“What’s up with her, Sammy?” Steven grunted, puffing on his half-burned cigarette.
It was early morning, the rising sun cresting the horizon and engulfing the gaps of the forest with its light. Slowly but surely, the day’s warmth was chasing away the nightly spring air, the tree leaves illuminated in their gorgeous, silky green. All seemed right as Steven absent-mindedly tapped a chunk of ash onto the ground, leaning over the edge of the cabin balcony. From across the sparkling river that curled past their remote home sat a single bear, reclined against a thick tree trunk.
“Oh, that’s Suzy!” Samantha cooed as she hurried outside in her dressing gown, joining her husband at his side.
“Funny name for a bear.” Steven muttered. A slight breeze was picking up, the cool air blowing pleasantly across his stubbled chin. “Is it the one you’ve been ‘taking care of’?”
“Yeah. She’s looking a lot better now, don’t you think? Like, compared to a few weeks ago.”
Steven eyed the animal. A healthy, shiny coat of fur hung from its frame, in stark contrast to the bony, dishevelled thing it had been the first time they’d laid eyes upon it.
“Hmm…I guess. Maybe a little less skinny. Not that I appreciate the amount of food you’re giving it. I was going to eat those leftovers from last night, y’know.”
“Sorry.” Samantha chuckled, “But it was a funny sight. You should’ve seen her eating. I think I finally found someone who likes my lamb better than you.”
Steven couldn’t help but let slip a small smile, even as he tried to remain frustrated. Quickly, he reasserted himself:
“You’ve a good heart, Sammy, but really, I don’t know why you’re bothering with it. If it dies, it dies. Better to just let it happen naturally. Besides, we don’t know what might happen in the long-term. What if one day, it comes and brings its entire pack?”
“Bears don’t travel in packs, dummy. They’re not wolves, they’re solitary animals.”
“Whatever. What I know is that they’re smart creatures. Keep feeding them and they’ll keep coming back for more.”
“Well, we’re in no shortage of foo-
“It’s not just that.” Steven interrupted, fidgeting with his lighter. The couple’s conversation had distracted them from the sudden silencing of the forest. Within moments, the birdsongs had diminished, and the crickets’ chirps were dying down to a steady silence.
“It interferes with the natural order. In nature, only the strongest are meant to survive. Outside help disrupts that principle.”
Samantha raised an eyebrow. “Well, Mr. Darwin,” she spoke, “How interesting it is to hear your hypothesis – but I doubt saving one stray bear will make a whole lot of difference.”
Steven shrugged. “One bear won’t do much. But if more and more people started saving them…”
He glanced at Samantha’s smiling face, her dark pupils reflecting the dawn’s glow. A wet cracking sound shot into his left ear, and he swore, just for a second, he could see some unfathomable mass obscured within the forest, its limbs heaving and scraping against the damp soil as it slithered towards the cabin. He took a sharp breath, as if to shout or scream, but let it go as the sight was elbowed out of his mind by an unnatural force.
“Eh, forget it,” he spoke, unconsciously turning his head away. “Just remember not to get too close. It may look all cute and cuddly, but that thing right there is a killing machine. Top of the food chain. Would rip you apart if you looked at it the wrong way. Used to be dozens of ‘disappearances’ round this part of the woods, back when it was all still being mapped out. Whose fault do you think they were, hmm? The salmons’?”
“…I suppose you’re right.”
The couple continued to stare at the animal. It was sat just as it was before, backed up against a tree trunk with its paws by its sides and its legs lay out on the grass.
“What do you think it’s doing?” Samantha queried.
Steven squinted. “See, that’s what I was gonna ask you. I mean…it’s been sat like that for a while now. It can’t be sleeping, ‘cus its eyes are open. I know that much. Maybe it’s scratching its back. But then again, it would be standing for that, and bouncing up and down. I’ve seen it on those documentaries.”
“I think it’s appreciating the view.”
Steven scoffed. “As if!”
“No, it really might be! I read about it online! It’s a behaviour that’s observed all the time in bears.”
“Bullshit. What purpose would that serve? Nature’s a constant battle for survival. It’s probably just resting or something. Conserving energy and whatnot.”
“Well, maybe that’s part of it, but it’s like you said, bears are smart. Some of the smartest animals out there, actually. They have an eye for aesthetic landscapes. A sense of beauty, even.”
“Yeah, right. And kangaroos can write poetry. And moose can paint portraits. And chickens can-
–
On and on their conversation went, as Suzy stared unblinkingly at the thing in the forest.
Suzy. Soo-zee. She had no-concept of words, let alone names, but she understood it was something that had been given to her, some kind of strange, yet comforting noise made only when she was nearby. That, and the piles of food dropped from above when she was starving made two things she’d been given. And though she barely knew why, she felt she could at least do something in return for the pink, fleshy creatures that had already done so much for her, that had treated her so well.
Somehow, she knew. She knew that if she took her eyes off the thing in the forest, it would destroy those pink, fleshy creatures. It would unfreeze itself and carry onward, and it would harm those that had helped her. She couldn’t allow that to happen, so there she sat, gaze unmoving. And though it had no eyes, nor face, nor any real semblance of a body, Suzy could tell that the thing in the forest was looking right at her, too. Waiting, though it couldn’t wait for long. Suzy felt the hunger it radiated burning in her belly, the need to consume so strong, it would soon have to move on, to seek different prey.
But Suzy had time. And so, she waited.
–
A little bit of time had passed. The sun was now barely there in its entirety, its bottom tip scraping the last small lip of the horizon. Steven yawned and scratched his neck.
“Think I’m gonna head back inside. Those clouds spell out trou-
“Hey, look, she’s moving!” Samantha suddenly exclaimed.
A quiet rustling of foliage could be heard moving away from the cabin. The pair watched as Suzy pulled herself onto all fours and slinked away into the forest, casting one final look toward the couple before disappearing out of sight.
“Weird.” said Steven, extinguishing his cigarette.