Chapter 513
“I found it!” Zaylee said. “Wait…”
Her thrill faded in an instant. The dazzling light was nothing more than sunlight filtering through the leaves, bending through water trapped in the jagged mouth of a broken glass bottle.
Zaylee couldn’t take her eyes off it. This wasn’t the treasure she wanted to find. Disappointment and frustration took hold of her. The forest fell eerily silent. Zaylee became aware of the steady, heavy breathing from above as her excitement bled away.
Her body went rigid, the hairs on her neck bristling. Slowly, she lifted her head. In Zaylee’s wide-eyed stare, a massive brown bear loomed — fangs bared, breath foul with rot, crimson eyes gleaming with predatory hunger.
“Ah!” Connie, who had just caught up, shrieked and collapsed to the ground as soon as she saw the brown bear.
Its roar shattered the air. Deafening, filled with rage and gnawing hunger, it erupted from the hollow like thunder hurled from the mountainside. The blast of sound rolled forward, carrying a stench so foul it churned the stomach. The earth shivered underfoot. Then, it came.
From the shadowed hollow surged a massive brown figure, fur bristling, eyes blazing with desperate, feral red.
The full-grown male brown bear Rylie had warned them about was no longer a rumor — it was upon them.
Those standing farther back screamed and bolted for the safety perimeter. The bear lowered its head, drool spilling from its jagged fangs, locking onto the closest living thing.
Zaylee’s voice failed her. A strangled sound caught in her throat, and the blood drained from her face. Her knees buckled, sending her to the ground like a crumpled rag. She tried to scuttle backward, but terror froze her limbs, leaving her to watch the beast thunder toward her, its shadow swallowing her whole.
“Help me…” The words were barely more than a breath.
The bear lunged from the mossy rocks, jaws open. An arrow cut through the air.
It hissed past Zaylee’s head and struck deep into the beast’s extended paw.
The massive paw slammed into the ground beside her instead of her body. Lowering her bow, Rylie stood a short distance away, her voice like steel. “Why are you still here? Run!”
Connie, witnessing the nightmare-like scene, subconsciously wanted to flee, but seeing Zaylee collapsed on the ground, she thought of her family’s business. An inexplicable impulse made her rush forward, screaming as she pulled Zaylee up. “Run, Zaylee!”
Zaylee staggered upright under Connie’s grip, and the two half-ran, half-fell in their frantic retreat.
Behind them, the bear swung its bloodied shoulder toward Rylie. Its blood-red eyes were fixed on the source of its agony — Rylie, who held the bow and arrow. The bear charged madly at her, ignoring the two girls who were closer to it.
Zaylee and Connie thought only of putting distance between themselves and the monster. But beyond the safety line, the forest was wild and unmarked. Within moments, they had lost their bearings entirely, stumbling through the trees in blind panic.
.
.
.