| ETHAN'S POV |
Ethan had one thought, a single, desperate command echoing in his mind: *Run*.
He knew the bears were gaining on him, relentless shadows on his heels. He focused on maintaining his balance, dodging trees and fallen branches. Every stride was fueled by fear.
“What should we do!?” he mentally pleaded, picturing the bears’ massive teeth snapping shut inches from his own hide.
“I don’t know!” the voice inside his head whimpered. “Maybe we should just give up and let the bears eat us.”
Ethan rolled his eyes, dismissing the voice’s defeatism. He pushed himself faster, ignoring the burning in his lungs. The bears weren’t slowing down, their stamina mirroring his own desperation. Neither of them would yield.
*CRACK! BOOM!*
Lightning ripped through the sky, illuminating the gathering storm. Ethan glanced up, watching dark gray clouds roll in, unleashing a torrential downpour. Rain lashed at his fur.
He realized the rain was his advantage. It would wash away his scent, erase his tracks. He glanced back, gauging the distance. The bears were just steps away from their quarry. With a final, desperate surge, Ethan channeled the last of his energy, sprinting at a speed he hadn't thought possible.
The bears were shocked by the sudden burst of speed, but they attempted to maintain pursuit, their hunger overriding any sense of caution. Ethan, however, was unpredictable. He weaved erratically, making sudden turns, forcing them to stumble and lose ground. After several frustrating minutes, they finally gave up, panting and exhausted.
Ethan, unable to see them anymore, let out a triumphant howl. He’d escaped.
*BOOM! CRACK!*
He yelped as another bolt of lightning struck nearby. The adrenaline that had propelled him through the chase vanished, leaving him weak and trembling. His stomach churned with emptiness. He felt dizzy, his legs unsteady. He stumbled, catching himself before collapsing. After a few shaky breaths, he decided he needed shelter, a place to escape the rain and the echoing thunder.
After what felt like hours of wandering, he found a cozy-looking cave. He cautiously sniffed the entrance, detecting no animal scent save his own and the lingering stench of decaying carrion in the back corner.
“I guess it’s rotten deer for dinner,” he muttered to himself, walking towards the carcass.
“I wonder what’s for dessert,” the voice snickered.
He devoured what remained of the deer, feeling marginally better, though a wave of nausea washed over him. He curled into a tight ball, closing his eyes, hoping the exhaustion would overwhelm the sickness. Sleep claimed him quickly.
— Time Skip —
“Come back here, Mr. Bunny. I promise I won’t eat you, I just want you to have a look inside my mouth.” Ethan mumbled in his sleep. “Come back, Mr. Bunny!”
In his dream, he chased a blue bunny into a purple bush. He crouched, ready to pounce, but instead of a rabbit, a massive bear emerged.
“Oh crap—” Before he could finish the sentence, the bear pounced, swallowing his head whole.
“Aaaaah!”
Ethan jolted awake, a strangled bark escaping his lips. His eyes darted around the cave, heart hammering against his ribs. It took several seconds for his breathing to return to normal. He slumped back down with a tired sigh.
“What a dream,” he groaned. “It felt so real—”
*Grrr~!*
Ethan froze. The sound wasn’t in his stomach; it came from behind him. He slowly stood, turning to face the same two bears from yesterday.
“I think you’re in their cave,” the voice whispered.
“Why are you whispering? It’s not like anyone can hear you,” Ethan pointed out.
“Shut up,” the voice hissed.
The bears growled, stalking towards Ethan. He backed away slowly, nervously swallowing. They moved with taunting slowness, closing the distance. He accidentally stepped on a twig, triggering their attack. He dodged the pounce and bolted towards the cave entrance.
“Again with the running and the chasing,” the voice groaned. “Can’t we all just be friends and braid each other’s furs or something?”
“Do me a favor and shut up,” Ethan hissed, focusing on his escape.
The bears snapped at his heels, their teeth missing him by inches. He twisted and turned, confusing them with his erratic movements.
“I don’t feel so good,” Ethan groaned after minutes of relentless running.
“Really? Because I feel fantastic in here,” the voice taunted.
Suddenly, a wave of nausea surged, threatening to overwhelm him. He skidded to a halt, turning and emptying his stomach all over the bears’ fur.
“We are definitely not braiding each other’s furs anymore,” the voice said dryly.
The bears erupted in fury, shaking their heads to dislodge the chunky mess. They stalked towards Ethan, who gulped and backed away, praying for salvation.
Then, two unusually large wolves leaped over him, positioning themselves between him and the bears. They snarled, snapping at the bears, warningly. The bears responded with their own growls.
Ethan tried to slip away unnoticed, but he accidentally stepped on his tail, letting out a yelp. All four heads snapped towards him. He scrambled up a nearby tree, squeezing into a small hole just big enough to fit his body.
He peeked out, watching as the wolves engaged the bears, their teeth and claws meeting in a brutal clash. The wolves were clearly winning, landing more hits, driving the bears back.
The fight ended abruptly when the two wolves let out a synchronized growl that made Ethan’s eyes widen. Even the bears seemed startled, frightened by the sheer volume of sound. They looked at each other, then turned and fled up the hill.
The wolves panting slightly watched the bears flee before turning their attention towards Ethan. As one of the wolves’ bones started cracking and their fur begun to disappear.
Ethan couldn’t help but watch with concern for the wolf who had saved his life since the sound of his bone cracking sounded painful and the sudden loss of fur scared him but after a little while, Ethan then realized that the wolf wasn’t a wolf at all but instead a two-legged human.
The last time Ethan had encountered a human he was at a dog park. He was trying to play with the other dogs but the humans started screaming and shouting when they saw him and eventually one of the humans a police uniform shot him in the legs a couple of times which made Ethan run back into the forest.
He doesn’t like humans. They’re scary.
Ethan let out a scared whimper as he curled deeper into the tree hoping the weird human would walk away and leave him inside.
But they didn’t.
"Aren't you going to say thank you?" The human asked as he poked his head through the hole Ethan was hiding in. "After all, we did save your life."
"You're scaring him, Liam!" Another human hissed.
"Am not!" Liam stated stubbornly.
"Move out the way." Liam stepped aside as another man walked in front of Ethan’s only escape. The man grabbed ahold of Ethan scruff, lifting him up with ease before removing him from the tree he was hiding in and then placing him on the ground.
"So kid, are you hungry?" Liam asked.
*Grrr~!*
This time it was definitely Ethan’s stomach that made that noise.