Adam and the Bear
Folks, as promised, www.matthewhansen.net will be offering a free e-book to download in the next month. Here's a preview of the novella, called Adam and the Bear.
When Adam Winston first looked into the eyes of the bear he felt an overwhelming full-body fear that was as frosty and numb as the cold air of the cave he found himself in. (Weeks later, when the bear’s teeth crunched into his spine, Adam would remember this initial fear.) The massive brown Grizzly lay only five feet away; not close enough for Adam to smell the musky breath from the fanged mouth of the massive beast, but close enough to smell his sodden fur in the damp, dark grotto.
The bear lay almost motionless, save for his brown eyes which did not leave Adam’s; it seemed the bear had been waiting some time for him to awake. After staring into the deep eyes and lethargic snarl of the bear, Adam noticed (for the brief moment he took his eyes off the salivated glare) the bear’s giant head was highlighted with a small patch of blonde that fit like a skullcap. After a few more minutes, Adam swallowed for the first time, and tried to breathe normally. The palpable fear ebbed slightly as Adam tried to move, except he couldn’t. Initially Adam thought it was shock that precluded him from doing so. He breathed deeply, still staring at the bear who did the same, but couldn’t budge himself. It was now that Adam looked down to his leg.
His tibia bone was broken. It protruded out slightly at his kneebone – the bone was twisted and punctured his skin like a crack in a frozen popcan. When Adam ran his finger down along his knee it stung and he almost fainted feeling the bulge of bone. There was a rip the size of a palm print around his knee – it was just below that the bone burst through – and his skin was a sickly blackened grey colour. Blood was matted to his pants – it had clotted and created a thin layer over his skin like cellophane.
When Adam Winston first looked into the eyes of the bear he felt an overwhelming full-body fear that was as frosty and numb as the cold air of the cave he found himself in. (Weeks later, when the bear’s teeth crunched into his spine, Adam would remember this initial fear.) The massive brown Grizzly lay only five feet away; not close enough for Adam to smell the musky breath from the fanged mouth of the massive beast, but close enough to smell his sodden fur in the damp, dark grotto.
The bear lay almost motionless, save for his brown eyes which did not leave Adam’s; it seemed the bear had been waiting some time for him to awake. After staring into the deep eyes and lethargic snarl of the bear, Adam noticed (for the brief moment he took his eyes off the salivated glare) the bear’s giant head was highlighted with a small patch of blonde that fit like a skullcap. After a few more minutes, Adam swallowed for the first time, and tried to breathe normally. The palpable fear ebbed slightly as Adam tried to move, except he couldn’t. Initially Adam thought it was shock that precluded him from doing so. He breathed deeply, still staring at the bear who did the same, but couldn’t budge himself. It was now that Adam looked down to his leg.
His tibia bone was broken. It protruded out slightly at his kneebone – the bone was twisted and punctured his skin like a crack in a frozen popcan. When Adam ran his finger down along his knee it stung and he almost fainted feeling the bulge of bone. There was a rip the size of a palm print around his knee – it was just below that the bone burst through – and his skin was a sickly blackened grey colour. Blood was matted to his pants – it had clotted and created a thin layer over his skin like cellophane.
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