Tessa sped down the narrow, gravel road that led to Branlen, the encounter with the bear pack still racing through her mind. She knew that she should’ve been dead; any other pack of bears would’ve attacked her within seconds if she had approached them that closely. But this pack was different. She couldn’t shake the face of the bear that approached her from her thoughts. It was just a bear, but the way it looked at her, it was almost as if it was taking a closer look out of its own sense of curiosity, to see what she looked like up close.
She did her best to shake these thoughts from her mind as she made her way towards the town. Not knowing exactly how to begin her mission of finding out where Lucas was, or what he was doing, she figured Hannagan’s, the dive bar where they most often went for drinks, was the best place to start. The small town appeared down the road, a dome of light in the distance marking it as a beacon of civilization in the woods. She felt the road change from gravel to paved asphalt, a sure sign that she was nearly there.
After a time, she arrived at Hannagan’s, which was a squat, gray building decorated with neon signs, motorcycles and cars parked haphazardly out front. She scanned the vehicles for Lucas’s bike, but couldn’t spot it. Figuring that he likely was here at some point, she pulled into a spot and got out of the car.
Throwing open the door to the bar, she was greeted with rock music playing loudly over the speakers and the sort of raucous commotion that’d she’d grown to expect from the small-town clientele that was currently packed into the place. Sidling through the crowd, she slipped into an empty barstool. Within seconds, the owner Henry, a tall, heavy-set man with a head of silver hair and a beard tied in a small braid at his chin, came over to Tessa with a smile on his face.
“Hey, Tess,” he said, leaning against the bar with both hands.
“Hey, Henry,” she replied.
“No Lukey tonight?” he asked, looking around Tessa, as though he might find Lucas hiding behind her.
“No,” said Tessa, disappointed that Henry evidently hadn’t seen Lucas. “I was actually hoping that you’d seen him.”
“Nope, I haven’t seen him in a few days, actually. What can I get ya?”
“Just a Bud,” she said.
Within seconds, he produced an ice-cold bottle of beer and set it on the bar in front of her, popping the top open with a hiss. Tessa took a slow drink, the cool beer was delicious and just the thing for her frazzled nerves.
“Boy’s nowhere to be found?” asked Henry.
“He, uh, left on his bike earlier today,” she said, not wanting to share the exact details of her situation. “I hadn’t heard from him and saw he left his damn phone at home.”
Henry shook his head.
“Dumbass,” he said.
“No kidding,” said Tessa. “I figured he probably stopped by here at some point.”
“That’s a safe bet,” said Henry. “You know what, I did just get here; Julianne’s been here all day. Let me see if she’s seen hide or hair of that young man.”
“Thanks, Henry,” Tessa said, taking another sip of her beer.
Henry nodded and stepped away and within seconds he was replaced by Julianne, a skinny, black-haired girl with arms covered in colorful, elaborate tattoos. She wore a skin-tight t-shirt that showed off her taut, toned stomach.
“Hey, baby!” she said, her gaunt, yet pretty face breaking out into a wide smile as she leaned across the bar to give Tessa a hug.
“Hey, Jules!” said Tessa.
A sly smile crossed Julianne’s face as she slipped two shot glasses out from behind the bar and filled them with Goldschlager, the golden flakes of the liquor catching the dim light of the bar as they fluttered in the liquid. She pushed a glass over to Tessa and with a cheer, the two threw back their shots, the sweet, cinnamon drink burning Tessa’s throat as she swallowed it.
“So, you’re looking for your man?” asked Julianne, her hands on her hips.
“Yeah,” she said, before filling Julianne in on the rest of the fabricated details.
“Oh, shoot, I’m always leaving my phone at home,” she said before furrowing her brow in thought. “Well, he was in here, but that was hours ago. He met with…umm, Kevin and Mike.”
Tessa let out an involuntary shudder at hearing the names of two of Lucas’s newest, and scuzziest, friends.
“They were here? Where’d they go after that?”
“Hmm, let me think,” said Julianne, cocking her hips to the side. “They got good and tore up here, then they said they were...hmm, oh, that’s right- they said they were going to Dusty’s place down on Whitehall Lane. You know, the big farm?”
Tessa knew what she was talking about- she and Lucas had been to a few parties there over the years. And from that experience, she knew the shindigs there could get pretty out of hand.
“I’m surprised he didn’t come back to get you if that’s where he went. I’d never let my man run off to a party like that without me watching him like a damn hawk; too many drugs, and too much temptation, if you know what I mean.”
Tessa knew exactly what she meant. She finished her beer, determined to go find Lucas and get things settled between them before they got out of hand.
“You want another?” asked Julianne, pointing towards the beer with a finger looped with a gaudy, silver ring.
“Nah, I’m gonna go find Luke and make sure he doesn’t get up to anything he shouldn’t,” she said with a smile.
“Oh, good idea. Later, Tess.”
Tessa pushed herself away from the bar and rose to leave, but before she left, a question popped into her mind.
“Hey, Jules,” said Tessa.
“Yeah?”
“This is kind of a weird question, but have you ever seen any bears around this area? Like, big black bears?”
“Black bears?” asked Julianne, her face in a quizzical expression. “Not that I know of.”
Henry, overhearing the conversation, stepped in.
“There used to be bears around these parts, but since civilization moved in, we haven’t seen them for, oh, decades. Not since I was a kid. Why?”
“Oh, just had some critter go through my trash the other day,” said Tessa. “Though it might’ve been a bear.”
“Nah,” said Henry. “If it were a bear, you’d know it.”
Tessa said her goodbyes and headed out, ready to settle things with Lucas.