But Jacob couldn’t move. His body was frozen in place, caught between the primal urge to flee and the bizarre pull of the bear’s gaze. He gripped Bernie’s leash tightly, his breath shallow, trying to think through the rising panic. And then he saw it—the bear’s leg.
A deep gash marred the bear’s hind leg, its edges raw and bleeding. Jacob’s fear shifted for a moment into something more complex: pity. The bear wasn’t stalking him—it was limping, wounded and vulnerable. Cuts lined its mouth as if it had been through a fight for its life.
Leave a Reply