Bearfooting (Part Two)

Excerpted from Fantastic Fables of Foster Flat Volume Two: More Suspenseful Tales with a Twist (https://payhip.com/b/H7NV)

As everyone filed out of the meeting room, Mayor Etheridge motioned to Marcus to follow him out of the room and to his office adjacent to the council room. 

"Come on, Beergut, let's go see what the mayor wants." The two men meandered among the crowd for a minute or two before quietly slipping into the mayor's office.

"You wanted to see us, Mr. Mayor?"

Etheridge looked up from where he was sitting behind his desk and frowned. "I wanted to see you…in private." He glared at Beergut who merely stood there with a silly smile on his face. 

"Sorry," Marcus replied. "I didn't…"

"Never mind," the mayor interrupted. "What I need to talk to you about will likely take more than just one man. Let him stay."

"What's on your mind?" Marcus asked.

"I take it from what you said in that meeting that you're no more happy about the outcome than I am."

Marcus nodded. "Seems like a waste of time to me. Plenty more bears where that one came from, but I don't know that there's much we can do about it. The vote passed unanimously."

Yeah, well, that's why you're not sitting in this seat, the mayor started to say, but then thought better of it.

"If there's one thing I've learned from my many years in politics is that sometimes leaders need to do what they know is right, and be damn what the public may think."

Marcus stared at him. "What are you saying?"

"Just that you seemed to have a viable plan of action that would resolve this matter once and for all. In fact, if it were handled properly no one need be any the wiser about how the matter was resolved…if you get my drift."

Marcus glanced from the mayor to Beergut who nodded. "Yeah, I get it. Is this an official request from the mayor's office?"

Etheridge paused for a moment before replying. "If any finds out what you're doing, the mayor's office will deny having any knowledge of the incident."

Marcus frowned.

"But I can tell you this. Etheridge Waltham, private citizen and one of the wealthiest men in the county, never forgets a favor."

"That's good enough for me," Marcus replied. "Let's go Beergut. We've got work to do."

Mimi sat with her back to the Oriental maple that did an excellent job of hiding her from view. She checked her supplies for the third time: binoculars that allowed her to see clearly down most of Main Street, sleeping bag just in case it turned into a long night or grew too cold in the early morning hours, four ham and cheese sandwiches (down from the original six she'd brought), and a quart bottle of Fresca, still half full even after she'd used it to wash down the other two sandwiches. She sure hoped her little bear cub friend liked ham and cheese as much as she did. She slid to one side and reached beneath her rump to pull out the collar and leash that she hoped to slip on the bear cub if or when he showed up.

Everything is ready, she thought as she twisted around to take another look at the large clock hanging over the Foster Flat Mineral and Lapidary Museum. Eleven-seventeen and the main thoroughfare is closed up tighter than a tick on a hound. That's what she loved about the town where she'd grown up. No late night shenanigans for her village. Well, except possibly tonight if she was lucky. Straightening up, she picked up the binoculars and studied the street for any sign of a small black bear cub.

"Please show up," she muttered to herself. "I don't want to sit out here all night long. I brought you some ham and cheese sandwiches. My mom makes the best sandwiches around. She really does." She thought about eating another one herself but then thought better of it. Those sandwiches need to last the night as well as being an enticement to the bear that had her out here in the first place. 

Time placed slowly in the quiet little town and after a full day of school followed by helping her mom at the store, it wasn't long before Mimi found herself dozing off. She'd pulled the sleeping back up over her legs and abdomen to stave off the dropping temperature, but the cozy little nest she'd made for herself just made it that much harder to stay awake. Luckily the old clock chimed every fifteen minutes and marked the hour with deep bongs for each hour passed, so she could catch little catnaps without being concerned she'd spend the night sound asleep and miss the bear.

Meanwhile, the bear cub had taken refuge in a small park a block off of Main Street, staying hidden most of the time from the few humans that passed through its walkways. He'd already checked out the two garbage cans at either end of the park but came up with nothing more than the remains of a sausage and egg biscuit which he had readily consumed several hours ago. He'd then crawled back under the bushes where he'd spent the rest of the day and much of the evening until once again the need to relieve his hunger and thirst grew more important than staying safely hidden.

He recalled seeing a large dumpster in the alleyway he had run down that morning to escape from the angry human with the screechy voice. He returned to it now but was disappointed to find that the dumpster's contents were securely locked away despite all his efforts. Frustrated, he ambled to the other end of the alley in the direction of Main Street, sniffing the night air. 

What was that delicious smell coming from that direction? There were several exciting aromas, many which he didn't recognize but one particular one had to be food. It just smelled too good not to be edible. Besides, there were also the familiar odors of his old home he'd detected the night before. Those combinations were too much to ignore. He eased himself out onto Main Street.

"Do you see her? What's she doing now?" Beergut asked, trying unsuccessfully to take the binoculars from Marcus who pushed his hands away. The two men stood on the second floor of Marcus's Army Surplus store that gave them a full view of Main Street as far north as the Mast General Store.

"She's doing the same thing she was doing ten minutes ago when you asked. Nothing. Not a damn-blasted thing." He lowered the binoculars and reached in the back pocket of his fatigues for the flask. He took a long draught of the liquid before reluctantly surrendering it to his partner. 

"Not too much," he warned. "We need to stay alert."

"Sure thing, Boss," Beergut replied, then took an equally long pull on the mouth of the flask. "Warms all the way down, it does."

"What if the bear don't show?" Beergut asked, reluctantly returning the flask to its owner.

"Then we return here tomorrow night and the night after that," Marcus replied with a disgusted sneer on his face. 

"Seems like a lot of fuss over a little ol' bear," Beergut said, "especially considering we're not getting paid."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"What do you mean?" Beergut asked.

"Well, besides our corrupt mayor owing us a big favor, I took the liberty of making a call today to an old Army buddy of mine down in Atlanta. He's got a pretty sweet deal going…illegal as hell but just that much sweeter because of the stupid laws."

"What's that?"

"He sells wild animals," Marcus said as he raised the binoculars to his eyes again and leaned out the window to get a better view north and south. "He told me if we brought him a black bear cub alive and in relatively good shape, he'd pay us $500 for it."

"You're shitting me," Beergut replied, a skeptical look on his face.

"Honest to god truth. Damn thing will be out of our hair, and we'll make a few hundred bucks to boot. Hell, we play our cards right, we won't even have to catch it. We'll let little ol' Mimi do the work for us."

There he is! Mimi sat up straight, her heart beating rapidly at the sight of the bear cub sniffing around the same stature of the mama bear and her cub where she'd seen him the night before. I wonder what's so special about that particular pair, she thought as she reached into the paper bag to pull out one of the ham and cheese sandwiches. Well here goes nothing, she thought as she slowly crawled from her hiding place, the food in one hand, leash and collar in the other. The baby bear continued to sniff around the stature so intently Mimi was able to get within ten feet before the cub looked up. 

Mimi held out the sandwich and whispered in a soothing voice. "I brought this for you. It's ham and cheese, and you can take my word for it. It's delicious." She gently waved it in the bear's direction and watched as the cub raised its nose to take a whiff. Mimi broke off one corner of the sandwich, making sure it had a piece of ham and cheese between the toasted slices of bread and tossed it in the cub's direction. It landed a foot or two away from him. After a moment of hesitation, the cub walked over to it, sniffed at it, and then quickly gulped it down. 

"Didn't I tell you it was good?" Mimi said, chuckling softly at the satisfied look on the baby bear's face. He's so cute, she thought, then stopped herself. She studied the bear more closely, finally deciding the cub must be a female. At least until someone like my uncle tells me otherwise, she thought. She broke off another corner of the sandwich and tossed it a couple of feet from the bear, bending down as she did so. With much less hesitation this time, the bear walked over to the morsel of food and downed it quickly before looking up at the remaining sandwich in Mimi's hand. 

"You want the rest of this?" Mimi asked as she placed the sandwich down next to her. "Come and get it. I promise I won't hurt you." 

She watched as the bear eyed first the sandwich and then her. "There's more where that came from as well. As many sandwiches as you can eat," Mimi assured her. "I've even got one with extra mayo if you like, but let's start with this one." She reached out and slid the sandwich a few inches closer to the bear who took a couple of long sniffs before stepping cautiously forward. Mimi pretended not to pay any attention but watched the cub slowly creep forward out of the corner of her eye. When he finally reached the sandwich and started eating it, she reached out and slowly placed the collar around the cub's neck while whispering to her gently. "It's going to be all right. We're going to get you home somehow." But where was that? As she asked herself that question, she glanced up to the stature of the mama bear and her cub, and suddenly knew the answer. She smiled as she watched the cub finish off the sandwich and look around for more.

"Still hungry, huh? Well, I've got more right over there," she said pointing behind her. "Let's just walk over and see if I can't find the one with the extra may…"

"That won't be necessary," a rough voice interrupted. As Mimi turned around, she felt a calloused hand grab her arm and wrench the leash away. Marcus and Beergut! Where the hell had they come from?

"We'll take it from here," Marcus continued as he handed the leash to his partner with the now frightened bear at the other end fighting against the constraint of the leash and collar. "Take the scruffy thing to the truck and stuff him in the cage that's in the back."

"Leave her alone!" Mimi shouted starting towards Beergut, but Marcus stepped in to block her way. "Now you know better than to give us any trouble." He pushed her roughly away. "Stand aside. We are on official town business."

"Like hell you are," Mimi retorted, trying to push him back, but since Marcus outweighed her by over a hundred pounds, he only laughed. Look, girlie, I don't want to hurt you, but if you get in my way, I'll have no choice. " He shoved her again, this time much harder. Mimi stumbled backward, falling to the ground, her head hitting something hard and unforgiving. She saw stars and felt like she was going to pass out. That's when she heard the first growl.

"What was that?" Beergut asked. "Did you hear it?"

Marcus looked around, suddenly wary. "It was nothing. Just the wind," he replied with an unconvincing tone. He turned his attention back to Beergut. "I thought I told you to take the little shit to the truck." But before either of them could move, they heard a second growl, this one much louder and appearing to come from several different directions. 

"Holy Mother of…" Beergut shouted. "What the hell is going on? Did you see that?" He pointed down the street at one of the other bear figures about a half block away. This one stood on its hind legs with its front paws in the air. "That damn bear just moved!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Marcus shouted back. "It's a damn stat…What the…?"

Mimi sat up on one elbow and felt the back of her head where a lump was already forming. She stared down the street where Beergut had pointed, but she couldn't get her eyes to focus properly. Even so, it appeared that the bear in question no longer possessed the shiny veneer of its former self, and it was advancing on them on legs that seemed quite mobile. 

Suddenly, a third and then a fourth growl cut through the night's air as other bears came to life upset by the antics they'd been witnessing and advanced towards the two men. Beergut dropped the end of the leash, and the bear cub scampered away from him and towards Mimi who had managed to push herself to a sitting position on the sidewalk. She reached out her arms, and the cub came to her. 

"This can't be happening," Marcus said, though the look of terror on his face confirmed he didn't believe his own statement. The two men stood back to back as they slowly retreated in the direction of Marcus's truck as several of the Bearfooting bears herded them in that direction, growling their dislike for the men. 

"I told you Foster Flat was a bear-friendly town," Mimi yelled after them. "I just had no idea how bear friendly," she muttered more softly. "No idea at all." She suddenly felt very sleepy, and her head hurt something awful. "I think I better lie down for just a minute," she whispered to the bear cub who nuzzled against her. 

Mimi tried to slap the hand on her shoulder away. "Please, Mom, just a few more minutes," she muttered. "I don't want any breakfast this morning." 

But the hand continued to shake her. "Wake up, Mimi," a gruff voice, clearly not her mother's, said.

She opened her eyes to see her Uncle Bo towering over her, a concerned look on his face. "I thought you were going to call me when the bear cub showed up," he said.

"I was…I will…I," Mimi tried to answer but was still too groggy to make any sense. She tried again. "I was going to call, but then it got kinda crazy, and I guess I forgot." She raised one hand to the back of her head and felt the lump. No wonder her head was hurting so much. It all started coming back to her: the bear cub appearance, followed by Marcus and Beergut trying to take the cub from her, and then…nah, that couldn't have happened, could it? 

"Well, no matter, I see you've made friends with the little guy," Bo replied.

"Gal," Mimi corrected as she slowly sat up and felt the world spin around her for a moment. She looked over to see the bear cub lying quietly next to the Bearfooting stature. "I'm pretty sure she's a she," Mimi continued.

Bo took a closer look at the cub as it started to move around. "You may be right. It can be pretty hard to tell when they're young." 

Mimi reached up with her left hand to brush the hair from her face and noticed for the first time the leash still wrapped around her hand. 

"We'll take her home for now, and I'll drop her off at the nature center tomorrow," Bo said as he started to reach for the leash.

"No!' Mimi shouted, jerking the leash out of his reach.

"What? That was the plan we agreed to with the town council."

"That was before we knew where she came from," Mimi countered. She rose slowly, then waited for the world to stop spinning before straightening up.

"But we don't know where she's from…do we?" Bo asked, a perplexed look growing on his face.

Mimi pointed to the stature. "I think she's drawn to that stature because parts of it came from her home area." She pointed to the writing on the back of the stature. "It says here that the Blue Ridge Rafting Company decorated this one. They're a whitewater rafting business located in the Nantahala valley area. I bet if we go there we'll find her mother."

"But that's over thirty miles from here. How could she…"

"I don't know," Mimi interrupted him, "but I have a strong hunch that's where she's from. We've got to give it a try."

Bo nodded slowly. "Okay, I guess we can give it a shot." He glanced at his watch. "It'll be sunrise soon. We can head in that direction, but if we don't find her mother…"

"Then we'll decide the next step," Mimi finished for him.

"I put Lucy's dog pen in the back of the truck yesterday."

"That's okay," Mimi said as she started walking towards her uncle's truck, the cub following behind her. "She can sit in the cab with us."

Bo shook his head. "I swear you're getting as bossy as your mother."

"It runs in the family," Mimi retorted.

The first things Mimi noticed as Bo pulled into the Nantahala River camp and canoe park were two signs. The first was a simple sign tacked to a post: Bear Sanctuary. The second was a life-size replica of Yogi Bear holding its a sign: Hi Kids! Don't feed the bears. Be sure Dad keeps the car windows rolled up, and in much smaller type, Over 40 people have been hurt by bears this year.

Cute sign, Mimi thought as she patted the bear cubs head, with a serious message. 

"I think we're in the right place," she said as Bo stopped the truck and put it in park.

"Could be," Bo replied, "but I wouldn't get your hopes up just yet. This is part of the Nantahala National Forest which spans over 500,000 acres. In other words, there's a lot of land where his mother could be."

"Her," Mimi corrected him again. "That's okay. I have a good feeling about this place.

"Well, it's sure off the beaten track enough," Bo replied. "If my truck didn't have four-wheel drive, I'm not sure we would have made it back here."

As Mimi climbed out of the truck, she looked around verifying what she already suspected. They were all alone though there were some tire tracks that appeared to be recent. "Come on, Gallie, let's go find your mama," she said as she pulled gently on the leash.

"Gallie?" 

"Yep, that's her name."

"Don't tell me you've named her. You know better than to do that. You name an animal, and then you start getting attached…"

"I know, I know." Mimi stopped him. "You've told me that a dozen times, but I'm already attached. I also know that Gallie needs to be out here with her mother, so quit worrying and help me find her."

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

Mimi considered the question but came up blank.

"I'm not sure. I hadn't gotten that far in my thinking."

Bo groaned. Then looking around, he pointed off in the distance. "Looks like there's a clearing about halfway up that mountain. Let's see if we can find a trail and take a hike. Who knows, we might get lucky." He pulled a couple of bottles of water out of the truck cab and tossed one to his niece. 

Mimi caught the bottle, nodded, and together they headed in the direction Bo had pointed. Sure enough, at the edge of the parking area, they found a well-worn path. The three of them trekked for close to an hour before they finally reached the clearing which turned out to be a large growth of blueberry bushes.

"It's not quite the time for blueberries to be ripe yet, but I figured this would be a likely place for a mama bear to hang out," Bo said as he picked a few of the unripened berries from a nearby bush.

"Now what?" 

"You tell me. This was your idea, remember."

Mimi frowned. This was beginning to feel like a bad idea after all. 

"Why don't you let him…I mean her…off the leash and see what happens," Bo said more gently. 

"What if he runs off?" Mimi asked.

Bo shrugged. "He seems pretty taken with you. I don't think she'll go far."

Mimi nodded. Hell, I don't have any better plan, she thought. I may as well give it a try. 

She pulled Gallie to her and removed the collar. At first, the bear cub just stood there and looked up at her. "Go on. Go find your mother," Mimi urged him, then pushed him gently with one foot.

Finally realizing she was free, she turned and trotted away several feet before stopping. She raised on her back haunches, sniffed the air before letting out a sound that sounded to Mimi remarkably like a baby crying for its mother. Gallie repeated it several times, took a few more steps forward then repeated the cry. 

It felt to Mimi like her heart being wrenched from her chest by the sound. Oh baby, my poor baby, she thought. Gallie strolled to the edge of the clearing and called again, but again she was met only with silence. Finally, she lay down with her face between her paws.

Bo and Mimi looked on and waited. Finally, Bo said, "Well, it was worth a try. Why don't you put her collar back on and we'll…"

But the roar of a bear off in the distance stopped him in his tracks.

"What the…?" Mimi asked. "Was that her?"

Bo pointed to the bear cub who was now standing on its hind legs and sniffing the air in the direction the sound had come from. Before he could answer her question, Gallie replied with a roar of her own though it was several octaves higher and still sounded more like the cry of a human child. Several seconds later they heard another growl, this one coming from much closer.

"Ahh, we need not be here when that mama bear arrives," Bo said as he reached out and took Mimi's hand and started pulling her back towards the path.

"But I can't just leave her," Mimi replied as she dug in her heels. "What if that's not her mother?"

"Oh, that's her mother all right," Bo replied. He turned back to his niece and looked her straight in the face said, "You've done your job, Mimi. Now it's time to leave."

Mimi stared back. She knew her uncle was right. He'd never steered her wrong especially when it came to matters of nature. She nodded, then turned back to the bear cub. "Bye-bye, Gallie girl. Have a great life." And with that she allowed her uncle to lead her away.