Chapter 3: The Bear’s Vigil
Outside, the storm had lessened to a steady drizzle, the rain falling in soft sheets, but the bear remained where it had first stood beneath the ambulance bay’s canopy. It hadn’t moved an inch since the boy had been brought inside. Its massive frame was still, and its amber eyes never left the hospital doors, as if it were waiting for something. Or someone.
Parker, the Animal Control officer, surveyed the scene, her eyes narrowing in consideration. She stood with her team just inside the fence, watching the bear. Despite its imposing size and wild nature, it didn’t seem aggressive, only patient—almost as though it had been trained to wait.
“Are you sure we don’t need a tranquilizer?” Anika asked, stepping closer to the outer doors, her voice low. She didn’t want to provoke the animal, but the situation was growing stranger by the minute.
Parker shook her head. “Not yet. Let’s see if we can tag it first. I don’t want to escalate this unless we have to.” She looked at the team and motioned to one of her officers, who stepped forward with a long pole equipped with a GPS tag.
The bear blinked but made no attempt to move as the officer approached cautiously. Its focus was entirely on the hospital. Anika could feel the tension in her chest as she watched the animal’s unblinking gaze, as if it were waiting for something—waiting for the boy to return, perhaps.
The officer gently touched the bear’s fur with the pole. The animal’s nostrils flared slightly, and for a moment, Anika thought it would react. But instead, it lowered its head, a small exhale escaping its muzzle, and let the officer place the tag without a struggle.
The tag blinked to life, sending a soft amber light beneath the wet fur. Parker nodded. “Tagged. We can track it now.”
Anika stepped back inside, her mind still circling back to the boy. Evan’s condition had stabilized, but he was still unconscious, his small frame now warm beneath the blankets. His pulse was stronger, but he wasn’t responding to external stimuli, and his shallow breathing was a constant reminder of the trauma he’d endured.
She leaned against the counter in Trauma One, reviewing his medical chart again. His injuries didn’t match a typical fall from a height. The bruising and rope marks suggested something else—something more sinister. Abduction. The sedatives in his system. He hadn’t just been left in the storm. He had been taken, transported like a package.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. It was one of the nurses, a tense expression on her face. “Dr. Sorel, you might want to take a look at this.”
Anika followed the nurse down the hall, her mind racing. When they reached the outer window, she looked outside, where the bear still sat, unmoving.
And then she saw it—a glint of something in the distance. A vehicle.
A truck. Headed toward the hospital.
Anika’s heart skipped a beat.
“Who’s coming now?” she murmured.
But she had a sinking feeling it wasn’t going to be anyone she was prepared to see.
To be continued…