Gold(60)

The girl was moving closer. Her clothes were worn but clean. She took careful steps, as if trying not to scare him. That was stupid. He was a bear. Didn’t she know he could eat her? Well, he wasn’t sure, but wasn’t that what bears did? Eat people?

“I want to help you,” she said, taking another cautious step forward. “You won’t hurt me, will you?”

He looked at her in confusion. Did she expect him to answer her as a bear? Did she really think wild animals could promise to behave?

But he wasn’t going to hurt her. And he wasn’t a wild animal.

He nodded, wondering if that was a weird thing for a bear to do. But he had no choice. He couldn’t risk her leaving. He might die in this horrible trap.

Curse whoever placed it here.

“I need to go get something,” she said. “Maybe someone to help.”

He looked up in alarm. If she brought a grown-up, they’d probably tell her not to help. Tell her it’s foolish and to let the stupid bear die so it wasn’t a danger to humans.

He slumped down again in despair.

“It’s okay. I won’t get someone, then,” she said, stepping forward and crouching a few feet in front of him. “I hate these old traps. I saw Willow rescue a raccoon from one, though. I know what she used. I think I can do it.” She reached a tentative hand toward his face.

Was this girl crazy? Touching a bear?

But he stayed still, and her hand touched the top of his head, sinking into his fur. He froze at how wonderful it felt. How long it had been since he’d been touched. He growled and pressed into her, not caring he was a bear in a trap. Only caring someone was caring for him.

Then she let him go and stepped back. She looked up at the sky. “It’s getting dark. I’ll need something to get that off of you.” She frowned and bit her lip, looking cute. The kind of girl he would have probably teased or chased at recess if he’d been allowed to be a normal kid.

Spunky but kind, even to rough animals.

“I promise I’ll be back,” she said. “It’s getting dark, though, so it might take me a minute to find you. Maybe if you hear me getting close, you could roar?”

He nodded again.

She grinned.

He was glad a kid had found him. Only kids were naive enough to think a bear could be friendly or that a bear nodding wouldn’t be weird. Yet he got the feeling that even compared to other kids, this girl was kindhearted.

Deep inside, something was pounding as he looked at her. Something unsettling, something forever.

“I’ll be right back,” she said. “To set you free.”

He prayed she was telling the truth. He rested his head on his paws as he heard her footsteps disappear in the distance.

She was running, for him.

It was probably only minutes she was gone, but it felt like hours. He didn’t know how far she’d had to run or how close he was to the house in the meadow. He hadn’t exactly been paying attention when he’d broken into his animal and torn off on a wild spree away from the compound.

He wouldn’t be surprised if he’d gone in the direction of the meadow, though. Something about it always drew him in.

When she came back, she was bundled up in her coat and had a blanket slung over her small shoulder.

She also had a backpack, and she set it down beside her, alongside a flashlight.

“I gotta hurry. Willow’s gonna worry when she sees I’m gone after dark. But I couldn’t leave you out here.”

He blinked. It was more than anyone else had cared about him.

She pulled two metal tools out of her backpack. “I hope I’m strong enough to use these. And remember how. I’ve watched Willow do it lots. She says some trappers way back when left these out here. It’s dangerous, so you shouldn’t run around here.”

He wondered at her sense in talking to a bear but stayed quiet and still as she studied the trap.

He saw her small, chubby hands and suddenly felt worried for her. What if she got hurt? Should he really let her help?

“All right,” she said. “Here we go. What we have to do is press these down.” She pointed at the clamps. “Then it should open. Think you’ll be okay if I can get you free?”

He nodded.

“Good,” she said. She narrowed her eyes on the springs as she picked up the first clamp, and he tensed in preparation. It took several minutes and all her effort to get one spring held down in the clamp. Then she got to work on the other side. He could feel his heart thundering in his chest.

As she managed the other side of the trap, he felt it spring open and quickly yanked his small leg out as quickly as he could. They both scrambled away from the trap and sat panting together, bear and girl, in the dark forest.