Chapter 113

NOAH

Noah tried to hold his ground, but the bear was running toward him now. He lowered the phone from his ear and yelled, “Micah!”

He took two steps backward on instinct. He wasn’t running, but he was pretty sure it was the better option right now.

On the third step back, his heel snagged on a fallen branch. He fell backward, arms flailing, and his phone went soaring through the air.

“Micah!” Noah couldn’t take his eyes off the advancing predator to see if his brother was coming to help, but he prayed he’d yelled loud enough to be heard over the running tractor.

The bear slowed as it approached Noah lying on his back. The fall had knocked the wind out of him, but he wasn’t breathing anyway. The bear’s large paw lifted and swiped down faster than any animal that large should’ve been able to move.

Noah cried out once more as the claws sliced across his thigh. “Micah!”

A boom filled the air, followed by another, and the bear jerked backward and fell onto its side.

Noah could hear