Warm Bodies: The Little Brown Bear

The Search

Julie was distraught. They still hadn't found him, and they'd been driving around for hours now, hitting every park they could find, checking the occasional promising shelter along the way.

She'd been staring out the foggy window of the patrol car the entire time, scanning desperately for any sign of life, occasionally running out when they'd spotted something that looked like a possible shelter. The storm was still going strong, making seeing movement in the shifting wall of white almost impossible.

"What was he wearing Julie?" Mark asked, and she could hear the fear in the question.

"Not enough," she said, dread lodged firmly in her chest. "Jacket, jeans, sneakers."

"No hat? Gloves?"

Julie shook her head.

"Christ," Mark muttered. "What the hell were you thinking, son?"

"It's my fault," Julie whispered, and her throat closed tightly around the words. "I never should have left him alone."

Mark reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently. "You didn't know he'd do something like this. Don't blame yourself."

Julie shook her head, not accepting what he said. It was her fault. She should never have left him in the plane, alone. Not after everything that had happened to him, no matter what he'd said. Never. The pain in her chest was a solid mass, tight around her heart, and she was starting to feel like it would never go away.

"Hey, look there," Mark said suddenly, pointing out the windscreen. Julie followed his gesture, and her eyes caught the ghostly outline of snow laden trees at the end of the street.

"We haven't tried this one yet?" she asked. They'd been to so many, they were starting to run together and all look the same. The deep, growing blanket of snow was making everything that much harder.

Mark shook his head, "No, I don't think so... look!"

They pulled up to the curb, and to their right stretched a park. In the middle stood a big tree, leaning to the left, supporting a large mound of white snow. A bench was right outside Julie's door and she glanced at it.

And froze.

With frantic speed, she jumped out of the car and ran around to the front of the bench. The chill in the air took her breath for a moment, and the whirlwind of flakes made the skin of her face sting.

"I think this is the park!" she yelled, "I think he was here!"

Mark came out to join her, and stared out towards the middle of the park. "That has to be the tree and the car he was talking about, right?"

"Yeah, and look at this," Julie said, and pointed at the bench.

Something had disturbed the snow, though it had been filled with new snow that must have fallen since. But there was definitely the outline of a person, as if someone had sat there.

"Jesus, why was he sitting in the snow?!" Mark yelled, and turned rapidly in place, scanning the land and houses around them through the storm. "Goddammit! This is old, where is he?!"

He started calling for his son as Julie stood still by the bench, tears falling as she pictured R sitting there, deep in snow.

He'd been here. Sitting in the middle of the storm. Alone.

Why? What was he looking for? Forgiveness? Release?

R... I'm so sorry...

"Julie, I need you to check the houses down the street on that side okay? I'm going to check over here."