Two-hundred-thirty kilometers and two days journey from the village, a huge brown bear, fourteen feet tall, maybe a few feet taller than the villagers' houses, was lying on his belly in a patch of reeds at the edge of a lake. The bear had been resting a few hours when something disturbed him. He opened his eyes and rose on all his fours. The bear focused his acute eyesight. There were two creatures approaching. The bear recognized them. They were humans like him; only much smaller.
The bear had met them many times before. After the initial mutual curiosity, they turned into enemies. The bear attacked and killed humans whenever he got the opportunity. His only regret was that he'd had to wait for five years in that patch of reeds to catch the humans wandering carelessly by.
The bear hadn't eaten for five weeks, barely surviving on leaves. He was hungry and had the opportunity to get the much needed food. But the bear hesitated, if he attacked the humans, they might escape like on previous occasions. The bear waited patiently. The humans would come close and be easy prey. Although, usually he did not wait for the dark of the night, but he was very tired and hungry and so decided to rest while the sun was up.
The sun was setting when the two humans came close. They were walking along the lake to their shelter. The humans were very young and skinny. Barely twelve or thirteen years old. They had both been walking all day to gather kindling to start the fire for smoking meat. They had been walking almost twenty hours in the two days. It was very hard work. They were both very tired. They looked forward to the meal they were going to have. They were very hungry. In fact, they hadn't stopped thinking of food during the whole time they had been walking. Now, reaching their shelter, they hurried and set their prey on the improvised rack and set fire to it.
At night, the bear too was thinking of food. He had waited for five years for this new prey. Some were more dangerous than others. This was not the first time the bear had seen two humans walking, singing, chatting and so completely unaware of their surroundings. But the humans were not coming to their village, they were from a different one. This was good news for the bear. The two-legged-shapeless-energetic-one-legged-lazy-little-one village that the bear had lived in, had disappeared in the tall grass three weeks ago. The bear had waited for their return, but the villagers didn't come back. The bear figured that he was the last one of his kind left in the world. He renewed his hunger. He ate the last leaves from the bank of the lake and decided to wait for the two young humans to fall asleep.
The kids had both fallen asleep on the same bed. They had just finished their delicious meal. They were beginning to feel the effects of their never-ending walk. There were barely fifteen feet between the bear and his prey. The bear waited until he was sure they both were sleeping. He was hungry. He got up and approached the prey. The bear smelled the smoke and the meat and the smell tempted him, but he had to reach the kids first. He approached the kids quietly. He raised onto his fours.
The two had previously been resting their single tent and now the bear was lying on the other side of the tent on the oak's root, watching the two humans sleeping.
The bear was quiet. Here was a perfect opportunity and he was desperate. The bear never had room in his stomach to eat the whole peck of grass he had brought. He was very afraid that he would starve. The bear continued watching the humans. The boy was resting his head on his meal-packed backpack. The boy looked comfortable, but when he was completely asleep, the bear decided it was the right moment to strike. The bear took his remaining claw and claws, rolled on his fours and jumped on the boy's back.
The boy jerked his head fast when he felt the weight of another animal on his back. He jumped too, but his speed was no match for that of the bear. At the second that the kid tried to roll out of the situation, the bear’s claws were already deep into his flesh. The claws found purchase on the spine. The boy screamed and rolled and turned on earth around the fire. The other boy was also awake at the scream. He jumped into the fire and kicked the bear on the ear.
The bear did not react. He was an old and tired animal. He was thinking that he had a meal and he would be able to eat some of it immediately. The other boy came closer and put his arm around the bear's throat. The bear's claws were still in the body of the victim boy. The boy looked at the bear and grabbed his ribs. The bear was tried to escape but the boy had him caught, the bear could move only his jaw and trunk.
The boy was dragging the bear towards the fire. The bear was now fighting for breath. The boy had reached the fire. The bear had reached his feet and was trying to shake off the boy with all his power. There was fear in the bear's an expression. His long claws on the boy's back were digging into his flesh. His breath was turned into a short gasping gasp. The boy was not fighting for breath. He was holding the bear in a vice-like grip. The bear's ear was on fire, the blood was running down his neck and down the black burn mark of his ear.
The boy's other hand was in the bear's face. The boy's arm was pushing the feature of the face. The boy's face was turning dark red with fear. The bear's ear was so badly burned that the boy's hand was trembling on the jaw. The bear was almost at the end of his strength. The boy's face was frozen in that expression of fear. He was clawing the bear's chest with his other hand. The boy looked down at himself. His pain was complete.
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