Short Story Rough Draft

Nick Carlson

Mrs. Belden

Honors English 1

6 October 2014

The Bear

“Next,” said the clerk. Johnny Hackett walked up to the desk casually, his gun draping down from his shoulder. “Name?” boasted the man sitting behind the desk. “Johnny Hackett,” he said with a low, booming voice. “What kind of gun you carrying today son?” asked the clerk. “.375 Winchester rifle,” said Johnny, proudly looking at his weapon. “Any scope” “No sir, my eyesight’s 10 times better than every hunter here, and I can assure you that.”  Johnny had entered a hunting competition. The jackpot was a massive, 800 pound black bear that was terrorizing villages up in the canadian mountains. “The hunt begins at 0600 hours, and goes through the night. A large amount of cash will be awarded to the hunter that comes back with the bear, dead.” “Well, let me tell you something mister, you might as well give me the cash now, ‘cause I’m the best there is. No type of game stands any chance against this guy,” Johnny said as he pointed to himself. The clerk looked at him in a way that made Johnny angry. “What you lookin’ at, four eyes?” The clerk dismissed that obscene gesture made by Johnny and called up the next person in line. Johnny walked out of the little hut and made his way over to start readying himself for the day ahead. Johnny knew he would have that bear, but not in the way he would’ve expected.

Johnny had been hunting since he was 7 years of age. He started shooting small birds at his home in Quebec, then slowly advancing to bigger, stronger, faster game. Johnny had the body of a bull, his biceps were like grapefruits, dense and massive. He was incredibly tall, standing at about 6’’6’. His traits helped him to be a marvelous hunter.

It was approaching 0600 hours. Johnny was already on the move towards the other hunters. He loved to mess with them, liked to get inside their heads a bit. “Well, howdy gentlemen!” screamed Johnny. The other hunters acknowledged him, but didn’t pay much attention. “Y’all might as well go home, cause I already won! You see, you hunters are lazy, stupid and have no sense of what you’re doing! Now I, on the other hand, am a well known, fine looking young gentleman that is a million times better than all y’all! So you better watch it, or i’ll shoot you right on the spot.” He turned around and walked toward his supplies. He had made himself known. That was his goal from the very beginning; to make the hunters feel edgy, and aware of him. Moments later, the warning bell rang from the distance. All hunters are to report to the starting line, hissed the loudspeaker. He grabbed his supplies, making sure he had everything: food, water, extra clothing, matches, ammo, winter gear, and his .375. He walked up to the line, shifting into his ready position. Let’s go get ourselves some bear meat, said Johnny to himself. The gun went off.

The hunt was on.

Johnny had made his way up the mountains, shoving other hunters out of the way at times. He was far more athletic than the others, and he knew that. He needed to use that to his advantage if he wanted that jackpot. He found himself in the middle of a dense forest. It was reaching nightfall. He had seen no sign of the bear, nor any sign of wildlife. The trees waved at him in the evening sky. He looked around him, only to see nothing but the the beautiful green trees and the dark, grey sky. Johnny had that feeling. It was the feeling when you knew something was wrong. The feeling rushed through his body like a wave rushing into shore. The hair stood on the back of his neck. His senses keen with awareness, he slowly turned around, his eyes darting around in many spots. The trees stopped swaying. The wind stopped howling. He heard the snap of a twig, a few yards to his right. The sound echoed in the distance. He slowly moved his hand to the muzzle of his gun. Johnny brought it down to his side, turning off the safety as he did. Johnny looked to his right, only to see nothing but trees. Something was near him, but what? You come out of that bush now you son of a gun, Johnny said to himself. More twigs snapped. The bush rustled, then stopped. Emerging from the bush was a sight that Johnny would never forget. The sight of a black bear, snarling with his rotten teeth. This bear was no ordinary bear. It was the size of a pickup truck. Its paws were bigger than Johnny’s whole chest and stomach. Johnny’s finger slid around the trigger. His mind rushed with emotions, he brought the gun to his shoulder, slowly and steadily. Every minute seemed like an eternity. The bear followed his eyes, watching his every move. Johnny knew one false step, and he was a goner. Suddenly, the bear sprang toward him in one swift movement. Johnny used his quickness to avoid the bear. He turned around and fired one shot from his .375. He came to reality that he had not loaded his weapon.

Greif filled his whole body. In his time threatening the other hunters, he had forgotten to load his weapon. His cockyness had gotten the best of him. The bear was one swift move from ending it. Johnny had two options; either call for help, although that would just make the bear more agitated. His other option was just to sprint down the mountain, trying to outrun the beast.  

He chose to run.

He took one long stride and was off. He hoped his athleticism paid off. He dodged rocks and trees, spinning around any obstacle in the way. He heard the bear roar. The roar sent a chill through his body. He took one quick glance behind him. The bear was following. Quickly realizing he could not outrun the beast anymore, Johnny began to climb the nearest tree. He sprang up to the nearest branch, grabbing and pulling himself up. The bear had made it to the tree. Johnny had climbed high enough so that the bear could not reach him. But the bear was smart. It started to push the tree with all its might. You’ve got to be kidding, thought Johnny. He heard the bottom of the tree start to give in. Down came Johnny and the tree. The tree came down with a thud on the mountainside.

Johnny woke up to the sound of the roar of the bear. He was face to face with it. “HELP! HELP!!” Johnny screamed at the top of his lungs. He tried moving, but the tree was clamped on his arm. This is it, he thought. He thought of his father, who had taught him everything. And now, he would give it all up. He finally met his match. There was finally an animal that could defeat Johnny Hackett.

The bear took one glance around, then sunk his teeth into Johnny’s leg. The pain was excruciating. The bear continued to chomp away. Johnny laid his head on a tree branch. He closed his eyes, and slipped into the darkness.

The bear had won.