The Hell Hound Journals

The Cave Bear (flash fiction)

In a series of careful bounds, I climbed to the top of the pile of loose stone and took aim with my bow at the creature on the other side. Have you ever had one of those moments where you asked yourself 'What the hell am I doing?' Yeah well, I was having one of those moments because my target decided to pick that second to rear up on its hind legs.

The cave bear was massive in size, weighing between three and four thousand pounds. Its eyes were at the same level as mine even though I was standing on six feet of broken stone. Its head was the size of my torso and each of its paws was larger than my head. It was a majestic carnivore, appearing to be the definition of an apex predator. Several crude arrows hung from its hide, similar to the one I was aiming at its head.

Why was I hunting a cave bear? Well, that's a good question, and pretty much what I was asking myself at that point. Oh, don't get me wrong, I didn't black out and wake up with a bow in my hand. I stalked the creature under the blood red clouds of the Forest of Dreams for the better part of three days, but it wasn't until I was face to face with the thing that it occurred to me to question my motivations.

The cave bear snarled, a rumbling noise that sounded like a truck changing gears. Screw it, I started this for a reason, and it was too late to back down anyways. I let fly with my arrow striking the creature dead center on the forehead, shattering the arrow uselessly.

The bear responded by roaring at me in anger. The creature's thick skull was protected by a bony ridge that extended through its skin giving the bear's face a death's-head appearance. When it bellowed at me it was like something out of a horror movie. Definitely time to start moving. I dropped the bow and jumped down the rock pile putting it between me and the bear. The massive creature charged and I started running.

I would like to believe that I moved through the forest with a natural grace. At a full sprint I dodged between the trees, jumping over fallen logs, and ducking under low branches. The cave bear showed all the grace of a locomotive. Its strength allowed it to run at high speeds, but forest undergrowth tended to slow it down. That was because it made no attempt to dodge between the trees. It simply ploughed through every obstacle, intent on its prey. That's me by the way, in case you weren't paying attention. Small trees bent and broke in its path while logs and branches shattered.

My route reached the trunk of a huge fallen tree. Over six feet in diameter it completely blocked my path. Without pausing I leaped up, returning to a sprint along the trunk of the tree. My climb slowed me for mere seconds, but it was enough for the cave bear to catch up. It ran along the ground parallel to the trunk. I was just barely out of its reach.

The trunk of the fallen tree thickened, leading to a huge ball of earth and roots created when the tree fell and its roots ripped up the earth around it. The roots and earth formed a solid wall directly in the path of both me and the bear. I hit the wall at a sprint, bounding up the side of a root, switching the direction of my momentum up into the sky. Bringing my arms and legs in at the apex of my jump I tucked into a rough back flip. The cave bear jumped into the air, spitting out a snarl of rage it tried to knock me out of the sky with one of its paws.

The deadly swing barely missed, the massive paw batted at my ponytail as the bear sailed through the air, straight into the root ball. The impact shook the tree and disintegrated the root ball. Tumbling into a rolling break fall I landed safely while the bear's momentum took it straight through the roots and out the other side.

When the tree fell, the root ball had ripped out of the ground leaving a pit in the forest floor. With a bellow of surprise, the bear crashed down into the pit impacting on a thicket of sharp wooden posts. The forest floor trembled with the impact.

Walking over to the edge of the pit I looked down at the cave bear. The creature was impaled on the posts. The once proud creature was whining and thrashing with the wooden spikes I put in the pit sticking out of its chest and abdomen.

I looked down at my prey. It had thought that it was hunting me. In its animal mind the concept of me being the hunter didn't even register. That was the answer to my earlier question. What was I doing? I was proving that my mind, my intelligence, was more powerful than all its natural advantages combined.

The cave bear was defeated but not dead. There was one final task that needed to be completed. I retrieved my spear from the side of the pit.

Moments later, my primal scream split the air. I howled at the sky in victory, in a challenge to any who would hunt in my forest. Falling from my mouth the pendant on my necklace glowed with an eerie light that matched the crimson color of the sky. My name is Rebecca Samuelson. I am the apex predator in the Forest of Dreams.

End!

Author's note: I originally wrote this for a flash fiction competition on a website that no longer exists. It can live here now. Flash fiction is a short story of 1000 words or less. So, please don't complain that it's too short. I have more, and longer, stories featuring the same character. Drop a comment if you want to see more of Rebecca Samuelson.