Bride of the Wild (7 page)

The thumping continued, along with a series of ominous, rumbling growls and the sound of claws scratching against wood. The creature was trying to break down the door. The cracking and splintering worried me the most, fearing the door would give way at any second, leaving only the nailed boards before it. To my horror, it did break away, piece by piece, the wind blowing into the kitchen through a large gap. I caught a hint of what lurked there, seeing something with flashing eyes and pointed teeth, but it stopped then, the noise ceasing abruptly.

Gunfire erupted, as Micah took aim. “Go away!” he shouted.

My ears throbbed from the noise. “What now?” I whispered, holding my sister, who trembled in my arms.

Micah and Deer Runner gazed through the sights of their weapons. “We wait,” murmured Micah. “Maybe I hit it.”

“Will it go away?” asked Amelia. “I hope it goes away.”

“I don’t know,” said Micah. “To be safe, you girls should get into the cellar.”

“What about you?” I stared at him.

“I’ll join you in a moment.”

“I’m scared of the cellar.” Amelia eyed the opening with dread. “I haven’t been down there in years. All I remember are cobwebs and rats.”

“It’ll be fine. Pa stored things there last week. You go. I’ll tell Lucy.” No sooner had I said those words than a scream rang out, which sounded as if it had come from the second floor. “Lucy!” Deer Runner uttered something in his native tongue, racing from the room. Micah glanced at me, concern filling his eyes. “Did she go upstairs?” Something thumped above our heads and another scream resounded, lifting the hair on the back of my neck. “Oh, my gracious. I … oh, Lucy.”

“Get in the cellar!” Micah shouted. “Close the door behind you.” He ran from the room, but not before the sound of gunfire rang out, coming from the floor above us.

Not wanting to wait a moment longer, I snatched the lantern from the kitchen table. “Do it. Go now!” Amelia needed no further encouragement, fearing the bear more than the cobwebs and rats. She stepped onto the ladder, disappearing at once into the darkness. I gave her the lantern. “I’m getting pa’s rifle. I’ll be back.”

“That’s just marvelous,” she grumbled. “Leave me in this dark and scary place alone.”

Not having a moment to spare to answer her, I hurried for pa’s study, grasping a rifle off the hooks on the wall. He had taken the one in the kitchen. It held ammunition, fully loaded for emergencies. Hurrying back into the room, the sounds coming from the floor above terrified me. A battle raged, as dozens of thumps resounded, then another gunshot rang out. Instead of returning to the kitchen, I wandered down the hallway, standing at the base of the steps, as a cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

“Micah?” Whatever occurred above continued, the crashing of something heavy thundering throughout the house. Even the walls seemed to tremble. “Deer Runner?” The rabid bear had somehow entered from an upper, unprotected window. “Hello?” Another shot rang out, the boom nearly deafening.

“Go hide, Saffron!” shouted Micah. “Hide!”

Feeling dreadful and useless, I did as I was told, running for the kitchen. Something thudded on the stairs then and before I took the first step onto the ladder, I glanced in that direction. Micah appeared a second later, blood staining his shirt, his eyes wide with panic.

“GO!”

He no longer carried a weapon and blood covered his hands. Grasping the ladder, I managed to climb down while holding the rifle, which I refused to let drop. My life depended on its existence. Amelia waited, holding the lantern, as Micah descended, grasping the door above him and bringing it down upon his head. He flew down the ladder, landing awkwardly at my feet, his chest heaving with the effort it took to breathe.

“What in heaven happened?” I knelt to look at him. “You’ve been injured. Where’s Deer Runner? Where’s Lucy?”

Seeing my weapon, he reached for it. “We may not survive this, Saffron.”

Those words filled me with a terror I had never known, but now was not the time to give into this particular feeling. “What do we do? How can we save ourselves?”

“You can pray.”

Amelia, being younger and easily agitated began to cry. “I can’t believe this. We were supposed to be protected. That thing was supposed to go to town.
We’re
not
the bait!” She paced back and forth holding the lantern. “Why is this happening?”

“That creature is madness,” said Micah. He wiped his brow on his arm, smearing blood onto the sleeve of the shirt. “It’s rabid, to be sure, but I’ve never seen anything so utterly mad. I’ll never get the look of those wild, demon eyes out of my mind for as long as I live.”

“Did you shoot it?”

“Yes. Deer Runner did too, but … it kept attacking.”

I had to remain calm, but my heart thundered almost painfully in my chest. “Where’s Deer Runner now? Did he escape?”

“No.”

“Where’s Lucy?” I already knew the answer to this question, but I needed to know for certain.

“She’s … dead,” he whispered miserably.

Amelia had fallen to the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees, while rocking back and forth. “We’re going to die in this dark hole. I can’t believe it. I’ll never see Lucy again. I’ll never see pa or Tom again. Oh, Lord help us. Save us, if you can. I ask you, no, I
beg
you to help us.”

“We’re going to be fine, Amelia. It’s going to be fine.” But I had lied, because I doubted those words. I gazed at Micah, who dabbed his head with the end of his shirt. “It might not be able to open the door. It’s a small handle. A creature that size doesn’t have the fingers for it.”

“Perhaps.”

He seemed traumatized, his eyes staring at nothing in particular, his fingers trembling around the weapon. I inched closer to him. “Are you all right? Are you wounded badly?” Had he been knocked in the head? “Are you dizzy?”

“I went up to see what happened. I found Lucy in a bedroom. The bear climbed one of your trees and entered through a window. There’s glass everywhere. I … ” he closed his eyes, “found Deer Runner shortly after. He had fired at it, but it hadn’t stopped it.”

“Poor Lucy,” I uttered, feeling the need to cry, but now wasn’t the time. “How did you escape?”

“I was lucky. I can’t even say it was skill. I happened to be on the right end of the hallway. I shot at the thing, several times. I thought it would go down, but it didn’t. It possessed some sort of unnatural power, Saffron. It did not behave the way most bears do. I know some enter homes to find food, but this one was bent on killing.”

An enormous thud occurred above us. I glanced up. “Oh, gracious be! Here it comes.” I waited for the door in the ceiling to open, holding my breath, but nothing occurred.

Micah struggled to his feet, grasping at the ladder and moving it away. “If it wants us, it’ll have to fall in.” He stared at the ceiling, waiting for something to happen.

“Maybe it finally died,” said Amelia dully. “You said you shot it. Maybe it passed on.” She muttered, “My prayers might indeed be answered.”

“I don’t want to find out right now.” I took a step back, glancing around the dusty room. Shelves stood against the walls filled with things pa did not want to give away, but they weren’t needed in the house. “I’m waiting.” I sat on the dirt floor, heedless of anything other than the steady beating of my heart, as waves of anxiety crashed over me. “I can’t believe they’re gone.” Tears threatened again. The strength it took to keep them at bay had weakened me.

Micah approached, kneeling. “You can cry, Saffron. You’ve been very brave. You’ve every right to mourn. I might join you.” His arm went around my back. “What a hellish night. I hope those fools in town are happy now. While they made such a show of baiting the bear, it wandered freely, attacking innocent people.”

“You were right. You said it wouldn’t work.” I glanced at him. “You’re bleeding dreadfully. What happened to your forehead?”

“It slashed at me.” I reached out to touch him, wanting to examine the wound, but he stopped my hand. “I’m fine. You needn’t make a fuss.”

“But if it’s rabid, won’t you get ill?”

“Not from the claw. He never bit me.”

“It’s very quiet,” said Amelia. “How long do we wait before we go up? I don’t think it’s going to attack us. I think you killed it.”

“We wait for a while.” Micah wiped his forehead on his sleeve again.

“I really should look at that. It’s probably deep. It might require a needle and thread.”

“Head wounds bleed profusely. It’s a small gash.” With only one lantern, most of the room remained in shadow, the smell musty with a hint of mold. “I’ll live, but others won’t.”

I sensed his sorrow. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not a bad shot. I’ve hunted for years. I just never … I never saw anything like that. The strength it had took my breath away. The violence of its actions were uncharacteristic of the species. It truly was possessed.”

“It’s more than likely dead now,” I said softly. “You did kill it. You succeeded, Micah.”

“But not before two people died.”

Grasping the end of my dress, I patted his forehead, pressing into the skin there in hopes of stemming the flow of blood. “Many have died, but it’s over now. If that thump was the body falling to the floor, then we have nothing more to worry about. The town will declare you a hero, Micah. Two might’ve perished, and it’s dreadful, but we’re alive. You saved us.”

“You needn’t ruin your dress on me.”

“It’s nothing cold water can’t fix.” I smiled at him, feeling a measure of gratitude for his sacrifice. Our town would be safe now. The ordeal had come to an end. We would grieve the loss of those we loved, but we could all sleep again at night. “Thank goodness you and Deer Runner were here. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.”

He said nothing, keeping his head down, while I wiped the blood away. Some time later, he glanced at me. “I think we might go up now.”

I nodded, feeling a twinge of apprehension. “Yes.”

“I’ll go. I’ll make sure it’s clear.” He reached for my weapon. “I better take this.”

“Yes, of course.”

“If I don’t come back. I’m dead.”

Chapter Eight

Micah left us, and we waited, listening to every sound, worrying he would not return, but he did, peering in from above. “It’s dead,” he said tonelessly. From the stark look on his face, he had sunk into despair, as had I, knowing Lucy and Deer Runner had not survived.

“All right.” I glanced at Amelia, who stared wide-eyed. “We can go up.”

“Do I even want to go? I don’t think I can look at them. I can’t do this.”

My arm went around her shoulders. “You can. You have the strength to face it. If I can do it, so can you.”

“This is worse than when we came here. It’s worse than the wagon attack.”

She never talked about what had happened, nor did I, wishing to forget the atrocities we had witnessed. “We survived it. We can face whatever’s in the house. It’s dead. We’re alive. That’s all that matters. Micah killed the bear. He’s saved the town from further attacks. We must think of all the good things that will come now.”

Her arm went around my neck. “I’m grateful for that, but how can I look upon Lucy? I can’t do it.”

“I’ll see to her. You needn’t worry about a thing. I want you to climb that ladder, Amelia. When you reach the kitchen, put the kettle on. Make us tea. Can you do that?”

She sniffled, as tears fell down her cheeks. “Yes. I’ll make tea.”

“Thank you.” I led her to the ladder, holding up the lantern. “Now, go.” Micah waited above us, staring down blankly. “She’s coming.”

He held out a hand. “It’s safe now. It won’t harm anyone ever again.”

Amelia climbed steadily, disappearing from sight a moment later. I grasped the lantern in one hand and the ladder in the other, my feet tripping over the bottom of my dress. I joined them in the kitchen a moment later. Micah lowered the door in the floor, covering it with the rug and table, while I stared at the prone form of the bear only a few feet away. Blood pooled beneath its furry, smelly body. It wasn’t as large as I thought it would be, no older than a youth.

“It’s a girl bear?”

Micah nodded. “Yes.”

Its belly did not move, nothing moved. “It’s truly dead?”

“It sounded so much bigger,” murmured Amelia, verbalizing my thoughts. “This was responsible for all the deaths?”

“It was vicious,” said Micah. “Unnaturally vicious and fast. It’s diseased. I’ll drag it outside in a moment, but I want to go upstairs. Maybe … I’m hoping that maybe … there’s a sign of life.”

I hadn’t thought of that, chiding myself for the oversight. “I’ll join you. Let’s go, Micah. Let’s hurry. Maybe we can help them.”

He nodded. “All right.”

Amelia remained in the kitchen, gingerly stepping around the dead animal. She put the kettle on, while Micah and I took to the stairs, finding blood streaked on the floor and walls. What waited for us on the upper level was nothing short of horrifying. Bullet holes spotted the walls and furniture had been smashed, while blood pooled in places, but this wasn’t from the bear.

I gazed at Lucy, who had been mauled rather severely, blood soaking her dress. “Oh, my Lord,” I cried, dropping to my knees and holding my face in my hands. I could not stop the sobs that tore through me. Her ashen features and frozen eyes were difficult to look upon. Micah’s hands grasped my shoulders, and I turned into him, burying my face in his chest. “We should’ve boarded these windows,” I sobbed. “I forgot about the tree. Of course bears climb trees … and this one did. Poor Lucy. I can’t believe it … it’s too awful. She died in our home.”

He uttered something in a language I didn’t understand, the words low and hoarse. “I’ll find a blanket to cover her with. The undertaker will come tomorrow.” Brushing my forehead with his lips, he moved from me, slowly getting to his feet. I felt wetness on my face, knowing he had left blood. “I’ll see to Deer Runner.”

A blanket drifted over Lucy’s body, hiding her from my sight. I sat there for some time, numb and alone, not knowing what to do. I began to whisper. “‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you,’” I murmured, quoting Isaiah 43:2. “I’ll miss you terribly, Lucy. You’re with God now, but far too soon. How dreadful to have you gone.” Tears blurred my vision. I glanced over my shoulder at Micah.