Peter started to climb down, and his foot slipped. He fell into my arms, taking us both to the ground to tumble in the leaves.
“I got lost, but I found the stream.”
We both sat up, and I unloaded my backpack, giving him a new water bottle and a granola bar. “We need to find a hiding place.”
“Why?” he asked, just as a bear on the other side of the stream dipped his head into the water.
I held my finger to my lips and moved us both behind a fallen tree trunk. The bear was early unless this wasn’t the one going to attack. Maybe Peter had been safer staying up in the tree if he could have kept quiet.
I stuffed Peter in the crevice filled with mud between the ground and a fallen tree trunk. I covered him with leaves. Ducking down next to it, I peeked over the top.
“Stay still. If he comes toward us, I’m going to lead him away, and no matter what happens, you don’t move. You understand? The others know where you are. They’ll come for you.”
He nodded as I dropped my backpack. Digging through it, my fingers found the bear spray, and I clutched it along with my Tupperware full of tuna fish. One or the other was sure to distract the large beast. Shoving my backpack back over my shoulders, I slowly moved away from Peter’s hiding place.
The crunch of the leaves beneath my feet was loud to my ears, making me cringe. My heart raced. This was it.
I turned down the radio volume down and keyed up the mic. “Approach with caution. There’s a bear. I’m going to try and lead him away.”
I turned the radio all the way down and kept my eyes on the animal, thanking God it wasn’t Bigfoot looking for a bride.
The bear lifted his head and trotted across the stream, straight for where Peter was hiding.
“Oh no, you don’t,” I said, loud and determined. “I’m over here. I’m over here,” I said, waving my arms.
The bear turned his head as I lifted the lid off my Tupperware and waved it. “You know you want this. Come to momma.”
When he started trotting in my direction, I took off, not willing to dump the tuna until I was far enough away from Peter so that others would find him first.
The bear was fast. Strong. The ground shook behind me seconds before I jumped over a fallen tree. I took three more steps and felt the gust of air as he swiped his claws. I dropped the tuna on the ground and kept running.
Another yard and I turned to find the bear had stopped and had already finished the food. He growled. That little snack apparently had just pissed him off. He was still looking for a full course meal, and now he thought I was the answer.
“Crap. I should have brought more.” I took off again with the bear following me as if I were hiding his favorite dessert. I jumped over another log and fell, rolling several yards to a stop. The bear spray flew free of my grasp.
I scrambled over broken branches and leaves to the small cylinder, grabbed it and rolled again. The bear stood on its hind legs less than two feet away. I held up the can and pressed the lever, even knowing I was downwind.
I blinked through the spray to watch the bear fall to his paws. He opened his mouth and roared, and I sprayed even more.
