Free The Tejano Conflict by Steve Perry Page B

jumped, and his claws tore the tree bark just under her right foot, gouging out a chunk of the underlying wood as thick as her hand from the bole—
    â€”She leaped, over the rampant bear, to the tree to his right, gained another meter, then sprang for the ground—
    â€”He was faster this time; he turned, dropped back to all fours before she could claw him again. He charged—
    â€”She spun and ran, the bear right behind her. She cut left, then right, gained another two meters as he roared again—
    â€”She zigged, zagged, jinked back and forth, and gained more ground on him. He realized what she was doing and stopped trying to stay with her every move, but kept going in the same general direction—
    â€”He was more canny than she had figured.
    â€”She circled to her right, forcing him to change direction. The rain came down harder; the footing became more slippery. Lightning flashed, and thunder boomed almost immediately behind it—
    â€”She spun 180 and screamed her own wordless hunting cry. It must have surprised him because he slowed. She charged right at him. That gave him pause, but he dug in to meet the challenge, galloping toward her—
    â€”Three meters away, she leaped at him, but high, much higher than he was prepared to deal with. He tried to come up to bat her down, but he was a half second slow, and she came down on his back. She dug her feet’s claws into him as she ran along his spine and leaped off his hindquarters—
    â€”Lightning. Thunder. The bear screamed at her and turned—
    â€“ – – – – –
    â€œAh wonder how Kay’s doing up there in the rainy north woods?”
    â€œProbably having a great time,” Jo said.
    â€œHuntin’ a big ole brown bear with nothing but her claws? Ain’t you worried she might get hurt or killed?”
    â€œWe are talking about a trained Vastalimi fighter,” Jo said. “I’m not worried.”
    In truth, she was, a little. Kay was her friend, and Alaskan brown bears were the biggest and nastiest wild animals still running loose on Earth. Something to take into consideration. David beat Goliath, but that was usually a sucker bet.
    Unless of course David had been a Vastalimi in disguise . . .
    â€œWhat are we talking about?” That from Gramps, who ambled into the mess hall and arrived at where Jo and Gunny sat.
    â€œBears,” Gunny said. “Ah understand their gallbladders will cure impotence. Maybe Kay will bring that back for you.”
    â€œYou got it wrong, Chocolatte. It’s
my
gallbladder that cures impotence. I let the drug companies drain it every few months—that’s what they use to make all the Cialagra they sell to treat erectile dysfunction, didn’t you know? Watered down a bunch, of course.”
    Both Gunny and Jo laughed at that one.
    â€œAh’ll give you that, old man. You got
gall
in fuckin’ spades!”
    â€“ – – – – –
    â€”Kay ran up the tree, jumped to a second one, then a third, confusing the bear. She was behind it now, and before it could turn to track her, she jumped again, onto its back—
    â€”The bear tried to shake her off, but she dropped to her belly, extended her arms, and dug her claws into his neck. She ripped upward, shredding muscle and blood vessels—
    â€”The rainy air went ripe with the metallic stink of blood—
    â€”He dropped and rolled, a smart move, and she barely got off in time to avoid being crushed. She hit the wet ground in a shoulder roll, made it up before he regained his feet, and flew at him again—
    â€”He got a paw up and swung it. It was a glancing blow, and only the tip of one claw found her flesh, over the ribs on her left side, but the force of the strike was enough to knock her three meters through the air like a batted ball, opening her fur and skin in a gash that bled but not too much.
    She hit, rolled up, climbed