Chapter 15

Zoe noticed now. It was just like the first time they met, the still air, the acrid smell, the soundless forest. She started trembling with fear, but Damien held her hand.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” he said. She could only nod. He was wary of his surroundings, and she could tell he was keeping calm for her, he had an inner fury, a contained explosion in his eyes. He opened the door of her car for her and she went in, nervous.

“We’re going back to the HQ,” he said.

She turned the ignition key but nothing happened. Damien’s eyes narrowed. He picked up his radio and pressed the communication button.

“Damien here guys,” he spoke to it, “there’s something strange happening down on the trail, anyone copy, over?”

Nothing but interference came through, white noise the only constant. Damien turned the volume knob higher.

“Can anyone hear me? We might be under attack, over.”

For a second or two there seemed to be someone talking, noise hiding the details of what was said.

The radio hissed a high pitched note, Damien tried to get through but the results were the same. Zoe tried twice now to turn on her car but it didn’t respond at all.

Then she heard it.

A faint growl in the woods.

And suddenly there it was. A big, dark bear, his fur a weird, muddy texture, black goo dripping from it. He was a living shadow, its red glowing eyes looking straight at her.

Zoe gasped, goosebumps rising on her skin. Somehow, she knew the Shadowbear was coming after her, its hatred focused.

Damien was red with anger, his fists clenched tight, a growl inside him reaching her, very different from the soft, sweet sounds he made when they were together. This was a side of him that she knew only his enemies would ever truly know.

He turned to her, calm as the eye of a storm, “Stay inside the car honey, you will be all right.”

Then he turned back to the Shadowbear roaring mightily and shifting to his Grizzly form. That might have been enough to scare any man or animal away, but this thing that wanted her, this monster, was not a just a wild beast, it was something from beyond the veil of the natural world.

It roared and started towards Damien, both of them clashing in a hurricane of fangs and claws.

Damien dealt the Shadowbear an enormous gash on its stomach, making it roar in pain. That’s it! He’s done! she thought, letting herself relax for a second, but then she saw the wound stitching itself. The monster howled and pushed forward, biting Damien on the neck.

They both fell to the ground as Damien turned to get away from the bite, and he bit back, harder, moving his head wildly to rip away the beast’s throat, but a huge claw appeared out of nowhere and pushed him to the side.

The Shadowbear roared again, leaking a black, thick liquid, both of them circling each other. Watching, waiting for the best moment to attack. They were equals in strength and fury.

Zoe noticed the dirt trail turning a sickly, grayish tone. Each step the Shadowbear made was an affront to nature, she finally understood why they were a disease. It was death given form, and Damien and his crew were here as a first line of defense.

Damien jumped blindingly fast and hit the Shadowbear in its muzzle. It went roaring to the ground, but rolled before he was hit again and leaped towards Damien. Both of them now stuck in a violent embrace.

She was enthralled by what she was seeing, her heart about to burst out of her chest in fear when her car was hit from the side, twisting around, the sound of cracking car aluminum filling her ears. There was another, bigger Shadowbear, his red eyes fixed on her, mere inches away.

It roared, his paw high in the air giving her just enough time to throw herself down, the monster hit the driver’s window, turning it into a spider web of cracks.

She screamed and pushed herself to the passenger seat, the roaring Shadowbear leaping to the car’s hood before she could see anything else.

She tried to hide beneath the dashboard, between the passenger’s leg space and seat, but it was too small, she didn’t fit.

She could feel the animal towering a foot or two above her. “Damien!” she yelled without thinking, this had been an ambush, the two big monsters had wanted them dead, but why her? Was she just that unlucky?

The Shadowbear hit the windshield twice, turning it into mush. It was just a matter of time before the monster destroyed it completely. Dusty glass particles fell all around. She reached for the door, maybe she could open it and make a run for it. But a claw pierced the windshield. Her fear and adrenaline helped her, she moved surprisingly fast, getting out of the creature's reach just in time. It would have ripped it off! her frenzied thoughts told her.

I have to find a way to escape, she thought. The Shadowbear above roared in anger again. No. There’s no way I can outrun them.

She could smell the animal now, its muzzle dripping black slobber onto her car seat. The thing had clawed her car apart, hitting the windshield twice with such ease that it wouldn’t take long for it to get her.

It’s your end, Zoe. This is as far as you go. And you couldn’t even tell him how you felt.

***

Damien was engaged in battle against this dark being. Nothing like this had ever come from the Shadowlands, and it was strange that it waited for Zoe to return. Why? It had been an ambush but now he knew it wasn’t for him. The Shadowbear he was fighting with was just a diversion. The bigger bear was focused on Zoe’s car, reaching for her.

He had to end this soon, had to give her a chance to flee. He had to kill them even if they got him. It didn’t matter, nothing mattered but Zoe.

He roared again and faked a leap forward, his enemy falling for it, turning aside, finally giving Damien an opening, and he didn’t hesitate. He raised his claws and went for its head, both claws hitting it hard enough to drop him down. He could finish him now, but it would take precious seconds, and there was no time to waste.

He ran to Zoe like a lightning bolt, the dire Shadowbear about to hit the windshield for a third time, and with such force as to finally tear it down. You’ll die for this, you fuckers, he thought as he roared and leaped against the thing. The dire bear tried to raise his guard but it was too late.

Damien hit it hard on the side and dropped him from the car’s hood. Damien took an instant to look inside and saw Zoe, in her eyes an immeasurable fear, finding him, almost tearing up in her helplessness. A blinding fury rose up inside of him. They had done this to his mate and now they were going to pay for it.

The dire bear tried to get up but Damien jumped over him, his claws tearing and ripping apart its muddy skin. He roared and the huge monster roared back. Damien went for its throat but got hit on his side, falling to the ground. It was the first Shadowbear, the one he left to die, its gash patched up, its skin dripping black goo. The dire bear got up, its wounds sewing themselves in front of his eyes.

He saw a puddle of blood beneath him, he hadn’t felt the dire bear hitting back when he was above it, and the dripping bear’s claws had done even more damage. He clasped his jaw: if he was going to die, he was going to take them with him.

Both of the monsters came to him, the big one behind, limping. Damien had done him much hurt and it roared and screamed each time his claws hit him. He was sure they felt pain, and its wounds may stitch back together, but the recovery wasn’t instantaneous. I have to kill them fast, before they can recover. It’s the only way. Both bears were in front of him. Then Zoe screamed.

And another claw ripped his back open.

He roared in pain and saw another enemy behind him. His heart raced, where did it come from? The dripping bear jumped forward and threw Damien to the ground, claws sinking in his skin. He could see its red eyes glowing with pleasure. They were going to feast on him. Damien looked farther back and saw Zoe inside her car, looking at him, her face full of fear. The dire bear on its hind legs, trying to tear open the passenger’s door.

He saw her anguish. She wasn’t afraid of any of the monsters around her. He saw in her eyes and recognized that she was afraid for him. Another claw hit him in the head, red hot blood pouring down to the dirt.

He saw she was scared that they were going to kill him. In the midst of all the danger, surrounded by shadow beasts, a huge Shadowbear trying to open the door of her car to reach in and rip her apart, she was afraid for him.

No.

No he wasn’t going to let them win. He tried to yell “No” but a monstrous, thunderous roar came out instead, and he felt his body tearing itself apart. He felt his skin turning and his claws and fangs growing, each of his muscles boiling hot, an unmatched ferocity inside him. Suddenly, there was only one thought inside.

Protect my mate.

***

Zoe felt the air around her change. What was a rotten stench coming from everywhere turned into a cool breeze, blowing leaves around. The Shadowbear at her side, less than a yard away turned to Damien. Its roar the loudest sound she’d ever heard.

Back there, she saw a colossal grizzly, double—or triple—the size of Damien’s bear, what happened? She saw the wounds and gashes in his head and side and recognized him. It’s Damien. He had turned into something else: a beautiful specimen, a tremendous Grizzly, a huge Bear who roared again and in its roar his enemies cowered.

In one movement he struck the sneaky bear—the one who hit him from behind—on the side of the head. It went flying and right there, while it was still on the air, Damien hit it again on its back, dropping it instantly to the ground. The monster cried and tried to get up but couldn’t, its hind legs motionless.

Damien stepped towards the dripping bear, who seconds ago was so sure of its victory. It was drawing back now, its glowing eyes shifting around, trying to find an escape route.

Now you know fear, Zoe thought, the dire bear outside her car snarling at the sight.

The dripping bear’s goo fell on the ground, but no longer changed it. The black liquid turned into a gray, ashy rock when it touched the earth. Damien stepped towards it and the dripping bear jumped at him. Bad decision. Damien got on its hind legs and hit it so hard that its claws almost ripped it in two. Its glowing eyes were gone, vanishing in a second. He hit the ground with a soft cry, unmoving. It was dead.

Zoe’s monstrous bear roared and tried to run back to the forest, but Damien was not only bigger and stronger, he was faster. He got to it in a flash and pushed it against a tree. The bark no longer turning into something rotted and diseased. This was nature fighting back. The big, horrible beast bellowed, it knew it was over, and Damien finished him.

Everything had happened in just a few minutes. But to Zoe it had been an eternity. The sneaky bear was crawling on its front legs, its canines and claws still holding on to fury, looking at her, coming to take her if it was the last thing it ever did.

There was another pick-up truck coming down from the mountain. She recognized it, she’d seen it before, parked in the headquarters area.

It stopped and the guys came running.

“Holy fuck!” Maverick said, looking at the monster beast crawling to her car.

She saw their eyes start to turn black, all of them starting to shift but a huge roar stopped them.

Everyone, including her, turned their eyes to Damien. Walking calmly back to them.

“Ho-ly fu—” Franklin said, his mouth hanging open, unable to complete the sentence.

“It’s the Primal Bear,” said Enzo, his eyes wide with wonder, Zoe could see goose bumps on his skin. “He saved Zoe!”

Damien roared and ignored everyone, walking straight to the last enemy.

“It’s Damien,” Maverick said, his tone serious. Surprise never leaving his green eyes.

The sneaking bear roared, it had a hateful look, it wanted to fight. It wanted to kill. The Primal Bear, Damien, pressed a paw on its body and growled. His soft growl grew to a roar and then turned into thunder. A shockwave exploded from him, washing everything around. In a second, the monsters’ bodies became dust and smoke, disappearing in the air.

The leaves, the trees, the grass, the bushes. Everything in the forest became greener, healthier, not a single molecule of Rot avoiding extinction.

Then there was silence.

The sunbeams came through the trees, a cool breeze flowed. Birds chirped merrily.

Then Damien fell, breathing hard. No one said a word.

Zoe was the first to act, trying to open the door beside her but it was stuck, she looked to the other one and it would probably be the same, destroyed when the bear first struck the car. So she kicked the damaged windshield once, twice, and on the third time it flew open.

She saw the guys coming to help her but she ran past them and went to the ground with her bear, with Damien.

“Damien!” she said in tears, holding his head, “wake up, please!”

The Primal Bear started to turn back into man. Its fur retracting into skin, jaws and muzzle becoming human-like. Then he was there. Damien, covered in wounds. The crew silently watched, sadness in their eyes.

“Damien,” she said, “I came back for you, don’t leave me!”

She held him, her tears dropping to his face, talked to him.

“Remember when I said you convinced me to go back to the road? Back when we first met. You told me that there was nothing for me to find here that I couldn’t find somewhere else. But you were lying, because I found you. I found you and I won’t let you go, understand? I won’t let you go.” Her face was now covered in tears, it wasn’t fair, why did it have to happen this way? She kissed him, a soft kiss on his lips, “I love you, Damien, please don’t leave me.”

But there was no answer. For a second.

Then he coughed, and Zoe couldn’t contain her happiness. “Damien, just hold it there, we’re going to bring help! You’re going to be—”

“No, no,” he interrupted her, “keep talking to me, you know I love it when you say cheesy stuff like that,” he laughed.

“Oh you, you, you—”, but couldn’t hold herself and had to kiss him again and again, smiling, “I thought you we’re dying,” she said.

He stroked her hair, “I think I was, but then I heard you and had to come back, I’m never leaving you... I love you.”

They kissed again, a sweet, deep, warm kiss that could last forever. They held each other, their hearts racing, this time not out of fear, but out of delight.