girls were headed.
“We need to pick up the pace,” said Ed. “You see where he’s going?”
Randy nodded, and they both began a slow jog, trying hard to keep their eyes on the brush. There was only an occasional drop of blood, but there were plenty of signs of an animal in a hurry.
Ed figured they were three or four hundred yards down the mountain from where they’d started when they heard a rifle shot. “That was close,” he said, alarmed. They began running faster toward the sound.
* * * * *
The girls were still some distance from where Randy had said the four-wheelers were parked when the bear emerged from woods. This time he didn’t stand up on his back legs. He just moved forward, like a mechanical bear in a carnival shooting gallery, swinging his head side to side and making the same clicking noise with his teeth, only louder.
Mandy and Nadia walked backwards until they stood at a ledge with a shear drop-off to what looked to be several hundred feet to the valley floor. Trying to remember if she’d already put a shell in the chamber, Mandy lifted the rifle and pulled the lever action. She fired too fast without taking time to aim. When she tried to lever another shell into the chamber, the rifle jammed. Nothing she could do seemed to clear it. The bear wasn’t in a hurry this time, and the noise of her shot didn't seem to faze him. Slowly but surely, he was coming after them along the edge of the cliff.
In a single moment, Nadia screamed, “Randy!” and Mandy screamed, “Help us!”
* * * * *
Ed and Randy heard the girls’ screams, but they were still too far away to see what was happening. All they knew for sure was that Nadia and Mandy were in trouble, and it was their fault. They should have known better than to send them down the mountain alone with a wounded bear on the loose. They ran as hard as they could without tripping, dodging trees and stands of thick brush.
When Ed fell to the ground, Randy continued to run. He was back in combat—this was Afghanistan on steroids. His cousin and the love of his life were in danger, and his thoughtless actions had put them there. If they were hurt, he would never forgive himself. Nadia's citizenship was no longer important.
Breaking into the open, Randy stopped cold, stunned. The bear was only a few feet from Nadia. They were both on the ledge of the cliff. Mandy was in between him and the bear, so he couldn’t shoot. Ed came up from behind, and Randy signaled him to halt. One swipe and the bear could kill Nadia. If the blow didn’t kill her, the fall surely would. Randy felt the adrenaline surge, and the scene shifted to slow motion. Time seemed to stand still.
Then a thunderous sound came from the woods a few yards to the right of where they stood. It was the calf, Pansy, running at full gallop. She sped by them in a flash, and Randy and Ed watched in frozen silence as the calf charged into the bear mid-shoulder. The weight of the assault carried both animals over the edge of the cliff.
For what seemed like a full minute, no one spoke and no one moved. The four of them kept looking at one another, sweeping from one face to the next, trying to make sense of what they had witnessed. In the history of animal husbandry, had such a thing ever happened—a beast bred for human consumption purposely saving a human being’s life at the expense of its own?
Ed stepped to the cliff’s edge and looked over the side. The bear was lying on his back, still twitching and jerking convulsively. Pansy, lying still, was next to him, her neck obviously broken. Ed waved at Mandy not to look, but she looked anyway, tears streaming down her face.
Cautiously peeking over the edge, Nadia shook her head and began to cry. “Goodbye, dear Pansy,” she said, taking Mandy in her arms.
Ed leaned forward, flipped the safety off his rifle, took careful aim, and fired. Methuselah stopped moving.
Black and White and Gray
There was a message on Randy’s home phone
“We need to pick up the pace,” said Ed. “You see where he’s going?”
Randy nodded, and they both began a slow jog, trying hard to keep their eyes on the brush. There was only an occasional drop of blood, but there were plenty of signs of an animal in a hurry.
Ed figured they were three or four hundred yards down the mountain from where they’d started when they heard a rifle shot. “That was close,” he said, alarmed. They began running faster toward the sound.
* * * * *
The girls were still some distance from where Randy had said the four-wheelers were parked when the bear emerged from woods. This time he didn’t stand up on his back legs. He just moved forward, like a mechanical bear in a carnival shooting gallery, swinging his head side to side and making the same clicking noise with his teeth, only louder.
Mandy and Nadia walked backwards until they stood at a ledge with a shear drop-off to what looked to be several hundred feet to the valley floor. Trying to remember if she’d already put a shell in the chamber, Mandy lifted the rifle and pulled the lever action. She fired too fast without taking time to aim. When she tried to lever another shell into the chamber, the rifle jammed. Nothing she could do seemed to clear it. The bear wasn’t in a hurry this time, and the noise of her shot didn't seem to faze him. Slowly but surely, he was coming after them along the edge of the cliff.
In a single moment, Nadia screamed, “Randy!” and Mandy screamed, “Help us!”
* * * * *
Ed and Randy heard the girls’ screams, but they were still too far away to see what was happening. All they knew for sure was that Nadia and Mandy were in trouble, and it was their fault. They should have known better than to send them down the mountain alone with a wounded bear on the loose. They ran as hard as they could without tripping, dodging trees and stands of thick brush.
When Ed fell to the ground, Randy continued to run. He was back in combat—this was Afghanistan on steroids. His cousin and the love of his life were in danger, and his thoughtless actions had put them there. If they were hurt, he would never forgive himself. Nadia's citizenship was no longer important.
Breaking into the open, Randy stopped cold, stunned. The bear was only a few feet from Nadia. They were both on the ledge of the cliff. Mandy was in between him and the bear, so he couldn’t shoot. Ed came up from behind, and Randy signaled him to halt. One swipe and the bear could kill Nadia. If the blow didn’t kill her, the fall surely would. Randy felt the adrenaline surge, and the scene shifted to slow motion. Time seemed to stand still.
Then a thunderous sound came from the woods a few yards to the right of where they stood. It was the calf, Pansy, running at full gallop. She sped by them in a flash, and Randy and Ed watched in frozen silence as the calf charged into the bear mid-shoulder. The weight of the assault carried both animals over the edge of the cliff.
For what seemed like a full minute, no one spoke and no one moved. The four of them kept looking at one another, sweeping from one face to the next, trying to make sense of what they had witnessed. In the history of animal husbandry, had such a thing ever happened—a beast bred for human consumption purposely saving a human being’s life at the expense of its own?
Ed stepped to the cliff’s edge and looked over the side. The bear was lying on his back, still twitching and jerking convulsively. Pansy, lying still, was next to him, her neck obviously broken. Ed waved at Mandy not to look, but she looked anyway, tears streaming down her face.
Cautiously peeking over the edge, Nadia shook her head and began to cry. “Goodbye, dear Pansy,” she said, taking Mandy in her arms.
Ed leaned forward, flipped the safety off his rifle, took careful aim, and fired. Methuselah stopped moving.
Black and White and Gray
There was a message on Randy’s home phone
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