by Ruby Forrest
Maria could not understand it and it hurt. She had admired him, the way that he was devoted to his job. But he did not even want to go out with her, did not want to help her and help the animals. He seemed to think that the bears would sort it out themselves, but that was absolutely absurd, absolutely insane. They were animals, who couldn’t fix the bigger problems in life, the problems that humans were causing, the problems like global warning and hunters that honed in on animals when they were the most vulnerable,
Bears were fantastic creatures, strong and intelligent, vicious when provoked, but that did not meant they could stop the building of a freeway that destroyed environment, or bigger issues like poisoning, like the vicious attacks that they were seeing now.
What was Jack- Dean thinking? What was he saying? She did not understand and it felt like he was just throwing it to the winds, like he did not care, did not care at all, like he was just lazy and uninterested. And it hurt more than Maria cared to admit.
And so she stormed through the forest, with no idea where she was going not really. She hoped that she would stumble upon something that would start her journey, her research. Maybe the site of one of the attacks, maybe some change in nature that she could notice and mention in her paper. She did not know exactly what she was looking for, but she would have to figure it out pretty quickly if she wanted to help, if she wanted to get herself through this, if she wanted to help anyone at all, especially the bears. She needed to do this, she needed to keep going. She needed to make this work and she did not have a damn choice in the matter.
It seemed like she really was on her own right now, like she really was staring into the valley below her without anyone to help pull her up. But Maria was more than happy to jump on her own and just hope that she caught herself on the way down, that she would fall and fall and hopefully save others in the descent.
Maria swallowed the ache in her chest, the burn that seemed to seer through her like a poison. The dream that she had been having, about trust and betrayal and love...it all seemed so much more relevant now. No, Jack- Dean wasn’t holding a knife to her neck, but he might as well have twisted one in her heart, twisted and twisted until she was screaming in agony.
He might as well have betrayed her, because he had let her down, but not only her, all of the people who trusted him, and all the people who had trusted him to look after the animals that he was in charge of.
It hurt her, hurt her heart and made it ache until she could not take it anymore. She just had to keep moving, keep moving and hope that she found something. Maria walked for what felt like hours, walked and walked and walked, not sure what she was looking, but not seeing anything that made her suspicious, not seeing anything that seemed to alert to any danger or difference in the eco system. Maria was just starting to think that she had taken the wrong path, gone off in the wrong direction, that she noticed it.
Something was different about this part of the path. Something was different about this part of the forest and Maria wasn’t about to ignore that. Something was very wrong here. There was a change in the layout, a change in the trees. Many of the trees and bushes were broken and, if Maria did not know any better she would have said it looked like a very intentional fight happened here, like someone had a grudge, or was angry at the world.
She did not know what to make of it. The damage was big and the prints that littered the area looked like bear tracks, looked like bears and no one else. She did not see any human footprints, other than her own. She did not see anything other than the footprints of a bear and the carnage of some sort of fight. Maria felt her heartrate quicken, felt uncertainty move through her body.
This was it. This was what she had been looking for and, now that she had found it, she did not know what to do, did not know if she should call for backup or go it alone.
Then she thought of Jack- Dean, thought of the way he did not seem to give a damn, thought of how he hadn't even helped her, or moved with her. She was on her own and she had no one that she could call for backup, even if she wanted it. She was on her own and she had to keep moving forward, no matter what, no matter how scary it seemed, no matter what she might find when she moved forward.
Steeling herself, Maria took a deep breath and stepped forward, following the trail of destruction through the forest, following the tracks that lead deeper and deeper into the darker part of the forest, into the darkest side of the mountain, where everything was cold and damp and the trees seemed all the more gnarled, all the more damaged, all the more painful for her to look at.
She stepped lightly, making a point of being quiet, of going slowly, and of taking it bit by bit and watching out for any danger. Maria did not know what she was looking for, exactly, but it was a start to keep an eye out for anything and everything. It was all that she could think to do and she was not about to go back on that, not now. She shivered and looked around.
She did not see anything. Then she heard the crack, the sounds of wood cracking beneath a foot. The sound was loud, like the wood that had been snapped was weighty, was thick, was hard to break. It was like a gunshot, like a crack through the day, through the dim, shadowy area that she found herself in. She realized, with a sudden and sharp thought, that anything good enough and big enough and strong enough to kill a bear, was probably more than enough to hurt her and kill her.
It was probably smarter than she had been giving it credit for. She felt panic catch it her throat and she spun around. No sooner had she done that was she greeted by an almighty roar. The sound shuddered across the forest, making the very trees shake around Maria. In front of her was the biggest bear she had ever seen. He towered over her, monstrous and massive, with fur that was dark as night, with a face like murder and thunder and everything in between. This bear towered over her and Maria knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she was in so much trouble, that she didn’t stand a chance that this bear was going to kill her.
She did not think that a bear could have murderous intent that a bear would act on anything but protective instinct and the desire to eat, anything other than a need to survive. But there was something different this time around. There was something dangerous about those eyes. There was something deadly. There was something dark that was lingering in the distance, hinting at more, hinting at darker. It was intense, it was something that worried her that frightened her that made her think that running could not do a damn thing.
She was frozen and it hit her like a ton of bricks, hit her so hard, that she was probably going to die, that she was probably going to die here, with this bear ripping her to shreds. No one would find her body for days, no one would even know where she went. Maybe they wouldn’t find her body at all, maybe they wouldn’t even know what had happened to her. She thought about her life, all the good she still wanted to do, the way her father would feel when he found out what happened. Then she thought of Jack- Dean, Jack- Dean who had asked her to stay in, who had warned her, who had been so reluctant.
Her life felt like it was flashing before her eyes. The bear was rearing up, rising as if to strike, anger and murderous rage in its eyes. She knew that he was about to strike.
Then the impossible happened, "Maria, get run!"
Jack- Dean's voice rang out like a bell, clear as day, through the forest. Maria's eyes went wide. For a second, the bear paused. A second was all Jack- Dean needed. Maria saw him run, full speed, straight at the bear. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Then he jumped, leapt at the bear and tackled it. His arms wrapped around its neck and he used all of the force and momentum that he had to tackle it to the ground. It fell with a thud, a thud that made the very ground shake. Then it roared, a terrible sound that Maria was sure was full of a human type of anger, a human type of hate.
This bear did not just want to kill her and Jack- Dean, it wanted them destroyed. She realized, with a jolt, that that was exactly what had happened with the other bears, with the bears that had been found dead. They had all been
killed in painfully similar ways, with similar pain and agony and extreme brutality and violence.
Then she snapped out of it and the horror kicked in, "Jack- Dean!" She cried, feeling the agony in her body cracking her voice. All the anger she had felt towards him just drained away, leaving nothing behind but terror for him.
She stumbled back, frantically looking for something that she could use to hurt the bear, something that she could use to keep him safe, to get him out of this. But he had just tackled a bear head on and Maria did not know what she could do about that, did not know if there was anything that she could do to help him, anything that she could do at all.
All she could do was watch, watch as he fought, wrestled this bear like he had done it all his life, like he was a pro at this and there was nothing that could stop him. It left her breathless, left her trembling with the intensity of it all, the burning ache in her chest.
"Go!" Jack- Dean's voice held a note of desperation in it, something that was desperate for her to go, part of him that did not want her to stay. But Maria could not leave. Where would she even go? She was rooted to the spot and she could not just turn her back on him, not now.
She shakily reached for the biggest fallen branch that she could find, her hands trembling as she grabbed it, holding it tight in both her hands. Maybe if she struck it, they could both escape. She was shaking with panic, but she surged forward, raising the branch.
The bear looked up and roared and Jack- Dean, at the last second, jumped, slamming his body onto the ground and giving Maria a clear shot. Maria used all the strength in her body, all the strength that she possessed, to slam the branch down on the bear's head, slamming it into his skull, hearing the reverberating thwack that seemed to shudder through the whole of the forest, seemed to fill every inch of the space around them, seemed to shudder through her own body like a prayer, like something more than herself. It was too much to take in, too much to handle.
Jack- Dean leapt up, and was on his feet before she knew what was happening. He grabbed her hand and pulled her. Suddenly, she was running, Jack- Dean's hand in hers. They were pelting through the forest, running into the sunlight, running away from the bear that had collapsed, Maria did not know where they were going, but she did not care. She did not have any breath left to argue, did not have anything left in her to give her a break, to let her breathe, to give her time to settle. She just wanted to get the hell out of here, to get out of the danger and death that had consumed her just moments ago, that had seemed so inescapable, that had seemed so intense and so overwhelming, that had seemed like something that she could not get away from.
She felt her chest hurt, felt the burn twist through her like a knife. It felt impossible to ignore, impossible to argue with the pain that thundered through her body, the pain that seemed to flood her. This bear, this horrible bear, seemed to have it in for her, have it in for her, as well as for Jack- Dean. She did not know why, but the thought made her sick.
This was supposed to be a peaceful animal. Sure, bears could be vicious, they killed each other, as well as people, but never in a way that was senseless, never in a way that was so intense, so murderous, and so overwhelmingly painful. It was like nothing she had ever seen or read about.
Suddenly, for just a fleeting second, Maria could understand where Jack- Dean was coming from, understand what he was thinking about, where he was thinking from when he talked about animals sorting it out for themselves, working it out without human interference. She had a feeling that human interference was not welcomed, but it would be dealt with swiftly.
She did not get much time to dwell on what was an insane train of thought. Jack- Dean was pulling her into a cave, pushing her inside and pulling a huge piece of wood across. The cave was flooded with darkness, everything going black in the small space, leaving her with barely any room to see, any way to see what was right in front of her. Then Jack- Dean fumbled with something and the cave lit up.
Chapter 6
It was nothing like the cabin, but it was clearly made for human comfort, at least to a degree. Maria looked around, noticing the way the light flickered off the walls of the cave. She took a deep breath and retook stock of the food that was packed well and truly away, the blankets folded up and stashed away, the other evidence that this place had been used.
She turned to Jack- Dean, who was looking pale and ashen. He noticed her looking and shrugged, "Safe house? Just in case."
Maria did not give a damn about that, didn’t give a damn about the details. She just wanted to know that he was okay. He had saved her life, jumped in selflessly, and she needed to know that he was okay, that he was not about to bleed out. She rushed over to him and grabbed him, running her hands over his skin, checking him for injuries. She could see bruises blooming on his skin, rough tears in his clothes where they had been scraped and his skin had been brushed. But honestly, considering he had just fought with a bear, and lived, he had come away completely unscathed. He looked shaky, though, exhausted and Maria hurried to help him sit down, grabbing a blanket, and draping it over his legs, his body, wrapping him up in it, hoping that it brought him some comfort, brought hum some sort of peace.
"What do you need? I'll get it." She murmured, her voice soft and low. She swallowed, feeling worry burning inside of her.
Jack- Dean looked up at her and his eye swore as intense as ever, burning and focusing on her like a laser, "I need you safe." There was a sharpness to his tone, but a softness as well, a kindness, a worry.
Maria felt guilt ache in her heart, pain twist and make her regret everything that she had done that day, feel like she had done nothing but made a mistake, made a mess of everything and put both herself and Jack- Dean in terrible danger. She shivered, feeling the ache and she shook her head, "I'm sorry, Jack- Dean."
The words were whispered and Jack- Dean sighed, shaking his head. Suddenly, his arms were around her and he was holding her tight against his chest. It was insane, but Maria felt safe, felt comfortable, and felt like no one could hurt her as long as Jack- Dean had his arms around her, as long as he was holding her tight. She would be safe.
He was here, he was holding her and she was okay, just for the moment. She shuddered, feeling comfortable, feeling safe. Then she took a deep breath and the moment was broken.
"Maria, you need to be careful." Jack- Dean's voice was soft and measured, "I do not want you getting hurt. The woods right now...they're insane."
Maria laughed, a dark and grim sound that tumbled from her. She shook her head, "You do not say? I hadn't noticed." She sighed, feeling the acute ache inside of her, "What the hell is going on?" She whispered, her voice soft, "You seem to know more than you're letting on Jack- Dean. I need to know what's wrong." She took a deep breath, "Things are not right,"
Jack- Dean sighed and nodded, "No, things are not right. They are not right at all and have not been right for quite some time." He sighed and leaned back against the wall of the cave, staring into the distance, "Maria....I know everyone thinks that I push people away from the park because I have issues." He chuckled and shook his head slowly, "No, no that's not it at all. I push people away because no one would believe me if I told them the truth." He turned to look at her, "So I've been trying to fix it on my own, trying to sort it out and figure out what the heck I am supposed to do to end all of this." He sighed, "If I said a damn thing, I'd be sacked and sent to a hospital. Things are insane right now and I know I'd be labeled as crazy." He glanced at her, "I do not need that. I do not need some researcher calling the cops on me, or blaming me for this mess. I do not need that. I have enough on my plate right now." He ran his hands through his hair, shuddering and looking exhausted, looking like he could not bear the thought, could not handle another thing going wrong. Maria felt moved, felt the ache in her chest mirroring his, making her heart reach out for his. She swallowed.
"Jack- Dean, you just saved my life." She whispered, "You just tackled a bear. I mean, that's
crazy, but not the bad kind, you know?" She smiled, reaching out and taking his hand, "Whatever you have to say, I kind of owe it to you to at least listen."
He sighed and shook his head, "I need a promise, though..."
"What?" Her voice was soft with concern, her eyes wide as she focused on him with everything that she had.
"I need you to promise me....if you do not believe me, and my proof isn’t enough for you, or even if it is...you will not say a word. I just...I need you to keep quiet about this, so I can fix it. If you do not believe me, you can keep searching for a reason that makes sense to you. You can leave. Whatever you want. I just...I need to keep fighting, even if it is alone, you understand?"
Maria did. He obviously thought that whatever he was about to say was completely unbelievable, that no one could possibly think he was telling the truth. Maria reasoned that, as long as he didn’t threaten her or anyone else, there was no harm in being quiet. Even if he was a little bit off his rocker, which she highly doubted, he seemed to be a good, good man, and she couldn’t handle the idea of hurting him or pulling him away from the job that she was once again convinced that he loved more than anything,
She wouldn’t do that, "I promise."
Jack- Dean seemed to relax a little at her words and it struck her that her promise meant something to him, they had only just met and she could have been the biggest liar, but something about her made him trust her, something about her inspired confidence. She did not know what it was, did not care. She wasn’t about to let him down, not now, not when he had given everything for her, everything to keep her safe and make sure that she was not hurt, that she was saved from the face of danger. He had risked his life to keep her safe. The least she could do was honor his words and his trust. She had to hear him out. No matter what.
"Okay." He took a deep breath.
