The Senator's Choice

by Combs, Sasha

  Everything that she thought made perfect sense. They just needed to get inside of the cabin then Pamela would do all that she could to keep them safe. She knew that most bears weren’t human killers and in their case, she thought maybe it was their food that the bear had come in search of. At this point it really didn’t matter. They had a huge bear baring down on them at full throttle and the cabin was just a few feet away.

  Pamela was just about to lurch Morgan in front of her, placing her closer to the steps. After that, she would jump onto the porch from the side, then she could get them both to safety much quicker.

  The next sequence of events occurred so fast, later Pamela wouldn’t be able to truthfully outline the timing of things. She would blame adrenaline and a foggy memory for her lapse because in truth, shock was the real reason her brain refused to catalog the event. In private, the doctor would say that the confusion was due to her body’s natural defense mechanism. In many ways, the body is able to shield itself from remembering horrible tragedies. If it didn’t numerous nightmares could occur, leaving a person to deal with mental scares and depression, eased only by medication.

  When Pamela heard the loud noises made from the large bears paws colliding with the earth, she knew they were in serious trouble. This had been her reason for wanting to hurry things along but Morgan had not been ready when she tugged her forward. The young girl, stumbled, trying to regain her footing. This caused fear to grip her, then in one blink she turned and caught eye of the bear. Her entire body twisted back, then forward wanting to get away. But the ballerina move had been unwise. Her legs had gotten all tied up in knots. Morgan fell forward, stretching her arms out to brace her fall.

  Pamela had been readying herself to leap onto the porch, when she heard a grunting sound at the same moment she lost sight of Morgan. She’d been running so fast, she actually had to turn taking a few steps back, to go to the spot where Morgan had fallen.

  By then, the bear was standing less than five feet from them. It reared up, waving the largest claws she’d ever seen outside of a gated inclosure. Then the animal curled up its lips revealing long sharp teeth as it roared its protest. Morgan was scooting backwards in the dirt, using her hands and her butt to widen her distance from the bear. It would appear that the bear had already chosen which of them she intended to maul first. Her eyes narrowed in on the smaller of them.

  As Morgan made ground, moving in the direction of the cabin, the bear’s anger grew more fierce. She stood upright, walking forward on her hind legs, while her paws swung attempting to swat Pamela out of her way. Pamela dunked, using her kickboxing moves to dodge the bears advances. The animal knew that she was no match for her, which is the reason she continued walking towards Morgan. When Pamela looked down at her, she noticed that fear had gripped Morgan. The girl wasn’t moving anymore and tears had begun to create mud on her dirty face.

  Pamela yelled out loud, trying to get the bears attention.

  “Leave her alone you bitch...” she cried. Then she gathered some stones and began throwing them, which in hindsight was the most idiotic thing to do. The rocks didn’t phase the bear. Each stone popped off the thick furry coat, landing on the ground, producing not even a hint of irritation. The bear was nearly standing directly over Morgan, and Pamela couldn’t allow the animal to take this position. Bears are extremely territorial. They will kill if they feel threatened but Pamela didn’t know what had occurred to provoke this animal and right now, she really didn’t give a damn.

  Without thinking of herself, her baby or their safety. Pamela placed her body in the middle; taking Morgan out of the bears line of sight.

  Pamela growled in a threatening way. Then she barked instructions to Morgan.

  “Tuck yourself into a ball Morgan. Use your arms to protect your head.”

  All the while she was talking, Pamela never allowed her eyes to stray from the bear. Again, she cursed and spat at the bear.

  “Get out of here. You’ll have to go through me if you think you’re going to get to her.”

  She knew that the bear didn’t understand English but the animal could interpret her body language.

  Pamela raised her arms and hands to mimic the bears. She was playing with fire and there were countless ways for what she was doing to backfire. But her body and attitude was all that she had. She would use this to protect Morgan because she couldn’t fathom William being forced to endure another lost so soon after losing his wife. She was quite certain he would mourn her, if death turned out to be her outcome; but Morgan would be something entirely different. If William lost his daughter, Pamela didn’t know if he would have the strength to recover from the emptiness her death would bring.

  From her rear, Pamela could hear sniffling sounds, and a hushed cry. With the bear currently being distracted by her, Pamela wanted Morgan to use this narrow window as her escape route but she didn’t know if the frightened girl would be able to will her body into motion.

  Pamela didn’t know but she had to try.

  “Morgan...scoot back towards the house honey.”

  After issuing quick instructions to Morgan, Pamela glued her attention back on the bear. All along during this standoff, she’d been making noises, attempting to urge the bear to stay fixed on her. But in between her spitting, cussing and animal sounds, she didn’t hear any movement in her rear and she knew this wasn’t due to Morgan having ninja skills. The girl was in a time trap; held in place due to her face to face confrontation with the bear. That moment had turned her into a statue unwilling and unable to move. This wouldn’t be good because getting her out of the area was the only way that Pamela could keep the bear from killing Morgan after he’d dismembered her.

  This time when she spoke, Pamela pleaded with her. She didn’t know how much more of this standoff the bear would be willing to endure. Already, the large animal looked to be tiring and was ready to strike. To keep the bears attention, Pamela would confuse it by shouting out poor impressions of farm animals. The last time, she mooed like a cow, now she was barking like a rabid dog. She was already preparing herself to quack like a duck. That aught to leave the animal wondering, she thought. But for now, the barking was playing tricks with the bears brain.

  “Morgan...sweetie. You have to move. Please if not for me...do it for your dad.”

  “I can’t...” she said through her tears. “I can’t leave you.”

  It was those words that broke through the brave front Pamela had been putting on for Morgan and the large bear. Hot tears ran down her face, mixed with perspiration. She wanted to hug Morgan but she didn’t dare take her eyes off the bear.

  In the distance...it was difficult judging but Pamela heard a loud pop echoing, then being drowned out by the expanse. The bear had heard the noise too, and apparently this was a sound familiar to it. The animal backed up, her eyes looking over Pamela’s head, in the direction of the cabin.

  Again, the sound rang through the forest loud and menacing but this time, instead of one pop, there were a series of loud clattering echoes spanning out like a conga line.

  Bang, bang, bang... The noise from the rear was louder and this time it was followed by the familiar sound of voices.

  “Yaw, yaw, yaw... Get on bear. Get outta here.”

  The voice said. It was William. The next voice caused her tears to wet her entire face. It was her dad, then Frederick joined in.

  “Get gone you old bear.”

  “Yaw, yaw... Go back to your babies.”

  Babies...cubs? Pamela thought to herself.

  More shots rang out and this time, the bears back turned to her and its butt lifted up in the air as it ran on all fours back beyond the tree line. Pamela turned quick, lowering herself to the ground, to wrap her arms around a still frightened Morgan.

  “It’s all right Morgan. We’re all right now. Your dad is here. They rescued us.”

  Morgan giggled through her tears, while sniffling snot and burying her head into the nook of Pamela’s neck.

&
nbsp; “O Pamela... I’ve never been more scared in my life. If you weren’t here to save me from that bear, I don’t know what would have happened.”

  Pamela felt Morgan’s arms holding her in a death grip. The young girl was still afraid and she’d not recovered from her brush with death.

  “We were a team Morgan. We worked together to confuse the bear.”

  Morgan knew what Pamela was doing. She wanted to give praise where none had been earned. She wouldn’t allow that because... A blank was her only response. She tried to come up with an answer and no words sufficiently came to mind.

  A few seconds later, Frederick and Michael helped them up while William walked further in the direction where the bear had gone. He wanted to be sure that the mother had gone to collect her cubs. As they had approached the cabin, it had been Michael who’d spotted the two brown furry animal’s hissing at them huddled on a tree limb. Seeing the two cubs had put them all on alert. Generally when cubs were up a tree it meant that momma bear was on the hunt for something she feared would threaten her babies. William had heard loud noises coming from the direction of the cabin. It was then that he fired one warning shot to alert them that help was on the way.

  Once Pamela and Morgan had been ushered back inside of the cabin, Frederick guided Morgan to the kitchen area to use a rag to wipe away the dirt. He needed to make her face clean before he could assess for injures. Pamela’s eyes tracked Morgan like a wildcat protecting her cub. She was just as worried as Frederick and she wanted to see if Morgan’s fall had resulted in her having more cuts and bruises.

  “You’ve been bleeding.” Michael said.

  Pamela turned her head in the direction of her father. His familiar voice had broken her fixed gaze. Without saying another word, Michael quietly guided her to a chair to begin assessing her in the same way that Frederick was checking out Morgan. Pamela was still confused. Her mind was one big jumble and she still had not processed the arrival of the men. Her eyes stared at her father, blank and glazed over with confusion.

  “Pamela...you have a cut underneath your chin.”

  “This one over here has a cut near her chin too. But this wound isn’t recent.” Frederick’s eyebrows rose in question.

  “Morgan fell yesterday. I bandaged the area underneath her lip, but I guess when she fell today...her bandage must have fallen off.” Pamela’s words sounded like a taped confession. Her robotic tone worried her father.

  Frederick looked around the kitchen while Morgan leaned against the counter as he’d instructed her. When he found what he’d been searching for, he raised the prize above his head for Michael to see.

  “Found the first aid kit. Once I get this one cleaned up...you can take care of Pamela. If you can’t find what you need in this kit, I have a few extra supplies in my backpack.”

  Michael nodded.

  It didn’t take Frederick long to cover Morgan’s old cut, because the edges had already begun to mend and being uncovered had not affected the healing process. She had a few additional bruises and tiny cuts on her hands, but nothing that required covering. Frederick used a packaged antiseptic wipe to clean away the dirt to prevent the possibility of infection. When he was done he handed Michael the first aid kit, then he removed a few items from his backpack, just before leading Morgan across the room.

  Michael had cleaned the thin cut on Pamela’s chin and he was just about to place the bandaid on the wound, when William walked into the cabin. William closed the door, then latched it. Even though he was certain that the black bear was no longer in the area, he would take no chances. In the big scheme of things, if running into a bear couldn’t be avoided, this species was the most timid. Most black bears didn’t seek out populated areas where humans lived. Hearing the sound of human voices usually was enough to cause the animal to move in another direction, away from the noises. The only tempting thing that would cause a black bear to chance crossing paths with humans; would be the aroma of food or a final stand to defend its cubs.

  As William looked around the room, it was shy of two people, and his eyebrows lifted in question. Frederick had already followed Morgan up to her loft, steadying her back to prevent her from falling.

  “Morgan’s up there. Frederick’s with her. She’s still pretty shaken up. You’d better go have a talk with her. I think our trip down the mountain won’t be an easy journey for her.” Michael said.

  William walked over to assess Pamela while Michael continued to work. He didn’t want to interfere in what he was doing so he stood off to the side, watching him, and wondering why he’d switched his major from pre-med to law. He still had a steady hand, and he would have been a good doctor.

  William placed one hand on Pamela’s shoulder, squeezing to let her know how much he cared.

  “Is she all right Michael?”

  “It’s a small cut. Nothing that should leave a scar.”

  William noticed that Pamela had not said one word. When he saw her standing up to the large bear, his heart had nearly stopped. He wondered what had possessed her to do such a foolhardy thing. Then he saw who she was protecting. Morgan’s body was crouched in a ball right behind Pamela’s legs. Pamela had placed her body on a platter, as a way to protect his daughter from the bear. Even though she carried a child inside of her womb, in that moment she disregarded this. Morgan’s life was all that she cared for.

  William’s emotions caught in his throat, making him weak in his knees. He needed to sit down, then he remembered what Michael had just said. Morgan was still afraid and she needed reassurances only a father can give.

  William moved his hand from her shoulder, gliding it to the nape of her neck. His fingers toyed with the fine hairs laying flat along her hairline. Even this tender gesture didn’t appear to affect her in a way that it normally would. Her lack of response had him worried but he was only one person and he needed to check on Morgan, then he would come back to be with Pamela.

  “See that she lies down Michael. Don’t let her put up a fight.”

  “I don’t think there’s much fight left in her. So, there shouldn’t be any argument.”

  He nodded, then he lowered his head to press his lips on the top of her head. Michael’s eyes stayed focused on what he was doing, during this tender moment. The reason he’d been able to assure William that Pamela’s cut would leave no obvious scaring was due to him carefully placing thinly steri strips to approximate the edges of the wound. This attention to detail would allow her tissue to heal evenly, thus avoiding the potential for puckering or separation then re-healing. He understood William’s need to kiss his daughter.

  “I’ll be right back Pammy. I just need to check on Morgan. I’m sure she’s thankful for all you did to protect her and I can’t even begin to tell you how I feel.”

  William felt his heartbeat increasing. His anxiety was beginning to overwhelm him. He thought about all that could have gone wrong if they had arrived seconds later than they had. He closed his eyes, refusing to envision this.

  “William...she’ll be fine. It’s only a cut. Go check on Morgan. She’s the one that needs you now. I won’t leave Pamela alone.”

  William opened his eyes, seeing the concerned look on Michael’s face. It hit him, that Michael was doing what he should be doing. He was staying with his daughter until her trauma had eased, allowing her to think and function normally. He understood, and it was this understanding that helped him get his feet moving.

  “I won’t be gone long.” William said.

  “Take your time William. Don’t rush Morgan. Like I said. I’ll stay with Pamela. She won’t be left alone.”

  William nodded, then he walked toward the ladder leading to the loft.

  Frederick was sitting on the floor with his back to the bed. He was doing something with his cell phone, but when he heard William approaching, Frederick closed out the screen; replacing the phone in his jacket.

  “How’s Pamela...” he said in a low voice.

  “She’s pretty shaken up. I w
orry that even after we’ve left this place, she’s going to experience post traumatic stress. She didn’t say one word to me and she’s staring at the wall as if she’s expecting the bear to burst into the cabin to attack us all.”

  “William...Pamela just had one of the largest black bears I’ve ever seen standing not more than a few feet from her face. With one swing, he could have dislocated her jaw or broke her neck. Over half the population in the country will never be able to say that they’ve shared the same experience. She will always be in a unique club and she may never be the same after this. You’re going to have to give her time to get over this nightmare. And William...this was a nightmare.”

  Frederick hated being brutally honest but it was the truth. After dealing with Morgan, he wondered if her youthful resilience would serve to heal her fragile nerves. He didn’t know for sure but as he saw it, William would have his hands full, dealing with mental scars, sleepless nights and vivid memories involving that black bear.

  William looked at Morgan, only because her breathing sounded more like snoring. He didn’t have to say a word because Frederick rightly assumed his question.

  “She was crying into her pillow, saying how horrible she’s been and that Pamela saved her life. I couldn’t get her to calm down, so I gave her one of my diazepam.”

  William’s eyebrows met in the middle while the rest of his faced creased into a look of utter amazement.

  “Where did you get Valium from?”

  Frederick used the bed for added support, as he came to a standing position. He ran his hands down the front of his pants to ease out the wrinkles. He was purposely doing these things, to give William time to digest what he’d just told him.

  When he believed that William was primed and ready to hear what he had to say, he walked over near the desk in the corner of the room, away from the bed where Morgan slept.