Better make haste before the next deluge.
She jumped over the log and hurried up the forest service road, surveying left and right for any signs that something big and fiery had hit. She’d gone maybe a quarter mile when a chuffing noise caused the hair on her nape to stand up.
She froze.
A huge bear lumbered around the bend.
Bear! Oh god! Bear! What do I do? What do I do? Play dead? Climb a tree—no, bears can climb. Walk away? Oh my god. The shovel. I left the shovel on the quad.
She recalled that you needed to behave differently if the animal was a black bear or a grizzly. While the latter were territorial, the former were predatory. This animal’s coat was light brown like a grizzly’s, but black bears could range from light to dark. Why did I have to run into a bear? Why did I leave the shovel on the quad?
Everything in her screamed to run like hell, but she knew better. She inched away, not taking her eyes off the animal. It lifted its head and stared at her. It had weirdly light, almost-silver intelligent-appearing eyes, and she’d almost swear the animal had sought her gaze.
“Stay there, Mr. Bear, stay there.” She spoke softly, partly because she’d recalled you were supposed to speak in a nonthreatening tone, but mostly because she was so freaking scared, she could hardly croak out the words. “I mean you no harm. It’s just little old me, and I’m going to leave now. You can have the woods all to yourself.”
Her heart pounded like she’d run twelve blocks.
I have to get to the quad. Have to get to the quad.
With excruciating slowness, she inched one small step at a time until she smacked into something solid. A scream bubbled up into her throat until she realized she’d gotten off the path and backed into a tree. Maybe she could duck into the woods?
She vetoed that idea—the bear could travel through overgrown brush better and faster than she could. “Go away! Please, go away.” She waved her arms, but the animal continued to stalk her. He’s not leaving. Oh god. It’s a black bear. He’s going to eat me. She tried to step back onto the road, but the belt of her yellow slicker caught on a branch. As she tore it free, she bumped a hard lump in her pocket.
She dug inside and pulled out a canister of bear spray. Hands shaking, she uncapped it, dropping the lid.
The bear stood right there. Saliva dripped from its muzzle, and its odd silver eyes gleamed. It reared up on its hinds legs and let out a menacing growl.
Kevanne shot it in the face.
The bear howled, a surprisingly man-like sound.
She screamed and ran.
She tore down the road as fast as her legs would go. She expected to hear the thundering footfalls of a bear in pursuit, expected a swipe by a massive clawed paw, but she didn’t stop. She ran and ran. She leaped over the fallen log and jumped onto the quad. Firing it up, she reversed and sped away.
* * * *
“She’s gone.” Psy emerged from the woods. “Are you all right?”
Chameleon collapsed into his natural form. “I can’t see! She shot me with something.” His eyes, nose, and mouth burned.
“Yes, you scared her, and she reacted,” Psy said calmly.
The pain was excruciating. He started to rub his streaming eyes, but Psy grabbed his hand. “Don’t do that until we figure out what she shot you with. Let’s get you back to the ship.”
Psy had to guide him. What if he’d been permanently blinded?
“Okay, the steps are right in front of you. One foot up,” Psy said. Chameleon stumbled into the spacecraft.
“The drone captured it all. We saw what happened,” Tigre’s voice boomed. “Let’s get him into a med pod.”
Psy helped him climb into the capsule. The lid closed, and the unit ticked as the analysis wave rolled over him. Moments later, a cool mist sprayed his face, providing some relief but not enough. Then a robotic arm swiveled out and pried open his left eyelid. He flinched. Liquid squirted into his eye, cooling the burn. Then the medi-bot treated the other eye.
The top rolled off the capsule, and he sat up. Besides Psy and Tigre, Wingman had joined them.
“Better?” Psy asked.
“Much. Thank you for your help.” He wouldn’t have gotten to the ship if not for the Verital’s assistance.
“What did she shoot me with?”
“According to the medi-report, it was a plant-based irritant that causes a burning sensation when it comes into contact with mucous membranes.”
“Why did she attack me? I wasn’t threatening her.”
“She felt threatened,” Psy said. “She was scared to death. She was afraid you were going to eat her.”
“Actually, you were threatening her.” Wingman smirked. “While you were gone, I uploaded the complete body of knowledge available on Earth’s Internet onto a data dot. The Earth creature you personified? It’s called a black bear. It’s an Earth predator. They’re considered very dangerous.”
* * * *
When you wish upon a falling star, er, UFO…
Young widow Kevanne Girardi catches sight of a meteorite streaking across the sky and wishes for a good handyman to help make her rundown lavender farm a big success. Instead, she gets a shapeshifting alien who apparently has never seen a leaky faucet before. But his loving and noble spirit make him just the man to fix her wounded heart. He hasn’t promised her forever, but a girl can hope, can’t she? Maybe she’ll make another wish…
When his ship tumbles out of the sky and lands on Earth, Chameleon never expects to fall for a human woman. Unfortunately, he can’t stay. He made a mistake that led to the devastation of an entire planet, and now
