The Bear’s Secret

by Fay Walsh

  “Help! Someone!” she cried out loud. But, it was no use. There was no one around. She was all alone, her foot caught in a bear trap.

  She couldn't get out of this, which made everything worse, and she knew for sure that this was definitely something that she couldn't get out of. She needed help, but as she called out, she was all alone.

  She prayed for a miracle, for something to help her, but so far, she was left in the dust, left to figure this out herself, and at the mercy of it all.

  Chapter 7

  “That’s so weird. Why isn’t she responding?” Billy asked himself.

  He tried calling Nikki another two times but to no avail. He wondered what had happened, as he felt a lingering fear that something was wrong.

  Billy sighed as he sat down on the main common room with the other shifters. Sven, of course, was off in his own world and Benjamin was reading some book. Travis came in, looking at Billy.

  “It’s your turn to do the rounds,” he said.

  “Oh shit. Is it? I'll head out.”

  “Good. Pay attention to your surroundings. I've had a bad feeling all night. Alana said she felt the same thing, but we can’t pinpoint what it might be,” he stated.

  “Will do,” Billy said.

  He felt that bad feeling as well. He couldn't pinpoint why it was hitting him like this, but as he continued forwards, he could feel that nagging feeling grow within his body. He didn’t even know why this was happening, but it was something that bothered him.

  He tried texting Nikki once again. She wasn't responding. They were supposed to meet up tonight, and Billy wanted to take her for a walk. He could play it off as just a nightly walk, even though it was doing the rounds to check the town. He didn’t expect to see anyone around anyway.

  After about 20 minutes of walking, Billy gave up and shifted into his bear form. Unlike Darren, who was a black bear, Billy was a lush, golden color with a sandy texture to it. He wasn’t the biggest bear in the clan, but he certainly had a lot of stature to himself, and a deep muscle tone. He walked about, with the padding of his own footsteps the only sound that he heard.

  “That’s so weird. Why do I feel so on edge?”

  It was then that he heard it. Screaming. It was off in the distance, and the sound was almost uncanny, like he could figure out who it was within moments.

  He sprinted over there, realizing that it was near the bar. As he grew closer he noticed a few other items on the ground.

  “Bear traps?” he noted to himself.

  He avoided them nimbly, getting himself away from them, but as he tracked the screams, he noticed that they sound familiar.

  It was Nikki.

  When he got to the edge, he saw Nikki with her leg dripping with blood. She was stuck in a bear trap and she was unable to break free. He could see the claws of the bar trap tearing at her flesh, as she struggled to get out of there.

  “Shit,” he said to himself.

  This was the last thing he wanted, and it wasn't good. He immediately tried to figure out what to do. Was it right to shift here, and to get her out of there? He didn’t know if he should transform into a human, or keep the bear form. He felt that staying as a bear would only freak her even more.

  He transformed into a human, keeping himself together. He quickly straightened his clothing, hiding any evidence of his transformation. He made sure that his breathing was even and calm before he did anything. He stepped forward, feigning surprise as he saw Nikki there.

  “What the hell?” he cried out.

  “Help me. Please,” she said, her breathing growing shallower.

  “Shit. You're losing blood,” he said.

  He grasped each side of the trap, pulling the sides of it apart. She finally got her leg out, and when he let go, it snapped back together. The sound echoed through the air, and for a moment, neither of them said anything.

  “What the hell is going on?” she asked.

  In truth, he didn’t know what was happening either. He couldn't figure it out.

  “I don’t know. I was just going to check on you at the bar. Because you weren't answering my messages,” he said.

  “Oh shit. I'm sorry, I just… I can’t find my phone. It fell over there,” she said.

  Billy looked at the ground, seeing it right there in front of all of the traps.

  “Let me grab it,” he said.

  “But that’s dangerous,” she cried out.

  “Don’t worry. I'll be alright,” he said.

  Billy knew how to avoid these traps. He had learned that from Travis, and from his own personal experience. He knew how important it was to avoid these, and when he grasped the phone, he heard the familiar snapping sounds behind him. Nikki jolted, lurching as she heard some pinching noises. When he brought it back to her, she smiled.

  “Oh my gosh, thank you,” she said.

  “No problem, let me-”

  She collapsed before he finished his sentence. Billy held her in his arms, looking at her.

  “Shit. She has lost blood. Let me get her into the bar,” he said.

  Her unconscious frame stayed in his arms as he brought her in. Luckily, the bar was unlocked and he hoisted her into one of the couches in the back room. He looked for a medical kit, finding some gauze, some tape, and a whole bunch of bandages. He wrapped her wound and as she laid there, she slowly opened her eyes and looked at him.

  “Thank you… Billy,” she said.

  “You’re welcome. Keep your leg elevated,” he said. His gaze was focused on the wound. It wasn’t super deep, but the fact that she was trapped in there for a long enough time did mean that she probably lost more than enough blood.

  Nikki complied without complaint, looking to Billy as he continued to dress her wounds. She didn't say much, not that either of them was that keen on talking. Billy was worried about what this meant, but right now, her health and safety were what mattered the most to him.

  She started to slowly wake up a couple of hours later and when she looked at Billy, there was a smile on her face.

  “You… saved me,” she said.

  “I was only trying to help. I knew that you were in danger. There was no way you could get out of one of those yourself,” he said.

  ”How did you know how to do it? Are you familiar with bear traps?” she inquired.

  He stood there, silence enveloping them.

  “You could say that. I learned about them when I was learning about different machinery,” he said.

  “I see. That was so weird. I've never had that happen before,” she said.

  “I didn’t expect to see them randomly in town. That’s so weird,” he said to her.

  She looked at him, and he could tell from the way that she was staring that she wanted to say something else.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked.

  “It’s so weird. I mean, it’s like… it almost seems like I'm being targeted for some reason. I don’t know why, but I feel that I am. It’s not like I've been doing anything wrong, right?” she asked.

  She looked upset, and there was something about this that made his heart lurch suddenly. He didn’t want to tell her yet. In truth, Billy was scared of telling her. But, he also knew that she would continue to be targeted by whomever it was that was bothering them.

  “I don't get it myself, Nikki, but I think it’s safe to say that you shouldn't worry about it,” he said.

  “Not worry about it? There’s no way I am not going to worry about it Billy,” she said.

  “Yeah but it’s not like you can do anything about it. I think it’s just some dumbass farmer leaving their traps out,” he said.

  “Yeah, but this is a bear trap. Bears don’t live out here most of the time. And there's been a lot of weird crap going on. I mean, if you don’t know anything, that’s fine, it just seems weird. Maybe I'm just whining a bit too much. Maybe I just want answers to better understand what the hell I'm currently going through,” she said.

  There was frustration in h
er voice, and when Billy looked over, he could see the slump that she had. Her eyes kept darting, and he felt bad for being so a little curt with her.

  “I don't think it’s anything you need to worry about. Trust me on that,” he said.

  “You tell me that, but I honestly don’t know for sure if that’s the truth. I mean, I want to ask Billy, because it’s obvious that this is bothering you. Are you okay?” she demanded.

  He pondered how to answer that. He wasn’t sure that he had the right way to tell her that he was worried about her getting hurt, and he wanted to protect her. He didn’t know if she was ready to hear the full story or not.

  She didn’t seem ready, but it ached within him to tell her the truth.

  “Yeah. I'm fine. Don’t worry about it,” he said while pursing his lips, trying to hold back his own feelings. But, Nikki seemed to look right through his facade.

  “Are you sure Billy? You can tell me if you want. I may not get it, but I will try to understand,’ she said.

  He didn't know if it was possible for another person to understand what was happening, or even what went through his head. He felt so goddamn unsure about all of this, that he felt as if there was something about this that bothered him. He took a deep breath, holding himself together for a moment before he spoke.

  “Yeah. I’ll be alright,” he said.

  The fake smile on his face was enough to convince her. She smiled back at him, speaking shortly after.

  “You’re so strange, Billy. I feel like I'm getting to know you better, but at the same time, there is something about you that I don't get, something that I want to know more about. But, I don’t want to pry. I know that, whatever you’re going through, isn’t easy, and I guess you’ll tell me when you’re ready,” she said.

  “Yeah. I guess it’s obvious. But, you also shouldn't worry about me. I've got this,” he said.

  “I know. I won’t press you, but you know that I can’t stop worrying about you” she replied, smiling back.

  The two of them quickly changed the conversation to something more relaxing. Sometimes Nikki was staring at him, trying to find something on his face, but he wouldn’t give her a hint. In truth, Billy was happy to just have her here with him and happy to just be by her side.

  Deep down, however, he wondered what might happen as well as a result of this. He wondered what her reaction might be if she did learn the truth. He couldn’t shake the thought of what would happen if she did find out that he was a shifter, one of the bear shifters that people were talking about.

  There was a lot on his mind, a lot on his plate that ended up changing the way things were going. In truth, Billy also wondered if there was something more than he could do at this point. However, he just waited for what might happen next.

  He feared what the secret would mean for their friendship. Billy also wondered just what might happen if the truth would be revealed. He knew that there would be a time and a place to tell Nikki everything.

  Chapter 8

  Both Nikki and Billy stuck around, talking to one another, but then, he left after a bit. Nikki worked at the bar that night, trying to let go of what the hell just happened.

  She walked home, refusing to take the shortcut that she normally took, especially after the bear trap incident. She wondered if her dad knew anything about this.

  When Nikki got home, her mother was out of the bedroom for the first time in forever, but when she looked at Nikki, her eyes widened.

  ”Oh my God, what happened to your leg?” she said.

  “I was trying to make my way to the bar for work, and I… I tripped and fell,” she said.

  “Looks a bit worse than that,” her father snapped.

  “Dad, it’s none of your damn business what happened. I just tripped and fell. I need some space,” Nikki stated.

  She left both of them without saying another word, trying to figure out just what the hell was going on. She sat there, looking at her leg, and pondering what had happened.

  She knew for a fact that it was a bear trap. But why were there bear traps in town, and who had placed them there? She had no clue just what to do about any of it. She needed to talk to Billy more about this, but she wasn’t sure if she should.

  No, Billy was being eerily quiet about it all. He seemed on edge, and Nikki didn’t know how to handle this. She figured it was just a temporary thing. If it was indeed a huge issue over time she wouldn’t hesitate to ask him. A part of her wanted to press Billy to open up about whatever bothered him, but first, she needed to find the right way to approach it.

  The next couple of days passed like a blur, and she kept wondering what the hell she was going to do next. Nikki could feel the anxiety growing within her as she tried to process what the fuck happened that night. What was even stranger to her, was that Billy didn’t show up at all at the bar.

  When she finished for the night, she decided to sit around and grabbed her laptop. She had been carrying it around since the fight with her dad, but she rarely used it. However, now it was her only option to get the answers that she wanted.

  She booted it up to initiate a search, but she expected nothing to come out of it. She typed into the search bar: shifters, and then Hoopole. She wanted to find out if the rumors were true.

  What she found was old articles confirming nothing about this. She read about how people thought there were shifters around, but it turned out that they were retelling old tales in order to titillate the masses. Nikki noticed that when people discussed shifters, they usually did it in a negative light, when in reality, if they did live amongst them, they hadn’t caused any actual trouble.

  “That’s what I think anyway,” she said to herself.

  She thought that, if there were indeed shifters around, they wouldn’t be bothering or harassing her. She found another article from a more spiritual and supernatural site, but even they couldn't confirm or deny the actual existence of these.

  “So it’s all bullshit,” she sighed.

  Nikki had a feeling that it might be, and her research just straight confirmed it. She felt better about this, that’s for sure, and in her mind, she just felt like it was her overreaction that made her think that shifters were real. She was also slightly disappointed they didn’t exist.

  “There is no way in hell they exist,” she said to herself.

  There was just no way. She always thought that shifters were nothing more than fantasy. Sure, it would be cool to shift from a human to an animal, but they weren’t real. She wondered if maybe the internet just didn’t publish this because they didn’t want others to find out.

  “I'm getting way too ahead of myself,’ she said to herself.

  She closed her laptop, sighing. She wished the rumors of shifters existing were true in a sense, but this would definitely lead to a conflict between humans and shifters. She mused over the thought of what might happen if that transpired.

  What would humans do if they knew about shifters?

  Nikki imagined they would hate each other. She figured it was probably for the best that they didn't exist, that they were just some figment of human imagination, something that one read in stories to feel better at the end of the day.

  She left the bar, wondering whether or not she would ever find out the answer to her questions. She once again didn't drive because it was a nice night, but as she walked home she felt that strange feeling of being watched. She looked around, spotting absolutely nothing. She was close to her house and she didn’t think anyone would attack her.

  That’s where she was wrong.

  She soon felt something jump out from the shadows, pushing her to the ground. She struggled, looking forward to seeing if she could get a look at whoever attacked her. But there was nothing. The creature held her down, pinning her there as she struggled to leave.

  “You worm,” the creature said in a woman’s voice.

  “What the hell are you-?”

  She kicked, trying desperately to get out of this. She hoped that
she would make it out of this alive. She tried to push her legs forward, to get out of the vice grip that this person had on her body. But it was no use. She was stuck there. She tried to scream, but her mouth was shut by something.

  What the hell was going on? She could feel her consciousness fading away, as she was desperately trying to keep it together.

  “You know about shifters, don't you? The existence of them?” the shadowy figure said.

  “I, I don’t-”