel tried to assure his sister.
“Yeah I think so.” But Ben wasn’t sure. “I’ll get it.” He headed over to the truck and opened the back, all the while making sure to stay alert for any noises or movement in the darkness beyond the vehicles. His mind raced, keeping pace with his heart as he tried to wrap his head around what had just happened. Their run-ins with aggressively behaved animals were starting to feel like more than just bad luck. He tossed the small medical kit to Joel and closed the truck up again.
“Is it bad?” Ben didn’t take his eyes off the surrounding woods while he made his way back toward the others. Reluctant to let his guard down, he backpedaled until he was close to the center of camp. He envisioned one of the bears crashing through the trees and launching a surprise attack any second now.
“I think it’s just a small cut on his ear,” Allie said.
Ben was relieved to hear that and figured it was most likely something that happened as a result of running through the woods at night rather than one of the bears.
Sandy lowered her pistol but was still clearly shaken, and who could blame her?
Ben approached her cautiously. “You okay?”
“Raccoons or opossums mainly, huh?” She shook her head, keeping her gaze glued to the darkness beyond the firelight.
Ben shrugged. “Yeah, well…” He was glad to see she had a sense of humor about the whole thing, but as he looked around at the others, he had the feeling that none of them would be going back to sleep. Joel was helping Allie by keeping Gunner still while she cleaned and attended to the cut. Bradley and Emma had migrated to Ben’s side now and followed him around camp like two shadows.
Ben checked the time. “I’ll stay up if anyone wants to get a little more sleep.”
“I’m not going back in the tent,” Emma stated bluntly.
“Me neither,” Bradley agreed.
“Do you want to try and sleep in the truck?” Ben hated to encourage her fear of going back into the tent, but if he was being honest, he wasn’t crazy about the idea, either. At least in the truck they would be protected by more than a thin wall of nylon.
“Maybe. Will you come with me?” Emma looked at Bradley.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Bradley agreed to join her in the truck, although he looked unsure about it.
“I’ll get your things from the tent,” Ben offered. He gathered their pillows and sleeping bags and helped them settle into the back seat of the Blazer. Sam was more than happy to join them, but Emma still insisted on the windows being up and the doors being locked before Ben left them.
When he returned to the others, Gunner was sleeping close to Allie and the fire. Joel and Sandy were also seated and seemed to be calmed down, though both still held their weapons. The fire burned brightly as it consumed the freshly added wood, and it helped make the camp feel a little safer. The added light illuminated the surrounding woods much more than it had before, and while that was a good deterrent for the bears, Ben hoped it wouldn’t attract any other unwanted attention. But right now, that seemed like a worthwhile risk if it meant the bears would stay away.
Ben glanced at his watch. “Anybody else want to get some rest? Still a couple hours left before sunrise.”
“I don’t know if I can,” Sandy replied.
Allie shook her head. “Me neither.”
Ben was disappointed that the only two people to get any more sleep would be Bradley and Emma. For the adults, the potential drivers, it was going to be a long day. He hoped the lack of sleep wouldn’t interfere too much with their ability to rack up some serious miles today. In his mind, their next goal would be to make it back to Cloverdale. They wouldn’t make it today, and that was never the plan, but he’d hoped they would be within reach the day after. Now he wasn’t so sure.
Was Cloverdale even there anymore? Vince and the others were running a little thin when Ben, Joel, and Allie left them. The constant attacks from the gang of looters looking to steal supplies were taking its toll on the survivors. Vince wouldn’t admit it, but it was plain to see on the faces of everyone sitting at the table the morning they had breakfast before leaving.
Ben really hoped Vince and his crew had been able to hang in there. Not just because it would be a safe place to stop for fuel and rest, but because he genuinely liked Vince and the others they had met there. The Cloverdale survivors were good people, and that was a rare commodity in a world that seemed more evil than good.
He especially wanted Bradley and Emma to see how a place like Cloverdale had survived against all odds. It was important for them to know that there were still normal people out there, good people with wholesome intentions. He wanted them to see that there were people who weren’t just looking out for themselves. Places like Cloverdale and the people there represented the real future of the country. If there was going to be a return to civility and order, it would start in small pockets and communities, with people who were able to see the big picture.
Chapter Seventeen
Ben checked back on Bradley and Emma in the Blazer. The windows were fogged up to the point where he could barely see inside the vehicle. Most of that was probably Sam’s doing, but from what he could tell, both the kids had fallen asleep again, and he didn’t want to risk waking them by cracking the windows. It was probably hot and smelled of dog and deer meat from the coolers, but at least they felt safe inside the truck, and if he was being honest with himself, he felt better knowing they were there, too.
Sandy was sitting near the fire and thumbing through a magazine they had brought with them from Jack’s. From where he was, Ben could see the cover, and it felt odd to see some of the articles. “Top Ten Vacation Spots” and “How to Finally Get in Shape for the New Year.” The magazine must have been an old one of Casey’s. It was just a reminder of the trivial concerns from a world that no longer existed
. It represented a place in time when people lost sight of what was really important, and maybe that was what got them in this predicament in the first place. Sandy flipped through the pages with a half-interested look on her face; there was nothing relevant in the magazine now.
Joel was still awake, barely, but Allie had fallen asleep and was leaning on his shoulder. Gunner looked content and lay half-asleep with a partially chewed stick between his paws. All was quiet and calm, and it was hard to believe that just a short while ago two bears had been stalking them and attacking camp. If not for the tracks in the dirt and the freshly disturbed leaves, it could have been a bad dream.
Ben wasn’t letting his guard down, though, and made sure to keep his gun nearby and ready. He idly looked at the atlas, but it was only out of boredom. At this point, he knew the route he intended to follow by heart. His eyes grew heavy, and he could have fallen asleep where he stood if he wanted to, but that wasn’t an option.
He checked his watch and, at the risk of waking Bradley and Emma, decided to pull out some of the gear and make coffee. Sandy noticed what he was doing and readily joined him. She seemed pleased to have something to do rather than pretend to read the old magazine.
“Want some help?” she asked softly.
“Sure. I need to do something to stay awake.” Ben handed her the pot to heat the water.
“Yeah, I thought about going down to the creek and freshening up a little, but I’m not going anywhere until it’s light out.” Sandy looked toward the sound of the rushing water. The creek wasn’t far away, but it was still too dark to see from camp, and after the night they’d had, the reasons for staying close to the fire were obvious.
“I figure we’ll give the kids another hour or so before we start to break camp.” Ben looked over at Joel and Allie again. Joel was sleeping now as well, the two of them propping each other up.
Dark Road (Book 7): Deception Page 8
