Its teeth bit to the bone of Jack’s upper arm, the blood curdling scream echoed

I ran to the cabin’s kitchen and heard the stomach churning crush of bone snapping

He lifted his massif head with Jacks arm in his mouth, blood matting its fur

My ears buzzed with Jack’s agonising screams, blood pumping from gaping wound

Without a moment to think I swung my axe striking the bear’s shoulder, arm dropped

With a deathly raw the bear achieved its full height, I could see Jacks blood on its teeth

I turned tail to draw him away from Jack forgetting to pick up my axe, bear chased

Adrenalin pumping, I ran, for if I slowed down I knew I would be his next meal

I burst into the light like a rabbit on a greyhound race track, energy draining in soft snow   

Senses quivered, neck hair tingled, dare I look over my shoulder, should I, I looked

Like a sledge-hammer his paw hit, blow sent me flying, momentum stopped by the pick-up truck

Blood oozed from deep gouges on my back, head buzzed, vision blurred, bears victory bellow  

I had to live, used truck to get up, was it open, head clearing, bear charged, he wanted his kill

My blood ran to ice, blind panic, instinct took over, found door handle, open dam you open, click 

Smelt his rank breath, door opened, tried to climb in, closing door, bear launched attack, hit door

I flew across the cabin, my head broke the passenger door window, shard’s showered the snow

The bear roared its frustration, circling to the other side of my truck, grabbed two way radio

Sent distress signal, bear stuck his head through the broken window, rocked the truck, glass cut

Withdrew in pain he roared, stuck his paw flailing wildly, trying to reach me his withdrawing paw

With paws like grappling hooks he hooked onto the passenger door, hinged snapped  like  a twig

The door was tossed as aside like paper, he tried to put his whole body into the larger space

I pressed my back against the door , hand frantically reaching, fear released my bladder

The door swung open and I fell making a mark like a crumpled ‘Snow Angle’.

Bear tried to pull himself from the cabin space and started to circle back around to renew his hunt

His deafening roar seemed to cause the symphony of nature to be torn apart, my violent death

As quick as my feet could move in the snow I ran spotting sharpened shafts I made for them

My basic instinct to live and save Jack was all stood between me and an untimely end

I could hear the thundering paws, I hid behind the stack of wood and shafts to regain my breath

Grizzly saw me, I grabbed two shafts, he was of his victory charge, I pointed the sharp end at him

As he leapt the shafts caught the bear’s chest, his momentum sent be backward, the staff wedged

Mountain Rescue arrive to find the bear with a shafts piercing his chest and me unconscious

The mountaineers stopped the blood loss from Jack’s from what was left of shoulder

Field dressing in place, he was airlifted to a hospital where he needed a full blood transfusion

His sedated went on for weeks and weeks, punctuated by blood curdling screams

My left leg had broken under the impact of the bears attack, needed prosthetics

I needed over one hundred stitches for my wounds and months of counselling

My memory of how the bear died came back to me 6 months ago after much therapy

I had remembered a film called ‘Grizzly’ of how it had stalked the three men, and how it died

That bear had launched an attack and how the intended victim had wedged a spike

The weight of the bear being used against him to pierce its chest saving his friends lives

As the first heavy snow fall of winter I returned to the cabin that had been our base

I had to return, my counsellor had said, as part of my healing process to renew my faith in nature

I sat on the veranda looking evening sunlight shades, the orangy-red ball settled behind the trees

The scents from mountain flower filled the air as I sat listening to relaxation tapes

Relaxed, I picked up my journal to continue writing  my story, to share my experiences

That winters day and our dice with dea…………..

 Hi my name is Thomas, I am a Mountain Rescuer, I have written the ending to this bloodstained diary out of respect for Phil and Jack. I had the sorry task if identifying the scattered remains of Phil, which was left by the bear that had attacked him. White flakes are falling now, covering crimson snow

© Phil Golding Nov 2007