Chapter 5

Seraph gaped at the apparition before her. Where moments ago the man had stood, a gigantic bear filled the mouth of the cave with its bulk, and it looked pissed. It roared at her again as it lifted itself off of its forelegs to a half-crouch that mirrored Seraph's position. With a meaty paw tipped in cruel claws, it swiped at her. Seraph ducked under the swing, going almost to her stomach against the ground.

Staying in the cave was a death sentence– she needed more space. Gathering her legs behind her, she pushed herself towards the bear before it had time for a backswing. There was not enough space between the wall and the bear for her to get by, but she shoved at the bear, muscling through the space before the bear could react to her unexpected maneuver.

A few more feet and Seraph was clear. The twilight gloom was bright enough for her to see the drop off at her feet. Pivoting, she made to sprint up the hillside when the bear finally got itself turned around.

The blow caught Seraph under her ribs, stealing her breath and sending her flying back over the small cliff. Hitting the unforgiving rock hard kept her from regaining her breath as she tumbled down, where she managed, by some miracle, not to drop the crown or the flashlight. Painful air burst into her lungs as she was finally able to gasp in much needed oxygen. Above her the bear stared down with hate filled eyes.

There was no way she could fight this monster and win. She had no weapons and getting into a fist fight with 500 pounds of irate bear would be suicide. Seraph struggled to her feet and took off down the hill.

Behind her the beast bellowed its rage. The thunderous sound of an impact alerted Seraph that the bear had followed her short cut down from the cave mouth. The hill was not steep, but without sunlight the forest floor was a mass of snare traps grabbing at her ankles and threatening to bring her to the ground. With no time to screw around with her flashlight, Seraph gave herself up to luck and pelted head long into the night. She needed to get away– she could not simply out run the damn thing. Maybe if she climbed a tree... could bears climb trees? She couldn't remember. And it was not just a bear that she needed to escape from– somewhere in that monster was a human intelligence that, for whatever reason, wanted her dead. Seraph clutched the crown tighter.

She felt the bear behind her before it hit, its outrage a tangible force that pressed against her back. She lurched forward before it struck, almost ducking the blow.

Almost, but not quite.

Its claws caught her backpack and jerked her back. Turning with the momentum, Seraph brought her elbow down on its snout, throwing her whole upper body behind the blow. It reared back, dragging her with it. She dropped the flashlight and grabbed the strap on her pack. Lifting it up, she slipped out of it and the bear's hold. In a flash she was running again.

Something had to give. She turned sharply to the right. She could not just keep running. Unable to turn as quickly, the bear slid several feet before righting itself. She needed a weapon. With its footing regained it charged her again. She needed a place to make her stand. She ducked to the left.

Something gave.

A tree root jumped up and seized her foot, bringing her down. She crashed down on top of the Erlking's crown, impaling herself on the sharp prongs of its antlers. A harsh cry of pain was ripped from her throat. The sharp points were agony, but she could not afford to stay still. Adrenaline gave her the strength she needed to surge back up to her knees, but the hesitation was all the bear needed to catch her. Its claws tore into her back, and Seraph swallowed another scream. A second blow hit her and she turned with it, allowing it to roll her over. In one smooth movement she was on her back with one hand still holding the crown. The bear surged forward bringing its teeth towards her unprotected face and neck.

Seraph hit the bear with the crown as hard as she could– bringing the full weight of it down across its head. The sharp points of the antlers ripped into the bear's face as easily as its claws had ripped into her. Reversing her swing, Seraph brought the crown back up for a backhand blow, snapping the bear's head up. Pushing herself up, she used both hands to hit it again. Even as the bear backed off she followed after it– raking the prongs across its eyes and snout.

Suddenly it reared up, jerking its head out of Seraph's reach. With a savage roar the bear lashed out and struck her arm, knocking the crown out of her hand. It flew off into the darkness. It could only have gone a few feet, but it could have been miles for all that Seraph could reach, leaving her completely unarmed.

The bear dropped to all fours and lunged at her again, all teeth and rage. Seraph brought both hands up and hit the bear under its jaw, forcing its mouth closed and its head up while pushing herself further under it.

This was a bad place to be.

As it moved to reach her, the bear shifted, bringing her face to face with the medicine bag that hung from its neck. No conscious thought or plan entered into Seraph's mind– she simply seized the bag with both hands and pulled. The leather thong gave easily and Seraph clutched her prize to her chest.

The reaction was immediate. Howling in pain, the bear leaped away. Up on its hind legs it stumbled back, still screaming. Seraph pushed herself up onto her elbows to watch its retreat. As it shrank back from her she realized that the bear was not just backing away, it was actually shrinking. The monster was slipping back into the skin of the man that had first confronted her in the cave. The animal cries of pain merged with human screaming as the bear's form twisted and writhed into unnatural and agonizing shapes. With a final wail, the man-beast turned and fled into the night.

Seraph struggled to her knees then up onto shaking legs. She stumbled drunkenly over to where the crown had landed before dropping to her knees again. The medicine bag slipped from her fingers as she reached for the crown. She grabbed it and hugged it to her chest, cradling it as a frightened child would hold a beloved stuffed animal.

She sat there for endless moments trying to ignore the pain and the cold before reality set in. Reluctantly she set aside the crown and took out her compass and cell phone. With the flashlight lost to her mad flight down the hill, Seraph used the glow of her cell phone to check the direction on the compass.

Now pointed in the right direction, there was nothing to do but start walking. Picking her protesting body up once more, Seraph shambled down the hill. She wasn't aware of time passing– the only thing that broke through the fog in her mind was the weight of the crown in her arms and the pain that throbbed throughout her body. The darkness around her seemed to stretch forever with no possibility of ending. She would stop sometimes, to check the compass and make sure she was still going the right way, but the night remained unchanging no matter how far she walked.

Seraph almost missed the glow between the trees in front of her. There was light ahead– it was dim with distance, but it was light. She stopped short to stare, disbelieving.

Then she was running. It was a shambling, stumbling run, but as the glow solidified into an overhead security light, it was only her body's unwillingness to cooperate that kept Seraph from jumping for joy. She almost did anyway when she stepped free of the trees and onto the dirt parking lot.

It was like stepping between one room and another. The parking lot was so far removed from the night seeped forest that Seraph could practically feel a door closing behind her, sealing off the darkness.

The rental Jeep sat by itself in an almost empty parking lot. A few cars that must have belonged to employees waited closer to the buildings, but the school busses and family cars were gone. Seraph could see lights on in the buildings as she made her way to the Jeep. A few of the buildings were still lit and Gabe was probably in one of them, but he would not be alone. Before she could talk to any strangers, she had to put away the crown. She could not risk that it would be taken and she had no good reasons to keep it. Or even how she could have found such a thing in the middle of the woods.

Seraph's movements and thoughts were mechanical as she walked to the car. The crown would have to go in the Jeep– there was no other place for it. She unlocked the car, grateful that she had stuck the keys in her pocket instead of in her backpack. The car's dome light hurt her eyes. There was a blanket there– she could use that to cover the crown. She slumped into the backseat. The crown would not fit in the wheel well, so it would have to go in the back.

Twisting to accomplish this reminded Seraph of the severe lacerations that covered her back. She panted for breath, swallowing back the pain. She was so close to being done, she would not stop now. The crown thumped unceremoniously into the back before being covered with the thick wool blanket. She stared at it through blurry eyes. It looked covered enough. Probably no one would be looking back there anyway.

She took a moment to catch her breath before pulling out her cell phone once more and numbly dialing.

"Where are you?" Gabe demanded in lieu of a greeting.

"I'm at the car."

"It's about time! Pull around and pick me up, I think I've outstayed my welcome."

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't? What's wrong?" Gabe asked with concern lacing through his irritation.

"I'm hurt. I think I need help." Seraph didn't want to have to explain, she just wanted the pain to stop so she could rest. "I think… I need an ambulance."

"What?"

"I was attacked by a bear."

Stunned silence, then "Holy shit!"

Seraph could hear Gabe arguing franticly with someone in the background. She watched as a red stain spread out from under her across the seats. It took her a moment to realize it was blood, and that she was covered in it. Inexplicably it occurred to her that she was going to have to pay for damage to the rental car. For some reason she found it incredibly funny. She was almost giggling when Gabe came back on the line.

"Seraph? We're coming out to you, okay? Hold on."

"M'kay." Her back didn't hurt as much anymore. That was good.

Gabe continued to talk, but Seraph had stopped listening. She rested her head on the front seat and waited for help to come.

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