by Amy Star
She opened the door to find the boys darting around the kitchen.
“Did I miss breakfast?” She frowned, sitting down at the bare table.
“We packed it to go.” Conner winked. “Vincent said we’re hiking back to the circle. He wants to show you…”
“Conner quit blabbing and fill the canteens.” Finn slapped a big leather pouch onto Conner’s chest.
“I guess they want you to see it for yourself.” Conner winked, and Jillian’s heart skipped a beat. “You want to help me fill these?” He held up all three handmade canteens that more resembled wineskins that she’d seen in movies.
“Sure.” She yawned, rubbing the last of the sleep from her eyes. They walked out to the hand well.
“You and Vincent stayed up late.” Conner handed her the first canteen and started pumping.
“I guess.” Jillian held the canteen to the spout as water started to flow. “Not that you can tell what time it is out here. Why are there no clocks?”
“We don’t need them.” He looked up at the blue sky. “When it’s light out, we do repairs on the cabin, wash clothes and dishes, work in the greenhouse.”
“Do you guys take turns hunting?” She took the stopper that was attached by a braided cord and pushed it into the mouth of the canteen.
“Finn has pretty much taken over the hunting.” His nose wrinkled. “We all pitch in on occasion, though. I more of a fishing guy.”
“How long have you guys been living out here?” She waited for the next canteen to overflow.
“Vincent was out here first, and then he took in Finn. A few years later, I joined the party.”
“How many is a few?” Water flowed down the side of the canteen over her hand, and she pulled it away, placing another stopper.
“Well, Finn mentioned that you guys talked a little bit yesterday. So, you know how when Finn turned for the first time, he killed those mob guys?” Conner didn’t look up from the pump.
“Yeah…” Jillian held up the last canteen, studying the pain behind Conner’s nonchalant expression.
“Well, the first time I turned, I was arguing with my parents. I was grounded, and I snuck out. They heard me come in through my window.” He stopped pumping as soon as the canteen was full. “I’d been out drinking with my friends.”
“Oh my God.” Jillian stopped up the last canteen. “What happened?”
“I remember getting mad and feeling sick. I thought it was all the tequila.” He cracked his neck. “But I woke up naked in the woods the next morning. I hid until dark… then somehow managed to make it home without being seen. The house was torn to shreds, and there was blood everywhere. Cops and animal control had already come and gone. My mom was sitting at the kitchen table. She had a pile of crumpled up tissues in front of her.”
“Your dad?” Jillian put her hand on Conner’s shoulder. “He got hurt?”
“He was in the hospital on life-support, but he was on his way out.” Conner hung his head. “Mom had told them that a bear had gotten into the house somehow and dragged me off into the woods. She said if I didn’t want to get locked up for what I had done, that I should disappear, so that’s what I did.”
“That must have been horrible.” Jillian put her arms around him. “I’m sure she only wanted what was best for you.”
“She was terrified of me.” He lifted his arms to hold her close. “I could see it in her face. She yanked her hand back when I tried to touch her.”
“She was probably having a hard time processing what happened. Have you reached out to her since then?”
“No.” He blinked the sheen from his eyes. “I got killed by a bear, remember? I can’t ever go back there.”
“You guys ready?” Vincent waved from the corner of the cabin.
“Hell yeah!” Conner held up the three canteens and nodded to Jillian. “Let’s go.”
“I still don’t have any shoes.” Jillian pointed at her bare feet. “Well, I had one shoe, but I don’t know where it went.”
“You can wear mine.” Finn walked up, kicking his boots off. “I’ll just shift for the hike if you want to carry my pack, I’ll put a change of clothes for myself in there.”
“I think that’s a fair trade.” Jillian reached out to accept the boots.
“I’ll be right back.” Conner followed Finn back around the corner. After a few minutes, a black bear returned. A bright orange crescent adorned his chest, the points facing upward. He was significantly smaller than the big brown bear that Conner had transformed into. His back was about waist level to Jillian. In his mouth, he carried the backpack. Conner followed close behind.
“His feet are pretty small, but those will still probably be a little too big.” He held up a handful of black socks, and Finn let out an indignant bellow. “Don’t be salty just because you’re the only one who can share shoes with a girl.”
The bear grumbled in response, dropping the backpack at Jillian’s feet. She crouched to put it on, sitting down on the ground to dust the bottoms of her feet off. She grimaced at the dirty soles of her feet.
“My pedicure lady is going to have a heart attack when she sees this.” She put on three pairs of socks before slipping the boots on.
“Homesick already?” Conner handed her sock after sock as she put them on in layers.
“I mean, I should probably contact my family and let them know I’m not dead.” She put the second boot on, pulling the laces tight.
“Being dead to the world isn’t so bad.” Conner shrugged. “From how you described your family, they don’t exactly seem like the easiest people to live with.”
“It’s not just about that.” She stood up, dusting off the back of her pants. “Ted tried to kill me, and I still have to make him pay for that.”
Finn’s bear vocalized with what she could have sworn was a sarcastic tone as he scratched his ear.
“Is he talking shit?” Jillian narrowed her eyes at Conner.
“He was pointing out that since the back of your head got healed, there’s not any evidence that dick-bag attacked you. It would be your word against his.”
“Shit.” She frowned. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
The four of them struck out with Vincent’s leading the way. Conner walked beside Jillian, moving branches out of the way, and Finn waddled along behind, sniffing the air and stopping to rub his back against a tree from time to time.
The canopy of bright-yellow leaves almost glowed as the sun shone through them, the smells of pine and a few other fragrant trees Jillian couldn’t identify delighted her senses as they made their way up the side of the mountain. She turned around to walk backward.
“That orange color is pretty.” She gestured to her chest as she addressed Finn’s bear form. “I’ve never seen a bear with fur that color.”
Finn grunted as he lumbered along.
“He’s some variation of a sun bear,” Vincent called back over his shoulder. “In Japanese folklore, the demon bear creatures called Onikuma were known to sneak into villages to steal livestock for food. But his crest is much bigger and brighter than any sun bear I’ve ever seen photographed.”
“So, are all three of you are different kinds of bears?” Jillian turned around, taking Conner’s hand as the path got a little steeper.
“I’m a grizzly.” Conner pulled back a branch for Jillian but then let it smack Finn in the face to which he let out an annoyed bray. “The most handsome of all bears. Sun bears, as you can see, are more like large dogs.”
“Hey, in the wild, sun bears are among the most dangerous on earth.” Vincent stopped at the top of the ridge. “They have hot tempers and sport some serious claws.”
“And what about you?” Jillian panted, bracing her hands on her knees to catch her breath.
“We don’t really know.” Conner finally answered after Vincent didn’t respond. “He’s big.”
“Bigger than you?” Jillian frowned.
“From the data I’ve been able to gather,
I have the most similar traits to Arctotherium angustidens. It’s an extinct species of short-nosed brown bear.”
“When he says extinct, he’s not talking about something that went out by getting hunted by fur trappers.” Conner’s eyes flashed. “Think prehistoric dire bear.”
“Seriously?” She straightened up and took the last few steps to join the boys at the top of the ridge.
“The Arctotherium existed around the Pliocene era alongside the wooly mammoth and saber-toothed cats.” Vincent took a sip from his canteen before handing it to Jillian.
She accepted, taking a long drink. Wiping her lips with the back of her hand, she looked out over the autumn trees blanketing the landscape, and her heart jumped into her throat. She vaguely remembered a few of the rock formations from the last time they had carried her to the circle as if it were a detail in some dream that she had long since forgotten.
“There are no words to describe this place.” She caught her breath looking out over the valley, taking in colors that had never even lived in her imagination before that moment. “I thought maybe it was the fact that I had one foot in the grave, but even now, it almost brings tears to my eyes.”
“If we let the oil company move in here, it’s only a matter of time before it’s pavement and multilevel parking garages as far as the eye can see.” Conner teased.
“You’re joking, but that’s not far from the truth.” Vincent scolded him. “You won’t be laughing when the only wilderness left is the Arctic. Do you think your six-pack is going to keep its shape when you’re living on whale blubber?”
Conner grimaced as they continued on a path down the other side of the mountain. Vincent waved them as he moved a curtain of hanging vines to open up a passage. Jillian looked up at the two steep rock faces on either side. They appeared to be at the bottom of a vast chasm. It zigged and zagged, growing narrow as they rounded a boulder that obscured the mouth of a rocky tunnel.
Finn was barely able to squeeze through the tightest part of the path. The light at the end of the tunnel beckoned, finally guiding them to the other side. The trees were different here as if it were a capsule preserving an eternal spring. Tiny white blossoms speckled the bright-green leaves, and beyond the grove, a familiar glassy lake with a misty waterfall reflected the colors of the blue sky and pink clouds.
Conner shrugged off his backpack and pulled out a large quilt, spreading it on a level grassy area.
“Where’s Finn?” Jillian set down her backpack as Vincent took out four bundles of cloth, handing one to Jillian. She unfolded it to find it was a sack, similar in shape to a pillowcase. It contained the food they had cooked earlier that morning.
“He's probably waiting on one of us to bring him these.” Conner reached into the backpack Jillian had been carrying and retrieved some folded clothes.
“I guess we can’t all feel comfortable running around in the buff.” Jillian smirked at Conner as he headed back to the tunnel.
“Which is a shame.” Conner turned back to flash a smile.
“Here.” Vincent handed her his canteen, and she took another sip. She opened her cloth sack to find two golden rolls, three strips of cooked meat, some almonds, and dried fruit.
“I thought this was bacon when I smelled it cooking.” Lifting it to her nose, she sniffed before turning it over, examining the texture. “Now, I’m almost positive that it isn’t.”
“Well, bacon’s sort of hard to come by out here,” Vincent admitted. “What we would call wild boar don’t exist anymore, not here anyway. They made it illegal to breed or release Eurasian swine, which means no wild pigs in these woods. What you’re holding is actually venison. We cured it with maple, but honestly, we're still trying to figure out the process.”
Jillian looked at the rigid strip of meat one more time before biting into it. The consistency was closer to jerky than bacon, but the sweet and savory flavors made her mouth water. It was better than the canned ravioli. The bread was also a little tougher than she would have liked, but she wasn’t about to complain since she had never baked a day in her life.
As the boys emerged from the cave, Conner was laughing. He must have said something funny because even Finn had a repressed smile on his lips as he pulled his shirt on. Jillian caught a glimpse of the perfect divots between Finn’s hipbones and his abs just before her eyes darted back up to his. He arched an eyebrow.
Oh God. He definitely noticed. Shrinking inside of herself, Jillian cleared her throat and returned her attention to chewing her food. The boys sat down, unwrapping their food bundles.
“The bacon didn’t quite turn out as planned, did it?” Conner sighed. “It’s been so long since I had a friggin’ cheeseburger.”
“Hey, this animal gave it’s life so that we could eat.” Vincent took a bite. “Show some appreciation.”
“It’s not like it volunteered,” Conner grumbled. “Finn’s just part roadrunner.”
“We still need to respect it.” Finn bit into his deer bacon and pulled a piece off. “Goddamn, this is tough as shit.”
“Told you.” Conner chuckled.
“So, you mentioned before that you don’t carry a gun.” Jillian looked at Finn. “You hunt with a crossbow or something?”
“No.” Finn patted the sizable hunting knife on his belt. “If I can’t catch it on foot, I don’t deserve to eat.”
“You run on foot… after a deer?” Her eyes widened. “That’s crazy; how is that possible?”
“Some shifters have talents even in human form,” Vincent said between bites. “Finn’s very fast. It’s something to see.”
“Do you guys have special talents?” Jillian glanced between Conner and Vincent.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Conner grinned.
“Smooth.” Finn rolled his eyes.
“I want to take some of these olives home.” Conner hopped up, bringing his cloth bag over to the olive tree that shaded them. He picked olives while the rest of them finished eating.
“Do you guys mind if I head out?” Finn got up and dusted himself off. “There was something I wanted to check on before we have to get started on dinner.”
“Not at all.” Vincent stood up, holding his hand out to Jillian. “I brought her out here to see the paintings. You guys can feel free to wander.”
“If I leave my clothes on the other side of the tunnel, will you grab them on your way out?” Finn looked at Jillian. “If it’s not too much trouble.”
“Of course.” She smiled, gesturing to the backpack. “It’s no trouble at all.”
“If you guys take too long in there, I might head back, too.” Conner had climbed up onto one of the higher olive branches. “I had an idea for a project I wanted to get started.”
Finn nodded to Jillian before heading back for the tunnel. Vincent kicked off his boots, leaving them on the picnic blanket.
“We’re going to have to swim.” Vincent looked toward the lake. “But we don’t have to strip if it makes you uncomfortable. We do have to walk a little way when we get there.”
“Yeah, I’ll just deal with wearing wet clothes, if you don’t mind.” She nodded, following him to the edge of the rocks.
He dove in without a moment’s hesitation. The edge of the drop-off cut steeply down in the deep water. Peeking over the edge, she shuddered to realize just how far down she could have sunk if the boys had dropped her. Sitting on the edge, she put her feet in first, taking off her hoodie in favor of just wearing her T-shirt.
I might be wet and cold when I get out, but a dry hoodie might help.
The water wasn’t nearly as cold as the stream where she and Conner had taken a bath the previous day. While it was still chilly, she grew accustomed to it quickly and followed Vincent, who had already swum halfway to the circle. Instead of stopping there, he swam past it. She followed him to the waterfall, looking up at the rainbow that appeared as the afternoon sun cut through the mist.
Vincent took a deep breath before disappearing under the
surface. Jillian followed his lead, opening her eyes. The water was crystal clear, allowing her to spot him swimming up behind the churning bubbles of the falls. When she came up on the other side of the waterfall, the roar of the rushing water made her want to cover her ears. Vincent climbed up onto the rocks, tying his hair up into a knot.
She swam closer, reaching for him. He bent down, closing his hand around her forearm and lifting her out, before gesturing for her to follow. The falls had obscured the small mouth of a cave. She slipped on the mossy rocks, and her arms flailed as she tried to stay balanced. Vincent put his hands on her waist, and her cheeks warmed at his touch. Taking her hand, he led her deeper toward the back of the cave. The stifling darkness brought back a memory of the face hovering over her bed. She hugged Vincent’s bicep, keeping a firm grip on his hand.
It was just a nightmare. Jillian reminded herself. Sometimes a dream is just your brain throwing away a bunch of useless information.
He placed a hand on the top of her head as he ducked down, navigating underneath some unseen obstacle. As soon as they were on the other side of it, the sound of the waterfall seemed much farther away.
“Almost there,” Vincent said, clicking the rubber button on the end of his miniature waterproof flashlight.
“I think I might be deaf now.” Jillian blinked, sticking a finger in her ear, trying to clear out the water. “Who knew a waterfall could be so loud.”
“This is what I wanted to show you.” Vincent’s voice echoed in the hollow chamber. He pointed his mini-torch, and Jillian’s eyes widened as light flooded up the wall.
“My God.” She breathed. “They’re beautiful.”
Brightly colored pictures adorned the stone, reaching ten or fifteen feet up into the darkness of the cave.
“As best I can figure, we’re the first ones to set foot in this place for a few hundred years.” He had seen these paintings dozens of times over the years. The pictures were a stunning sight to behold, but Vincent’s eyes were fixed on Jillian and her astonished expression as she gaped up at them.
“How big is this place?” She looked around at the dark cavern, only able to imagine its true magnitude. Beyond the reach of their light, the rocks muffled the roar of the water flowing overhead.