Chapter 11

Through his scope, the poacher spots a family of bears sharing a meal. A mother and two cubs devour an elk that the father caught. The poacher thought it was odd that the father didn’t eat its prey. Usually the father eats first, asserting dominance even over his own family. The mother and cubs would then get leftovers. But in this case, the father runs off as soon as the kill is made. The poacher watches, looking around for where the father disappeared to.

Off in the distance he spots its fur, hiding in the brush. As he slowly moves closer, it takes off, using the forest to conceal its movements.

The poacher’s out for blood. He knows how much money an adult male bear of this size sells for, and he’s not about to let it get away. For now, he leaves the mother and cubs alone, following after the big one. He gets excited by the thought of turning such a vicious predator into his prey.

For a moment he loses the bear. Looking around, he tries to hear or see any sign of where it might’ve gone. A rustling of leaves catches his ear, so he steps toward it.

SNAP

“AHHHHHHHHHH!” The poacher yells, his foot caught in a bear trap. He falls to the ground, his leg impaled by the giant metal teeth.

The bear steps out from the bushes, laughing. Its hands go up to its neck as it lifts its head off, revealing a man underneath.

The poacher screams in agonizing pain, not understanding what’s going on. “HELP ME!”

The man squats down beside him, holding the fake bear head in his hand. “How does it feel to become the prey?”

The poacher starts hyperventilating, almost passing out from the pain.

The man slaps the poachers face, making sure he stays awake. “We can’t have you doing that. I want you to feel the same pain that you were trying to inflict on that poor family of bears.” He stands up, walks over to the tree next to him and sits down with his back against it. He pulls out a sandwich from a pocket in his furry costume. “You don’t mind if I have my lunch do you? I know sharing is caring, but you see… right now, I’m just not in a caring mood.” He takes a bite of his sandwich, listening to the poacher scream and beg for mercy. His eyes turn cold as he watches the poacher die slowly, blood spilling from his leg. “You poachers disgust me.”

The screaming stops just as the man finishes his lunch. He stands up and puts his bear head back on. He opens the bear trap, dragging the man’s unconscious body to an open clearing in the trees. Once he spots the family of bears, he stops, dropping the body. He then walks away, leaving the poacher behind.

As he leaves, he hears a loud growl, indicating that they found more food. He turns around to see the real father bear, chowing down on the poacher who thought he could outsmart the beast.

The man laughs to himself, “I guess I did end up sharing lunch. Maybe I’m more caring than I thought.”