in wait. He only had a split second to react, and no plan.
Before he knew what he was doing, he leaped the rocks he was hiding behind and charged, shifting and roaring as he went. The speed of a charging polar bear would frighten even someone prepared for it, and the hunters had no reason to expect his attack. A rifle fired with a sharp crack but the bullet went nowhere near either him or the wolf.
One of the hunters screamed something, Karl couldn’t make out the words. The quick dash in the heat dragged him down before he reached them, and it took all his focus to stay on plan. His bear was panting, exhausted and burning up, and just wanted this to be over. Karl reached the off-road car and slammed into it, grabbing and lifting. Metal screeched in protest as the vehicle tumbled between the hunters and their prey.
The wolf looked up, meeting his gaze. For a moment they were both still, then the hunters broke the silence.
A shot cracked out and whistled past his head as one of them started to swear wildly. Karl’s head snapped around to look down at the two men struggling to get away from the monster that suddenly towered over them. As soon as he lost eye contact with the wolf it bolted, running for the concealment offered by some rocks. Karl snarled a warning at the hunters and lashed out, his paw smashing rifles from the men’s hands before he, too, ran into the darkness.
He didn’t get far before the heat became unbearable. It was bad enough standing still as a polar bear in the desert, but when he exerted himself, he boiled. Throwing himself over the rocks he’d hidden behind he let his body shift back to human, rolling as he struck the ground.
He could barely think. The heat had settled into his body, and he couldn’t cool down fast enough. What the hell was I thinking? He didn’t stop to answer his own question, just grabbed his bag and ran away as fast as he could, vanishing into the night. There wasn’t time for anything subtler, he just had to hope that the men wouldn’t be too eager to give chase after their close encounter with him.
* * *
K arl was still feeling the effects of his burst of exertion when he made his way back into the hotel. Glad that he’d taken the trouble to pack a spare set of clothes, he at least wasn’t naked when he returned. He did his best to avoid the hunters on his way inside. Don’t want them to get any ideas about where I was when the ‘monster’ attacked their friends , he thought as he stumbled into the office.
Marty looked up, surprised and then worried.
“Karl! You don’t look well, what happened?” The old man put down his novel and sat up. Karl forced a laugh and waved off his concern.
“I’m just not used to these temperatures, that’s all,” he said, leaning on the desk. He could feel his body fighting against the heat, and knew that he must look awful. He’d be pouring with sweat, but in this dry heat it evaporated as quickly as it formed
“Yeah, the heat can get to you if you don’t know how to handle it,” Marty said, shaking his head and frowning. “Might be you want to see the doctor, it can be real dangerous.”
“I’ll be fine,” Karl answered firmly. “Just need a little ice to cool off.”
“Sure, sure,” Marty said, looking Karl up and down and frowning. “Yeah, I’ve got a freezer full of ice cubes back here. But heat stroke isn’t something to fool around with, it can be a straight-up killer. You sure you don’t want to see the doc?”
Karl couldn’t see that going well. Best case, the doctor wouldn’t do anything. But if he decided to keep Karl under observation or something, then that would really get in the way of his job. And his condition came from being in bear form in the heat. He didn’t know what that would look like to a doctor who didn’t know about shifters – the doctor was likely to play it safe.
No, the only safe way was to take care of himself. Luckily, he had a lot of experience doing just
Before he knew what he was doing, he leaped the rocks he was hiding behind and charged, shifting and roaring as he went. The speed of a charging polar bear would frighten even someone prepared for it, and the hunters had no reason to expect his attack. A rifle fired with a sharp crack but the bullet went nowhere near either him or the wolf.
One of the hunters screamed something, Karl couldn’t make out the words. The quick dash in the heat dragged him down before he reached them, and it took all his focus to stay on plan. His bear was panting, exhausted and burning up, and just wanted this to be over. Karl reached the off-road car and slammed into it, grabbing and lifting. Metal screeched in protest as the vehicle tumbled between the hunters and their prey.
The wolf looked up, meeting his gaze. For a moment they were both still, then the hunters broke the silence.
A shot cracked out and whistled past his head as one of them started to swear wildly. Karl’s head snapped around to look down at the two men struggling to get away from the monster that suddenly towered over them. As soon as he lost eye contact with the wolf it bolted, running for the concealment offered by some rocks. Karl snarled a warning at the hunters and lashed out, his paw smashing rifles from the men’s hands before he, too, ran into the darkness.
He didn’t get far before the heat became unbearable. It was bad enough standing still as a polar bear in the desert, but when he exerted himself, he boiled. Throwing himself over the rocks he’d hidden behind he let his body shift back to human, rolling as he struck the ground.
He could barely think. The heat had settled into his body, and he couldn’t cool down fast enough. What the hell was I thinking? He didn’t stop to answer his own question, just grabbed his bag and ran away as fast as he could, vanishing into the night. There wasn’t time for anything subtler, he just had to hope that the men wouldn’t be too eager to give chase after their close encounter with him.
* * *
K arl was still feeling the effects of his burst of exertion when he made his way back into the hotel. Glad that he’d taken the trouble to pack a spare set of clothes, he at least wasn’t naked when he returned. He did his best to avoid the hunters on his way inside. Don’t want them to get any ideas about where I was when the ‘monster’ attacked their friends , he thought as he stumbled into the office.
Marty looked up, surprised and then worried.
“Karl! You don’t look well, what happened?” The old man put down his novel and sat up. Karl forced a laugh and waved off his concern.
“I’m just not used to these temperatures, that’s all,” he said, leaning on the desk. He could feel his body fighting against the heat, and knew that he must look awful. He’d be pouring with sweat, but in this dry heat it evaporated as quickly as it formed
“Yeah, the heat can get to you if you don’t know how to handle it,” Marty said, shaking his head and frowning. “Might be you want to see the doctor, it can be real dangerous.”
“I’ll be fine,” Karl answered firmly. “Just need a little ice to cool off.”
“Sure, sure,” Marty said, looking Karl up and down and frowning. “Yeah, I’ve got a freezer full of ice cubes back here. But heat stroke isn’t something to fool around with, it can be a straight-up killer. You sure you don’t want to see the doc?”
Karl couldn’t see that going well. Best case, the doctor wouldn’t do anything. But if he decided to keep Karl under observation or something, then that would really get in the way of his job. And his condition came from being in bear form in the heat. He didn’t know what that would look like to a doctor who didn’t know about shifters – the doctor was likely to play it safe.
No, the only safe way was to take care of himself. Luckily, he had a lot of experience doing just
Similar Books
