Savo stood amongst the party of geckos, where Kilik was at the center, plotting. He had overheard the chattering of the troops: ‘If the bear were to be ignored, the village would likely be a target due to the heavy noise of mills’. This was do or die now. As Savo fiddled around with the necklace in his hands, his eyes met Kilik’s, which drew him towards the small huddle in the center of the brigade.

“Shavo, we have a plan to shuggesht.” Kilik’s statement was followed by the glances of several militia soldiers.

“I can see what I can do to help,” Savo replied, awaiting the details of the scheme.

Kilik nodded, then explained. “You sheem to be fashter on thoshe hillsh and ground. We could ushe that…”

Savo’s heart sunk. A silence fell upon the huddle for a brief moment as Savo coughed up the words for a response.

“Wh… what do you mean by that, exactly?”

“Well…” Kilik signaled Savo to follow. The two stepped over several linings of stone and eventually arrived at the steep ledge. Two boulders blocked the view of the cliff. As they finally passed the restriction of the boulders, their sights both fixed upon the narrow clearing below this ledge they were positioned upon. Kilik pointed down at the roads which eventually led to this clearing. At the moment, Savo seemed to know what Kilik was suggesting as the other geckos began tapping and scanning the two boulders.

“We have two shotsh, shince thish clearing ish wide enough.” Kilik spoke with a chilling calmness. “It’sh a tough shot, but we think we can roll theshe off. We jusht need shomeone to lead the beasht there.”

When all things added up, Savo shook his head plainly, not in refusal but more in shock of the fact that he was doing to go through with it. It was true: while he wasn’t the most athletic or fastest person by any means, among the geckos, he was indeed more capable of this plan. Savo surveyed the land which stretched past the clearing. More thin forests which led to winding paths and ascending hills. It was viable for him to escape if things went awry then. Or at least, if he also didn’t mess anything up.

“I’ll do it.” Savo felt for his handgun in an almost habitual tick, then nodded at the geckos before him. It was a plan which required perfect coordination on both ends without any communication during. Yes, it was possibly stupid, but realistically, there would be no other way to put down a beast that size without dire costs. Savo’s breathing seemed to skip several times as he marched through the crowds of geckos, who were now collected behind the boulders.

Savo retraced the path which winded down and back through the small clearing of dirt plain where he had found the necklace and eventually down to the dense forestry. Momentarily, Savo’s ears met only silence, when his own breathing had even become shallow enough to not disturb the earth around him. Yet slowly, deep breathing seemed to bellow and echo through the trees, and the unnatural sound of snapping wood and crunching earth laid a distance in front of him. More noticeably, the black-fur coat of the beast glistened slightly with the permeating sunlight. It had not seen Savo yet, amidst its thrashing through the trees.

Savo crunched his body lower, shifting from tree to tree, edging closer and closer. According to the path, all he had to do was run slow enough to not lose the beast, then lead it straight across, into the clearing where their trap was laid. The bear’s legs were swollen and seemingly immobile, but likely, Savo thought, that was where the strength came from. It would be unlikely for a bullet to do actual harm to the movement of the bear. Furthermore, the fur seemed to be thick enough to even repel arrows. It had to be this, then.

Savo increased his pace, until he was in a light jog. He kept himself among the solid trunks where he would not be spotted openly, then, as he finally reached an ample distance, he slid to the back of the oblivious creature. The beast continued to trash about the trees, seemingly unmoving, and had seemed to mellow from previously. Yet it was still a threat, Savo believed. He gave himself a minute to move lightly and recover his full stamina, for this would be a run to test himself in all too many ways. The beast was still. Then a sniff sounded, then the turning of the beast’s body followed. Face to face with the behemoth, Savo took out his handgun and aimed, stepping back slowly as he did so. Once he felt a root at his heel, he stopped, then with a sharp exhale, he fired once, straight towards the beast’s head. A second passes, then the familiar, deafening roar marked the moment Savo turned his back to the beast and ran.

Several times, Savo looked back, each time catching a glimpse of the beast barrelling through the forestry with little care to any obstacles. Savo however, had to maneuver through the logs and stones scattered about. The bear was slowed by the trees which refused to fall, but nevertheless, the beast kept pace with Savo. It even seemed to have been inching its way closer to Savo. The latter turned again, noticing that he would emerge in the clearing soon. His legs burned once more, only now it was shrouded by the heavy thump, thump, thump in his chest. It was tightening, and he felt the acid roll and fold in his stomach each time the beast stomped and left its imprint in the earth. The roars continued, each growing sharper than the last. In hot pursuit, Savo slipped at the ledge where the opening was visible. As he picked himself up, he immediately set to foot again, but now the beast was close enough to take a swing. It lunged, losing its own balance as it dived towards Savo, landing just behind him. It too crawled back up on all fours and set towards Savo, barging into the clearing.

There, Savo had reached the point where the geckos could see him, and the hunting party had begun to push the boulder. Smaller stones trickled down the ledge, dropping right in front of the beast. In a blink, the first boulder fell. It was the larger of the pair, and though it seemed to be heading straight atop the beast, it missed by a narrow margin. The sudden slam caught the attention of the beast, which now turned towards the geckos. Savo took aim once more, again for the head of the behemoth.

Bang!

A bullet pierced the fur of the bear, which now redirected its attention to the source. Savo glimpsed backward, walking at the same time. Just as the beast seemed to ready itself to charge Savo, Kilik’s voice sounded.

“Now!”

The second boulder dropped, making an earth-shattering contact with the head of the beast. There was a loud crack, followed by a thud. Then there was silence. Savo stood still, trying to stare through the swirling dust.