My heart is racing and I feel like I want to vomit but I fight my way through it. I can see the bear through the gap in the door. It is biting at rolled carpet holding the door open knowing that wasn’t there before and it has my scent. I pick up my spear and approach the door. I’ve practiced driving my spear tips into the wall and rolled carpet. This is the same thing.

  The bear is aware of my presence. It tries pulling on the door a few times. Does it sense a change? It’s still on all fours. My plan is to wait for it to stand and go for the heart. Even if I miss, I may hit another vital organ. I’m not sure my drop ceiling runners are strong enough to penetrate the bear’s skull, and the eye is such a small target, I think it is wiser to wait. I move to within striking distance. I hold the spear across my body with my right hand gripping it tightly overhand near the base and my left hand holding it underhand near the midpoint.

  When the bear’s head is close, I kick the door. This surprises it and it rears up. I step forward and poke the bear with the spear driving with my strength and weight. It screams in fury as I pull back on the handle, leaving the tip in its shoulder. I quickly pick up my second loaded spear and stab it again, this time on the right side of the torso. When I pull back, the tip pulls part of the way out and the bear swipes at it, knocking it to the floor. Blood gushes out, soaking the bear’s black fur red. I reload the first spear handle, and this time take a couple of steps before driving it into the bear. I hit the center of the chest. The bear jerks to one side, bending the spear tip and lodging it in place. It moves again to the other side, throwing its weight against the left door. The base of the spear slips out of my right hand and my left arm twists around at an awkward angle before I can let go. I feel a pop in my left shoulder and fall to the ground screaming in pain.

  The bear violently pulls at the door. Both of the shoelaces break, and the hydration belt is stretching to its limit. I can’t move my left arm, so I scoot back along the floor until I can reach the fixed spear with my right hand. I use it to help myself stand up and then back up to the far wall. I brace the base of the spear against the wall and support it with my right arm, keeping it pointed in the direction of the door. I’m panting in terror, maybe hyperventilating as the bear’s claw reaches inside the door and rips through the belt.

  The bloody black bear enters the room. “Get out of here!” I yell. “Go!” I scream a loud desperate screech and bang the back of the spear against the wall. It huffs, then turns around and leaves.

  I stay standing against the wall, spear at the ready for another five minutes or so. It doesn’t return and my good arm is fatiguing. I walk to the door and push it open with my right shoulder, lowering the spear tip into the gap as the doors part. I push it open wide and there is no bear there, just a trail of blood leading from the room out the opening on the left to an adjacent room.

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  I put my spear down and look at the remnants of materials that had held the door closed. My left hand is still useable, but every movement of my arm ignites blistering pain. With difficulty I knot together the shoelaces as best I can. Looking at the hydration belt it didn’t actually tear; the clasp failed. I tie the two sides together to help secure the door again. I don’t think the bear will return now. It had its chance and was too injured to attack anymore.

  I’m not breathing normally yet; instead, my deep breaths have turned quick and shallow. My heartrate still feels fast. My skin is cold and clammy and my fingernails are bluish. There are stinging cuts oozing blood from my palms and fingers from gripping the metal spears. I feel sick and dizzy and am sweating like crazy. I carefully sit down, then lie flat and still on my back with my arms at my sides. I feel lightheaded and move on the floor so I can put my legs up on the rolled carpet next to the bathroom area. I lie there on the damp padding for a long time, I don’t know how long. My right shoulder throbs and feels like it is on fire.

  The pain is still extreme, but relaxing has made it somewhat tolerable. My neck also hurts, but not as much. I can wiggle my toes and move my feet, so probably there is no spinal injury there. I just concentrate on relaxing everything and breathing as deep as I can. At some point though, I will have to move. No one is coming to help me.

  Eventually the clamminess starts to go away and my breathing returns to normal. I’m still lying on the damp floor and there is no sign of the bear. My shoulder is not only in pain but feels weird like it’s loose. I slowly extend my arms out to the sides and then over my head gritting my teeth against the agony. Something is definitely wrong. It’s more than a bruise or a sprain. My left elbow also hurts when I move it, but it is nothing compared to my shoulder. I try to put both arms under my head. It hurts so bad that I can’t at first. I struggle and slowly manage to reach both hands so that one cups the other under my head. I try to rub the back of my neck, massaging where it feels sore. I shake my head back and forth and rotate it around. Everything seems fine. I try to move my hands to the opposite shoulders under my body to probe if there is anything I can feel. As my left hand reaches below my right shoulder, I feel a popping sensation. The shoulder is still throbbing but somehow feels much better.

  Mainly with my right arm, I push myself up into a sitting position, then roll over to my knees and manage to stand up. The weight of my left arm hanging causes new pain, so I support it with my right. I’ll have to make some sort of sling. I just hope nothing is permanently damaged. I don’t know if I could set my own broken bone and certainly not with one hundred percent accuracy.

  I drink some water and finish the smoothie, then go look into the next room again. No bear, just the trail of red leading away from the door across the adjacent room and then to the left. I know I injured the bear severely, but I don’t know if it was fatal. Is it licking its wounds for another fight? Should I follow the blood and try to finish it off? If I don’t go now, will I lose the trail?

  I untie the doors and push through them into the next room. Everything is quiet aside from the hum of the fluorescent lights and the drizzle of falling sprinkler water. I don’t know how much pain I’ll be in tomorrow or how swollen my shoulder will be. Right now, I feel like I can use my left arm if necessary. I load a spear handle and grab four more tips. I’m going on a bear hunt.