by Sky Winters
The bear looked at her hand before turning his gaze back to her. Then, it walked around Tessa in a slow, lazy circle, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end as it moved directly behind her. It completed its loop around her, the gravel crunching under its massive paws. It took one last, appraising look at Tessa before, to her surprise, it turned and walked back to the rest of the pack. Lifting his head up in a quick, nodding motion, it gestured to the other bears before walking back into the woods, disappearing into the shadowed foliage. The other bears followed, and in seconds, Tessa was once again alone, rustling branches the only evidence of the bear’s former presence.
Tessa, finally able to move, stumbled over to the car, her heart pounding in her chest. She leaned forward against the car, catching her breath and letting the adrenaline finish rushing through her body.
The experience left her shaken, but what she considered most disturbing of all, was when the bear looked at her, something about its eyes didn’t seem like the cold, empty eyes of a beast. It seemed…human.
CHAPTER 4
Tessa sped down the narrow, gravel road that led to Branlen, the encounter with the bear pack still racing through her mind. She knew that she should’ve been dead; any other pack of bears would’ve attacked her within seconds if she had approached them that closely. But this pack was different. She couldn’t shake the face of the bear that approached her from her thoughts. It was just a bear, but the way it looked at her, it was almost as if it was taking a closer look out of its own sense of curiosity, to see what she looked like up close.
She did her best to shake these thoughts from her mind as she made her way towards the town. Not knowing exactly how to begin her mission of finding out where Lucas was, or what he was doing, she figured Hannagan’s, the dive bar where they most often went for drinks, was the best place to start. The small town appeared down the road, a dome of light in the distance marking it as a beacon of civilization in the woods. She felt the road change from gravel to paved asphalt, a sure sign that she was nearly there.
After a time, she arrived at Hannagan’s, which was a squat, gray building decorated with neon signs, motorcycles and cars parked haphazardly out front. She scanned the vehicles for Lucas’s bike, but couldn’t spot it. Figuring that he likely was here at some point, she pulled into a spot and got out of the car.
Throwing open the door to the bar, she was greeted with rock music playing loudly over the speakers and the sort of raucous commotion that’d she’d grown to expect from the small-town clientele that was currently packed into the place. Sidling through the crowd, she slipped into an empty barstool. Within seconds, the owner Henry, a tall, heavy-set man with a head of silver hair and a beard tied in a small braid at his chin, came over to Tessa with a smile on his face.
“Hey, Tess,” he said, leaning against the bar with both hands.
“Hey, Henry,” she replied.
“No Lukey tonight?” he asked, looking around Tessa, as though he might find Lucas hiding behind her.
“No,” said Tessa, disappointed that Henry evidently hadn’t seen Lucas. “I was actually hoping that you’d seen him.”
“Nope, I haven’t seen him in a few days, actually. What can I get ya?”
“Just a Bud,” she said.
Within seconds, he produced an ice-cold bottle of beer and set it on the bar in front of her, popping the top open with a hiss. Tessa took a slow drink, the cool beer was delicious and just the thing for her frazzled nerves.
“Boy’s nowhere to be found?” asked Henry.
“He, uh, left on his bike earlier today,” she said, not wanting to share the exact details of her situation. “I hadn’t heard from him and saw he left his damn phone at home.”
Henry shook his head.
“Dumbass,” he said.
“No kidding,” said Tessa. “I figured he probably stopped by here at some point.”
“That’s a safe bet,” said Henry. “You know what, I did just get here; Julianne’s been here all day. Let me see if she’s seen hide or hair of that young man.”
“Thanks, Henry,” Tessa said, taking another sip of her beer.
Henry nodded and stepped away and within seconds he was replaced by Julianne, a skinny, black-haired girl with arms covered in colorful, elaborate tattoos. She wore a skin-tight t-shirt that showed off her taut, toned stomach.
“Hey, baby!” she said, her gaunt, yet pretty face breaking out into a wide smile as she leaned across the bar to give Tessa a hug.
“Hey, Jules!” said Tessa.
A sly smile crossed Julianne’s face as she slipped two shot glasses out from behind the bar and filled them with Goldschlager, the golden flakes of the liquor catching the dim light of the bar as they fluttered in the liquid. She pushed a glass over to Tessa and with a cheer, the two threw back their shots, the sweet, cinnamon drink burning Tessa’s throat as she swallowed it.
“So, you’re looking for your man?” asked Julianne, her hands on her hips.
“Yeah,” she said, before filling Julianne in on the rest of the fabricated details.
“Oh, shoot, I’m always leaving my phone at home,” she said before furrowing her brow in thought. “Well, he was in here, but that was hours ago. He met with…umm, Kevin and Mike.”
Tessa let out an involuntary shudder at hearing the names of two of Lucas’s newest, and scuzziest, friends.
“They were here? Where’d they go after that?”
“Hmm, let me think,” said Julianne, cocking her hips to the side. “They got good and tore up here, then they said they were...hmm, oh, that’s right- they said they were going to Dusty’s place down on Whitehall Lane. You know, the big farm?”
Tessa knew what she was talking about- she and Lucas had been to a few parties there over the years. And from that experience, she knew the shindigs there could get pretty out of hand.
“I’m surprised he didn’t come back to get you if that’s where he went. I’d never let my man run off to a party like that without me watching him like a damn hawk; too many drugs, and too much temptation, if you know what I mean.”
Tessa knew exactly what she meant. She finished her beer, determined to go find Lucas and get things settled between them before they got out of hand.
“You want another?” asked Julianne, pointing towards the beer with a finger looped with a gaudy, silver ring.
“Nah, I’m gonna go find Luke and make sure he doesn’t get up to anything he shouldn’t,” she said with a smile.
“Oh, good idea. Later, Tess.”
Tessa pushed herself away from the bar and rose to leave, but before she left, a question popped into her mind.
“Hey, Jules,” said Tessa.
“Yeah?”
“This is kind of a weird question, but have you ever seen any bears around this area? Like, big black bears?”
“Black bears?” asked Julianne, her face in a quizzical expression. “Not that I know of.”
Henry, overhearing the conversation, stepped in.
“There used to be bears around these parts, but since civilization moved in, we haven’t seen them for, oh, decades. Not since I was a kid. Why?”
“Oh, just had some critter go through my trash the other day,” said Tessa. “Though it might’ve been a bear.”
“Nah,” said Henry. “If it were a bear, you’d know it.”
Tessa said her goodbyes and headed out, ready to settle things with Lucas.
CHAPTER 5
Tessa could hear the house long before she saw it. Driving the Roadster down the winding road out of town towards to Dusty’s farm, a steady thumping of bass vibrating the windows and windshield of the car. Moments later, Tessa made the final turn, revealing a massive, white farmhouse on a seemingly endless stretch of land, a lake shimmering with moonlight visible in the distance. In front of the house were dozens of cars parked at erratic angles, throngs of people around them and packed onto the front lawn. Rolling down the window, the sounds of electronic music fille
d the car, the raucous noise of the party-goers as they whooped and hollered was audible through the music.
Pulling into a spot near the road, Tessa exited the car and walked towards the party, the music growing to a nearly deafening volume the closer she drew to the house. The partiers, all with drinks in their hands from beers in red plastic to handles of cheap whiskey, stared at her with narrowed eyes as she approached, as though she were an unwelcome guest. And as she scanned the crowd, she recognized not a single face- a fact that struck her as odd, considering the town of Branlen was only a few thousand people.
Something else struck Tessa’s attention: most of the crowd seemed to have the same weary, worn face, as if they’d been up for days partying. But before she could ponder the curiosity, the nearby flicking of a lighter provided the answer to her question. Looking at the direction of the flame, she saw a group of four especially trashy-looking men and women gathered into a small circle, all passing around a small pipe. Tessa figured that it was pot, but as she smelled the air, she detected a strange, astringent scent.
Soon after, she realized what it was- meth.
Ignoring the eyes of the reed-limbed men in oversized jeans and dirty, white undershirts, she made her way into the house, the music now loud enough to drown out her thoughts. She didn’t know where she was heading exactly, or what she was going to do if she was able to find Lucas; she only knew that she needed to see him, to get closure on their fight.
“Hey, baby,” said a man wearing expensive, gaudy clothing, and beady black eyes that peered out at Tessa from behind matted, red hair. “You want a smoke?”
Tessa’s first reaction was to tell the man to fuck off, but as she looked over his outfit and saw that he had money, she realized that he might know who was who around here.
“Sure,” she said, moving next to the man, the scent of overabundant body spray filling her nose.
“That’s what I like to hear, missy,” he said, his voice an urban drawl. “What’s your name?”
“T-, uh, Charlene,” she said, forcing a coy smile onto her lips.
“Charleeene,” he said, drawing out the vowels as if trying the name on for size. “I’m Reynaldo.”
“Nice to meet you, Renaldo,” said Tessa, taking his boney hand and shaking it, a thin sheen of sweat on his palm.
“No, no, no,” he said, slipping his hand out of Tessa’s and waving it back and forth while shaking his head. “Not ‘Renaldo,’ ‘Rey-naldo.’ Big difference.”
“Sure, uh, Ray-naldo,” said Tessa, taking the cigarette Reynaldo offered and slipping it between her lips.
“Now, pretty lady,” he said, lighting her cigarette, the sickly-sweet taste of menthol rushing into Tessa’s lungs as she took the lighting drag. “I gotta say, you don’t exactly look like you fit in here.”
“And why is that?” she asked, taking another drag and trying to mask her disgust at the taste of the cigarette.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he said. “But you’re a little older than the, ah, usual types we get around here.”
Tessa was mildly offended but thought better of indulging the urge to slap this young man across his face. Instead, she looked around the packed, dimly-lit house, and sure enough, he was right- nearly everyone there looked no older than 25.
“I love older ladies, personally,” he said. “So that ain’t even a thing for me.”
“Great to hear,” said Tessa, taking another drag.
“And the other, well, let’s just said you got some really clear skin.”
Tessa was confused at first, but scanned the party once more. With Reynaldo’s comment in mind, she looked over the faces of the party-goers; they all seemed to have the same blotchy, red skin, with complexions so bad she could barely make out their features through their sores. If she hadn’t already figured out that this was some kind of meth party, she would’ve known now.
Then, the question rushed into her mind: Why would Lucas be here?
She decided to take a stab in the dark.
“You don’t happen to know anyone named Lucas Henderson, would you?”
Reynaldo’s mouse-like eyes widened, his youthful features lighting up with recognition.
“You mean Mister Henderson? Why you asking about him?”
Tessa was taken aback by this question. Namely, that he seemed to know right away who Lucas was. And also, that this kid didn’t seem to be the type to typically use formalities like “mister.”
“I have important business with him,” said Tessa, unsure of what else to say, and not wanting to give Reynaldo the real reason for wanting to talk to Lucas.
“Are you dealing?” he asked, now seemingly unsure of how to talk to Tessa. “No, wait- you’re not a fucking cop, are you?”
“No, not a cop. I promise.”
Reynaldo took a quick, jerking drag of his cigarette as he looked at Tessa with a side-eye.
“Let’s say I believe you; why should I let you talk with Mister Henderson? I mean, I could get you up there with him. But he doesn’t just talk to anyone.”
“Trust me. I’m someone who he’ll want to talk to.”
Reynaldo considered it.
“OK, fine. I’ll get you in with him.”
“That easy?” asked Tessa.
“Yeah,” he said. “I like your face.”
Tessa shuddered internally at Reynaldo’s leer as he walked passed her, gesturing for her to follow him. They moved through the party, Tessa staying close behind Reynaldo, but no too close. The two eventually made their way to a flight of stairs, the pounding of the bass decreasing as they traveled up. Once they reached the top, Reynaldo pointed to the door at the end of the long hallway.
“Mister Henderson should be in there. Just, uh, don’t tell him I sent you.”
With that, Reynaldo dashed back down the stairs, leaving Tessa alone in the hallway with a handful of kids who seemed to be all passed out, slumped unconscious against the wall. She spotted a crack of light at the bottom of the door and as she stepped towards it, she found herself wondering if Lucas was in there, or if this was some trick that she didn’t understand.
Tessa looked over the passed-out partiers in the hallway, noting that just like the ones downstairs and out front, they all seemed to be no older than their early twenties, with many still in their teens. All seemed to be either strung-out or high on meth, and as Tessa stepped around their limp, splayed-out limbs, she began to realize that if Lucas was here, it either meant that he was a user himself, or, even worse, that he had something to do with what was going on here. Either way, Tessa felt herself growing queasy at the possibilities.
Finally reaching the door, Tessa wrapped her hand around the handle and prepared to open it. But before she did, she heard murmuring on the other side. She leaned in and pressed her ear against the flimsy wood of the bedroom door, plugging up her other ear to listen more carefully.
“You like that, baby?” asked a female voice.
“I think he does,” spoke a voice belonging to a different girl.
“Mmm,” said another voice on the other side, a man’s voice. “Yeah, just like that.”
Tessa instantly recognized the man’s voice as Lucas. She’d heard that voice every day for the last 16 years; there was no way it could be anyone but him. Taking a deep breath, she twisted the handle and pushed the door open. And she couldn’t believe what she saw on the other side.
It was Lucas, alright. He was sitting on the end of the bed in the middle of the room, his pants down at his ankles, his shirt off, exposing his sculpted chest. At on the floor, at his knees were a pair of girls. They were young women, one a blonde, the other a redhead, neither of which appeared to be out of her teens. The redhead had Lucas’s cock deep within her mouth, her eyes wide as Tessa opened the door. The blonde was at a different sort of work, her tongue mid-lick on Lucas’s balls as Tessa stepped in.
“What the hell?” shouted Lucas.
He pushed the two girls away, his cock leaving the mouth of the
redhead with a loud, sucking “pop.” The girls, both nude, slim, and long-limbed, let out a pair of shrieks as they darted to the other end of the room, covering themselves up with their skinny arms.
In the room, Tessa noticed money here and there, stacked into neat piles of hundred-dollar bills sitting among small baggies of white drugs. Her stomach sank to her feet as she realized what was going on.
“Please tell me that I’m not seeing this,” said Tessa, standing frozen at the door.
“You need to leave, right now,” said Lucas, his voice stern and demanding.
“I’m not leaving until you tell me what all of…this is!” she shouted, gesturing to the girls, the drugs, the money.
“It’s what you think it is,” he said.
“Luke, baby, who is this lady?” asked the redhead, her voice sweet and somewhat fearful.
“Shut the hell up!” he said, holding up a finger at the girl, who responded by doing as he asked, her pretty face an expression of concern and confusion.
“I can’t believe this,” said Tessa. “I can’t believe that you’d do this, that you’d live this life and hide it from me.”
“Well, believe it,” said Lucas, rising and pulling up his pants.
“Is this your wife?” asked the blonde. “She’s…so old.”
“I said, shut the hell up!” yelled Lucas, the blonde silencing just as quickly as the redhead.
“I don’t ever want to see you again,” said Tessa, her heart feeling like it was being sliced in half by a dull knife. “Don’t come to the house ever again.”
“Wait a minute,” said Lucas. “Don’t you leave. Don’t you run out! You do and you’ll regret it!”
Tears in her eyes, she turned and ran down the hallway, out of the house and to the car. She wanted to do nothing but curl into a ball and weep, but more than that, she wanted to leave, to put as much distance between her and Lucas as possible.
She’d save her tears for the drive back.
CHAPTER 6
When Tessa awoke the next morning, she, by instinct, moved her arm over to the other side of the bed. But touching nothing but air, the reality of her situation came into brutal clarity. The images of last night- the party, the drugs, seeing Lucas in the middle of being pleasured by two girls whose ages combined probably weren’t much more than Tessa’s- flooded her mind. She felt sick, she felt weak, and she felt lost. She lay in bed for a time, not wanting to move, as though she could pretend that reality wasn’t what it was simply by refusing to interact with it.
