“Ohhh, alright…” Teresa groaned.
“I’m sorry, I know you are having a good time with Leo and everything.”
“It’s okay, Honey. I’m sorry. We can go. I probably sounded like a bitch right then didn’t I?”
A small smile curled at the edge of Honey’s lips. “Just a little…”
The women made their rounds and said goodbye. As they reached the front door, Brock and Kristy appeared from the kitchen.
“Hey guys. Having fun?” Kristy asked.
“Yes, very much. But, it’s getting late and I think we’re just going to head out.” Honey replied.
“Are you sure? Is everything alright?” Kristy asked.
“Yes, I’ve just had several long days in a row at work.” Honey said.
Brock spoke up. “Oh, well, sorry to see you go.”
Honey smiled. “Thank you. Thanks for inviting us.”
“Yeah, I had a really good time…” Teresa said.
Brock nodded. “Yeah, I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to chat. Maybe sometime soon?”
“Definitely.” She said.
It was definite alright. If Honey hadn’t insisted that they leave, Teresa might have married Leo that night, or worse.
As Kristy and Teresa exchanged hugs, Brock turned his attention back to Honey and said, “Thanks for coming by Honey, it was nice to spend some time with you. Maybe we can pick up that conversation again soon?”
“Yeah…” she choked. “That sounds good.”
***
Nearly a week had passed since the party.
Luckily, Honey had a couple of days off right after and since returning to work, she hadn’t seen Brock again. That was just fine with her. After all, the very last thing she wanted to do was ‘finish their conversation’.
No thanks…
The whole thought of it depressed her. She knew he was only trying to be nice but just the notion of it made her queasy. She’d feel pressure to do it, pressure to enjoy herself, pressure to make a good first impression and pressure in lots of ways that she probably couldn’t even fathom at the moment.
In fact, thinking about it had just about exhausted her and as she laid down to sleep that night, she promised herself to just let it go and move on. If Brock didn’t have feelings for her, that was fine but this whole fix up idea just wasn’t gonna fly.
And that was the last thought she remembered having as she drifted off. The very next thing she was aware of – a cacophony of sounds outside of her house – startled straight out of a deep sleep. As she listened, she thought she heard human voices and what she could have sworn were the groans of some kind of large animal.
The noises grew louder… and closer. Quickly, she sat up and fumbled around for her cell to check the time – two forty-nine in the morning. She set the phone down on her nightstand and just as she went to get out of bed a voice called out…
“Honey!”
It was Brock.
For a second, she thought she must still have been dreaming. What would he be doing here at this time of night?
“Honey, open up. Please!” he yelled.
There was no doubt it was him… That much, she wasn’t imagining. She jumped out of bed, threw on what she could and rushed out of her room. As she did, Teresa poked her head out of her bedroom.
“What’s going on? What’s all that noise?” she asked.
Honey passed by her. “I don’t know. It sounds like Brock… It also sounds like he’s not alone. Quick, put something on and get down here.”
“Okay…” Teresa said as she closed the door.
Honey continued down the stairs and towards the entrance to the house.
“Honey!” Brock exclaimed as he pounded his fist against the door.
“I’m coming!” she yelled.
A split second later, she wrapped her hand around the doorknob and pulled it open. As it swung inwards, she looked on in disbelief as Brock and several other men, including Leo, held a large bear in their arms. The bear was bleeding heavily, apparently from a gunshot wound. The men scrambled inside carrying the bleeding beast with them.
Horrified, Honey shouted, “What are you doing? Brock, what is going on? How did you even know where I lived?”
“This is a mistake Brock!” Leo exclaimed.
“Shut up, Leo. We have no choice. Honey, I… I can’t explain anything right now. Can you help us?”
“Help you? What are talking about?”
“You’re a nurse aren’t you?”
“No! I work in patient mediation for Christ’s sake. Besides, this animal needs a vet, not a nurse!”
“Brock! Shit, man… We’re losing her!” Leo yelled.
“Fuck!” Brock shouted.
For the life of her, Honey could not figure out why these men were so upset about a bear with a gunshot wound. Desperate to bring some order to the situation, she said, “Why are you bringing this bear here? Doesn’t the Division of Wildlife Control handle stuff like this?”
“Yes… I mean, no!” Brock replied.
“What? What are you talking about Brock? Do they or don’t they?”
“Yes, when a bear gets shot or killed, yes… They would handle it, but…”
“But… what? Look, whatever is going on, you need to tell me now. This animal needs medical assistance immediately.”
Brock bit his lower lip and dropped his head. “This… is no ordinary bear, Honey.”
“Huh? What do you mean? I am looking at it. It is a bear just like all of the others I’ve seen in my life.”
“No… it isn’t.” he said. He moved in over the bear’s immense skull. “Kristy… Please sweetie, hold on… Hold on!”
“She’s not breathing! What are we going to do?!” Leo exclaimed.
“Goddamn it! Kristy, hold on… Hold on!” Brock yelled again.
Honey’s brain felt like as if it were shrouded in some kind of dense fog. What in the hell were they talking about? Kristy? She looked around at the faces of her roommates who had all gathered around her. The moments had been so tumultuous that she hadn’t even been aware that they had come down the stairs.
All of them looked on in complete confusion…
“Kristy! No!!!” Brock cried out.
Suddenly, the bear lay still… utterly motionless… life had been extinguished from it. A couple of the men choked back tears, including Brock. The death of this animal had wounded them all and as tears began to pool in their eyes, Honey found out why.
She watched in disbelief as the hulking mass began to shrink right in front of her. The plush coat of fur on its powerful limbs gave way to smooth, soft skin. Round, full bulk changed into familiar curves and a square, powerful skull shifted into the hauntingly familiar beauty that was Kristy.
Horrified, Honey fell backwards into Teresa, Kimberly and Evelyn who stood behind her. The women let out a collective scream when suddenly, Brock snapped out of his stupor and yelled, “Quiet!”
“Brock… what the hell is going here?” Honey said as she looked on in a mix of terror and bewilderment.
Brock moved closer to the group of women who stood huddled together with Honey in front of them. “Please, I can explain everything. You have nothing to be afraid of… any of you. I promise. I…”
As he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at Kristy’s body. Clearly distraught, he stifled a tear as he said, “Do you have anything we can cover her with?”
Honey turned her head and said, “Uhhm, yeah, we should. Guys, one of you… go get the sheets from the spare bedroom.”
“Honey!” Teresa exclaimed.
“Not now, Teresa! Just do it…” Honey said.
For several seconds, the room fell completely quiet. The men had been silenced by their grief, the women by their shock.
Just then, Teresa reappeared with a bundle of sheets and blankets.
She walked towards Leo and said, “Here is… is this okay?”
Leo looked at her through blood red pupils. Devast
ated over the death of his beloved sister, he couldn’t manage a single word in response. Instead, he simply nodded, took the bed coverings from Teresa and with the help of the other men, covered Kristy’s naked, lifeless body.
Emotions began to transfer to the women as well. From behind, Honey could hear muffled sounds of sadness coming from Kimberly and Evelyn. Teresa stood close to the men as they worked but closest of all, to Leo.
Finally, Honey’s eyes made their way back towards Brock’s face. Whatever emotions he felt seemed to be under control for the moment. As soon as their eyes met he said, “Honey… Give me a chance to explain.”
Honey nodded. “I… Okay.”
“Brock… Don’t do it man, please.” Leo said as he stepped towards him.
“Leo, it’s too late now. We can trust them.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I do…” he said as he turned to face Leo. There was an unmistakable growl in his tone. “I need you to trust me as your leader. Is that clear?”
Leo nodded and moved back towards his sister.
Brock cleared his throat. He battled a heavy lump in his throat as he began. “Look… I… What I am about to tell you will seem impossible to believe. But, as evidenced by Kristy, it is all too real.”
He made a sweeping gesture with his arm towards the other men, including Leo. “We are all shapeshifters, bear shifters to be precise. Do any of you know what I mean by that?”
Teresa turned her attention from away from Leo and said, “Do you mean like… a werewolf?”
Brock replied, “Well, sort of… There are wolf shifters here in the valley as well as mountain lions and many other kinds. However, our similarity with our animal kin ends at that point. In every other way, we are fully present when we are in our shifted form. In other words, while we might look like a bear or a wolf or any other type of creature, our human wits are still in command. Does that make any sense to you?”
“I think so…” Evelyn said. “So all of the bears that live here in the valley are shifters, like you?”
“No. In fact, most of the bears that live here are true animals. The humans in the valley do not know of our presence. Some humans suspect our existence but only through whispers and superstition. In any case, we came to this area decades ago for the same reason that the bears migrated here over time.”
“What’s that?” Kimberly asked.
Leo spoke up, his grief in check for the moment. “It’s simple really… The hunting ban that was in force is what drew us to this place. We knew that by coming here, we’d be safe when we did shift into bear form to hunt – as we must. This is especially true during this time of year, the Salmon Run.”
Brock interrupted and said, “Exactly, but that’s all in jeopardy now because…”
“…because the Mayor is on the verge of declaring open season?” Honey asked.
“Precisely.” Leo replied.
“But, what about the bears that are hurting innocent people? Are those shifters doing that or regular bears?” Teresa asked.
“Well, it would have to be regular bears. A bear shifter would never harm a human unless his life or that of his mate was threatened.” Brock said.
“Then why are they doing it?” Evelyn asked.
Brock replied, “I don’t know. The food is always plentiful here. Something just doesn’t add up. We have some ability to communicate with them telepathically but unfortunately it only extends to the most basic of things. Higher level concepts like their motivations for injuring or killing people… we can’t get at their reasons for doing something like that.”
“That’s because there isn’t any motivation, Brock. You know it and I know it.” Leo said. His tone was grim and serious.
“What do you mean?” Honey asked.
Leo went to speak, but as he did Brock raised his hand. “What Leo is trying to say is that he believes that the bears are either not involved at all or that they are being lured into hurting people.”
“Who would want to do that?” Honey asked.
“Probably the same individual or group of individuals who took the shot that killed Kristy. Whoever it was knew exactly what they were doing.” Brock said.
“I thought you said that humans didn’t know about your kind.” Teresa said.
“Well, I’m not so sure of anything any longer…” Brock replied. “But, what I think doesn’t matter. The problem is that we shifters still have to hunt to survive. If the mayor declares open season, all of the bear shifters are in jeopardy of suffering the same fate as Kristy. An ordinary hunter would never be able to tell the difference between one of us and any other bear, that is, until we were shot and killed. Then, what you witnessed here tonight would happen again. A shift would occur at death. If that was to happen, I cannot imagine the chaos that would unfold in Troubled Fork.”
Brock then said, “So, you can see why Leo was so upset when we came in here. With our secret exposed, we’ve placed our trust and that of the other shifters in the valley in your hands.”
The entire room fell silent once more. For both humans and shifters alike, everything had changed in the world that they once knew.
Finally, Leo spoke up. “Brock…”
“I know. You go ahead. Take Kristy back to the house in your car. I’ll be right behind.” He replied.
“Okay.” Leo said. He nodded towards the other men. They lifted Kristy’s body and almost as soon as they did, they disappeared through the front door. As the men exited, Honey and her roommates exchanged uncertain glances between one another.
Brock closed the door and turned back around to face Honey and the girls.
“I… I don’t know what to say or where to begin.” Brock said.
Honey nodded to her roommates.
“Can we talk later?” She asked them.
The women nodded back and headed back upstairs to their respective bedrooms. After their bedroom doors had closed, Honey walked over to Brock and hugged him. It was the only thing she wanted to do in that moment. She couldn’t even imagine how devastated he must have been.
Kristy was a huge piece of his world and just like that, she was gone. From Honey’s perspective, his entire universe was crumbling all around him and he had no one to turn to, no one but himself. She thought that perhaps, for just a moment, she could be the strength for him that he always was for everyone else, especially Kristy.
For several seconds she held him until eventually, he reciprocated and drew his arms upwards around her as well. Soon she could feel him relax into her and then after a few more seconds he finally pulled back.
“Why did you hug me?” Brock asked.
“I… I don’t know. It just seemed like the right thing to do.” She said.
“Well, I… Thank you, Honey.”
“You’re welcome.”
With his hands, he grasped on to her upper arms and looked down at her. “Honey, I know that all of this must seem completely insane but…”
“Brock, it’s okay. I’m fine…”
“What about your roommates?”
“I’ll talk to them. They will be alright.”
“Honey, there’s something I need to get off my chest. What’s happened tonight, it’s just made me realize how precious life is and how much I…” he paused.
Wordless, Honey looked up at him. “What are trying to say, Brock?”
“Just that I think about you all the time. I can’t hold it back any longer.”
Confused, Honey leaned away from him. “Huh? What are you talking about? I thought you said you wanted to fix me up?”
He shook his head a little. “Who said anything about fixing you up?”
“Well, you did… You said you knew someone who would be perfect for me, remember?”
“Yes, of course I remember…” he said as pulled her closer. “That someone… is me.”
Honey couldn’t believe her ears. Every corpuscle in her body wanted to give in to him right then and there. More than anyth
ing she wanted to throw her arms around him and press his sweet, soft lips into hers. Even so, she couldn’t deny her lingering pain and the wounds of a five year failed relationship. They still gnawed at her, especially in this moment.
She looked into his eyes once again. “Brock, I feel the same way but I don’t want to be just another girl to you. It’s always been that way in my life. I want you more than anything but I can’t risk having my heart broken.”
Honey for the Bears Page 4