Red Hood

The Bear

The animal was looking furious. It's roaring even louder than the battering rain. It's fur a cedar brown colour. It moved closer to me with its humongous paws. I slowly took a step back, never taking my eyes off it. I was almost far enough to start running when I slipped and fell backwards in a mudpool. The bear roared again and got closer this time. It stood up on its gigantic legs and clawed at me. I ducked just in time, rolling on my side to escape the blow. I gagged when my cloak got stuck on something and pulled me back harshly. I fell hard on my face and stomach, the bear right behind me. I managed to get away but not without leaving a ripped piece of my cloak behind. Everything was so slippery due to the rain. I had no grip on anything. 

Behind me I could hear the bear growling and coming closer. I had no Idea if I could outrun him. Once again I fell over and this time I wasn't quick enough to dodge the bears attack. He swayed his enormous paw at me and didn't miss my arm. A searing pain hit me like a lightning bolt. 
I crawled away with my one good arm but not before the bear stopped me by holding my leg back. I tried to grab at anything, anything that could get me away from this beast. There was a thick branch lying not so far, I grasped it and hit the head of the bear violently. The  bear roared furiously and stood back up on two legs. It bought me enough time to quickly get away and continue to run. 

I had no idea where I was running. I just had to get away from the bear, who was coming closer. We were approaching a moor, I rolled off the hill and looked up at the bear. I dabbled away as fast as possible but not before hearing a loud dull thud followed by a growl. 

There was no where to go. I was trapped inside the moor with a gigantic bear. I made my last steps backwards and the bear had one more go at me. Slashing me across the chest. I fell backwards and crawled away until my back touched the trunk of a tree. The bear slowly crept closer to me. Teeth bared and drooling as if it was rabbid. It's eyes were pitch black. I sent one more prayer to whatever god watched over me and waited for the final strike. 

Then out of nowhere I saw a little rock fly against the bears head. And again, and again. I dared to look away from the beast in front of me and glance over my shoulder to the one who was throwing those pebbles. I saw a boy. Skin over bones, a couple of rags on his back and extremely dirty. He had a messy bundle of tangled hair. I could see twigs and dead leaves sticking out of it. Almost as dirty as the rest of his body. 

My attention was back on the bear when he roared one more time. To that the boy mimicked the roar. I couldn't really believe what was going on. Then out of nowhere the boy leapt from where he was standing and threw himself on the bear, slapping him with a pointy stick. 
Now I was completely speechless. I saw how the wild boy punched and kicked at the animal. He was trying to get the stick in the bear's eye but then it stood up and shook firmly, sending the boy flying off of him. I tried to stand up to go to the boy but a awful pain in my chest reminded me that if I moved too quickly I would most likely bleed to death. 

The bear had luckily forgotten I was there because now it only showed interest in the boy that was lying on the other side of the moor like a ragdoll. The bear roared and brought it's paw up to strike the boy but then the boy rolled away and without hesitation he plunged the pointy stick into the bears chest. The bear roared louder than ever before and shook the ground when coming down. It sank through its forepaws and lay there immobile. 

I had to register everything that had just happened. The bear had been beaten by this boy. A literal bag of bones, no muscles whatsoever. I stood up slowly, pressing my cloak against my wounds. I moved closer to the body of the bear and looked for the boy but he had disappeared already. I looked at the dead animal, it's eyes glassy and the stick still plunged into it's thorax. The boy had pierced the heart clean and true. 

On the way home I looked out not to stumble across another bear, the boy would not help me this time. I knew that I had to get as quickly as possible to Maman, she would know what to do. Perhaps that Mathilde would be there to help. Somehow the thought of Mathilde brought some peace to my mind and ease the pain. 

I walked on until I was familiar with my path again. I wasn't that far from home anymore. But those last miles my mind drifted to the wolf from last night. How remarkably blue it's eyes had been. How it's fur had had that silver shine and most of all how extremely normal it had been to be with that wolf so close to me. 
I crossed the gates of the Village, out of breath and in pain. The first people that crossed my path were Tuline and Francis the bakers children. They looked at me with big brown eyes, identic since they were twins. 
"Could you go get Caroline? My Maman?" I huffed out. The little girl and boy nodded quickly still unable to produce any sound. I made a couple more steps until I could rest with my back against the well.