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“I can’t leave you,” she whispered back.
“Go!” He directed her away from the bear and then started back up the trail.
The bear reached the trail and planted itself in the girls’ path. They both stopped abruptly, twenty feet from the bear, and their mouths dropped open in horror. The bear lifted up onto his back paws and the girls screamed in unison. The bear roared in response. Mack’s stomach churned, but he had no choice. He yelled as loud as he could, a deep, guttural yell that didn’t sound human, even to him.
The bear pivoted to face him, obviously recognizing the real threat. Mack prayed for help as he stomped toward the bear, screaming, “Go!” He’d never felt small around another human, but this bear on his hind paws had him by almost a foot. His stomach filled with ice but he kept moving, and praying he looked bigger than he felt.
* * *
Cold sweat covered her body as Sariah watched Mack storm up the trail toward the bear. The bravery in that man astounded her, but the fear of the bear ripping him apart had her shoving the keys in her pocket and instead of running, like he’d told her to, she searched for sharp rocks and sticks. She’d been raised in the Colorado mountains by a forest ranger. She knew the textbook answers on how to fight black bears, but she’d always been afraid to run into one. Mack’s intention was obviously to protect the girls, but she was afraid he was going to enrage the bear with his aggressive yell and movements. Yet if he didn’t distract the bear, the animal would probably rip into one of those girls.
The girls were still screaming and the bear reared up and roared. He obviously felt threatened, and from the way he went after the girls initially he must think they were easy prey. If there was any hope of this bear leaving without a fight, they’d just lost it.
Mack was big and loud and he looked like a superhero as he kept fearlessly approaching the bear. The girls had scuttled back on the trail, away from the bear. They were hugging each other and still screaming.
“Go!” Mack hollered at the bear, shooing him with his hands like he was a pesky dog.
Sariah was amazed at his bravery, but the bear stood his ground. With black bears you were supposed to fight, not run or play dead. Mack definitely looked ready for a fight but a man’s flesh couldn’t withstand the claws or teeth of a bear. Sariah scooped up another large rock and then she spotted a good, solid stick.
The bear growled back, slammed onto his front paws, and advanced on Mack on all fours. He was a massive animal, making even Mack look small.
The girls screeched out their terror. They couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen. Sariah didn’t blame them for being scared, but she wished they’d stop screaming and adding to the commotion.
Mack raised his muscular arms and roared right back. The bear kept coming. Mack didn’t back down. He bravely took two more steps forward.
“Hey!” Sariah yelled. She dodged around Mack’s side, wound up and threw the larger of the rocks she’d been holding. It pinged off the bear’s side. The bear yelped and stopped advancing.
“Sariah,” Mack cried out, pushing her behind him. “Stay back.”
Sariah shoved the stick she’d found into his hand. “If he keeps coming, hit him with that.” She bent and picked up another rock, stepping to Mack’s side and hurling it as hard as she could at the bear. It hit him in the head and he roared in anger. “Let’s back up toward the mountain so it will know it can retreat to the river.” It had come from the river, so hopefully that was where it wanted to retreat, if it wanted to retreat.
Mack nodded and holding the stick high above his head, he waited until Sariah was behind him then he slowly retreated a few steps with her. The bear turned slightly with them, staying focused on Mack and not retreating like Sariah had hoped. At least the girls were just whimpering now, and had followed their example and moved farther away from the bear and its path to the river.
Sariah waited, holding her breath. She glanced askance at Mack. He looked like a fearless warrior, holding the stick in a threatening position, the muscles in his arms all flexed and ready for action. She loved him. This man could protect her from anything. If they survived this, she was going to kiss him and tell him her every secret.
The bear shuffled forward, snarling at them.
“Throw stuff at him,” Sariah said. She bent and scooped rocks, flinging them as fast and hard as she could at the bear. Mack followed her advice and her eyes widened as she saw he picked up huge rocks and launched them so hard at the bear, the bear was knocked backward. The bear didn’t advance on them but it didn’t scurry away either. Sariah was breathing hard as she kept scooping and launching but she was running out of decent-sized rocks and so was Mack. He’d dropped the stick she’d given him to throw rocks. He picked it up, aimed it like a javelin and threw it hard. It was too blunt to penetrate, but it knocked the bear backward.
The bear sort of whined then pivoted and lumbered back down to the stream. Within seconds it had crossed the stream and was hidden by the trees on the other side. Sariah’s breath rushed out of her and she deflated.
Mack’s arms came around her. He squeezed her close. “You were amazing,” he said.
Sariah stared up at him. “It was all you. Schnikies! You can throw hard for a lineman. Maybe we should push the Rocket out of his position.”
He smiled and kissed her firmly. “I love you. How did you know exactly what to do? I thought I was supposed to posture, but that didn’t scare it.”
“My dad taught me. With black bears who’ve gone after people, many people have been able to fight them off.”
He kissed her again. “You’re my hero.”
Sariah laughed. “Back at you.”
“Thank you,” the girls were next to them and they kept repeating thank you over and over again.
Sariah hadn’t even noticed them approach.
“Can we walk down with you?” the redheaded girl asked.
