Page 20 of Hero

What I really want to do is smack Zed across the side of the head. Or give him a shake. Or snatch him bald-headed, as my mom used to say.

I exhale in relief when he steps out of the woods to the right of the cabin. He’s got his rifle propped on his shoulder. When he sees me, he strides over quickly. “What the hell are you doing? Get back inside.”

“I’ll get inside when you do. Did you get him?”

“No. I can’t find him.” He scowls, which is not a normal expression for him.

“It might not have been the bear I heard this afternoon.”

“It was.” He doesn’t explain why he’s so sure. The truth is I’m convinced it was the bear as well.

I just know it. The same way Zed does.

“I’ll keep looking.” He glances over my shoulder. “Get back inside.”

“I already told you. I’ll get inside when you do.”

He narrows his eyes.

“I’ve got a gun just like you.”

“Esther.”

“You’ll have to move me by force.” I’m not even sure why I’m arguing right now, but it feels important that I don’t let him bulldoze over me.

I’m as good a shot as he is. I might not be as strong physically, but it’s not going to come down to a wrestling match against the bear.

Either we shoot him or we’re dead.

“Don’t tempt me,” he mutters before he turns on his heel and stalks away, back into the woods.

I want to follow him but don’t. One of us has to stay with Rina in the cabin.

If Zed gets killed, she’ll have no one but me.

It doesn’t bear thinking about. I try not to let the thought penetrate my mind as I peer out at the dark into the even darker woods.

I don’t know how long I stand there. Several minutes. Then a sudden gunshot makes me jerk.

My heart pounds in my throat and my ears. There’s motion in the woods. Suddenly a figure steps out from the trees.

There’s enough moonlight for me to recognize the shape of Zed’s body. He’s walking quickly. I’m nearly shaking when he reaches me.

“I got it,” he mutters.

He doesn’t look victorious. He looks kind of sick.

I swallow hard. “I’m sorry. Thanks for doing that.”

“Yeah.” Zed doesn’t make a move to go inside. He stands next to me on the front stoop. After a minute, he makes a weird sound in his throat and jerks his head to the side.

I bite off a question. Asking him if he’s okay would be stupid right now.

He had to kill a living creature he didn’t want to kill. An animal who was hungry and desperate. One who hadn’t yet made a move against us.

For some reason, it feels worse than the violent men we’ve both killed over the years.

At least the men could have made a moral choice and decided not to.

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