“Yeah, I saw it when he sprinted past us without stopping to help.”
Tex’s eyes got big and he brought his free hand up. “Give me a fucking alien or human asshole any day, but not a damn bear! I don’t do bears! And for the record, I swear to God I didn’t even see Sean on the ground.”
Matt snorted now, turning away like Carmen to try and hide it.
“It’s not like you didn’t have guns!” Tex said. “Which one of y’all shot it?”
J.D.’s lips pulled to the side and he scratched the back of his head. I remembered him flailing around like a rag doll, and suddenly found my own lips lifting into a smile. Our sweet J.D. scaring away the big, mean beast.
“That was J.D.,” I said.
He gave me a warning look as Tex and Matt got Sean to the car and helped lift him in.
“You shot it, man?” Devon asked.
“Um . . .” J.D. peered down at his nails. “Like, warning shots or whatever. To scare it.”
I broke into a full laugh now, sidling up to J.D. to hug him. “You’re our hero! You guys should have seen him!”
“What’d he do?” Carmen asked, wide eyed.
“He started yelling, andAaahhh!” I jumped around waving my arms, and J.D. put his hands on his hips as everyone broke into laughter. “And it worked! You should have seen how the bear looked at him! All confused, like a freaking cartoon character.” I cocked my head to the side and made a confused sound, making everyone roll.
J.D. glared hard at me, and even Sean was laughing now, piping in.
“It was kind of incredible and brave. That bear knew danger when he saw it.”
“Oh, shut up.” J.D. slapped Sean’s unhurt foot and crossed his arms. “Let’s get out of here. I’ve had enough wilderness for today.” Everyone agreed, and started to climb in until J.D. said, “Oh, and Tex?” Texas Harry peered up at him from the cargo area. “Keep it in the drop zone next time, big guy.”
“Burn,” Sean said, slumping back to rest his head on the window frame.
I swear, Tex blushed as he shook his head and muttered, “Yeah, yeah.”
Carmen and I giggled every time we looked at each other. I fought laughter the whole way back to base as I wrapped Sean’s ankle.
It was a story that would live in infamy, and as it was told to the masses that night, the tale only grew and expanded, becoming more and more entertaining. And as I went to bed that night, snuggled in Rylen’s arms, I wondered how the Baelese would react to being chased by a bear. One thing was for sure: they wouldn’t end up in fits of hilarity by the end of it. And for that reason, I felt like we were the winners already.
