“I’m sorry too,” he eventually replied, looking across at his companion and forcing a smile onto his face. “About what I said – I didn’t mean it.”
“I know,” Samuel said. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
“So, what do we do now?” Austin asked after a short pause, looking at the long road ahead of them, unable to guess how much further it was before they would come out the other side of the State Park.
“The only thing we can do I suppose,” Samuel shrugged in response. He unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the truck. “We walk.”
The fresh air of the forest was pleasant and enjoyable compared to the stuffy inside of the truck. At first the walk didn’t bother either of the men, both shouldering their rucksacks and continuing down the interstate toward Poughkeepsie. There was no need for a map as they both knew to simply follow the road. It was unlikely they would find any oncoming traffic and if they did, they could deal with that when it occurred. Whether they tried to hail the driver down for a ride or whether they hid amongst the trees until they had passed by, it was a decision they didn’t really need to worry about just yet.
On any other day, the walk would’ve been beautiful. Samuel may not have been an outdoorsman, but Austin knew a thing or two and he filled the silence between them with entertaining anecdotes from his adventures. He’d camped in the nearby Catskills on a couple of occasions and told Samuel the easiest way to start a fire from scratch or how to figure out which direction to travel in to find water.
Samuel found himself enthralled by Austin’s teachings and cast his eyes out into the trees to try and visualize himself walking in amongst them. The forest didn’t start off very dense by the roadside, but he could see that as you walked further in, the trees grew closer and closer together, their branches weaving a dark roof that blocked out the sunlight and created a chasm of mystery.
As a child he would’ve loved the adventures that could unfurl within those trees, his imagination taking him to a magical land or a forbidden garden. Now as Samuel looked into the trees, his childlike dreams returned and he found himself far less afraid than he ever had been before. Perhaps it was due to the real fears he had faced in the last few days, but for once looking into the unknown didn’t frighten him so much. That was at least, until he felt Austin’s hand on his shoulder and heard the low whisper in his ear.
“Don’t move.”
Samuel’s first instinct was to look to the road ahead of them, expecting an oncoming vehicle that Austin had spotted in the distance. But there was nothing there. Turning his head toward his companion, Samuel saw Austin gazing off into the tree line, his eyes focused on something within the darkness. Squinting, Samuel did his best to see what his friend was seeing, both men frozen in place as whatever lingered in the shadows decided whether to reveal itself or not. With a deathly roar, it finally came into the picture.
“No!” Austin grabbed hold of Samuel’s arm as his friend tried to run. A huge black bear lumbered out of the bushes, coming toward them on all fours, saliva dripping from its mouth as it gnashed its teeth, targeting both men as prey and charging down on them. It was Samuel’s instinct to run in fear, but Austin held him in place, remembering what he had been taught several years ago: never run from a bear. If you run, it only makes them identify you as prey and then you’re doomed to be a part of the hunt. Stand your ground, try to make them back away and only retreat if you absolutely have to. As the bear skidded to a halt a few feet ahead of them, Austin kept a firm grip of his friend’s arm and tried to calm him down enough so he could explain what they needed to do.
“Don’t react,” Austin whispered as the bear sniffed around their feet, Samuel shuddering like a child with hypothermia. “It’s not going to hurt us if we don’t move.”
Samuel wanted to believe Austin, but as the bear gnashed its teeth and saliva dripped onto his walking boots, he struggled to hold his nerve. He trembled with fear and felt his heart pounding in his chest, thumping loudly despite his best efforts to control his breathing. Opening his mouth to speak, Samuel was silenced as the bear lifted its head and seemed to look right at him. Then, to Samuel’s horror, it kicked up off the ground and stood on its hind legs, towering over the pair of them. Despite Austin’s warning, Samuel lost it and ran. He couldn’t stop himself, fear controlling his legs as he spun around and sprinted away from the predator.
Austin had seconds to react. The words never run from a bear echoed in his head but he knew he couldn’t leave Samuel to fend for himself. Cursing under his breath, he pivoted and ran after his friend, the bear only a few seconds behind.
The serenity that Samuel had been feeling as they walked through the forest had vanished in its entirety as he ran through the trees. He didn’t have time to wonder what a black bear was doing there or why it was rushing toward them; all the usual thoughts that swam through his head disappeared and were replaced with only one basic instinct. Fight or flight and he knew instantly it was a fight he couldn’t win.
“Wait!” Austin shouted as he chased after Samuel, quickly trying to figure out what they should do. Despite his experience outside, this was entirely new to him and he’d never thought to learn