Erika slung her bow over her shoulders as she ran, certain that attempting to turn and land a perfect shot on the bear wasn’t a good idea. More than likely, she would either miss, or it wouldn’t do much to slow the thing down, and the time to aim would only let it close the distance to kill her. Thankfully, the bear wasn’t as fast as she was, thanks to its lumbering size and the density of the forest. Most bears would be able to outrun her, she knew, but maybe the injuries it had suffered were slowing it down somewhat. Regardless, she continued pulling it on, drawing it as far from the camp as she could.
Her legs burned from the exertion, the exhaustion building up from the past few days of hard travel and little rest, not to mention the fact that Erika was working on an empty stomach after a day and an evening of walking and hunting. The rain was getting heavier, but there were bigger threats than being soaked right now. Tired as she was, she noticed the uphill slope with annoyance more than anything resembling caution, and she pressed onward, blind to the approaching cliff, the lay of the land naturally working to trap her.
She skidded to a halt when she reached the edge of the cliff, peering wide-eyed over the edge at the bottom. It looked easy enough to jump in the river at its base, but the river looked too shallow to avoid a nasty landing. The moment of indecision was all it took for the bear to catch up with her, and Erika reacted just a moment too late in getting out of its way.
The huntress tried to sprint along the edge of the cliff, simply changing directions and running away from the bear some more, but one of his claws were able to reach her, raking across Erika’s back. She screamed out loudly from the pain, stumbling forward to her knees, but her adrenaline forced her back to her feet, and she ran towards the nearest climbable tree her watery eyes could identify. She scrambled up it quickly, narrowly avoiding a chomp of the bear’s teeth on her boot, and climbed the branches until she was safely out of its reach. It was a bit big to be climbing trees, and indeed, the bear waited for her at the bottom, staring up with hungry eyes.
Leaning against and hugging the trunk of the tree, Erika panted for breath, trying to think of what to do. Her back felt warm and wet, as blood undoubtedly leaked from the gashes, and her legs shook slightly from exhaustion. She supposed she would just have to wait it out, until the bear got bored and left, or until someone came to help.
Or until I collapse and give the bear his meal.
Her legs burned from the exertion, the exhaustion building up from the past few days of hard travel and little rest, not to mention the fact that Erika was working on an empty stomach after a day and an evening of walking and hunting. The rain was getting heavier, but there were bigger threats than being soaked right now. Tired as she was, she noticed the uphill slope with annoyance more than anything resembling caution, and she pressed onward, blind to the approaching cliff, the lay of the land naturally working to trap her.
She skidded to a halt when she reached the edge of the cliff, peering wide-eyed over the edge at the bottom. It looked easy enough to jump in the river at its base, but the river looked too shallow to avoid a nasty landing. The moment of indecision was all it took for the bear to catch up with her, and Erika reacted just a moment too late in getting out of its way.
The huntress tried to sprint along the edge of the cliff, simply changing directions and running away from the bear some more, but one of his claws were able to reach her, raking across Erika’s back. She screamed out loudly from the pain, stumbling forward to her knees, but her adrenaline forced her back to her feet, and she ran towards the nearest climbable tree her watery eyes could identify. She scrambled up it quickly, narrowly avoiding a chomp of the bear’s teeth on her boot, and climbed the branches until she was safely out of its reach. It was a bit big to be climbing trees, and indeed, the bear waited for her at the bottom, staring up with hungry eyes.
Leaning against and hugging the trunk of the tree, Erika panted for breath, trying to think of what to do. Her back felt warm and wet, as blood undoubtedly leaked from the gashes, and her legs shook slightly from exhaustion. She supposed she would just have to wait it out, until the bear got bored and left, or until someone came to help.
Or until I collapse and give the bear his meal.