Beastly Little Boy

Chapter 5

In the days since Bernard had left the pond, a sheet of gray clouds had darkened the sky. Snowflakes had started falling, covering his back and his surroundings with a layer of whiteness as he trudged along.

Although he had yet to find a suitable place to hibernate, Bernard was in unusually high spirits. Only his shoulder wounds remained unhealed. Aside from occasional aches that forced him to rest every now and again, they didn't trouble him.

The wintery weather almost made him feel like he was a normal kid again. Whenever he stopped to rest, Bernard could scarcely resist the urge to stick out his tongue and catch snowflakes. He enjoyed the slight chill the tiny specks left behind after dissolving on his tongue. The problem was that Bernard couldn't afford to get distracted. If he stopped to play in the snow, he would waste the day goofing off and come that much closer to freezing to death during winter. The snow was already making his nose and paw pads numb.

As much as he wished he had the time to enjoy his surroundings, Bernard had enough distractions to deal with. The slight chill that managed to get past his fur threatened to lull him to sleep. It stroked his eyelids, making them droop until Bernard snapped them open.

Bernard tried to keep himself awake by remembering past winters as he walked. This time of year used to fill him with boundless energy. He had always been ready to start a snowball fight at a moment's notice. In Bernard's opinion, the satisfying smack of a well-made snowball hitting its mark had to be the second most satisfying sound in the world after the sound of wrapping paper being torn apart on Christmas morning.

He had never managed to perfect the art of snowball making. His creations had always refused to stick together properly, crumbling away as soon as he threw them. Luckily for Bernard, his parents had been generous enough to supply him with what should have been their ammunition.

His dad had been an expert on winter warfare. As fun as snowball fights were, they were nothing in comparison to his dad's famous snow showers. During his father's final winter, Bernard had collapsed into a giggling mess on the ground after watching his mother get several branch loads of snow dumped onto her. His mother had retaliated with a hug that had ensured that her husband wound up covered in snow too. It was a wonder the warmth of their smiles hadn't melted all the snow.

Something about winter had brought out the kids in those two. Bernard let out a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob at the memory. Too bad those kids went back into hiding before Bernard got the chance to know them better.

Those happy days had melted away all too soon. Bernard couldn't remember the last time he had seen his mother smile. His transformation had prevented both of them from being able to move on with their lives. Whether it was face to face or through a mirror, seeing the species that had killed his father every day had affected both of them deeply. These last two years hadn't been easy for either of them, but at least his mother hadn't started turning into a beast without warning. Every time Bernard glanced at his paws, he was reminded of how easily he could become the monster that haunted another child's nightmares.

Bernard found himself digging his paws more forcefully into the snow with each step he took. The snow crunched as he took out his frustration on it. He couldn't go home, he couldn't find decent food, and he couldn't stand up to other bears. He felt as helpless as a newborn cub.

A steadily growing ache in Bernard's shoulders reminded him to calm down and stop wasting energy. He had been searching for a den for over a week without any luck, and the terrain had only gotten worse. Trees were becoming increasingly uncommon as the ground became rockier. Despite this, Bernard didn't have to worry about scraping his paws on sharp stones since a deep layer of snow covered them.

At least, he shouldn't have had to worry. A stone cut his paw after the much-abused snow became sick of protecting the ungrateful bear.

Bernard inspected his paw before licking it clean. Letting the wound drip a red trail onto the snow would be as foolish as screaming for any predators in the area to come harass him. Bernard wasn't sure if other animals attacked bears, but he had no intention of letting nature's equivalent of a paper cut force him to find out.

As Bernard examined the broken layer of snow, he realized that his anger wasn't the only reason he had hurt himself. The snow was uneven, and rocks stuck out in its thinner patches. The ground gradually sloped upward. Bernard was forced to dig his paws into the layer of rocks beneath the snow in order to keep climbing.

One misstep made Bernard's injured paw and much of his leg sink deep into the snow. Grumbling under his breath, Bernard shoveled snow away with his other front paw. He sent a spray of snow flying behind him as he flung away the offending powder. Finally pulling his paw free, Bernard fell right back into the snowdrift when he tried to step forward.

Bernard growled softly as he dug his paw out again. Unwilling to keep falling for the same trick, he tested the area around the two holes by slowly resting a paw on it, ready to pull back the second it began to crumble. He could barely put any pressure on the snow without it giving away beneath him.

Much of the snow in the surrounding area proved to be similarly fragile as Bernard scooped it away. After some time, his claws finally hit solid rock. He kept digging until the entrance to a small den within the hill emerged from beneath the snow. Bernard tried to enter it, only for his shoulders to get stuck. He gripped the ground and jerked backward, freeing himself and scraping his shoulders in the process.

The force of Bernard's movement loosened a few of the rocks around the den and sent them tumbling down the slope. Instead of gambling on whether he could find a bigger den before his instincts forced him to hibernate, Bernard resolved to expand this little den until he could fit inside it comfortably. Inhaling a deep breath of frosty air, Bernard began widening the entrance by prying away the rocks around it with his claws.