by James, Ava
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Donovan hopped on his ATV and flew up trail one. He pulled up to see his brothers talking to distressed family members. A young woman was crying and shaking. She was wrapped in a blanket. Colton was talking to her while Jake talked with a frantic man.
"What's the word, Axton?"
"Not much more than what Zak told you. They were headed through here and stopped to take photos of the view. Mom thought that dad had the little boy's hand and vice versa. They looked around a minute later and he was gone. Caden's gone down to the creek for a look. Colton and Jake are trying to talk his parents into going back to the firehouse so we can be alone up here. Mom's not going for it."
"So they didn't see anything, didn't hear anything, just turned around and he was gone?"
"Yep, same story from both of them." Axton and Donovan watched the parents and looked over the ridge.
"How old is he?"
"Just turned three."
"Fuck."
"Yep."
"What's his name?"
"Josh."
"Alright, well, you guys keep trying to get them to the house. I'm going to head around the bend and see what I can find. We've lost enough time already."
"Alright, brother, be safe."
Donovan climbed back on his ATV and took off toward the east on the trail. Three years old. Shit!
The warmest day all week had brought the tourists back to the hiking trails before they headed home. Over the years, Donovan had dealt with his fair share of drama on these trails, but a missing child was always his biggest fear. The little boy couldn't have gotten that far away from them. They had no reason to assume that the boy's parents were lying. As long as they were telling the truth that he had simply disappeared while their backs were turned, the rescue would proceed by the book.
Once Donovan got far enough from the group, he stopped his ATV and shifted into his bear. He would be able to track the boy's scent better this way. As long as the child's parents refused to go to the firehouse, he was the only one who would be able to shift without raising suspicion.
Donovan climbed up the hill toward a thick grouping of trees and caught a familiar scent. The mountain lion he'd fought to keep away from Isabelle was nearby. He followed the scent as it grew stronger. He heard a faint noise that he couldn't make out. At first, it sounded like a cat or dog whimpering. He continued following the scent and the sound grew louder. Around a group of trees there was a burrow in the ground and he saw a young boy crying and holding a stick. His face was dirty and his shirt and coat were torn, but he looked to be okay. The boy hadn't spotted him yet. There was no sign of the mountain lion, but Donovan knew better than to shift back right away. He looked up at the sound of rustling in the tree above his head and saw the mountain lion looking down at him. He started to back away so that the lion wouldn't fall on his head if he decided to jump out of the tree.
Before he could move, the big cat jumped down and pounced on Donovan. The little boy screamed and crawled toward a tree to get away from them. Donovan knew there was no way around it and used all his might to knock the mountain lion off its feet. The big cat screamed and bared its teeth and lunged back at him. Donovan swiped his paw across the cat's face and pushed it into a tree. They collided violently as the cat came to its feet again. Donovan slammed the cat into the tree again. The cat got up again, slower this time, and lunged for Donovan's throat. Donovan used all the force he could muster and slammed the cat into the tree once again. Breathless, he stood over the limp body of the mountain lion, waiting to see if it would charge again. The animal's eyes were glazed and it was not moving. Donovan held his head down and released the burden of the animal.
Donovan turned around and saw the frightened boy peeking around the tree. The boy was young enough that he felt comfortable shifting in front of him. The toddler would have trouble making sense of a bear shifting into a man, and he figured the adults wouldn't believe such a crazy story from a three-year-old anyway.
Donovan shifted back and sat down on the ground. Josh watched him for a minute and sat down behind the tree. "Hi, Josh. I'm Donovan. Are you okay, buddy?"
"Mama?"
"Yeah, honey, I can take you to your mama. You can trust me. Can you walk?"
Josh stood up and walked out from behind the tree toward Donovan.
"Don't be afraid. You're okay."
Donovan stood up and the boy looked up at his towering figure. Donovan reached out his hand toward the boy. "Here, can you take my hand? I'll take you to see your mama, okay?"
Josh hesitantly outstretched his hand to Donovan. They climbed down the hill toward the trail, back to Donovan's ATV. "You're such a brave boy! Did you know that? Your mom and dad are going to be so proud of you!" The little boy had a tight grip on Donovan's hand. He climbed onto his ATV and sat the boy on his lap. They soon rounded the corner and came back around the bend where everyone had been gathered before. Nobody was waiting there and he could see that everyone was gathered outside the firehouse. He headed toward the firehouse and the boy's parents, who rushed toward him as he came to a stop.
Josh's mother scooped her son up in her arms. She was sobbing and screaming. Donovan sat on the ATV and couldn't help but well up with emotion at the mother's outburst. The boy's father wrapped his arms around his wife and child and held them close. Donovan didn't notice at first, but Isabelle was standing behind them talking to Colton.
Josh kept looking back at Donovan. "Mama, the bear saved me."
"What, honey?"
"The bear saved me, Mama." Josh was pointing at Donovan.
"What, sweetheart?" She looked at Donovan, unsure what her son was talking about.
"Yes, ma'am. When I reached him, there was a mountain lion near him that has been spotted on the mountain before. It was engaged in a fight with a bear and I was able to rescue him." Donovan tried to fabricate an explanation that would keep his secret safe. "The mountain lion was most likely stalking him and the bear distracted the cat long enough for me to grab him."
Isabelle watched the woman holding the little boy. His knees were scraped up a little, but other than that, he was fine.
"The bear saved me." The boy again pointed at Donovan.
"Yes, honey, the bear got that mountain lion to leave you alone. That was a brave bear."
"The bear, Mama." The boy pointed at Donovan again. His mother gave Donovan a sheepish smile.
"Toddlers and their imaginations." She smiled again at Donovan and cradled her son to her chest. The boy's father leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. Colton made his way to them to help them get back to the hotel.
Donovan climbed off the ATV. Isabelle had been staring at him, mouth agape. She walked toward him and he could see tears in her eyes. "I knew it was you!" Isabelle wrapped her arms around Donovan and he enveloped her in his arms. "I'm so glad it was you."
The End