There was a shifting of shale behind the trio that made them all turn. Forty meters away stood what looked like a giant of a bear—at least eight feet tall at the shoulder. Its massive head was the size of a medium-sized dog.

Everyone froze. The bear froze too.

In the complete stillness, Lily whispered, "Rapid Appraisal."

Name: Giant Brown Bear Level: — Classification: Passive Creature Status: Healthy Threat Level: Extreme Loot Drop: None Hostile: Right now? You bet your buns it is!

As Lily read the message and her eyebrow raised at that last bit, the bear lowered its massive head and sniffed the air. Zane and Tarni instinctively shifted their bodies into defensive stances.

The bear noticed.

It reared up slightly and let out a roar so loud and thunderous that it felt like the sky itself split open. Even from Forty meters away, the force of it staggered them backward.

But Zane and Tarni recovered, moving to stand their ground again.

Until Lily whisper-shouted, "WE NEED TO RUN!"

Fortunately, neither of them argued. They turned and sprinted in the direction they'd come from—back toward the others.

Within a couple of heartbeats, the ground shook with each massive step of the giant bear.

Tarni shouted as he dodged around a bush, "Don't we have to kill it?!"

"Yeah!" panted Zane, crashing straight through the same bush Tarni had dodged.

Lily, running between the two of them, risked a glance over her shoulder—nearly tripping in the process. "It's not the boss!"

"What? Really?!"

"Yeah! And we're not gonna make it back to the others before it catches up!"

"Shit! You think we can take it?" yelled Tarni, scanning for a defensible spot.

"Its threat level is Extreme!" Lily shouted between gasps of breath.

Zane's eyes widened as a desperate idea struck him. "He won't fit in the mine! Head for the mine!"

Tarni and Lily swerved without question, adjusting course toward the dark entrance to the mine.

The bear could feel it—these two-legged things were fast, but not bear fast. The distance between them was shrinking. Soon, the closest one would be within reach.

The ground shook with every powerful stride. The thrill of the chase surged in his chest.

It had been too long since prey made him work for it. The hunger twisted into excitement... and rage. He pushed faster.

Then, he saw the first two vanish into a black gash in the earth—too small for him to enter. No! They were escaping!

With a bellow of pure fury, he thundered forward.

The last one—the slow one—fell just short of the entrance.

He was only two seconds from crushing the prey under his paw.

Zane, knocked flat by the force of the bear's roar, knew he didn't have time to run.

So he didn't.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Rolling back to his feet, he turned and stood his ground, bringing up his machete. He braced the flat of the blade with his forearm.

"Defensive Stance!" he shouted.

The bear's paw came down, full speed, full mass, with the unstoppable force of a freight train.

There was a horrendous crack.

Zane was launched like a ragdoll into the mouth of the mine, where he collided with Lily and Tarni, bowling all three of them deeper into the darkness.

They rolled and tumbled, the tunnel growing steeper beneath them, swallowing them into the earth.

The Shelter

The fire flickered low between them, casting soft shadows on the walls of their makeshift shelter. The wind outside had settled into a dull moan, threading through the sparse bushes. Bell leaned back against the pile of packs, her bow across her lap, while Kai sat cross-legged, poking at the embers with a stick.

It had been quiet for a while. The Sun had all but set, Then it hit.

ROOOOAAARRRRR!!!

The roar was so deep it didn't just pass through the air—it punched through it, a rolling wall of sound that echoed off the hills and made the ground itself seem to hold its breath.

Kai jolted to his feet, eyes wide. "What the hell was that?!"

Bell already had her hand on her bowstring, half-drawing an arrow as she stood and looked out into the dark. "Not a goblin," she muttered. "Not even close."

Kai stepped out from under the tarp and scanned the horizon, the cold biting into him. "That sounded huge… and angry." As he stood there looking into the direction of the noise, he could feel the cold seep into his bones way faster now that the sun had set.

Then— CRASHHHH!! A second noise, even more distant, but louder somehow. A low, heavy rumble like a mountain coming apart.

Dust fell from the upper corners of the shelter. The fire guttered slightly before regaining strength.

Kai turned back, face pale. "That wasn't thunder."

Bell didn't answer right away. Her eyes were locked in the direction of the sounds, jaw tight.

"You think it was… something attacking the others?" Kai asked.

Bell shook her head — more in hope than certainty. "No. It came from deeper into the hills. But it was close."

They stood in silence for a beat. The wind picked up again.

"Should we go?" Kai asked, gripping his machete as he began shaking violently from the cold.

Bell thought about it, then remembered they were in a party. She quickly brought up the party screen in her system interface.

Party Window Party Leader: Zane Rider Level: 6 HP: 48%

Tarni Walker Level: 6 HP: 84%

Lily Rider Level: 6 HP: 87%

Isabelle Rider Level: 6 HP: 98% → 97%

Kai Rider Level: 6 HP: 96% → 95%

At first, she was shocked by the HP levels of the other three. But as their health stayed steady—and only hers and Kai's continued to slowly tick down—she began to relax. The cold was draining them now that the sun had set.

She looked at Kai, who was clearly starting to freeze. Thought about Zane. Tarni. Lily.

Then slowly shook her head. "Not yet. We don't know what's out there. Or what they're dealing with. And I don't think we'll last long out in this cold."

Kai looked back toward the hills as his teeth started to chatter. "Do… do you think they're okay?"

Bell exhaled and gave him a sideways look. "They're alive. And we can keep an eye on them in the party window. They're too far away to see on the map."

She started to re-nock her arrow. Just in case.

"We stay put, and ready to help them when they return," she said firmly. "If something comes this way that is not them, we fight. But we don't go charging into the dark."

Kai nodded reluctantly, and with a look up at more stars then he had ever seen before, he followed his Mum back into the small shelter. They crouched low near the fire, watching the tundra beyond their little hill. The cold suddenly felt sharper, and the silence that followed made the world feel very big—and very empty.

Bell leaned closer to the fire. "Whatever that thing was… it sounded like it was having a really bad day."

Kai didn't laugh. He just whispered, "Yeah. Let's hope we're not next."

The Giant Brown Bear was having a really bad day.

He just wanted to catch something yummy, then go back to his cave, relax, and stare at the night sky. He liked the shiny twinkly things up there. He'd even tried to catch the big white one a couple of times as it slowly moved across the sky.

But now he was here—his stomach empty, his head sore from smashing into a mountain, and his front paws aching from his angry fit after attacking the small hole the two-legged things had vanished into.

With a great sigh, he plopped down onto his butt and raised his front paws to examine the damage. The air around him filled with warm mist from his breath as he huffed in frustration.

Then he looked straight up at the stars twinkling above. He stared at them for a long moment, letting the cold night calm him. Only when his heart stopped racing and the anger faded did he slowly climb back onto all fours.

He turned away from the collapsed tunnel with a snort and began the slow walk toward a small stream he knew. It would have fish. Hopefully. Probably.

And if not… well, maybe the shiny twinkly things would put on a good show tonight.

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