Into the Pines, Pt.2

Tuesday, 2 March 2099

Majority of the ECC took one of the automobiles; only Cradock and Spearman stayed behind. The black vehicle drove off and disappeared down the grassy hills. Bruno headed toward his automobile with Spearman and the Guard driver; he was going to have to share a ride with Jago and Sayer.

Sir Espington was heading to his vehicle with Cradock; Faulkner's parents had already been escorted inside the automobile by their Guard driver. Cradock opened the door for Sir Espington and, as he did, a paper flew out into the air.

"Wait, wait, I need that!" someone said from inside the cabin.

Bruno turned his head. The paper flew towards him; he caught it before it reached the ground.

Rina Espington hopped out of the passenger seat and darted over to Bruno. She grabbed the paper from his hand and scanned the looseleaf, making sure that it was totally fine.

"Nice catch, Bruno," she said, grinned, and turned back around.

Mr. and Mrs. Faulkner sobbed loudly; they could be heard from outside. Bruno had to block his ears because it was too painful to hear.

"Honey, why don't you ride with Royce?" Sir Espington suggested. "I don't want you to hear them."

"I don't even know why you brought me to the Exilation in the first place, Daddy," Rina said.

"Because the quicker you know that life is full of flaws, the quicker you can solve them instead of running from them," her father retorted. She didn't respond.

Rina passed Bruno and entered the automobile. Spearman sat in the passenger seat, Jago and Sayer sat in the front. Bruno entered and had to sit in the back right next to Rina.

"If he bothers you, Rina, just let me know," Jago said.

"Hear that, Kid?" Sayer asked. "No funny business."

"Absolutely not, Sir," Bruno said sternly.

Rina giggled.

The two automobiles drove down the hills. It was another twenty minutes back to Espington. The cabin was silent; Bruno thought if he moved just an inch Jago would turn around and punch him in the face like he did Faulkner.

Rina was studying the piece of paper. Bruno couldn't see what was written on it, didn't want to get caught snooping either.

Then the automobile braked; Bruno and Rina lurched forward, their seatbelts automatically locking and sending them back into their seats.

"Ow, what the fuck, Melvin?" Jago shouted.

But the Guard driver did not speak.

Bruno looked forward and saw how Sir Espington's automobile was parked as well, about twenty yards in front of them.

"What's going on?" Rina asked.

"The Pines," Melvin the driver muttered.

Bruno leaned forward, squinted his eyes to get a better sight of the Pines. It looked liked Rina, Jago, and Sayer were doing the same thing.

Some of the pine trees were shaking. Birds flew from the canopies as if they were flying away from something massive.

Then, one pine tree collapsed in the encampment and the automobile shuddered. Melvin was already calling Sir Espington on his mobile.

"Julius! What is going on?"

That was when a roar shook the automobile, vibrating the vehicle violently; Bruno and the others cupped their ears on instinct.

"Varmint," Melvin whispered.

Bruno knew that word; the Nurses had told him about them. And he could have sworn he

had seen one back in the Adlington Mines.

Sir Espington's automobile turned around, beeped at Melvin's. Someone shouted in the Guard's mobile, "Get out of there! Now!"

Melvin pulled back the gear shift, hit the gas pedal, and spun his wheel around. Bruno fell sideways into Rina. He brought himself back up, completely embarrassed.

"S-Sorry."

But the girl did not answer. She was too busy looking out the back window and clutching her piece of paper.

"What Varmint, Melvin?" Jago shouted. "What's out there?"

Rina Espington screamed.

Bruno turned around and saw a gigantic bear emerge from the Pines, two pine trees falling to the ground with a distinct thud.

"Floor it, Melvin!" Spearman screamed. "It's a Grizzly!"

The Guard did and he was now side-to-side with Sir Espington's automobile, Cradock driving. Bruno kept his eyes on the Grizzly.

The Varmint was massive, at ten feet tall on all fours, six feet wide, and anywhere from fifteen to eighteen feet long. The Varmint's fur was a mud brown, claws an opaque ivory, and eyes a coal black. The Grizzly galloped like a stallion towards the automobile, shedding around twenty yards every step.

The automobiles drove back up the hills, towards where Faulkner had been tied to a tree. Bruno knew this was a mistake, but had no time to tell Melvin that.

The Grizzly easily caught up. Rina screamed, although the Varmint was on Sir Espington's side. Another roar echoed the sky and vibrated the cabin.

"Daddy!" Rina screamed.

The Grizzly body-slammed into the side of Sir Espinton's automobile. The vehicle spun out, heading back down the hill. Cradock managed to get a hold of the steering wheel, getting the automobile to a halt.

"They're okay, they're okay!" Rina cheered.

"Look out!" Sayer screamed.

The Grizzly swiped the side of the automobile with its paw, Jago's side. The windows shattered and there were three gaping stripes down the door.

"Shit, the tire!" Melvin screamed. "It popped the ti━!"

Before Bruno could react, the automobile flipped, one time, two, three, four. It slammed into a pine tree and stopped upside down. Bruno was awake, but all he could see was blurriness and bright lights. He felt warm blood trail down his face.

I can't believe this is happening to me, Bruno thought. Another accident...

Finally, Bruno's eyes adjusted and he saw that he was upside down, his seatbelt holding him in place. He unbuckled himself and braced for the small drop. He hit the glass-littered roof━which was now the floor━with a thud.

"Rina," Bruno whispered. "Rina, are you okay?"

The girl's seatbelt had snapped off already and she was lying on her side with a few scrapes on her face and arms. Somehow, she was still grasping the piece of paper.

"I-I'm fine," she muttered, eyes closed.

"Everyone okay?" Spearman asked.

"Fuck," Jago muttered. Melvin and Sayer were coming to their senses as well.

The ground shook, then, after a few seconds, it shook again. Spearman turned his head and put a finger to his lips. Stay quiet.

The Grizzly was right by the automobile.

Bruno see the paw through the slices in the side of the vehicle. The claws were thick and sharp, like missiles sticking out of the fur.

The Grizzly was sniffing the automobile.

Then came its roar.

Stay quiet, Bruno repeated in his head.

There was the sound of a horn from a ways away. Bruno realized it was Cradock's automobile. The Grizzly roared once more, galloped away from Melvin's automobile and back down the hill.

"Get out!" Spearman winced.

Jago and Sayer kicked out the doors, and crawled onto the grass. Melvin slid out of the shattered windshield; Spearman followed.

Bruno hobbled through the back window that had burst into pieces on the second flip. Rina turned her body, eyes opening slowly; she had a cut on her eyebrow.

"Quick, take my hand!" Bruno shouted.

Rina had to adjust herself before grabbing a hold of Bruno's hand. Jago and Sayer were there to help get her out of the automobile. Rina still had the paper clutched in her fist.

"Where's my dad?" she asked.

"The Grizzly ran to the car when Shad beeped the horn," Spearman answered.

"Guys," Melvin mumbled, pointing at the hill the car had driven over before tumbling.

The Grizzly was coming back and its teeth showed, nose breathed out warm air. The Varmint stopped when it saw everyone, stomped the ground, and gave off another mighty roar.

"Pines, now!" Spearman screamed.

Everyone turned around and sprinted for the trees. Bruno noticed how Faulkner was gone, just a piece of tied rope to the tree trunk. Rina was still by Bruno's side, holding his hand and holding the paper in the other. The Grizzly only needed to take three steps before slamming into a few trees. Three pines trees fell over, separating Bruno and Rina from the Guard and Spearman.

"Just keep running!" Spearman shouted.

Bruno and Rina darted further into the Pines, where the the amount of trees grew more and more. The Grizzly slowed from the obvious obstacle, but tried all the same. The Varmint swiped at the trunks, trying to slice them down. Luckily, the task for the animal was time-consuming and offered Bruno and Rina a head start.

The two continued running through the Pines. The Grizzly was about a hundred yards away from them, growling and slashing, roaring and clawing.

"Really wish I was in the first automobile with Blake and them," Bruno muttered.

"You and me both," Rina said.

There was a gigantic boulder up ahead. Moss and lichens covered the massive stone; it was anywhere between ten to twelve feet tall.

"Quick, behind it!" Bruno pointed.

Rina made it behind the stone first, Bruno right after. They rested their backs on the rock, catching their breaths. The Grizzly was still roaring, knocking down trees, but Bruno knew it was a far distance away.

"How's your eyebrow?" Bruno asked.

"Huh?" Rina mumbled, putting her hand above her eye. She pulled back when she felt blood. "Didn't even know I cut myself."

"We were lucky," Bruno said.

"How's your head?" she asked.

Bruno forgot about the cut he had. The blood had dried on the side of his face a while ago. The pain was tolerable, not to mention that the twenty-foot Grizzly took his mind off of all things but survival.

"Fine."

There was the sound of rustling leaves. Bruno and Rina turned around, anticipating the gigantic Grizzly and their imminent death. The rustling got louder and louder, right behind the boulder. Bruno was surprised to feel Rina's hand on his hand again. She tightened her gripped, closed her eyes.

I thought we had more time, Bruno thought.

Then, Melvin the Guard appeared holding his taser-baton. The weapon was electrified, a thin strip of blue electricity coursing from one tip to the other. The Guard was panting and sweating profusely. His chin was scraped up as well as his forehead and right cheek. Melvin fell to his butt, closing his eyes and taking deep gulps of air.

"Melvin, what's going on?" Rina asked.

"It...bear...claws...me..."

Bruno couldn't understand the Guard. Instead, he peered around the boulder as slowly and slyly as possibly.

The Grizzly was gone.

The only thing Bruno could see was a bunch of fallen trees. Where did the Varmint go?

That was when gunshots echoed the Pines. Bruno turned his head to the side. The gunfire came from the west. Spearman, Jago, and Sayer.

"Melvin, do you have a gun?" Bruno asked.

The Guard did not answer; he just pointed to his belt. There was a holster on Melvin's right side. Bruno unbuckled it and grabbed the handgun from inside. It was a small, black pistol with twelve rounds: the usual.

Bruno walked around the boulder, Rina right behind him. He had his gun pointed, facing the fallen pine trees. Did the Grizzly turn around and find Spearman, Jago, and Sayer? Was Sir Espington and the others okay? Did the Grizzly destroy their automobile?

"What was that?" Rina asked.

"What?" Bruno turned.

Rina ignored him. "Melvin? You okay?"

Bruno didn't know what she was talking about, but he turned back around. "Stay behind me."

Their backs were facing the fallen trees again, as if they were running from the Grizzly once more. Bruno did not hear Melvin panting anymore, just the buzzing taser-baton.

"Melvin?"

Around the boulder, the Guard was still sitting down with his taser-baton. His head was

lolled to the side, eyes closed.

"Are you okay, Melvin?" Rina asked this time, kicking his boot with her foot.

The Guard fell to his side, a bright, red gash across his neck. Rina screamed at the top of her lungs, looking away. Bruno had to block her mouth just in case the Grizzly would come back.

Melvin's gash didn't look like claw marks, but more like a stab wound.

"The Grizzly didn't kill him," he said.

"No, duh," Rina said. "He would've been reduced to bones."

"Then who━"

Someone shouted from atop the boulder. Bruno looked up and saw a young boy jump on top of him. Bruno slammed to the ground, dropping his gun somewhere in the leaves. It was Faulkner and the boy was caked in dirt and blood, probably Melvin's. Faulkner went to plunge the pocketknife into Bruno's chest, but Bruno held the boy's wrists up.

"Faulkner, s-stop!" Bruno grunted.

"Never," he said. "If I am gonna die out here, so are you!"

"Stop!" Rina shouted; she was holding the handgun now.

Faulkner looked up, which gave Bruno exactly what he needed. He kicked off with his bottom, shaking Faulkner off his body. The boy lost balance and Bruno was able to knock him off, but not before the pocketknife sliced his right bicep.

Faulkner fell near Melvin's corpse, but got right back up with that bloodied pocketknife. Bruno grabbed the gun from Rina and pointed it at the dirty boy. Faulkner's back was facing the boulder.

"Why did you do all of this?" Bruno asked. "Did you really want to shoot Schmidt and me for having your buddies dorm arrested? You still would've seen them every day!"

"You don't understand!" Faulkner screamed. "You don't, Rich! All I wanted to be was an Adlington Miner and that was taken from me! Now I had to live a life in Espington!"

"Isn't it better, though?" Bruno questioned. "Delicious meals, nice clothes, a bed!"

"That's not the problem!" Faulkner shouted. "It's what started in Espington!"

"What are you talking about?"

Bruno noticed Rina taking one step backwards; she did it quietly and without much notice. Bruno realized why she did it two seconds after she did it. A grizzly bear appeared around the boulder, right behind Faulkner. It wasn't the actual Grizzly, just an average sized adult bear. Bruno didn't want to make noise, or the beast would attack any one of them. At that time, the clouds started to roll in, grayer than the Espinton buildings. Within seconds, it was raining.

And then that was when a second bear appeared, slightly smaller than the first.

"I never wanted to leave Adlington," Faulkner said. "I wanted to be with my family, my parents. But then the recording, and the memorial...and Anzalone!"

"What?"

The two bears growled when Faulkner exclaimed. The boy turned around and screamed when he saw the two large beasts. He tried swiping at them with his pocketknife, but Bear One stood on its hind legs and roared. Bear Two charged Faulkner, slamming him to the ground.

"No, no, no!" Faulkner cried, stabbing Bear Two with the knife.

Bear One came in to help its brother and started clawing at Faulkner's torso. Bruno aimed his gun, but Rina placed her hand on the weapon. She shook her head.

"The mother will hear you," she said and it all made sense to Bruno.

Faulkner screamed, still trying to slash, but he was only slicing the air now. Bruno and Rina turned around and ran, but not before Rina grabbed Melvin's taser-baton.

"BRUNO!" Faulkner screamed under the roars of the two bears.

But he and Rina just kept running.

. . .

Spearman held a taser-baton Jago had given him; the two Head Guard held their handguns. The three men were at the edge of a cliff now. The pine trees in front of them were destroyed, either snapped in half or scraped to sawdust. The Grizzly stood a few dozen yards away from them, knocking down the last of the trees. The rain continued to pour; a bolt of lightning struck someplace miles away once in awhile.

Jago and Sayer fired their guns until all the bullets were gone. The Grizzly didn't even seem phased by the gunshots. To the beast, it probably just felt like dozens of little splinters.

"We failed Julius," Jago said. "We lost his daughter and now we're gonna die!"

"Not if we knock it off the cliff," Spearman said.

"And how are we gonna do that?" Sayer asked, reloading his handgun with his final magazine.

"With them," Spearman pointed at Rina and Bruno coming from a side-path in the trees. They were a safe distance from the Grizzly.

But the Grizzly was knocking down its last of trees.

. . .

"Rina, you're okay!" Jago cheered.

"Yeah, no thanks to you," she said. "It was all Bruno."

Bruno looked down at the ground; he knew he was blushing a bit.

"Melvin?" Sayer asked.

"Faulkner killed him," Bruno answered. "And the Grizzly's cubs are eating Faulkner as we speak."

"That's why it's after us!" Spearman realized. "It's a mother!"

"Let's not think about that right now!" Jago said. "Let's figure out a plan of us not dying!"

The grass was already soaked, and puddles of mud formed all over the cliff. Everyone was drenched; Bruno had to wipe his hair to the side every second. The Grizzly was about thirty yards away; it had just swiped down its last tree.

"We need to think quickly," Bruno said.

"Yeah, no shit, kid," Jago said.

Bruno ignored the Guard; he scanned the landscape instead to try and think of a plan. The Grizzly was a few dozen feet away, breathing heavily and clawing the soaked ground with its gigantic paws. Warm air spewed out of its nostrils, mixing in with the pouring rain.

There were puddles everywhere: under the Grizzly, near Jago and Sayer, next to Rina Espington. The rain kept coming, getting heavier every minute. Lighting struck some more and the crackle of thunder vibrated the Pines.

Think, Rich, think! Bruno repeated in his head. But the thoughts of Lee in the Clinic, Melvin's corpse, Faulkner being mauled alive after mentioning Anzalone. Anzalone! But Bruno needed to stop thinking about all of that and save Rina and Spearman...plus Jago and Sayer.

"It's just staring at us!" Spearman said, gripping the taser-baton.

"It's thinking who it wants to charge first," Bruno said.

"Yeah? And how do you know that?" Jago asked.

"Because its cubs didn't pounce until Faulkner made himself noticeable. He shouted and that was when they attacked," Bruno explained. "The Grizzly won't attack until we make ourselves noticeable. You haven't shot it in a little while so it thinks we're defenseless."

"So don't make loud noise?" Sayer asked.

"And don't move," Rina realized.

"Exactly," Bruno said.

The rain continued to pour and drench the cliff and Pines. It was a staredown between the twenty-foot Varmint and the five humans. Bruno continued to scan the landscape. He saw how one pine tree was tilted but not yet collapsed; he saw the gigantic puddle forming under the Grizzly's massive paws; he recognized Rina's, Spearman's, and Sayer's taser-batons.

"Sayer, take out your taser-baton," Bruno said. "Rina, pass me yours slowly."

Rina did exactly as she was told; Bruno exchanged his gun with the taser-baton. The Grizzly watched every little movement with its baseball-sized eyes. It growled slightly but didn't seem to think the slight move of an arm was threatening.

"Sayer and Spearman, on the count of three, we're going to throw the taser-batons into the puddle like javelins. Hopefully it'll electrocute the bear," Bruno said.

"And if it doesn't?" Jago asked.

"Then we shoot and run down the side-path Rina and I came from and hope we don't get eaten."

"If the puddle idea works," Spearman asked, keeping his eyes on the Varmint, "what do we do next?"

"We all run to that tree and push it onto the Grizzly," Bruno said, pointing to the sliced tree that was tilted about eighty degrees.

"What will that do?" Jago asked.

"Hopefully knock it off the cliff or give us time to run to the fields," Bruno said. "If Julius is still out there with Cradock, we can hop in the car and drive off."

"If it doesn't work, we'll be shooting away," Jago said; Sayer nodded in agreement.

"And so will I," Rina added.

"On three, then..." Bruno started, the men gripping their rubber hilts. "One, two, three!"

Bruno, Spearman, and Sayer chucked their electrified taser-batons like javelins; they spiraled through the stormy air and right into the puddle. The water instantly flashed in a blast of bright, blue light and thick, white smoke. The Grizzly roared, shaking the pine trees and vibrating the ground. Bruno wasn't even watching; he was too busy sprinting towards the Varmint, with the men and Rina.

Jago and Sayer fired off their handguns, aiming for the Varmint's head. Rina fired as well; Bruno didn't know if it was her first time using a weapon or not. So far it was working, the Grizzly was not moving. The sound of buzzing electricity and sizzling water, mixed with the bear's cries surprisingly drowned out the noise of the thunderbolts in the afternoon sky.

Bruno, Spearman, Jago, and Sayer made it to the lopsided pine tree. Immediately, the men started to push the thick, sliced trunk. At first, the tree did not budge, but after their third thrust, there was a loud snap and the tree came tumbling down. The trunk and branches slammed down on the Grizzly's soaked back. It fell to the ground with a loud thud. The muddy water splashed in the air, mixing with the millions of raindrops. The tree pinned the Varmint to the wet ground. Rina fired until their was nothing left in the handgun. The Grizzly made no effort to stand back up. It was breathing slowly, small little wisps of warm air exited its nostrils and its eyes were barely open.

"Let's end this," Jago said.

"No! Look!" Bruno pointed.

The two cubs appeared walking down the side-path. They had no interest in Bruno and the others; the cubs were too busy nuzzling their mother's bloodied head.

"I can't believe I killed their mother," Rina said.

"She's not dead," Bruno assured. "Just tired. Very hurt."

The two cubs roared. One time. Two times. A third.

And that was when the loudest roar Bruno had ever heard echoed the land. It came from someplace further in the Pines.

"We need to leave," Spearman said. "That must be the father."

"I don't wanna know," Sayer admitted.

The five of them ran into the Pines and back to the field. Bruno refused to look back at the mother and cubs whose teeth were red with Faulkner's blood.

Bruno realized that the Grizzly was just protecting her babies, that's all.

He still didn't look back.

The storm had dispersed; there was no more lightning and thunder, just a light drizzle. It took the group about ten minutes to get back to the field.

And what Bruno saw was insane.

There were dozens of automobiles, some with machine guns connected to the roofs, some just regular SUVs. About fifty Guard filled the field holding large, black rifles or peculiar-looking launcher weapons. There was a helicopter ready for liftoff; Sir Espington was inside as was Cradock. Mr. and Mrs. Faulkner were nowhere to be seen.

"Rina!" Julius shouted.

"Daddy!" she waved.

Jago and Sayer led Rina to the helicopter. She peered back at Bruno and tried to wave, but the Head Guard were already lifting her into the copter's cabin. Nurse Madigan was there with a first aid kit ready. Bruno forgot about the laceration on his bicep and head from Faulkner and the crash; the gigantic bears made him forgot about the pain.

"Take off your shirt," Nurse Madigan said. "I can tell you need stitches, but I'm going to have to clean the dirt out first."

Bruno didn't remember taking off his shirt, but he did. Nurse Madigan poured water and then alcohol on the wound. Bruno winced, but not much; he was too busy staring at the helicopter. Jago and Sayer were hopping on now.

"Try not to move," Nurse Madigan said.

Bruno didn't even hear her, but luckily he was as still as a board. He had spent practically the entire morning and afternoon with someone who he thought was gorgeous, yet mysterious. He still never asked her how she knew or remembered his name. He thought about how they grabbed hands in the automobile and in the Pines, the third time when they hid behind the boulder. Bruno didn't understand Rina; this was the second time they really met.

The rain had finally cleared and the sun was bright and shining. The Guard never ventured into the Pines, they stayed in their positions on the field. Two Sergeant Guard, however, sprinted into the forest and came back moments later with Melvin's body. Bruno had told the Sergeants his whereabouts.

Nurse Madigan finished up the stitches fairly quickly, put a small bandage on his head cut. "Only seven. Not so bad, come back in a couple days and I'll take them out unless, ya know, Julius heals them somehow."

The Nurse walked to a golf-cart-like automobile; Bruno noticed Nurse Caroline and Lauren inside, Lauren driving. They drove down the hill and back to Espington through the Pines. The helicopter didn't lift off yet and Bruno did not know why. Rina was still sitting in the cabin, talking to her father. Sir Espington was checking her face and arms, seeing if there were any severe injuries. A Nurse━neither Madigan, Caroline, nor Lauren━had placed a butterfly bandage on Rina's eyebrow cut right after Jago and Sayer took their seats.

Bruno had watched the entire time, while sitting on a rock.

That was when the propellers started to spin and the helicopter began to hum. Cradock went to slide the copter door closed when a gust of wind from the propellers flicked the piece of paper right out of Rina's hand. The girl stood on instinct, but Cradock had already shut the door. The helicopter lifted and flew back over the trees to Espington.

Bruno and Spearman were escorted by two Guard to an automobile. The other Guard kept their eyes on the Pines, weapons and trucks at the ready. The scrunched piece of paper landed on the wet ground, the watery tips of the grass wettening the looseleaf. Bruno picked it up on his way to the automobile with Spearman and the two Guard. For some reason he did not unscrunch it until he sat down in the seat.

Why was Rina so attached to this piece of paper today? It is as if it is her lifeline.

The automobile drove off, and all the Guard ended up packing up and driving off, too. The father Grizzly never made an appearance, never roared even. He was probably too busy aiding his injured wife. She did have over fifty bullets stuck in her skin, singed paws and fur from the electrocution, and a bruised spine from the tree trunk.

At least her cubs had a meal, Bruno thought. Dylan J. Faulkner.

. . .

There was about five minutes left of the drive back to Espington. Spearman had spoke in the beginning, saying something about how Cradock wanted to have a meeting with him after the plan to take down the Grizzly. Bruno didn't really want the credit, the praise, the congratulations. Just like at the memorial. It was all instinct. At the memorial, he saw the silver and Faulkner's gun, so his instinct was to point it out. In the Pines, the Grizzly was literally steps away from eating them all so, on instinct, Bruno came up with a plan to save everyone's lives, especially Rina's.

Bruno still hadn't opened the paper. It was probably the same reason why Rina held on to the paper. It was important to them, someway, somehow. Bruno may just be overthinking. It could just be a diary entry, a homework project, or lyrics to a song she had started to write. Bruno didn't know, didn't want to know at the time.

When he saw the Western Gate appear up the trail, he knew it was time. The Guard was going to drop them off there and not inside the City. Valinoti and Schmidt were probably worried sick. Bruno's mobile, which was luckily waterproof, read 4:00 PM; they still had two hours. The Gate was getting closer and closer.

Bruno unraveled the paper, trying not to draw Spearman's attention.

He couldn't believe what he was staring at.

It was a sketch of himself.