Steady Hands, Racing Heart

 

The wind swirled around me, and the world went black when I heard the growl of a grizzly bear near my camp. It must have smelled the remains of the fish I had eaten before sleeping. How stupid of me to eat near the camp and not dispose of the leftovers. But as petrified my heart was, my mind was calm, and though the heart was racing, the hands were steady. Worst comes to worst, my body was ready to fight the bear. With each passing second, the growl became louder and more intense. The bear was getting close, and now I can even hear his footsteps crushing the autumn leaves. As unlikely as it seemed, something inside me said that I could take down the bear, so I stood up and went outside for the inevitable confrontation. I didn't have to go too far though, for the bear was standing right outside my camp. With his mouth open, it was screaming at the top of its lungs, and the sheer size of the predators teeth made me shiver. My fighting instinct went right outside the window and I ran. I ran for my life. Unfortunately the bear saw. It saw me running and chased at full speed which almost made my heart explode. I ran faster that what was humanly possible but sensed that the bear has caught up and will rip me apart soon. With this thought in my head I tripped and fell down. I couldn't bring the courage to open my eyes and just waited. I waited for the bear to end it. But it didn't. It smelled my body from head to toe and walked away.