Liam Collins inhaled with a sharp gasp. Broken branches and cutting rocks pressed into his muddied back. The loose footing above had given way to a long slide down a rough, wet incline. That wasn’t what gave him pause, though. It was the blank eyes of the beast whose space Liam had just invaded.
Dark, blackish-purple drool, thick like paint, dripped from the maw of the sickish grizzly. Upon further inspection, Liam noticed that the same goo snaked like small streams from every orifice, splotching the white ground and matting what remained of its damaged fur. The animal’s behavior seemed off as it tilted its head with bewildered eyes. Could it not see him?
Liam attempted to stay still. The longer he remained, the more certain he was that the bear was blind. He wondered about its other senses, though. To his right, his double-barrel shotgun protruded from the deep snow. He made a slow movement with his hand, maintaining his gaze on the bear. It huffed and snapped its head toward the faint sound. Liam stopped moving. Apparently, its hearing still worked.
The bear took a couple of steps towards Liam, lowering its head. Liam could hear its horrifying, labored breaths. It knew he was there, it just didn’t know where. Bears had a notorious sense of smell, so its struggle lent Liam to ponder what that excreting liquid could be. Whatever it was, it was clearly decaying the bear from the inside out.
“Liam?” The silence it broke amplified the voice. It was a member of the hunting party, and they had just unknowingly marked themselves as a target.
The bear raced with surprising speed towards the voice, impending doom spelled on its every grunt. Liam leaped to his feet, reaching for his shotgun.
“Run,” he screamed. “It’s coming right for you.”
“What?” The worst response.
It was at this kind of moment when Liam wished he were more lenient on firearm safety. Both shotgun barrels were empty, and by the time he had it loaded and the breech closed, the bear was nearly out of range. He tried his best to aim true despite his trembling hands.
The forest exploded into chaos as Liam fired his two shots. Clouds of feathers and angry caws dispersed into the sky, but the bear kept on charging. Liam tore after it, fumbling to reload his shotgun. He hoped he had at least alerted everyone to the incoming danger. A roar bellowed out as the bear broke through the tree line ahead. Screams erupted, and Liam’s heart pumped with a furious rhythm.
“No, no, no.”
It didn’t take long before volleys of gunshots popped off. Liam pushed his legs harder, whispering under his breath. “Please, don’t let it be too late.” The gunfire calmed as he reached the tree line.
“Is it dead?” A voice echoed. Another crack of gunfire.
“It is now.” responded another.
Liam saw the limp corpse of the bear lying on the ground when he arrived at the scene. A handful of his hunting group approached it while the rest kept a safe distance, their weapons at the ready.
“I heard screaming,” Liam said. “Did someone get hurt?”
“Ian.” The voice belonged to Keith Moore, the head doctor of the group. His usual stressed face looked especially disturbed as he stood up from the victim of the mauling. He turned to face another of the group, who couldn’t have been much older than twenty, and motioned him over. Keith removed his scarf and water canteen and offered them to the young man. “Take these, Ethan,” he said. “Use the water from my canteen to rinse off Ian’s wound, and then use the scarf as a temporary bandage. Tie it tight. Pressure, as always, is key to stopping the bleeding.” The young man named Ethan nodded and started performing his requested duty.
“How bad is it?” Liam asked. He looked over at Ian, who sat propped against a tree, his aged face grimacing as Ethan tended to his injury.
“Not the worst animal attack I’ve seen,” Keith said. “Thankfully, the layers of clothing he was wearing took the brunt of the attack. Unfortunately, the bear’s claws did make contact with his skin. He’ll be fine. However, I would like to get him back to camp. I left some supplies there that should stop any infection from creeping in.”
Liam’s face relaxed at the news. “That’s good. Have Ethan take him back.” He then returned his gaze to Ian. “Can you stand? Are you able to walk?”
“Yes, sir,” Ian said.
“Good. I want you to go back to camp with Ethan and get that wound treated properly. We’re going to continue the hunt. If you feel up to it afterward, you’re more than welcome to rejoin us. Just call us on the radio, and we’ll wait for you.”
“Will do. Thank you, sir.”
Keith started tapping his fingers with a nervous look of contemplation. After a moment, he approached Liam, leaning in close. “Actually, I was thinking maybe I should go as well. You know, just to make sure everything goes the way it should.”
Liam shot Keith a puzzled look. “Ethan should be able to handle it. You trained him on how to clean and dress a wound, didn’t you?”
“I mean, yes, but…”
“Then it’s settled.” Seeing the distress his answer had caused Keith, Liam softened his expression. “Look, Doc, I need you here with us. You’ve taught Ethan well, but ultimately, you have the most medical experience of anyone else here. What if something more serious happens next time?”
“Yeah, that’s what’s bothering me.”
A loud, unignorable voice cut in. “Ah, would you look at that? Sounds like the Doc has come down with a case of the jitters.” Keith used his hand to hide his scowl.
“No, Harlan. I do not have the jitters. I’m just terrified to the point of soiling my own pants. Okay?”
Harlan gave a hearty laugh. “You’re on the wrong expedition then, Doc.”
“I’m realizing that now. When I originally agreed to come along, I was under the impression that I was going to be the one eating the wildlife. Not the other way around.”
Harlan responded with a chuckle. He then nudged Liam while pointing to the dead body of the bear. “What do you think, Liam? Edible?”
Keith interjected. “Absolutely not. Do you not see the same bear I see? Missing fur, ribs showing, along with strange pools of dark liquid that have been coming from its eyes, ears, nose, and mouth? It’s obvious this bear was infected with something.”
“Gotta say, I’m with Doc on this one,” Liam said.
“Damn, that’s a real shame. Finally, bring down something more my size, and we can’t even eat it. Ain’t that a kick in the sack?”
Liam breathed out with slow disappointment. “Sure is.” He looked up to see Keith walking towards one of the hunting members toting an oil lantern. Upon seeing Keith return with the lantern now in his possession, he raised a hand to stop him. “What are you doing, Doc?”
“Burning it. Like I said earlier, it’s pretty clear the bear was infected with… something. We don’t know if it’s contagious, so I figure the best course of action would be to set it ablaze in hopes that it doesn’t spread to any other wildlife.”
“I get that, Doc, but I can’t have you wasting the oil.” This response received a concerned look from both Keith and Harlan.
“I’m not going to use much. Just enough to get a fire started.”
“No, Keith. Just return the lantern.”
“Seriously?” Liam gave Keith a stern look, to which Keith replied with a resigned shrug. “Alright. You’re the boss.” As Keith walked away, Harlan placed a hand on Liam’s shoulder and bent down to whisper into his ear.
“Hey Boss, can I talk to you in private for a moment?”
With reluctance, Liam nodded and followed Harlan a short distance out of earshot of the group. Once satisfied that they were far enough away, he crossed his arms and asked, “What is it, Harlan?” His voice bit with frustration.
“Relax, Boss. You know I always support your decisions. I’m just noticing, how should I put it, a concerning pattern is all.”
“What pattern would that be?”
“If you don’t mind my saying so, you’ve been a bit… uh… touchy as of late when it comes to our supplies. I’m just wondering if there’s something we should be worried about?”
“I’m not sure what you’re implying. You needn’t be concerned about anything.”
“Come on, Liam. It’s me. Your buddy, Harlan. We’ve been mates since you first started this colony. You know I can tell when something’s eating at’cha. Just tell me like it is. It can stay between the two of us. Mum’s the word.”
Liam diverted his gaze from Harlan. He remained silent for several moments, gripping his sleeves tight. Finally, after letting out a stressed huff, he relaxed his arms and turned so that everyone else in the group couldn’t see his face. Harlan followed his example.
“This doesn’t reach the ears of anybody else. You understand?”
“You can trust me, Boss. What’s bothering ‘ya?”
“There’s a reason why I ordered this hunting expedition today. A big reason. I received an inventory report from Tyler the other day.”
Harlan pursed his lips and let out a quiet whistle. “Tyler never bothers you with the inventory. How bad?”
“Bad. Like, time to take desperate measures bad.”
“You thinking foul play had something to do with it?”
“Foul luck would be the better explanation. I’m not saying I’m completely ruling out theft, but I think it has more to do with us underestimating our reserves. It also was a pretty nasty blow when Benjamin’s farm got ravished by that… whatever the hell that thing was.”
Harlan crossed his arms, his movements slow, clearly hesitating. “What kind of time frame are we looking at?”
“Best-case scenario? A couple of months, if we ration. It’s not just the food either. It’s everything. Fuel for the trucks and generator, oil, medicine, parts, ammo… everything. The only thing we have in abundance is wet wood and boiled snow water. Better than nothing, I suppose.”
Harlan stared off into the distance with blank eyes, attempting to process what Liam had just dropped in his lap. “That… that is bad.”
“Yeah. Yeah, it is. I hate that I had to snap at Keith just then, but we have got to start conserving where we can. The goal of this hunting expedition was to alleviate some of the food strain, but so far it’s not going so well.”
“When are you planning on letting the rest of the colony know?”
“I’m not sure. It’s a delicate matter. When you live on mountains covered in snow for half the year - scavenging to survive - the fastest way to cause mass hysteria is to tell everyone that their supplies are almost depleted.”
“Perhaps it’s time then, Boss.”
“Time for what?”
“To move the colony.”
Liam frowned. “No…”
“Look, Boss,” Harlan interrupted, “I get it. I know why we’re here… why you’re here, but the way it’s looking, it may be time to call it quits. The winters here are harsh, and the Bridging Zones aren’t producing like they once were.”
Liam’s face began turning red as he balled his fists in restraint. “It’s not that they aren’t producing, it’s because the Diezail keeps seizing control of them. All so they can monopolize this region’s resources.”
Harlan stared down at Liam with cautious but stern eyes. “Even more reason to move.”
“No. I will not be forced from my home again, and that’s the end of that. I have one more Hail Mary before I even consider entertaining that thought.”
“Oh?”
“Zone Nineteen.”
Harlan’s eyes lit up in understanding as he began nodding his head. “That’s why we’re hunting this far out.”
“It’s one of the few Bridging Zones not checked in well over six months and is still under no one’s control. Records show some rather large Bridging Events in its past as well.”
“I mean… it’s not a bad plan, but even if there was something there, and that’s a big ‘if’, that still sounds more like a band-aid fix. It doesn’t solve the real meat of the matter.”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. Right now, I would be happy just extending our resources for an extra month. Give me some time to think.”
“Fair enough.”
“We done?”
“Yeah, Boss.”
“Good. Let’s get this hunt back on track, then. We’ve wasted far too much time.” Both of them turned and meandered back to the rest of the crew, who were chatting amongst themselves. Liam picked up on the excitement in the group’s tone and favored an investigation. “What’s going on, gentlemen?”
The entire group faced Liam with knowing grins, their eyes advertising good news. Wolfe, one of Liam’s higher-ranked members, was the first to respond.
“It’s finally happened, sir,” Wolfe said. “We just got news from Relay that one of the Zone Scouts just struck gold. They say that Zone Seventy-Seven just experienced the largest Bridging Event we’ve recorded so far. They sent Levon and his newest recruits to check it out, but Relay says this requires the efforts of everyone our colony has to spare. Apparently, it’s an entire town. Can you even believe that?”
Harlan peered down at Liam with a twinkle in his eye. “Well, look at that,” he said. “Guess we fretted over nothing. Talk about some miraculous timing.”
Liam couldn’t resist the smile that snuck across his face. He tensed his body to avoid leaping with a holler and instead raised his shotgun above his head for the group to see. “Hunt’s over, boys,” he said. “How about we go give Levon and his team a hand?"
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