Free Bear Temptations by Aurelia Thorn Page A

tent or campfire or something. Something moved in my peripheral vision and I snapped my head back to the side, but whatever it was moved too fast. What the fuck. I half-jogged half-ran the rest of the way to the where Mary’s camp should be and stopped dead in my tracks.
    It was all trashed. Her tent was torn to pieces, food was littered everywhere in opened and closed packets, her clothes strewn on the floor. And not a single sign of Mary or her boyfriend.

Chapter 2

    I ripped through all of her belongings, tossing her clothes this way and that, trying to find a note, a clue, anything.
    “Mary!” I screamed this time, and kept screeching her name several more times.
    The panic and worry and grief was so overwhelming, it almost felt as if I’d throw up. Crumpling to the floor, fat tears welled up and spilled as I wept for my sister.
    “Mary, you idiot. Why’d you have to come camping?” I wailed. Through sniffles and blurry eyes, I looked around me, trying to make sense of the scenario. She clearly hadn’t been here for days: all of her belongings were covered with dirt and leaves that must have been carried over to it by the wind. There was a piece of grilled steak just lying there on the floor with flies buzzing around it, almost completely devoured by insects.
    Not knowing what else to do, I knew it was time to call my mom and tell her. Wiping away the tears and trying to steady my breath, I dried my mascara-and-tear-smeared hands on my denim skirt before pulling out my phone.
    “Okay, here we go.”
    As I began to dial in her number, another frustrated cry built up inside of me as I noticed there were no bars. Of course there’s no service here. If there was, Mary probably wouldn’t be missing right now.
    The sun was beginning to set, and there wasn’t a whole lot to be done. I didn’t even know which direction to start looking for her, and while I wanted to be brave and go hunt her down with my dying phone and meager food portions, I knew I’d be in no better place than she must be right now. In my mind, it was settled: I’d walk to the nearest town and ask for help finding her and call my parents from there, too. For now, the least I could do for my little sister was gather as much of her belongings as possible—or at least the clothes that weren’t completely tattered. I knew she would have brought her favorite outfits with her this weekend to impress her new jock boyfriend, and if it were me, I’d be pissed if not only was I kidnapped or whatever, but also had to spend my next paycheck restocking my favorite items of clothing.
    As speedily as I could, my eyes scoured the ground, looking for any of her clothes that were salvageable. One after another, I tossed tops and skirts and shorts into my tote bag, appreciative of the fact that she packed light clothes that wouldn’t take too much space. I caught sight of the long, wool cardigan I’d bought her for Christmas—she must have brought it for the chilly nights. I grabbed it and hugged it to me, taking another moment to be sad for my sister.
    There was a different sort of panic building inside of me now: a frenzied kind. It was almost as if my heart was telling me that if I didn’t get out of here now then something would happen to me. My brain agreed, and as I looked up at the sky that was turning into a deeper purple, I knew I had to be on my way. I glanced around their campsite once more and snatched a flashlight that was hidden under some dried leaves and chocolate wrappers.
    As I flicked it on, it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn’t seen a single item of clothing that belonged to Mary’s boyfriend. Everything strewn on the floor was my sister’s. It made no sense, unless he had something to do with her disappearance. Anger welled up inside me at the same time as a thousand questions tried to rush my mind at once about who my sister’s new boyfriend was, why he’d taken my sister, or, at the very least, why he had seemingly gotten out of