'Fuck it,' he thought. His hand found the smooth cylinder of the firework in his pouch. He pulled out the red firework. He aimed it not at the sky. He aimed it straight at the monster's head.
FWOOSH!
The firework launched with a sharp hiss. It hit the bear's right eye. The tip buried itself in the soft tissue, and the charge exploded, burning it.
The bear let out a very loud cry, a sound of pure pain that was worse than any roar. It started rubbing its right eye with its massive paw like a crazy animal, thrashing its head back and forth and stumbling blindly.
"Run!" Ivan screamed, his voice raw. He looked next to him and it was Lyraena. He did not think at all. He just grabbed her hand and started running, expecting everyone to follow.
They were injured, but because of the adrenaline rush, they could run away. Their cuts were stinging and bruises were aching, but the sound of the shrieking monster behind them was a stronger motivator. Thankfully, the bear beast was still going crazy about its eye. It did not follow them.
They could not go back to their previous camp. That place was a battlefield now, the ground torn up and stained with their blood. The beast knew where it was. So they just ran. They ran blindly through the dark, wet forest, slipping on mud and crashing through dripping bushes, hoping they would find anything, any kind of shelter. After what felt like an eternity of panicked flight, they saw Ivan's tent. The one he had left when he went with Leonardo.
"Did we meet here?" Leonardo panted, slowing down. He stopped running, bending over with his hands on his knees.
"What's wrong?" Ivan asked, still holding Lyraena's hand, his chest heaving.
"I have an idea," Leonardo said between gasps. He then changed directions and started running again, pointing toward a cliff face hidden by the gloom. The others immediately followed him. It was not exactly out of trust. It was just desperation. Running toward a possible idea was much better than running towards the unknown.
After some more running, they reached a small, rocky tunnel. It was perfect. The entrance was a narrow crack in a cliff face, barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through at a time. It was so small that it was impossible for the bear to walk inside.
They went inside, one by one, and threw themselves on the ground. They were a mess of mud, blood, and exhaustion. The air inside was cold and smelled of damp stone.
Their faces were grim. The bear was much stronger than they thought. They remained like that for a few moments, the only sound was their breathing and the drip of water from the stone ceiling. Lyraena was the one to break the tension.
"Well," she said, her voice a little shaky as she pushed her wet hair from her face. "That was unexpected. This bear beast was much stronger than we anticipated."
"Yes," Thomas added, looking at the splintered shaft of his broken spear. "The biggest thing we achieved is scratching it a bit."
Ivan was staring at Marcus, who was sitting against the far wall, pointedly not looking at him. His pride was clearly wounded. Finally, Marcus acknowledged him.
"What the fuck are you looking at?"
"What were you thinking, facing it head-on?" Ivan asked, his voice flat.
"I put myself as a living bait just for our archers to blind the bear," Marcus shot back, his voice defensive. "You can't blame me."
"I'm not blaming you, Marcus," Ivan said. "But you can't act impulsively and expect nothing's gonna happen. If you didn't, maybe the plan would've worked."
"Stop blaming me, because I'm going to smash your head on the wall," Marcus growled, starting to get to his feet, his hand clenching into a fist.
"Stop, you two," Romana said, her voice sharp. She was clutching her own bleeding shoulder, her face pale.
Marcus looked at her as if saying that he was going to smash her head too.
But what cut the argument was something else.
A voice of crying. A soft, choked sob.
When they all looked, they saw Kevin. He was huddled in a corner, his back against the cold rock, breathing fast and crying, his whole body shaking uncontrollably.
"We... we are going to die here," he sobbed, his words broken. "How can we pass this night?"
Kalvin immediately went to him. He put a hand on his brother's shoulder, trying to be steady.
"Kevin, breathe," he said, his own voice tight with worry. "Calm down. Nothing is going to happen."
Kevin tried to be calm. He took a shaky breath, but he failed miserably after they heard a far voice of roaring echo through the forest. The sound was distant, but it was full of rage.
"F-fuck... I..." he stammered, his eyes wide with terror as he looked toward the tunnel entrance.
They all looked at him with sympathy. He had one hundred percent the right to be afraid. After all, he was just an academy student who was facing death on an exam. This wasn't a drill.
Marcus's face was emotionless. He stood up and walked to the twins.
They both looked up at him, uncertain.
"Marcus?" Kalvin asked.
Marcus ignored him. He ordered Kevin, his voice firm but not unkind. "Look at how you worried your brother. Go ahead, look at him."
Kevin, still in his panic attack, hesitated. His gaze was unfocused. Then, slowly, he looked at his brother.
At that time, Marcus gave him a karate chop to his neck. It was a quick, precise motion. Kevin's eyes rolled back, and he went limp, his panicked gasps silenced.
Kalvin immediately caught his twin's head and laid him down gently on the stone floor. He looked up at Marcus, his expression a mix of shock and something else. In a low voice, he said, "Thank you."
Without an answer, Marcus walked back to his spot. He sat down and stared at the wall, not caring about what they thought about his actions or his ideas of helping people.
As the adrenaline started to fade, they all started to feel their injuries.
And on top of that, before the night completely fell, Orion peeked outside the cave entrance.
"Guys..." he said, his voice a horrified whisper. "The bear is... there."
Ivan moved to the entrance, his heart sinking. He saw it. The massive, dark shape was at the edge of the clearing, pacing back and forth, its one good eye glowing in the gloom.
"Yeah," Ivan said grimly. "Stay out of the entrance, Orion. Come here."
---
After a while, they all rested their heads and tried to sleep. The small tunnel was cramped and cold. Most of them drifted into an exhausted, restless sleep, their bodies finally giving in.
Except for Marcus and Ivan. They were on opposite sides of the small space, staring at each other in the dim light filtering in from the entrance. Neither of them was willing to start a conversation.
Then, Marcus sighed. It was a sound of pure, bone-deep exhaustion.
"Why are you looking at me?"
"I suggest you go to sleep, Marcus," Ivan said.
Marcus just stared at Ivan without answering.
Ivan then added, "Just because you think you are the strongest here doesn't make it your job to protect anyone. I brought my group and teamed up with yours so we both feel less burdened, not to throw all the burden on you."
"I'm not trying to protect anyone," Marcus said, his voice low.
"It's not my fault if anyone dies."
"Yeah, sure," Ivan said, his voice full of disbelief. "Now I believe that you sure need some sleep. Your facade of the tough guy who doesn't give a fuck is losing its conviction."
Marcus started getting annoyed. "Fuck off, Ivan. Don't you dare think it's a facade. I'm just not heartless, and seeing how you guys are just made me pity you."
Ivan looked at him. "You let me get more than enough sleep in case everything goes wrong. You would rely on me. So why not rely on me now?"
Marcus remained silent. His lack of sleep made his mind not able to form a lie. He was too tired to keep up the act.
"This new braincells of yours are working annoyingly very well," he finally admitted, his voice a low grumble.
Then he added, "Alright, fine. If anything happens, or anyone comes, I'm the first one you wake up. Is that clear?"
"Understood," Ivan said.
Then Marcus went to sleep. He leaned his head against the rock wall and was out in seconds. Ivan was left alone in the night. He sat by the entrance of the tunnel, the cold stone seeping into his bones. He listened to the forest sounds. The distant sound of the river. The sound of the wind rustling the wet leaves. And the close, occasional growl of the bear beast.
'Fuck,' he thought, his hand resting on the hilt of his spear. 'It's still here. We will have to fight it again tomorrow. First thing in the morning.'