by Steve Lang
Two weeks earlier…
Chip and Scott Paulson were veterinarian technicians at the local zoo, and had access to tranquilizer darts mainly used to subdue out of control animals. In a fatal twist of irony, a plan they had both been working on for weeks was about to drastically change the lives of two city dwellers out on a weekend retreat.
“You got the dart gun?” Chip asked.
Scott nodded.
“You get the darts?” Asked Scott
Scott pulled out a small case of high-powered tranquilizer darts and showed it to his brother.
“Let’s go! I have the rope in the car and we should be able to lasso them once they’re knocked out.” Scott said.
The two were giddy with anticipation as they drove down a nearly hidden dirt road to the abandoned cabin lake. It had been their fishing hole for years, and they assumed no one owned it. Stopping several yards from the water’s edge, the two got out. Chip grabbed the bag of duck decoys from his trunk, and the fishing line they would used to secure them. Scott sat with his gun at the edge of the water, binoculars in hand, and waited until he saw eyes.
“There they are, man!” Scott whispered.
“OK, time for phase two.” Chip put his fishing pole together. He would be the bait.
“They’re probably going to come over once they see you get in the water.” Scott said.
“This is extra incentive, and maybe my way out of there before they get me.”
“Let’s just do like we said, and get em’ up on shore. Then I’ll blast the bastards with my tranq gun.”
“This was a good idea on paper, but I think it’d be easier to blast em’ with the 30.06 rifle. I’ll go get it.” Chip offered.
“This is their home and we’re invading it. Killing them wouldn’t be right, we just need some forewarning when we’re fishing out here, man. It’s a great fishing hole.”
An hour later the men had tranquilized three alligators and attached duck decoys securely to their heads. When the gators woke up the two would be long gone with three brown trout and two blue gills in their cooler.
“You think anyone’s ever done something like this before?” Chip asked.
“Not sure, but I’m tired of fishing out here and these damned things popping out of the water at us. I almost got eaten last time.” Scott barked.
Their work done, the two released the alligators and drove off the way they had come.
the good fight
She woke up early from her long winter nap and Rosebud the grizzly required food. What dangers lay ahead as she leaves the safety of her winter retreat?
Snow fell softly and silently on tall, ancient cedars in a forest as vast and wide as the ocean as Gerome lay very still at the mouth of his pack’s den. His gore-covered face was propped on bloody paws, while pools of blood stained the snow beneath him like a deranged Rorschach test, as he attempted to regain his bearing from the fight. Gerome watched puffy miniature clouds of cold white billow away from his nostrils through the early morning light. The grey atmosphere made earth and sky indistinguishable, and for the first time in as long as he could remember he was cold, exhausted, and mortally wounded. Gerome gazed with passive curiosity at individual flakes as they drifted downward, lying gently upon any exposed surface, as the rest of his pack fed hungrily on the bear’s carcass. She had wandered into their hunting ground at a time of winter when his pack was particularly hungry and dangerous.
Several days earlier…
It was the middle of a harsh northwestern winter and a freak forest fire caused by lightening had set the forest ablaze. The ominous smoke of an approaching fire wafted into Rosebud the grizzly bear’s den, giving her fitful dreams. She was in hibernation on this day; she enjoyed the state of decreased awareness while food was scarce. Although Rosebud was very strong and large, she was no match for Mother Nature’s fury, and she had three cubs to raise: Ranger, Toby, and Bethany. Rosebud’s bleary eyes popped open, and as soon as she smelled the smoke she knew that there was a problem in the forest. Although her activity level usually dropped significantly during the cold months Rosebud sprung to life when her cubs were in danger. While Rosebud was sleeping, they were playing, growing, and exploring the forest very near their mother. Today, grey smoke slowly billowed into her cave, choking and dimming the daylight. Her cubs trampled in with worried expressions as she winced in the light.
“Mama, mama, mama! There’s bad air outside, and it hurts to breathe.” Bethany cried.
“The woods are hot, and melting the snow!” Ranger said.
“We got lost in the bad air for a little while, but found you again.” Toby finished.
“Come children, it’s time to go. Our den is no longer safe.” Rosebud raised herself on powerful front legs and moved past them toward the mouth of the cave.
They began to trudge through deep snow as Rosebud tried to take her mind off of the gnawing ache in her stomach.
“Did you kids see any animals in the forest today that we might eat?”
“We saw a deer two moons ago, mama.” Ranger said.
“I saw a rabbit, and tried to chase it but she was too fast. That was one moon ago.” Toby said.
“Thank you children, we will have to remain vigilant and look for something to eat.” Rosebud instructed.
“But mamma, we eat from you? Is there something else we should be eating? The other animals are our practice, right?” Bethany asked.
“They were, and are…yes, but right now I need to eat something because I was woken up earlier than usual, and I’ve been feeding you three for a few months while I slept. You children are going to learn how to hunt our forest friends for food.” Rosebud smiled.
“OK, mama,” all three chimed.
For two days they walked through the snow covered forest leaving the destruction of the forest fire far behind. A deer carcass that had been ravaged almost beyond recognition lay half covered in a layer of ice. Rosebud was weak, and after having been awake for two days with no food she had expended too many calories to feed her young and survive.
“Children, the deer is yours. I’m going to take a nap while you eat, wake me when you’re done and we will continue.”
“But mama, can’t we eat from you?” Toby asked. She looked into his innocent eyes and felt a pang of maternal sorrow for the loss of their innocence. She did not want them to grow up yet.
“I’m sorry, Toby, but I’m too weak to feed you in my current state. Eat the carcass and wake me when it’s over.”
OK, mama.” He nodded understanding.
They approached the deer slow at first, touching it with unfamiliar paws, and then Bethany bit into the skull, crunching it between powerful jaws, even at her young age. Soon she would be three times larger, and would be taking down full size deer like her mother. The deer carcass was enough for each of them to fill most of their bellies, but they were still hungry.
“We have to help mama,” said Ranger.
“What should we do?” Toby asked.
“Let’s hunt her some food. I don’t think she’s well, and if we go much farther she won’t make it.” Bethany said.
“She’ll…die?” Toby asked. He shot his sleeping mother a worried glance.
“I don’t know, but if she can’t feed us that’s bad.” Bethany said.
“Toby do you remember what the rabbit smelled like? The one we saw the other day?” Ranger asked.
“Yes, I do.”
“We’ll hunt one of those. The deer is too big and violent but mama could eat a rabbit.”
“Is that enough food? Mama’s very big.” Toby asked.
“Something’s better than nothing, and we need her. I’m scared of these woods.” Bethany said. She was looking around nervously at the tall pines.
“Right, well let’s get on with it then.” Ranger said.
They walked away from their sleeping mother leaving tracks in the snow in case she woke up and needed to follow them. It was two hours before they found a fat rabbi
t nibbling on a bunch of berries sticking out of the snow.
“That’s a good one, there.” Toby whispered.
“So, what do we do? How are we supposed to get it?” Bethany whispered. The rabbit pricked its ears up and stopped eating. They stopped breathing until it relaxed again and began to munch.
“Bethany you go left, Toby go right to get around behind it, and I’ll hide behind this tree until you two are in place. Drive it toward me at the same time, and I’ll smack it with my paw as it passes.” Ranger explained.
Bethany and Toby nodded and positioned themselves as planned. The tension was high as they moved like shadows to avoid spooking the rabbit, and when they were in place Bethany looked over at Toby and with her eyes she told him she was ready. They flanked the rabbit, driving it in a straight line toward their brother.
“What are you guys doing here? I thought it was nap time for the bears.” The rabbit asked in his high-pitched voice. He leapt forward like a flash.
“We don’t really sleep, rabbit.” Toby laughed.
“I hate to cut and run, but you two sure are big, and I’d like to stay ali…” Ranger brought his paw down on the rabbit’s neck, snapping it.
“That was kind of fun. We should do it again!” Bethany chimed. Her brothers nodded agreement.
The cubs took the rabbit back to their mother who was beginning to stir. She growled in her sleep, kicking a back paw at the air.
“Mama, we got you a rabbit.” Ranger said.
“Yes, mama, you can wake up now.” Bethany told her. Rosebud opened her eyes to see the rabbit lying in the snow before her sensitive nostrils.
“You children are so good to your mama. Thank you for the food.” Her voice was groggy and distant. She was very low on energy. Rosebud ate the rabbit in less than ten minutes, but it made her feel better and gave her just enough energy to move on.
“We can get you another rabbit.” Toby said.
“The next one you get is for you. You’re good hunters; now hone those skills for larger prey.”
Rosebud looked down and saw something different than rabbit tracks in the snow. They were much bigger, familiar signs of a deadly foe. Gerome’s faint scent. Rosebud stopped in her tracks sniffing the air.
“What is it?” Bethany asked.
“Wolves. We have to be careful. I think there’s a den near here.”
Rosebud led her children away from the tracks, and got them to the relative safety of a shallow cave. That night a snowstorm rolled through and laid down six inches of fresh powder covering every track in the woods. Detecting wolves while moving through before the storm would be impossible. The rabbit she had eaten the day before was gone, and unless Rosebud landed a deer or something larger soon, she was going to be in dire straits once more.
“Let’s keep going. I know Gerome and his pack are round here, but I don’t know where they set up for the winter, and now his tracks are buried.”
Gerome The Grey sat still as night, covered in new white snow, his belly grumbling with hunger like the ominous thunder of an impending storm. Rosebud and her cubs emerged from cover and began to walk northeast. As he studied her, he noticed how slow she moved. Her mid-winter lethargy told him what he needed to know. Gerome was not sure why she was awake and on the move, and had he known about the forest fire heading his way, it would not have mattered. His pack was hungry, he was hungry, and no food source had presented itself in a week.
“Well, well, well, Rosebud. I believe the boys and I will have to have you over for dinner.” He growled to himself.
Like a whisper on the wind, Rosebud caught a whiff of danger in the air. He was close, and she knew he would be watching for signs of weakness. Rosebud had known Gerome since they were small, and they had played in the forest pines as cubs, but adulthood brings with it responsibility and competition for resources. Old friendships turn to respect for one another’s territory, and then, when food is scarce and alternatives no longer exist, they devolve into hunter/prey relationships. Such is the way of nature, and such is the way of life.
“Come children, we must move faster now. Gerome and his pack have a wide hunting radius this time of year, and I need to find you a good safe cave.”
Gerome followed them for some time keeping out of range of her radar; with her cubs Rosebud would be even more dangerous than normal. She was in a weakened state but he had tangled with her before and knew that she was an opponent worthy of much respect. Gerome would need his soldiers: his pack, to take his old friend down. He crept slowly and low until she found a spot to rest with her cubs, and then he faded into the forest like a specter.
After hours of trudging through drifts of snow Rosebud found a safe haven for her children and breathed easy. A cave opening through the dense trees appeared like a yawning mouth.
“We’ll stay here until winter’s end.” Rosebud explained.
A rush of water could be heard not far from the cave, and was coming from down the mountain.
“Can we go explore?” Toby asked.
Rosebud sniffed the air. Gerome was no longer around, which gave her pause, but she knew him well enough to know that her cubs would be safe from him, and his pack.
“Go ahead, but don’t cross the water and come back soon. I want you where I can see you for a little while. I don’t trust this area, yet.”
Nightfall would be approaching soon and her stomach was empty. If Rosebud did not find something to eat before settling back into the winter nap she would starve to death, and she smelled nothing to eat within two miles.
“On second thought, I have to hunt. I’ll be back by tonight, or tomorrow at latest. You cubs are on your own, but I want you to hunt for another rabbit, or a fox. You have to think about food all the time now, and where it’s going to come from next. Can you do that and stay safe?”
“Yes mama.” Bethany said, and the others nodded.
Rosebud felt a pang of remorse in her heart as she realized her cubs would be on their own for the first time in their lives, but she had little choice.
“I’ll see you when I return.” Rosebud turned to go.
Rosebud’s energy stores were already low, and her walk through the woods lowered them even more. Just when she was about to turn back the way she had come a blood-curdling howl rang out through the dense woodland. First one, then two, and then a deafening cacophony of terror stabbed the bear’s eardrums, causing the hair on her back to stand up.
“Gerome.” Rosebud prepared for battle with an unseen enemy, standing proud on muscular hind legs, waiting for the attack.
Night was upon her now. The tall pines stood like golems out of the blanket of white. One swipe of her claws would destroy any wolf that tried to tangle with her, and in the past, had even knocked a head or two clean off. Rosebud roared a challenge to the night, taunting them to come and get her with feral rage, peeling back her lips to display two rows of large dagger-like teeth. Then, as suddenly as it has begun the howling stopped, leaving her in silence, but their odor permeated the forest.
“Let’s go!” Gerome barked.
In a sudden, frightful turn of events, wolves surrounded Rosebud on every side. Terror and rage glowed in her eyes as Gerome’s pack waited for further instructions. Gerome entered the circle and faced off against the frightened bear.
“Rosebud,” he said.
“Gerome,” said Rosebud.
“I want you to know this isn’t personal.” He could smell her fear.
“When this is over, whatever the outcome, I want your promise that nothing will happen to my cubs.”
“You have my word, we go back far, and this gives me no pleasure.” Gerome said.
“I’m going to tear your heart out for this Gerome. I want none of your pack dead as much as I want you for this betrayal.”
“The cubs will have every one of my fallen for their survival. Next winter they had better be in another forest, though.”
“Let’s stop talking then. I’ve got better things to do.”
His pack would eat well for a week from her body. On his command, Reno and Sasha rushed in from the left and right, gnashing down on her shoulders while five more wolves waited to pounce, not far behind. Rosebud fought them off, tossing the two wolves into the trees breaking one’s back, and crushing the other’s skull. More wolves were coming now in a blur of teeth and claws.
Gerome watched his childhood friend toss powerful wolves off of her as if they were twigs, tearing them apart. He would have to do something if they were going to survive. Gerome patiently waited for his moment as the melee proceeded, and then he saw an opening. Shona was crouched down in front of the great grizzly rearing back for an attack, when Gerome sprang forward like a bullet. He ran up Shona’s back as Rosebud stood on her hind legs, wounded and bloody. With lightening reflexes he launched into her neck clamping down on the windpipe, and with a primal burst of energy he bit down with vice-like jaws. One crunch ended the fight, but as she began to fall forward with one final fatal swipe of her claws Rosebud sliced deeply through Gerome’s abdomen.
“Mama, no!” Bethany growled.
“You killed our mama!” barked Toby.
Rosebud felt her life energy quickly drifting into the ether as she fell hard to the ground trying to say something, anything to comfort her cubs, and in the end she prayed Gerome would honor his word.
“Run for your lives, cubs,” cried Gerome.
“Let’s go!” Ranger yelled.
The remaining pack turned on the three cubs, snarling, as Gerome choked on his own blood.
“Leave them be, we have the mother.” He recalled the pack, and for now, they paid attention, but he would be gone soon too. Gerome could see the shock and bitter rage in the bear cubs’ faces as his pack ravaged their mother. This was a scene none of the cubs would ever forget, or forgive.
That had been hours ago, and now as the last of his energy waned Gerome thought about how beautiful his life had been, even in the most difficult times. He had been a proud warrior, and had taken care of his pack for longer than he could remember. It was time for his spirit to move west, and as his soul drifted like a feather on the wind he could feel the white light of peace envelope him. Gerome and Rosebud—now nameless—were together in this new place at the end of the rainbow, each of them knowing they had fought the good fight.