Chapter 2

Luckily, our high school required students to live on campus.

It was Sunday, the day to return to school. I stayed out until 5 PM before going back.

Lucas and I went to the same school. During evening study hall, I went to find him to ask for this week's allowance.

When I got to his classroom, Lucas was bragging to his classmates about going to Yellowstone for Memorial Day.

"My parents have already bought everything. I'll take photos for you guys. This time I'm going further than Tim."

Tim was Lucas's deskmate, who supposedly went to Yellowstone this month.

Hearing this, Tim said, "You can't go further than me. My dad said we reached the boundary. Going any further would be dangerous."

Lucas raised his chin arrogantly, "That's because your dad's not capable. My dad used to be in the army. He can kill a wolf with his bare hands."

I remembered from my previous life that we drove to a place in Yellowstone where there was a sign warning that going further would be very dangerous. Dad was hesitant and didn't want to continue.

But Lucas wasn't happy and said his classmate had gone that far, so he had to go further.

So Mom pressured Dad to keep driving.

Dad drove for a while but then couldn't find the way back.

We had entered in the afternoon, but by nightfall, we still didn't know how to get back to the main road.

That's when we saw someone waving at our car.

Dad, who had been looking for a way out all afternoon, felt hopeful and stopped in front of the person.

The person started knocking on our windows.

Mom and I were sitting in the back, and Dad said to me, "This must be a local. Aria, open the door for the man. We can give him a ride and he can show us the way out."

I remembered reading in a book that if you encounter someone waving in a remote area, you should never stop.

Because in this situation, there are only two possibilities.

One is that it's a real person, but in a place with nothing around, a real person you encounter is either a robber or a fugitive.

The other possibility is that it's a bear-man, which are very clever and can mimic human actions.

The person outside kept knocking on the window but didn't speak.

I felt the second possibility was more likely.

I told Dad about this and said, "Let's just drive away."

Usually, whatever I said, Lucas would argue against it. This time was no exception.

Lucas said, "Aria, do you have some kind of paranoia? There aren't that many bad people in the world."

Mom poked my head with her fingernail, "You think you're so smart after reading a few books? You think you have better judgment than us two adults?"

Dad also frowned in the front seat, "Just open the door when I tell you to. Why so much nonsense? Open it quickly."

I didn't want to.

Mom reached over me, cursing as she opened the door herself.

The moment the door opened, a furry big head thrust in. My arm suddenly hurt terribly as it effortlessly dragged me out.

Up close, I saw it was indeed a bear-man.

"Dad, Mom, save me!"

The bear had my arm clamped tightly in its jaws. The pain made my whole body tremble, but I still struggled desperately.

But how could human strength resist a bear?

Amidst my screams, Mom quickly closed the door.

The bear threw me straight up into the air, and I fell vertically to the ground.

I felt like all my bones were shattered and my nerves severed. The bear bit open my stomach with one bite.

Mom and Dad drove away.