Big on Education

by Laurie Ames

  Dylan chose a handgun and Amanda took the other handgun.

  “This is for you,” Louis said, handing Amanda the massive knife.

  “Thank you,” she said, unsure of what else to say. The knife was at least eight inches long and had a sheath. There was a loop that could be fastened to her belt. She couldn’t imagine herself carrying a knife and a gun around. She was a city girl. She’d never been around stuff like this. Suddenly, she felt completely out of her element. She was definitely wishing she’d stayed home. She considered staying in this messy house with Louis while he watched Bonanza reruns.

  She sighed deeply and took the knife out of its sheath. She reached a finger out to touch it.

  “Don’t do that!” Louis shouted angrily.

  Amanda jumped in her seat and nicked her finger. She saw bright red blood begin to spill with each beat of her heart and the sight and sensation made her feel feint. She noticed her vision blurring and she thought she might vomit. Then everything went black.

  Chapter 17

  “If you can’t stand the sight of your own blood, how the hell are you going to fight a Kodiak bear, girl?” Louis was asking Amanda as she came to on the dirty floor of the kitchen. She clambered to get off of the filthy tile and took her seat at the table again. Her finger had been bandaged and the blood on her hand was gone. She was relieved but saw the validity in Louis’s question.

  He made a clucking noise as she took her seat.

  “You even know how to fire a gun?” he asked.

  “No, sir,” she said to him rather sheepishly. She was suddenly embarrassed by her lack of knowledge.

  “Well, you’re gonna learn,” he said. He grabbed her handgun and removed the bullets.

  Amanda watched with curiosity. He explained how to load and how to turn the safety on and off. He showed her how to aim and told her to only put her finger on the trigger if she was ready to shoot. Mostly importantly, only shoot if she was ready to protect herself.

  The crash course made Amanda feel a little bit better. She hoped it had bolstered the guys’ confidence in her. She looked at the pair of them and forced a smile. Jase and Dylan both smiled back, and Dylan took her hand and squeezed it.

  They departed the house and told the cabbie they were going hunting. They were dropped off at a little airport to the north. From there they would catch a puddle-jumper over to Kodiak Island.

  They reached the airport and Amanda went to the office, asking for the pilot, Ken.

  “He’s out by the plane, waiting on you guys,” said the young man behind the desk.

  “Thanks,” said Amanda and she led the guys into the hangar. There they found a gruff looking man of about forty with sunglasses on.

  “You must be Amanda,” he said to her, reaching out to shake her hand.

  “I am,” she said.

  He showed them to his plane, which was nerve wrackingly tiny. They climbed aboard and Ken taxied out to the runway. After a rough takeoff, they were in the air and on their way to Kodiak Island.

  Amanda looked at Dylan as if to see how he was doing. He looked focused and calm. He had his handgun tucked into his waistband. Amanda had her knife dangling from her belt and the handgun was loaded, safety on, tucked into the waistband of her jeans. Jase had his rifle hanging over his shoulder. They were ready for anything, Amanda thought. At least as ready as they were going to be.

  Just like the flight from Seattle to Anchorage, this flight was just as uneventful, though the turbulence was much more easily felt in the tiny plane. Amanda thought she was going to be sick. It must have shown on her face.

  “You alright?” Dylan asked.

  “I’m fine,” she lied.

  They landed and disembarked the plane. The little strip of concrete that they had landed on was tiny. The vast majestic forest immediately surrounded the landing strip. Convenient, Amanda thought. The forest was where they needed to go. The air was sharp and cold, colder even than Anchorage. She wrapped her scarf around her once more and buried her nose in it, leaving only her eyes exposed.

  They thanked the pilot and hiked off into the woods. There was some snow but not too much to make hiking difficult. Amanda was grateful for that at least. They trekked on and over the woods, delving deeper with each step into the heart of the forest. So far, they hadn’t heard so much as a twig snap. Amanda wondered if someone was watching them. She got the same feeling that she’d had outside of Louis’s house. That feeling that eyes were combing her flesh for secrets. Amanda marched on, trying to shake the idea from her mind.

  The daylight was fading, and they decided to set up camp. Dylan made a fire while Jase set up their tent. It didn’t take the two of them very long to finish. Amanda got out what they would need for dinner. Beans and rice. It wasn’t much, but at least they weren’t going to be there very long.

  Amanda had gotten water at a stream about a hundred yards to their east. She was walking back to camp when she heard something.

  The snapping of a twig.

  She whipped around quickly and sloshed water onto her coat. She cursed, looked down and looked up again when she heard another twig snap. There was something in the woods with them. This was it, she thought.

  Amanda poured out the pot of water and began to run for the camp. She could see the campfire in the distance. She heard shuffling and then the sound of feet beginning to gallop. She screamed, but she was too late. A set of large jaws clamped down on her calf. She reached for her gun only to find that it had slipped from her waistband. She must have lost it when she’d been gathering water at the stream. She reached for her knife but couldn’t get it free from its sheath. The beast crunched down on her leg.

  She felt her bone snap in two. Amanda let out an ear-piercing shriek that reverberated throughout all the forest. In the dark and blinded by pain, she didn’t see her attacker, but she knew she was in deep trouble. She had no way out now. The pain was so intense. That was all she could remember.

  Chapter 18

  When Amanda woke, it was to the absolute agony of a broken tibia and fibula. She screamed even before she could figure out where she was. Tears stung her eyes and sweat poured from her brow, despite the frozen cold air.

  “Calm down...now!” said a stern voice.

  Amanda looked up to see a pair of green eyes. The stranger was striking in appearance. He looked at her with a crooked smile that was similar to Jase and Dylan. She immediately suspected that he must be Virgil. She had been taken by the Kodiak bears and was in their den. She looked around as the tears began to flow down her face. They were in a dark cave and she was chained down, sitting on the ground. She saw bones all around her. Human bones. The bones of those who had been captured by the Kodiaks before her. She screamed again.

  “I said calm down!” Virgil boomed. The entire cave became eerily quiet. Amanda knew that she had better follow orders. She bit down on her tongue until she drew blood, trying desperately to keep from making any noise.

  Then Virgil knelt down beside her and looked straight into her eyes.

  “So, what have we here?” he asked of no one. “Such a pretty girl out in the woods by herself.”

  “I’m not alone,” Amanda choked out.

  “Oh, is that so?” Virgil said with a smile. “That’s what all you pretty girls say.”

  “I’m with your brothers,” she spat at him.

  Virgil’s expression changed dramatically.

  “What did you say?” he demanded of her.

  “Your brothers, Jase and Dylan, they’re with me,” Amanda said. Her voice echoed throughout the cave.

  “Don’t tell me that bullshit” Virgil yelled, pretending not be agitated. Amanda decided to shake him up a little bit more.

  “You’re Virgil,” she said. He looked taken aback.

  “Shut the fuck up,” he said.

  Amanda said nothing else. He stared at her as though contemplating what he should do next. She knew who he was and wondered if that would be enough to open a dialogue. He did
n’t seem very interested in talking.

  He growled at her and stood up. He violently kicked the dirt and sand went spraying into Amanda’s eyes. A large rock pelted her newly broken leg and she stifled the urge to howl in pain. He watched her grimace in agony but just went back to the campfire and joined the rest of the Kodiaks. Amanda watched him intently. The men were bigger than Virgil. Not abnormally large, but tall enough to look down on him. They were broad shouldered and very muscular. Not that Dylan was small, but these guys were going to pose a massive threat to him and Jase.

  Amanda tried to relax as she leaned back against the cold cave wall. She could feel the chill through her clothing. It was freezing. She tried to focus on anything else besides the pain that was radiating up and down her leg.

  Amanda looked about her for anything that might provide a means of escape. Her knife was missing and the gun had been gone long ago. She was defenseless. She turned to face the opening of the cave and hoped against hope that the guys were close to finding her. She knew they would be out looking for her. She was sure of it.

  She listened as the conversation around the fire grew quieter. She feared what might happen to her when it was bedtime for the shifters. She heard the crunch of feet walking on rocks as someone started walking towards her.

  A man she hadn’t seen before pulled pieces of meat and bread from his jacket and surreptitiously handed it to Amanda.

  He nodded to her and she understood his meaning. If anyone were to find out that she’d been fed, she was not to tell them who had given her this sustenance. She nodded back and took the food, mouthing a silent “thank you.”

  He turned and walked back down to the dwindling campfire. Everyone seemed to be getting ready for bed. Things got even quieter. Amanda scarfed down the food, though she felt like every opening and closing of her jaw made far too much noise. She couldn’t stop. She knew she would need her full strength if she was going to get out of here.

  She heard the sound of rubble moving around the front of the cave’s opening. She dreaded the thought of someone walking in on her and catching her eating. It was probably one of the clan coming back after some late-night hunting. She shoved the food behind her and pretended to sleep.

  The shadow of two shapes appeared when the moonlight was striking their backs. Amanda was immediately relieved when she thought she’d recognized Jase’s hat.

  “Dylan,” she said without thinking, not realizing how loud she was.

  Dylan rushed to her side and hushed her with a finger.

  “Are you okay?” Dylan whispered in her ear.

  “No” She whispered and pointed down at her leg.

  He examined her leg, pulling up her jeans to see the sick angle at which her leg was turned.

  “We’re gonna get you out of here,” he said to her.

  “We’ve gotta find him, Dylan,” said Jase. He was pacing around like a caged animal, not knowing what to do with himself. He crunched the tiny rocks that lay about the cave floor. He seemed not to care if he woke anyone. Dylan reached out a hand and grabbed him.

  “We will but you’ve gotta settle down,” Dylan said. “If you wake them all right now, we won’t have a chance. We need to get Amanda out of here.”

  Jase huffed but seemed to agree with his brother. He knelt on Amanda’s other side and then they heard some commotion from down where the campfire dwindled. Someone was coming their way.

  “We’ve gotta get her out of here now!” Dylan hissed at his brother.

  The footsteps crunched closer to them. Amanda looked up and recognized the man. It was the same man who had given her food. She tried to tell the guys that he was friendly but couldn’t manage fast enough.

  “Whoa,” Dylan said to him, indicating that he needed to stay where he was.

  The man held his hands up as though he meant no harm.

  “Let me help you get her out of here,” he said.

  Dylan and Jase looked at each other, confused.

  “You’re going to have to move quick or Virgil will wake up and he’ll have all of our asses,” the man said.

  “Virgil?” Dylan asked. “I want to speak to him.”

  “Are you sure about that, son?” the man asked. “I don’t think he’s going to want to speak to you.”

  “I’m his brother and so is he,” Dylan said, motioning towards Jase. “We have some important family business to discuss with him. I’m sure you can understand.”

  The man nodded. “Have it your way but you’ll be sorry.”

  He retreated back into the cave and down to the fire. He quietly woke Virgil and seemed to be telling the others to stay put. Virgil sat straight up and seemed to be alarmed and annoyed by the intrusion into his sleep. He got up off the ground and stretched. He came quickly up to the opening of the cave.

  He stepped forward and the moonlight illuminated his face, revealing scars that Amanda hadn’t noticed before.

  “So here you are,” he said to Dylan and Jase.

  “Here we are,” said Dylan.

  “What do you want?” asked Virgil.

  “You have to come back with us, Virgil,” said Dylan. “We have to break the curse that’s been placed on our family by the black bears. They’re about to overrun our home in Mountain View, Washington. We desperately need you. Without you, we can’t succeed.”

  Virgil seemed to mull it over.

  “Why the fuck should I care?” he asked.

  By that time, someone else had woken and was making their way up to the mouth of the cave. The man was huge. Bigger than the others. He stepped up between Virgil and the other man. He growled and flexed his muscles.

  Amanda knew what was about to happen, but it still shocked her every time she witnessed it.

  The man’s flesh began to split apart and his already massive body ripped open, giving birth to a new form. The form of a monstrous bear that stood on its hind legs and towered over everyone. Amanda stared up at him in awe and horror. Without missing a beat, Dylan and Jase transformed before her, too. Their spines popped and their muscles shuddered as their skin split apart to develop their new physiques.

  Soon there were three bears standing, panting, looking aggressively at each other.

  Amanda watched and held her breath in suspense.

  The Kodiak growled and then belted out an ear-splitting roar. Amanda quickly covered her ears and closed her eyes. The cave reverberated with the sound. The other men were surely awake now.

  Dylan and Jase looked at each other with an unspoken understanding. They leapt onto the Kodiak bear and bit down on its sides. The bear roared out. The other men had gathered around Virgil’s sides, but he held them back.

  With hardly any effort at all, the Kodiak easily shook both the brothers from its back. It reached out with a massive paw and swatted Jase, knocking him across the cave and into the wall beside Amanda. His head fell onto the lap on her good leg. He was out cold. Amanda looked back to check on Dylan.

  Dylan paced around the Kodiak bear as they circled each other. Finally, the Kodiak made the first move and with lightening speed charged at Dylan. Dylan wasn’t quick enough. The Kodiak pinned him down easily and had its jaw ready to clamp down on Dylan’s throat. He was ready and prepared to snuff his life right then and there.

  Suddenly, Virgil shifted into his Kermode form and raced towards the giant Kodiak. He growled at him, communicating something. The Kodiak looked taken aback. It immediately stepped away from Dylan. Clearly Virgil had some kind of dominance over the giant Kodiak.

  Virgil bit down softly on the back of Dylan’s neck and pulled him up from the ground. After looking around the cave, Virgil shifted back. The other bears, all except Jase, did the same.

  Virgil said nothing but extended a hand towards Dylan. He drew him into a huge embrace. He spoke. “Brother, I can see you mean business. This curse has great significance to you. You were willing to risk your life. Whatever you need, I’m willing to help you,” he said.

  Dylan reached out a hand
and Virgil gave him a hearty handshake.

  “Great! But first we have to get Amanda out of here and back to the mainland,” Dylan said urgently.

  Virgil nodded and he and Dylan went to her side. One of the other men helped bring Jase back to consciousness and he shifted back. After getting some clothes, the three brothers and Amanda prepared for the journey back to the airplane landing strip.

  Amanda sighed, relieved when they finally caught their plane off the island. The three brothers were together, and the curse was broken. She slept most of the way back to Anchorage. From there, she was taken to the hospital. Later that night, after her leg had been set and cast, she woke up in the room with the TV buzzing lightly in the background. It was dark outside.