Broken Bear

By Gabrielle R. Demonico

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents
are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

***

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***

Daniella
hated
her car.

Nothing worked the way it should any longer. True, it was impossible to find any mention of the proper use of duct tape in the
owner’s manual but she was certain that her Japanese junker was the reason for its existence. On the other hand, it was a paid for Japanese junker so she learned to live with it.

The good news was it would be a distant memory soon.

For the moment, however, she needed it to work.

“Just
start…”
she grumbled. “Please, if you start, I swear on my life that I will never say anything bad about you again. I promise.”

As
Daniella cranked the key, the engine emitted a primal screech. Daniella pumped the gas pedal with her right foot and grunted, “Come on baby, come on…”

The entire chassis shook and after a final ear-splitting cry, the car sputtered to life.

“Thank you, thank God!” She exclaimed as she patted and rubbed the dashboard.

With a ginger touch,
Daniella shifted it into gear and eased off the clutch. As she did, the steering wheel shimmied, the car began to lurch forward and she was on her way.

After a twenty-minute drive across town,
Daniella stopped to pick up her best friend, Tricia, from work. As it happened, Tricia’s American made piece of crap was at the mechanic and she needed a lift over there to get it.

“Hey girl!”
Tricia exclaimed as she got in Daniella’s car.

“Hey…”
Daniella said.

As she shifted her car back in gear, she asked, “So, how are we supposed to pick up your car? It’s already ten o’clock at night.”

Tricia reached down in her purse and within seconds pulled her hand back out.

“Spare key…” she said as she clutched it in her fingers. “
I paid for it already. We just have to pick it up.”

Daniella
nodded. “Oh, alright.”

They drove along for about a minute or so when Tricia asked, “Hey, speaking of cars, I bet you can’t wait to be rid of this one at last, huh?”

“Yeah,” Daniella replied. “You have no idea.”

“Did you decide what you are going to get yet?” Tricia asked.

“No,” Daniella said. “I can’t make up my mind. I’d like that red sports car we test-drove a couple of weeks ago. On the other hand, the SUV would be the practical choice.”

“Hmm,
mmm.” Tricia said as she nodded. “Tough choice. When will you decide?”

“Well, at least not until my first paycheck clears!”

“Oh right, there’s that minor detail isn’t there?”

“Yeah, it’s a small one but one I’m sure the financing company will pay attention to it before they decided to give me a loan, or not.”

“True.” Tricia replied. “Anyway, I’m sure that whatever you decide will be great.”

“I hope so.”
Daniella replied as they reached the western most side of town.

“It will be shorter if we cut through Slim Chance Pass…” Tricia said.

Daniella sighed.

“It rained not that long ago. I hate driving through there right after it rains.” She said.

“Yeah, I’m sorry Daniella.” Tricia replied. “I wasn’t thinking. Never mind, we can go through town. It’s fine. I’m not in a rush.”

As they sat at the light,
Daniella cursed at herself. It was time to move forward. She couldn’t live her life in fear of this any longer.

“No,” she said as she straightened herself up in her seat. “We’ll take Slim Chance.
You’re right; I need to get over this. Now is as good a time as any.”

“Are you sure?” Tricia asked. “I don’t mind.”

“Yes,” she replied. “I’m sure.”

For the next several minutes, the friends drove along in relative silence except for some minor chitchat about one of Tricia’s real estate showings earlier that day.

Then, a bit short of the road which led to the pass, Tricia said, “You still okay?”

Daniella
cast a quick glance in her friend’s direction and replied, “I’d be lying if I said I was.”

Tricia nodded.

“I am so proud of you sweetheart. God, when I think about all the shit that has happened to you in the past couple of years…”

“Thanks.”
Daniella replied.

“No, I mean it.” Tricia said. She gestured at the road ahead and continued, “I mean, wow. It’s incredible how strong you are.”

“Thank you,” Daniella said. “That means a lot coming from you. Aside from my mom, I don’t think anyone realized how dark things were for me after that happened.”

Tricia reached over and patted
Daniella’s hand.

“Okay, well, we don’t need to talk about it.” She said. “Let’s talk about something more upbeat. Tell me what’s going to be happening when you get there!”

After almost six months of effort, Daniella had managed to land her dream job in a fund raising capacity for the largest children’s charity in Pine Hill. As cities went in this part of the world, Pine Hill was the biggest for hundreds of miles in any direction. Daniella beat out at least a dozen other candidates that she knew of but it could have been many more.

The job came with a great salary and benefits, hence the potential car upgrade, not to mention a much-needed change of pace. By nature,
Daniella was a humble person focused on the needs, and happiness, of those closest to her. However, this achievement made her feel special in a way that she hadn’t before now. She wasn’t boastful of it. Instead she was, for once in her life, proud of herself.

As they drove, Tricia peppered
Daniella with questions about the whole thing. As much as she wanted to answer, Daniella wasn’t able to yet since her first day was still about a month away. Besides, there was so much to do between now and then that it sometimes seemed as if it would overwhelm her. Most days, her head spun a million different directions.

“Oh I am so thrilled for you,
Daniella.” Tricia said. “I cannot even begin to tell you how happy I am that you will be getting on with your life.”

Tricia and
Daniella smiled at each other for a moment when their whereabouts caught Daniella’s attention.

Slim Chance Pass.
She thought.

Daniella
gripped the wheel a bit tighter and fell silent.

“Everything will be fine…” Tricia said. “Do you want me to drive through the pass?”

“No,” Daniella replied. “I can do it. I
need
to do it.”

Tricia nodded.

“Okay,” she said. “I’m ready if you change your mind.”

White knuckled,
Daniella shifted her car into a lower gear as they began to climb the steep grade that led to the top of the pass. As far as Daniella was concerned, it was a horrible place. The descent was the worst and if the roads were slick at all, it could turn deadly in a flash.

From experience, she knew that all too well.

Tricia looked over at her friend and chuckled.

“Honey,” she said. “If you get any closer to the windshield, you are going to bump your face against it.”

Daniella was unaware of her extreme forward posture. With a sheepish grin, she made a half-hearted effort to relax back into the seat.

“Sorry…” she said. “Old habits I guess…”

Daniella downshifted her way along the road with a cautious tap on the brakes now and then. About midway down, the pass changed from a somewhat straight descent into a series of dramatic switchbacks and hairpin turns.

After a few minutes more, the women rounded the most dangerous curve on Slim Chance, and the whole county for that matter.

“Holy shit…” Tricia gasped. “Do you see that?”

“Do I see that?”
Daniella replied. “What am I blind? Of course I see it.”

***

As they entered the turn, it looked as if a car had veered off and gone down the embankment. From the looks of things, it happened not minutes before their arrival.

“
Daniella, stop the car.” Tricia said.

“I will.” She replied. “Just let me pull up a bit further.”

Once they stopped, the women got out of the car and headed back in the direction of the tire tracks.

“This way!”
Tricia exclaimed as they neared the skid marks.

The women made their way through a stand of bro
ken trees mowed down by the out-of-control car. As they reached the edge of a ten-foot high ledge, they looked over the side. The clouds from earlier had given way to a full moon and to their horror, a crumpled vehicle appeared twenty or thirty feet below where they stood.

Daniella
walked up to the edge to get a better view.

“Oh my God.”
She said as she looked downwards.

“Oh!” Tricia gasped as she came up behind her. “Do you see anything?”

Even under the bright light of a full moon sky, it was difficult to tell where the car had come to rest.

“No,”
Daniella replied. “Is there a way down there?”

“Hmm,” Tricia said as she scanned the area nearby. “There’s no trail or anything.
It’s not a good idea to go down there on our own anyway. Let’s call the police and let them handle everything.”

“Good idea,”
Daniella replied. “You go ahead and do that. While you do, I am going to get a closer look.”

Tricia grabbed her friend by the upper arm.

“No Daniella, don’t…” She said. “The last thing we need is for one of us to get hurt as well. Besides, if anyone
is
down there, well, it’s probably too late by now. I hate to say it, but it’s a long way down from here.”

“I know,”
Daniella replied. “That is why I need to figure out if I can get down there. Now, we can stand here and argue about it, or you can get on the phone and call the police.”

Tricia grimaced.

“Oh, Jesus, please be careful.”

“I will,”
Daniella replied. “Now go back up to the side of the road so you can get a signal on your cell. I’ll wait down here until the ambulance arrives.”

“Okay,” Tricia said. “I’ll be right up at the top of the hill. Yell if you need me.”

“I will,” Daniella replied.

As Tricia scrambled back up the hill to make the emergency call,
Daniella continued to search around for a safe passage down to the wreckage. She meandered through a few groves of trees, when something caught her eye on a ledge not too far away from her.

It appeared to be the body of a man.

Daniella squinted and as she moved closer, the image became clearer.

It was a body.

Horrified, she called out in the direction of the motionless mass…

“Hello? Can you hear me?”
She said.

The person lay still and unresponsive.

“Hey!” She yelled.

Again, no movement.
Best-case scenario, she figured the person was unconscious. Worst case… well, she tried to block it out of her mind. Either way, she decided that she needed to get over there and the sooner the better.

Panicked, she tried to work her way down the steep gravel face to the ledge that held the body. After several tense minutes, she managed to skid the rest of the way downward. As she reached the ledge, she tripped on an exposed root and landed on her stomach, right next to the body.

Daniella hit the ground with such an impact, it knocked the wind out of her and almost threw her right off the ledge. From there, it was at least another fifty-foot drop. If she’d fallen, there would have been a near zero chance she would have lived.

Dazed, she managed to catch her breath and roll back in the direction of the body. As she did, she turned to see a shirtless man, unconscious and covered in blood, lay next to her. She sat up on her knees and checked for a pulse.

He was alive.

Thank goodness.

As she moved her fingers away from his neck, she brushed his long hair from his face to look for trauma to the head. But, her investigation took an unexpected turn when the most beautiful man she’d ever laid her eyes upon appeared before her.

If the fall
hadn’t taken her breath away, his tanned skin and strong jaw would have. The moment could not have been more bizarre. He drew her to him in an almost unexplainable way.