Ray Gorham - Daunting Days of Winter

As a father himself, the thing that haunted Kyle the most about Collin’s situation was what Collin’s father must be going through. A seemingly decent parent separated from his kid and unable, for the foreseeable future, to contact him or even know of his well-being. Kyle had experienced a version of that for eleven weeks, the longest eleven weeks of his life, but at least he’d had a pretty good idea where his kids were and knew they were in a safe community. For any parents who traveled or had family in cities that fell apart, Kyle imagined the anxiety would be beyond description.

Kyle was fumbling with the strips of bark when he heard a strange noise from near the river, then Garfield let out a stressed, high-pitched squeal. The noise unnerved Kyle, and he paused before reacting, listening for it again. It took only a few seconds before a deep, rumbling growl rolled through the forest, setting the hairs on the back of his neck on end. Kyle jerked his pants up and hitched his belt before grabbing his handgun from the tree he’d been leaning against.

Kyle had wandered away from Garfield in search of bark but could clearly hear his horse, panicked and frantic, neighing in desperation and thrashing against the reins that secured him to the tree. Gun in hand, Kyle dashed through the forest towards the highway, using his arms to shield his face from the branches. He burst onto the road and began to sprint towards Garfield.

The bear was on the far side of the horse, no more than twenty feet away and approaching at a run. Because Garfield was bucking and thrashing so wildly, it made shooting at the attacking animal too risky, so Kyle fired two shots, hoping to frighten the bear off. Whether or not the bear registered the shots, Kyle couldn’t tell. The animal kept charging and was now just steps from the horse.

Kyle, still fifty yards away, yelled as he ran, trying to draw the bear’s attention from the meal that had been so generously secured for it by the side of the river. Kyle had only taken a couple more steps and was still yelling, when the bear reared up and swiped at the horse, its powerful black paw swinging down in a blur towards the terrified animal. Garfield continued to spin and kick, but being tethered to the tree, his frantic efforts to evade the bear were futile. The tree whipped from side to side with the horse’s tugs, but both the rope and the tree held firm. Garfield spun away from the strike, revealing a long gash with bright crimson streaks of blood on the horse’s rear haunch.

The animals separated briefly, and Kyle hurriedly fired off a shot, but it was poorly aimed, and despite the size of the target, he didn’t expect he’d hit the bear. Lightning quick, the bear struck again with the single-minded determination of an animal recently emerged from months of hibernation driving it forward. The second blow, aimed at the horse’s head, staggered the animal, and the sound of the impact resonated in Kyle’s ears. The next swing was aimed at the neck, but somehow Garfield avoided it, though Kyle could see streams of blood on the horse from the cuts to his face and rear. The combined sounds of the injured horse and the attacking bear all but drowned out Kyle’s shouts as he ran towards them.

With the animals still too close together and Kyle still too far away to shoot accurately, he just kept running, desperate to get to his horse before the bear killed him or maimed him further. The bear continued to attack, undeterred by Kyle’s appearance or the gunshots, the prospect of fresh meat too tantalizing to resist. The bear lunged with his mouth and clamped down on the back of Garfield’s neck, then twisted violently back and forth, viciously tearing the flesh and dragging poor Garfield to the ground.

Kyle was closer now. With the animals on the ground and thrashing less, he had a better opportunity to get off a clean shot. He skidded to a stop and raised his gun once again. Even with the bear’s teeth sunk deep in his neck, Garfield was still fighting, and with the two heads close together, it meant Kyle had to take good aim. His first shot was slightly high, splashing into the river behind them. He was pretty sure the second shot caught the bear in the shoulder but passed through, as there was another splash in the water, though this time Kyle finally got the bear’s attention.

The bear released its hold on Garfield and rose up on its hind legs. Kyle fired again, hitting the animal in the chest. It roared and swung its head furiously from side to side, and Kyle quickly fired again, hitting it somewhere in the upper body. At thirty yards, and from the shoulder of the road looking down on the animals, which were below him on a slight decline near the river’s edge, he wasn’t sure where exactly the bullet had hit. Kyle had once read an article that told of a grizzly bear in Alaska that had killed and eaten three people. When the bear was finally killed, authorities found it had been shot more than a dozen times with three different weapons. Here he was, alone on the side of the road, firing 9mm bullets into a five hundred pound black bear, and the thought that he was just making the bear angry crossed his mind. He fired again, then took a few steps back towards the forest, hoping at least for a little cover if the animal came after him.

The bear’s attention was drawn back to Garfield, who still had a lot of life left and was struggling to get back on his feet. The bear lunged at the horse again, slashing its stomach and opening a long gash that bled profusely. Kyle was halfway across the road and had just shot at the bear again when the creature reared up, bellowed at him, then spun and retreated towards the river. The bear crashed into the shallow water, splashing loudly as it crossed to the heavily wooded hillside.

Kyle fired at the bear once more as he hurried towards Garfield, dropping to his knees beside the bloodied animal, which was now trying to get back on his feet as blood pumped in streams from multiple wounds onto the ground. Garfield whinnied as Kyle rubbed the horse’s head. “I’m so sorry,” he stammered, unsure what to do.

Garfield reacted to the touch, pulling away and trying to rear, but restrained by the reins still tied to the tree. Kyle pulled out a knife and slashed the leather straps, freeing the horse, who pulled away and somehow managed to stay on his feet, the muscles in his legs and sides trembling from the shock of the bear attack. Garfield struggled to walk, staggering on the rocky ground. Kyle led him by the reins to the road where the surface was flat and stable, then tried to inspect the wounds of the skittish animal.

He glanced over his shoulder to where the bear had disappeared into the trees on the far side of the river, but saw no trace of it, then turned his attention back to his horse. “Doesn’t look good, Garfield,” he said, as he watched a severed artery on the back leg pump out a steady stream of blood. Kyle applied pressure on the vein, trying to close the wound, but Garfield pulled away. “It’s okay, boy,” he soothed, running his hands along the length of the animal. Kyle was not much of a horse person, but over the last few weeks he’d grown more and more attached to the animal as they’d traveled, and he’d formed a close bond with the horse.

Kyle released the straps of the saddle, then gently lifted it from Garfield’s back and set it on the ground. Blood dripped from the horse’s face and ran down three of his legs. Kyle looked helplessly at Garfield, trying to see some way he could help the poor horse, but uncertain what could be done, even if he were able to get it to a vet. They’d passed a house a mile back, but there was no assurance the resident would be willing or able to help, or that Garfield would even be alive when he returned.

The blood was running so fast that it pooled on the road by Garfield’s hooves, the horse’s orange hair now mostly matted and dark with blood. Garfield eyed Kyle, flicked his tail weakly from side to side, and let out a pitiful whinny. The horse staggered forward, and Kyle walked along beside him, tenderly rubbing his neck and leading him slowly along the road. They walked back and forth on the road for ten minutes until Garfield began to lose strength, finally lowering himself to the ground and sprawling over onto his uninjured side, his legs kicking weakly in front of him.