She stood – frozen – those eyes held her against her own will. She couldn’t blink; could only watch mesmerized by the thing in front of her.
“Don’t move, Rachel,†reverberated in her skull.
“So this is how I meet my end, she thought; held in the sway of the grizzly’s glare – afraid to step either right or left – afraid to move at all.â€
Unbidden a tear trickled down her cheek and Rachel felt the tremor of her knees begin.
The standoff seemed to have gone on for hours, but was probably only minutes.
She couldn’t say what happened or why, but just as suddenly as it appeared, the bear disappeared into the brush. Only then did Rachel feel her body relax enough that she could move forward again.
The trail had never seemed so long as today. Rachel was more than thankful to reach her car safely.
“Next time,†she said aloud, “next time I listen to what ‘they’ say and bring a friend or two on my hike.â€
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I started with this being a serpent, but since I live in Alaska I thought it should be a bear. Bears are one very good reason I do NOT wander trails around here. Call me chicken – that’s okay – I can cluck with the best of them.
The Trifecta challenge this week was SWAY, using the third definition.
sway noun \ˈswÄ\
1 : the action or an instance of swaying or of being swayed : an oscillating, fluctuating, or sweeping motion
2 : an inclination or deflection caused by or as if by swaying
3 a : a controlling influence
b : sovereign power : dominion
c : the ability to exercise influence or authority : dominance
I wanted her to scream and run and have a bear whistle! One of the places my husband and I visited on our honeymoon was Yellowstone National Park. And a hiker was bitten by a bear while we were there. She was on her run, and at first she froze like you’re supposed to do, waited to see if she could blend in with the scenery. But then it came up and snuffled her. And then it took an ‘exploratory’ bite. She said if it had meant business, she’d have been dead. But she was SO LEVEL HEADED. She started bellowing and fweeeting, and the bear took off. It was May, and he was just waking up hungry. Scott and I did NOT do anything off the beaten, paved, well occupied path.
There are Bear Crossing signs around here on the highway. I have yet to see a Florida bear. I’m pretty sure though, that any Florida bear would have nothing on one of your Alaska bears.
Thank you for joining this week’s Trifecta Challenge. Barbara, I love how your geography influences your writing. I feel like we’re all in Alaska with you. Nicely done. Tara, I’m from Florida, too, and I have to agree. I’ve seen footage of our Florida bears lying in hammocks drinking beer out of coolers. I think Alaska wins, hands down, in this one.
I love bears at the zoo but I don’t think I would like to be face to face with one in the wild. This was great. I liked the description of what goes on in her head.
I was afraid to breathe.
Well done. Bears? Yet another reason I can’t camp.