Heroes to Hunted

Chapter 51 A Predator's Pursuit, Part One

?Overcome with anger, the bear roared and slammed its paws into the ground.

"It's coming!" Agawa braced herself to dodge, and as she suspected, the beast launched at us with thunderous force.

'So fast!' I gaped in awe. Considering the leg wound crippling it, the beast moved at a pace I didn't think possible. It moved with such speed even the soil didn't fully mold in the shape of pawprints.

As the bear charged towards us, it skidded to a stop in the mud, towering over us on its hind legs. Its sheer size was overwhelming, blocking out the little sunlight that managed to filter through the dense forest canopy.

"Get out of the way!" is a phrase I heard being shouted in unison near the tree line. The rest of the group motioned for us to make a full retreat.

But I couldn't shift my attention, not even for a moment.

The beast threw heavy swipes, almost akin to a boxer's hook, in an attempt to lacerate our flesh with huge, serrated claws. Though I'd like to say we dodged with ease, Agawa and I weren't war veterans like Sato.

The angle, the force, the speed; everything about the bear's strike exceeded our every expectation. I guess dodging a direct blow was different from a reckless charge.

With its looming strike, I had one thought permeate my mind. 'I'm fucking dead!'

Only I wasn't. Thanks to the wound Agawa inflicted earlier.

Barely, but just enough, the beast buckled on its wounded side, causing its once precise killer strikes to glance at our skin when we backed away.

"That was close."

"That was close," Agawa and I said simultaneously.

The bear grunted in pain and fell from its hind legs back onto all fours.

We knew we wouldn't have a better opportunity, so Agawa and I disengaged. As planned, we made a mad dash to where Kamida and the others had been.

During our run, I readjusted my holster's to the side of my waist, trying to stash my bloodied blade.

"C'mon, you stupid thing," I griped as the blade kept twitching just out of place from the socket. It was always so easy to holster a sword in video games and movies, so why was I struggling so much now?!

Thankfully, after a few moments, I finally felt the blade hit the sweet spot of the sheath, and with a smooth grinding sound, the sword slid right in. Just in time, too, since we arrived at the rest of the group.

"Hand him over!" I snarled at Kamida, taking the lemming's hand and hoisting him onto my back.

Though I could see Kamida wanting to protest, there was no time to argue. It didn't matter if he debated anyway; I wasn't about to let an out-of-shape old man like him be in charge of something like this.

"Oh shit!" Agawa shouted, noticing the bear's mad dash. "We gotta move!" She took the still-unconscious Sato from the sisters, and the chase began.

We sprinted at full tilt away from our pursuer, ducking and weaving between fallen pine trees and various foliage.

'No way it'll keep up with us!' I thought, due to our fast pace and mobility. That's why I was utterly shocked when I looked back. 'It's...catching up?' My eyes widened unnaturally, almost to express the words of dismay I was thinking.

Unlike us, the beast had no need to run around light obstacles like shrubbery and fallen logs; it just bowled through them instead. It was like we were being pursued by a miniature tornado as it obliterated the forest floor.

"It's right behind us!!!" Hikari cried, tears forming in her eyes.

"Don't look back! Just keep running!" Ayame shouted to her sister.

Cracks of wood, tremors of paws, and gruff whines ricocheted from the trees around us. If I had been blinded, I might've even assumed we were being pursued by multiple rather than just one.

It steadily gained on us, so there was only one option: to fight. We couldn't run forever, even if the bear wasn't outpacing us. I only needed to see Nakamura and Kamida's condition to confirm that fact.

Kamida wheezed heavily. "I-I can't, I can't…." and fell behind the group, bit by bit.

"Keep pu-pushing," Nakamura encouraged, almost out of breath as well, "I can't resuscitate you if you're eaten!"

"T-That's definitely incentivizing," Kamida replied with a raspy laugh.

I turned my head from the old men and toward Agawa. As expected, she was doing just fine stamina-wise. Though her body was still in peak condition, I could tell her mind was in shambles when she noticed the bear closing in.

"What do we do?!" she panicked while eyeing our pursuer.

This was my moment. The time for running was over; it was a pointlessly stupid idea anyway.

I swallowed a gust of cold air, expanding my chest as far as it'd go. I wanted as much breath as my body could contain to make my demand loudly known.

Exhaling slightly, I began to shout, "Let's figh-" but was cut off by Ayame.

"Hey, over there!" she pointed to an enormous and gnarled oak tree, its thick roots sticking high out of the earth to provide a natural shelter. "We can hide in the roots!"

Checking it myself, she was right. The roots seemed sturdy and compact enough to form a wooden cell capable of keeping that monster at bay, at least for a moment.

I doubted it could hold out forever, but we'd at least have time for a plan... I gues

'Why does she have to be right?' I thought in disappointment. 'Can't we just fight the damn thing and get it over with?!' I genuinely didn't understand the appeal cowardice had to these people.

As usual, the majority overruled my opinion on the matter. They all curved to the left and bolted for what would be our cage.

'Seriously?' I exhaled in exhaustion; I was mentally done with these people. 'Whatever...maybe I can punch the bear in the snout a few times to feel better.'