A Desperate Escape
A bear was roaming in the distance, deep within **Bear Territory**. Chester and Monia pressed their backs against a tree trunk, watching the beast with bated breath.
"Won't... won't it catch our scent?"
"It probably already has."
The two spoke in hushed whispers to avoid provoking the bear.
"But it just had a feast of **Ant-wolves**, so if we're lucky, it'll ignore us and move on."
"...And if we're unlucky?"
"It'll attack."
At his blunt response, Monia's body went rigid.
Telling Monia it was okay as she pressed herself closer to him, Chester reached down to his waist and pulled out a **Chili Powder Bomb**. Wrapped in two broad leaves and bound with vines, the Chili Powder Bomb could be easily drawn just by tearing the leaves away.
Grasping the Chili Powder Bomb, Chester realized his own body was stiff with tension, cold sweat slicking his skin.
Whew... haaa...
He took a quiet, deep breath. Even though he had successfully threatened and driven off a bear once before, trauma was not something that vanished so easily.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Monia couldn't tell if the pounding in her ears was Chester's heartbeat or her own. But one thing was certain: Chester, who was currently holding her close as if to protect her, was also terrified of the bear lingering so close by.
For now, Monia reached down and pulled out the Chili Powder Bomb hanging from her own waist, just as Chester had instructed before they entered Bear Territory. He had told her to just throw it at the bear, regardless of whether she thought she would hit it. But... could this little thing really defeat a bear?
Sure, Ant was incredibly weak against the chili powder, she thought.
But a bear was incomparably stronger than an Ant-wolf pup. Monia clutched the Chili Powder Bomb tightly with both hands, her mind spinning with the simple, anxious thought that a stronger creature might just be better at enduring pain.
Regardless of the tension and fear gripping the two humans, the bear paid them no mind. It plopped down on the ground and began lazily licking the blood off its forepaws.
Sensing that the bear had suddenly stopped moving, Chester cautiously peeked around the tree trunk—and nearly choked on his own breath.
Oh, shit!
The bear was leaning its massive back right against the very tree they were hiding behind, still licking its paws. When Chester turned his head, he was horrified to see the back of the bear's head practically right in front of his face.
"W-what is it?"
Chester instantly clamped his hand over Monia's mouth. With a simple gesture, he signaled that the bear was right behind them.
There was no telling what sound might provoke the beast. All they could do was hold their breath, stay absolutely still, and remain as quiet as possible.
After grooming its forepaws, the bear began licking every part of its body it could reach. Once its grooming was finished, it just sat there, idly passing the time.
Just... go! Please! Just go anywhere else!
Why wasn't it moving? Chester cursed the bear in his mind.
Perhaps it had heard his silent pleas. The bear, which had been still for a while, finally began to move. Chester sharpened his senses, tracking its movements with extreme focus. But the result of his careful observation was...
Are you kidding me?!
The bear had curled up and fallen fast asleep.
Still, this might not be a bad thing.
"...Monia," Chester whispered softly.
"Yes?"
"The bear is asleep."
"...!"
Monia gasped silently. Asleep? Didn't that mean they would have to stay frozen here for who knew how long?
"Seeing how it's completely ignoring us, it must be too full to care."
"Ah."
A glimmer of hope shone in Monia's eyes at his explanation.
"Got it? We're going to move as carefully as possible so we don't wake it."
"...Okay."
Once Monia nodded, Chester slowly released his arms from around her and stood up with agonizing slowness. Monia and Ant followed his lead, rising to their feet just as carefully.
"..."
"..."
...
The three of them began to move, taking far more care and effort than they ever had during their usual explorations, ensuring they didn't make even the faintest sound. They walked at an awkward pace—faster than a crawl, but slower than a normal stride.
Once they had put a decent amount of distance between themselves and the bear, Chester signaled to quicken their pace. But just as they sped up, a cold wind swept through the forest. It was a light breeze, barely strong enough to lift the dry, withered leaves off the forest floor. However, the sudden rush of cold air hitting their tense, sweat-slicked bodies was incredibly difficult to bear.
As the three of them involuntarily shivered and paused, the sudden cold draft woke the bear. It opened its eyes.
Just as Chester was about to urge Monia and Ant forward again, the newly awakened bear realized the scent it had been smelling was drifting away and turned its gaze toward them. And then, seeing the two creatures it had never encountered on this island before, along with the same kind of animal it had just feasted on, the bear stood up.
Waking up and standing. It was a mundane sequence of actions, but the moment Chester saw the rising bear turn its head directly toward them and stretch, he screamed.
"Run!"
Chester shoved Monia's back as he yelled, and she bolted forward on instinct. Seeing her run, Chester kept a watchful eye on the bear as he sprinted after her. Taking that as its cue, the bear also began to charge.
"Wait! Didn't you say we shouldn't run away like this?!"
"Yeah, I did! I said they'll chase you if you show them your back!"
"Then we shouldn't be doing this! W-we should climb a tree instead!"
"Bears can climb trees!"
"What?! Who does he think he is, climbing trees when even our Ant can't?!"
"Besides, it would've attacked us whether we walked, stopped, or ran!"
Because the bear had already decided to make them its next meal. Chester decided to trust the weapon in his hand—the one he had never tested, the one he was anxious about because he didn't know if it would perform exactly as he had designed. It was a gamble, but without it, they stood no chance of escaping.
Despite its round, bulky appearance, the bear kicked up dirt as it closed the distance with terrifying speed. Second by second, it drew closer. They pumped their legs desperately, tearing through the forest, but the beast closed the gap as if their frantic efforts were entirely futile.
"Hic! Eek! Hieee!"
Even Monia, who was running with her eyes glued forward, could hear it. The terrifyingly fast thuds of the approaching beast! It felt as if the sound was right at her back. Right then, Chester threw the Chili Powder Bomb in his hand toward the bear.
The Chili Powder Bomb flew straight through the air and struck the charging bear square in the forehead. The thin clay shell shattered on impact, releasing a massive cloud of wild chili powder that clung to the beast's face.
—Graaaagh?!
Tripped up by the unexpected attack and the blinding, agonizing pain in its eyes, the bear lost its footing and went tumbling across the forest floor.
—Grug! Gh! Graaaaargh!
The fine spice had invaded not only its eyes but also deep into its nostrils, torturing the beast.
—Graaaaaaaaagh!
It was a pain the bear had never experienced in its entire life—a torment it would never have known had it lived a normal life. The beast thrashed in agony.
—Raaaaaaargh!
Leaving the bear's pitiful, agonizing roars behind them, Chester and Monia successfully crossed the boundary of Bear Territory.
"Why! *Pant!* Did the! *Whew!* Wind! *Pant!* Have to blow! *Gasp!* Right then?!"
"These things happen."
Having somehow made it out of Bear Territory and back near their shelter, Monia leaned against a tree, gasping desperately for air.
She had run so hard that her limbs felt completely numb, and her lungs, working overtime to pump oxygen through her body, felt like they were on the verge of bursting. Beside the half-delirious Monia, Chester wiped away his sweat, staring warily into the dark forest to make sure the bear wasn't following them.
Ssshh... huuu.
Running for that long had clearly taken a toll on Chester as well; his breathing was ragged, much like Ant, who lay completely limp on the ground beside him.
"Ah."
As Chester tried to catch his breath and reached down to check his spare Chili Powder Bombs, he realized they had clattered against each other and shattered during their frantic sprint. "Damn it. I shouldn't have tied them side-by-side. I thought the leaf wrapping would cushion them. Monia, what about yours?"
"One is... *gulp.* *Pant.* I mean..."
Monia tried to answer, but her mouth kept filling with saliva and her throat felt so constricted that she couldn't form proper words. Instead, she silently held out the Chili Powder Bombs in her hands. She had two of them. Because she had run with one clutched in her hand, both had survived the sprint intact.
"That's a relief."
Chester took the Chili Powder Bombs from her and resumed his watchful stance. "Monia, get up. No matter how tired you are, let's get back to the shelter before we rest."
"Y-yes. *Pant.* I know. I... *cough! Cough!*"
Seeing her break into a coughing fit mid-sentence, Chester silently handed her his water skin.
The two of them sat down in the forest just outside their shelter, taking a long-awaited rest while still feeling the lingering, terrifying presence of the bear echoing in their bones.