Being the Bear

Working on the theory that 'more is always better', Sebastian's crew had placed far more plastique around the barn than would be necessary to blow it up. The amount used would have leveled a sizable apartment building. In rapid succession, the blast blew the above-ground wooden structure into thousands of unidentifiable fragments, mixed with the body parts of the seven biker bears. Bits of skin, meat and fragments of bone were blown outwards in a wide circle, wider by far than the crater made where the barn once stood. The concussion also imploded the generator's fuel tank, concealed in what had been made to look like a tumbled down tool shed in back of the barn. The vaporized diesel formed a cloud of flammable droplets that was ignited by the second blast caused by the detonation of the rest of the munitions still stored in boxes at the base of the open stairwell. The resulting fireball incinerated what was left of the building and much of the surrounding vegetation. The remains of the plastique in the underground bunker completed the devastation. As the blast echoes died away, the only sound was the hiss of burning wood being doused by the falling rain.

Stunned and literally blown off his feet by the concussive blast, Rick rolled on his back, gasping. He'd gotten a good distance up the road but even at this distance, the blast had knocked the air out of his lungs as it flattened him and his bike. He'd hit his head on the ground hard enough to knock him unconscious. Perhaps ten minutes later, he was awake. It was pouring like the clouds had opened up and were dumping buckets. Splinters of wood had gashed his skin but they were healing quickly, pushing out the slivers as they healed. Finally managing to sit partially upright Rick tried to get up. Dizziness returned and he slipped in the newly made mud and hit his head again, but he saw three wavering pinpoints of light in the distance before passing out.

Snake was blown off his feet by the same blast. Being further away from the barn than Rick was, he was mostly uninjured, just knocked out by the impact with the ground. The rain pelted him as he lost consciousness and not yet possessing the accelerated healing abilities of the others, he stayed knocked out for some time.

The pinpoints of light resolved themselves into flashlight beams, carried by the werebears.

"Boris, there's a crater back there big enough for a couple of trucks, and I don't mean SUVs," Moose said. The flashlights illuminated the wreckage of what had once been the barn and outbuildings scattered around them. Several trees had lost some or all of their limbs. Wood fragments littered the ground. "What the FUCK was that?"

Boris shook his head. "I have no idea. It had to be an explosion, but of what? If it was the rogues, where'd they get enough explosives to make a bang like that? They certainly couldn't have carried them on their bikes."

Walt, Larry, and Mitch joined the group. They had lagged somewhat behind Boris' and had seen and heard the explosion from the highway. "What the hell happened here? It looks like a meteor hit." Walt was shining his flashlight over the area. He nearly tripped over a set of handlebars. "Oh, hell. It looks like those guys got caught in it." His light shone over more bits and pieces of motorcycle. Suddenly, a low moan caused them all to turn and look.

"Isn't that one of them?" Rusty asked, moving toward the man who was lying on the ground a ways ahead of them. The rest followed him.

Mitch knelt beside Rick. "Get some light over here." He peered closely at the barely conscious man. "Can you talk? No, don't move. Lay still. What..."

Rick shook his head and raised himself up on one elbow. "I'm OK, just... winded. I hit my head, but nothing's broke. I'm OK." He started to rise, then fell back. Moose put out his hand and helped the still-dazed man to his feet.

"What happened here? What have you done?" Boris asked. The other had formed a circle around Rick. They silently waited for him to answer.

Rick swallowed and looked around him. The now driving rain, which had kept the explosion and subsequent fireball from igniting an uncontrollable fire, had soaked everything. He began to shiver. He looked at Boris, and asked if they could get under some kind of shelter.

"In a minute. First, you tell us what happened here. Where are your buddies? And where's Vic?" the big bear said over the sound of the rain. "We followed your leader's directions and pulled off the road back there. Vic thought it would be a good idea if some of us scouted ahead, just to be on the safe side. René and Robert came back, but where's Vic?" The tightness in Boris' voice betrayed his concern.

"I don't know about your friend. I'm not even really sure just what happened back there, but I can guess. Sebastian was setting a trap for you. He intended to get you into the barn to talk things over, and then, I'm not sure how, get out and blow the place, with you in it."

"That was a mighty big explosion. There ain't nothin' left of the barn back there," Larry said, glaring at Rick.

The captive's breathing was still ragged and steaming in the cold, but he looked a bit less damaged as the blood came back to his face. He'd stopped shivering as his were metabolism began to warm him. "It wasn't just a barn," Rick said.

"What do you mean?" Rusty asked.

"I don't know exactly what the place was, but it looked like a survivalist hide out or storage depot... at least, that's what Sebastian thought. There were rooms under the barn, food supplies and a generator, and medical supplies. Guns and ammo; lots of ammo and plastic explosives... that putty-like stuff. Trey and the rest were putting it all around the barn while Sebastian went out to see if you guys were coming. When he came back; him and me argued." He paused and looked around, catching the eyes of some of the bears. "You gotta believe me. I hated all the killing. I didn't want any part of murdering any more, certainly not more of our kind. So I left. I got out, took my bike with me. Something must have happened and set off the explosives." Rick pointed at the bike lying not to far from him on it's side, "I was going to see if I could find you, warn you. Then it felt like I was flying, and then I hit the ground." He stopped.

"Well, that's as may be. Could just as easily be that you're here as a decoy or distraction, keep us busy while your buddies are just waiting to pick us off. And where's Vic?" Robert was looking daggers at Rick, his paws just itching to get themselves around Rick's throat.

"Um... I don't think so." Moose said from a little ways off. He pointed to a severed arm and the badly-damaged head of a man. The arm at least looked like it belonged to Sebastian; it was still wearing the sleeve of the jacket Sebastian had had on when they had met in the park. A more careful inspection revealed more body parts.

Rick gave a quiet moan when he heard the news. He looked down.

"Don't waste tears on that one." René said.

"You didn't know him." Rick said quietly.

"Perhaps not. But he wanted to kill us, would have killed us, but for the grace of the good God. So do not weep for him." René, usually the pacifist, was grim-faced and tense as he spoke.

Boris turned to the others. "There is more to this, I think. Moose, you and your mate take this, this, would-be murdering son of a bitch to the car. There's some rope in the back of mine. Tie him up and watch him. We'll scout around here, see if we can find any more survivors... and where the Hell is Vic?"

"I'm here," growled a deep voice. Vic stumbled out of the shadows, looking like the victim of a particularly nasty ax murder, covered in sticky red blood the rain had not yet completely washed from him.

"Jeez, man, what happened to you?" Larry said. Both Walt and Mitch immediately went to Vic.

"Oh, that young fool tried to shoot me." Vic put a paw to his skull. "But his aim leaves something to be desired... also, his knowledge of his were senses. Bled like a stuck pig, though. Easy boys! You'll get all bloody." Vic nevertheless hugged his cubs fiercely. "S'OK, no lasting damage," the big bear muttered softly to Walt and Mitch, then turned to the others.

What did you guys do here? That kid took off after he shot me. I kept still for a bit until I was sure the wound was good and closed. I started to follow him, keeping in the trees as much as possible Took me a while, but then BANG! I get knocked flat again. Big-assed explosion." Vic grinned. "I'm too old for this shit. I was too old for this shit a hundred years ago!"

Relieved laughter echoed around. "Vic, why don't you go with Moose and Rusty and take this guy and his bike back to the car. Sit down there and take a rest out of the rain for a bit. We'll take a look around here." Boris motioned for the other to fan out and begin a search. Moose and Rusty herded Rick ahead of them, while Vic followed, peppering them with questions.

Once back at Boris's vehicle, they examined Vic's head. The deep gash caused by the bullet was nearly healed, fresh pink skin formed a thick rope that followed the track of the bullet that had nearly taken his life. In time, the scar would fade. It would take longer for the hair to grow back.

"Hey, easy, boys... that damn well hurts!" Vic winced as Rusty gently probed the area. "Don't fuss, I'm OK. I'm more interested in who this guy is and what happened."

Moose filled him in on what details they knew, with Rick adding a few extra details and once again protesting his innocence.

"You shut the hell up!" Moose barked at one point, snarling at Rick.

"No, let him speak." Vic looked at Rick speculatively. "Somehow, I think he might be telling the truth... at least mostly." He pulled Moose aside and away from the vehicle and spoke softly. Rusty followed. "Remember, he was the one who looked uncomfortable with Sebastian's attitude when we met with them and I caught something else from him then, too."

"Guilt, probably." Moose said.

"No. Remorse... or regret," Rusty corrected. "He didn't 'feel' like the others to me."

"Ya think?" Moose was plainly still unconvinced. "Well, maybe. But I don't like it and if those others are still out there..." He left the rest unsaid.

"Here's the rope. Tie him up." Vic tossed the rope to Moose, who tied Rick's hands behind his back and then trussed his feet for good measure. They all sat, watching each other. Rusty absent-mindedly massaged Moose's shoulders while they watched and waited, rubbing the same spot over and over.

"You've done that spot, lover. Try the other side."

"OK," Rusty said and continued kneading Moose's left shoulder, looking off in the distance.

Moose sighed. Rusty was obviously distracted. Soon, the noise of the other bears became noticeable as they worked their way back to the cars.

"Anything else?" Vic asked.

"Nothing. At least, nothing we could find," René said.

"Well, there ain't much left to find," Larry said.

"Not so fast. Look what we found over by that ridge of trees." Boris and Robert walked into the group, pushing a lightly scratched but otherwise intact Snake ahead of them. Snake's hands were tied behind his back with his belt, and he was struggling to walk and keep his pants up at the same time.

"TWO survivors?" Vic said. He turned to Rick. "Did you know about this?" Rick shook his head, still a bit dazed.

"You think there could be more out there?" Rusty asked, plainly worried.

"Well, I can't be positive, but I just don't see how anyone or anything else could have survived that explosion. It's a miracle these two did. What bodies we found were literally blown to pieces. We found some parts of heads, but there's no way we can tell which parts belong together. There just isn't enough. Larry found bits and pieces of at lest five different bikes, probably more; but it's the same problem; just not enough left to piece together."

Boris rubbed his beard. "Judging by where we found him," pointing at Rick, "and the fact he wasn't all that badly injured, I'd say that part of his story at least checks out. That had to be one huge pile of explosives. If there was an accident, and this one left before that, he could have survived. But the others, if they were anywhere in that blast radius; well, even our kind wouldn't survive that. Boris looked back towards the devastated clearing. "I think we can assume that, except for Rick and this one here, they're all dead."

"So... what's your story?" Boris prodded Snake with the butt of his flashlight. Snake began to tell the group of how he'd fallen in with the rogues. The rain began to fall heavily again.

Later, the bears were quiet as they made their ways back to the other vehicles. Hardly any words were spoken. Each was shaken, not only because of the gruesome deaths of the rogues, but also their own close brush with death. Weres often lost their old human habits of worrying about death and thinking of their own mortality. Some even grew careless of their own safety. But something like this brought it home to them in a forceful way.

"Could we have somehow survived that?" Rusty asked as he opened the car door, breaking the silence. He was still unsure of the extent of were powers of healing. Moose watched Rick intently, as the others moved to their vehicles.

Vic chewed on an unlit cigar, "Don't be foolish," he muttered. "there wouldn't have been enough of us left to bury."

The rain had once again tapered off, it was full dark now. The storm clouds were blowing away, leaving a clear, starry and moonlit sky behind.

"And now, I fear we have much work to do, and not very much time to do it in." Boris said. "We can leave no traces behind. Any body parts, even scraps of skin or fragments of bone could yield DNA evidence. They would most certainly be analyzed. And the anomalies would betray our existence. Vic, do you feel like walking?"

Vic nodded.

"Good. I suggest we form a line and walk across clearing, through the barn area, and into the trees on that side. Keep a set distance apart, and do not miss anything. Any remains, no matter how small, must be collected. Robert, there is a roll of trash bags in the boot. Will you get it?" Robert nodded and fetched the plastic. He unrolled a bag for each of them, stopping at Rick and Snake, looking a silent question towards Boris.

"I think we must use them, too. We haven't much time. Someone will have heard the explosion and will come to investigate by morning I'm sure. We are lucky in the rain. No fire," Boris said. Robert handed them a bag each as well, while Walt untied them.

"I don't know about this," Moose said. "We're pretty remote here, you really think someone will come? I say, keep 'em tied up. We can do the job ourselves, just slower." Larry nodded in agreement, but Vic disagreed.

"We may be remote, but someone is bound to come to investigate. I don't think that everyone will have mistaken that blast for thunder. We can't leave any clues for them and we need the two extra sets of eyes and hands to have a hope of covering all this ground in time. I say, put 'em to work." Vic shifted the unlit cigar in his mouth.

Moose shrugged his heavy shoulders. "OK, if you say so."

It was a huge task, one made all the more urgent by the waning of the moon and the faint light showing in the eastern sky. Day was not that far off and daylight meant the possibility of investigators. All but Snake had were-enhanced sight and smell and that saving grace made the job possible. Not long after sun up, the grisly task was done. Another rain was moving in as they finished, likely as heavy as the last if the report on the radio was accurate, and that was a blessing as foot prints and tire tracks would be washed into the soil. The bags filled with remains were stuffed into the vehicles.

Walt and Vic took Snake and Rick's bikes, respectively. Walt topped off Snake's tank from the fuel cans in the back of the truck. Snake objected but there wasn't much he could do. Rick was numb to everything and just accepted the situation.

"We will bury these remains deep in the earth, far from here." Boris sighed. "The border is not far and I know of a an old abandoned mine that would be perfect for our needs. Luckily, there are many places where we can cross unobserved." He was silent for a while. "Such a waste." he sighed again, shaking his head.

Chapter 11

Rusty sighed. "Well, that's over, at least. Can we head back now, Boris?"

"Hardly. You are forgetting that a mess has been left for us."

Rusty smacked his forehead. "I forgot! The farm!"

Moose groaned and looked at Boris. "Damn me, another garbage detail. Well, I vote we make these guys do most of the work this time," he said, gesturing to Snake and Rick. Snake started to protest, but Larry cut him off.

"If he's tellin' the truth... IF he is, mind you, he didn't have nuthin' to do with what happened back there. An' I don't think it's all that wise to let a stranger in on, well, you know..." Larry's voice trailed off, but he looked directly into Boris' eyes.

"My friend, I think it is too late for that." Boris's voice was sad.

"Too late? What the Hell you mean, 'too late'?" Larry was about to argue, but Boris motioned for quiet.

"You are forgetting what the young man said when he was telling us his story. He was waiting for Kyle, hoping for the chance of some, what did he call it, 'afternoon delight'?" He looked at Snake, who blushed and nodded. "He implied that he had had sex with one of our departed cousins the night before. That is what you meant, correct?" Once again, Snake nodded.

"Aw, shit! You mean you didn't just fuck him, you got fucked, too?" Larry was appalled.

"Yeah, so? What's it to you? You're all are queer, ain'tcha?" Snake said defensively. The other bear's faces showed various shades of puzzlement, anger and frustration.

"Well, there is one way to check," Boris said, reaching for the still-tied Snake. Snake shied away apprehensively. Both he and Rick had had their hands re-tied once they had finished helping with the clean up in the area surrounding the barn. Snake raised his hands in a defensive gesture.

"No, young one, I mean you no harm. This will seem odd but it is necessary. I need to smell you. Then I promise, I will explain this to you."

"What kind of weird ass shit is this?" Snake was clearly nervous and unconvinced. He attempted to shy away again, but Larry had a hold of one arm and forcefully moved Snake closer to Boris.

"Just shut up and stand still." Larry growled.

Boris said softly, "Trust me, this is... necessary. May I?" The big bear calmly waited. Snake considered; the man who apparently held all the cards was politely waiting for his permission. It was a kind of respect he wasn't used to being given unasked. He silently nodded.

Boris sniffed carefully at Snake, his nose taking in the myriad scents that the man gave off. His werebear senses were at their sharpest when processing scents. Like their ursine relatives, werebears' sense of smell was exquisitely sensitive, far more acute than any human's and superior to any animal's. He snuffled at Snake's hand and lingered at the nape of his neck. Snake squirmed, but Larry put a heavy paw on his shoulder. Snake stilled and Boris finished his inspection with a prolonged sniffing of his head. He straightened, looked at the other bears and nodded.

"It is faint, but there is no mistaking it; were, mingled with human. He will change." Vic gave Boris a concerned look as if to ask a question and Boris almost reading his mind continued. "Luckily, he is kindred and that's a blessing, it will make all this easier for him; but yes, he will become as we."

"Will someone tell me what the fuck is goin' on here?" Snake demanded. "Now? In English?"