Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 191(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 191(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
My mind said it was most likely a bear, which I knew there were plenty of in this part of the world before I’d made the trip. But a part of me had clearly been naïve in thinking I’d never come across one.
The footsteps were heavy, intermittently stopping as if the animal were checking out something before it resumed. And then I heard it come closer.
Scratch-scratch-scrape. Scratch-scratch-scrape.
I white-knuckled the hell out of the sleeping bag. I’d bought a bear repellent air spray in town, not sure if it would even work, but I’d been so tired when I went to bed last night, I totally forgot to grab it and keep it close.
No amount of videos I’d watched online about taking precautions and being safe on this trip could prepare me for living it.
And then the thump-thump, thump-thump of its footsteps came closer before an enormous shadow passed across the bedroom window.
Oh shit. Oh shit. Ohshitshitshit.
I held my breath, pulled the sleeping bag up so that it completely covered my face and only my eyes were visible, and stared out the bedroom window.
That pane of glass wouldn’t keep anything out, especially a big ass Alaskan bear. Could it hear my heart racing? Oh God, couldn’t predators scent their prey’s fear?
I squeezed my eyes shut as I heard the big beast right outside the window, yet not coming close enough that I could make anything out. It was too dark, the shadows too thick.
I knew sleep was most definitely not an option tonight.
I was in a cranky mood and felt like shit as I shuffled out of the bedroom and veered right into the kitchenette.
The inside was cold as hell with the early morning frost lining the outside of the windows. Last night had been an epic fail of trial and error in lighting the wood-burning stove; but after far too many attempts, I finally got it working.
I grabbed a few pieces of cut lumber and got to work, starting another fire to warm the place up. Once it was going, I sat down in front of it and wrapped my sleeping bag fully around myself.
I was seriously rethinking this entire trip. After the bear incident last night, I realized I may have made a spur-of-the-moment decision regarding coming here without fully thinking it through.
I had no way of communicating with anyone if I needed help, and nobody would know if something happened to me until Harmond came and picked me up.
But despite worrying about all that, the fear I felt last night, and the reservations on what I’d actually been thinking about coming here, I was determined to make this the best experience possible.
Once I’d warmed up, I made a pot of coffee on the stove and sat back in front of the fire, holding the aluminum black and white speckled mug between my hands.
Falling back asleep after I heard the bear outside had been impossible. In fact, right now I was having serious reservations about stepping foot outside even if it was daylight and I was pretty sure it would be asleep by now.
But I couldn’t stay in the cabin my entire trip, and I didn’t want to be a prisoner while I was here, so I finished up my coffee and grabbed a quick breakfast. I got dressed, slipped on my red hooded peacoat, and then hesitantly opened the front door.
I peeked my head out but saw nothing destroyed, and when silence greeted me, I felt a little braver and stepped outside.
Because it was still early, the temperature was rather chilly, and I zipped up my jacket and put my hands in my pockets, stepping off the deck and rounding the corner of the house.
Again, I stopped and listened, but heard nothing, so I took the couple of steps it required to get on the boardwalk and made my way across the platform. Slowly.
Looking around the corner, where the bedroom window was and where I heard the bear most active, a part of me expected to see a large furry beast there, but it was empty.
I exhaled in relief, but felt my brows pull down a bit as my confusion rose. Moving closer to the window, I crouched down, reaching out and letting my fingers trail along the deep grooves that were etched into the wood.
They were big, deep and only something with sharp ass claws could create.
A shiver moved through me that had nothing to do with the temperature, and I stood, keeping the cabin to my back as I looked into the woods.
I was about to head back inside when I saw a trail that certainly wasn’t manmade. It flattened the foliage, as if something enormous had trampled through it.
God, this was an awful idea.
Yeah, there was no way I was exploring today.
I kept close to the cabin, only venturing as far as the shore in front. And as the day progressed and there were no signs of any bears, I felt more at ease.