Page 58 of Craving Chaos

SHAE

The bear is so damn fast it’s unreal.

I can hear Renzo screaming. Or maybe that’s me. All I know is that I’ve defaulted to pure survival mode. My hands grip the pickax as I ready myself. There’s no time to run. I have to face him.

When the bear is seconds from reaching me, I swing with all my strength and fling the ax at the bear’s neck while using the momentum to carry me into a flip evasion move. I go flying to the side.

The bear wails in unexpected pain. I’m up and in a ready stance as fast as I can manage. My chances against the bear unarmed are abysmal, but I’m not going to simply lie down and let him have me. I’ll fight with every goddamn ounce of strength I have. Only the attack doesn’t come.

The bear is bolting away from me. At the same time, I see Renzo jumping down from the tree. I’m terrified the bear will go after him again, but the animal scoops up all three of our kills and lumbers away into the distance. I’m so keyed into watching for another attack that I don’t see Renzo until he’s tugging me back toward the cabin.

It’s hard for me to focus on his words. Between the ringing in my ears and my heart pounding like a drum, I can hardly hear.

“Jesus, Shae. You’re bleeding. Did he get you?” Renzo says frantically once we’re in the cabin.

“What? I don’t…” I look down, unsure what he’s talking about until I see the ragged red edges of a rip in my jeans. Only once I see the blood coming from my hip does the pain register.

Renzo has the first-aid kit out in a heartbeat and gingerly slides my pants down over the wound. “It’s not bad, but I don’t like it. We hardly have any antibiotic ointment left. I don’t want you getting sick like I did. Or worse.” His face is all hard edges as he begins to clean the wound.

My entire body sways with the sudden drop in adrenaline. “I think I may need to sit,” I mumble, darkness threatening the edges of my vision.

“Fuck, hold on.” He sweeps me into his arms and sets me on the side of the bed. “I’ll get you a can of pears. You need to get your blood sugar back up.”

“I know what it is,” I say dazedly, not wanting him to think I’m clueless. I drink straight from the can when he hands it to me, going for the immediate sugar in the juice before I eat the pears themselves.

The relief is almost instant. Within minutes, I don’t feel quite so weak, but my hands and body continue to shake as the adrenaline runs its course. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

Renzo places his hands on my face and kisses my forehead. “You scared the shit outta me, Shae.” A tremor ravages his already hoarse voice. “Don’t ever fucking do that again.”

“Not how it works, big guy. You don’t get to be the only hero in the room.”

He huffs a laugh, then stands. “Lie on your side, and let me finish cleaning that up.”

I let him do his thing.

Exhaustion tugs at my limbs and eyelids as if weighted by tiny anchors. I might have to sleep for a week after this to recover. Then again, I might need to sleep anyway since the bear snagged our entire food stores.

Emotion lodges in my throat.

How much more can we take? I’m so tired and so sick of being hungry.

I want to go home.

A sob hitches in my chest.

“Shit, did I hurt you?” He stops righting my pants.

I shake my head. “That all of our meat. Everything we’d managed to save.”

I fight back the tears to no avail. The onslaught of emotions is too brutal to withstand. Relief that we’re both alive. Guilt and frustration that I couldn’t come up with a better way to stop the bear without handing over our hard-earned food.

“Shit, baby girl. Don’t cry. Not my Shae.” He’s on his knees beside the bed, his forehead resting against mine while ragged sobs claw their way out from deep inside me.

I wrap my arms around him to keep him close. “He almost got you,” I choke between the sobs. “When I came out and saw you up that tree, I was so fucking scared. I just did the first thing that came to mind.”

“You were incredible, baby.”

“But our food…”

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