AWAY
Chapter One Cont.
Three years had gone by since Sean's passing. Brandon had graduated from high school. He had acquired a part time job at the mechanic shop on the corner of Tilde St. He had ambitions to travel out of high school. Possibly even to join the military. But with the tragic loss of his best friend, things had changed in Brandons mind. He didn't quite have the desire to do much outside of oil changes and spending time with his new wife. He'd married soon after graduation. Angela did not know Sean personally. She was from a different high school and had only maybe spoken to Sean one or two times in the past. She did know however that Sean was Brandons best friend. Being Brandons newlywed wife, she saw firsthand the struggles he was going through. Not being the outdoors type, she never ventured with the two on any of their explorations. The first year after the accident was very tough for Brandon. He just couldn't believe that a bear had attacked Sean. It was even harder to believe that a bear would kill a human, unprovoked. Black bears weren't known to be aggressive. Even though the investigators found Seans food wrappings and dirty eating utensils near his camp spot, it was rare for a bear to not just run off after realizing a human was nearby. Unless the animal had a cub, or felt trapped, or maybe even if it was sick. These were all ideas that ran constant in Brandons thoughts. He wanted to hike up Pine Tar trail, and look for himself, at the spot where Sean had spent his last night on earth. Until now, he was unable to muster the courage. His family members were telling him to find ways to cope. But he needed some form of closure. He would have to go there himself.
Seans mom wanted nothing to do with anything closely tied to Seans past life. She did keep the Garmin, in a box, under her bed. She couldn't throw it away. There was no good reason why, she thought. Councilors were not something she'd entertain. No way could they do anything to help her climb out of the pit of despair she was in. Sean was the only family she had. Her lousy ex-husband was an adult on the outside but had a mind of a child. Jonathan Branskie solved his sorrow with alcohol. She wanted nothing to do with him, he only loved his next bottle of beer. This is how things were. She had dis-owned her own family after graduating from Highschool. She had
Angela was not happy about it, but she understood. As she packed Brandon a lunch, he busied himself with a forest service map. He didn't have any backpacking equipment, so he'd use his old book bag from school. It was just big enough for his food, and some clothes. He could tie the tent and sleeping bag onto the outside of the pack. His friend Maurice would go with him. Maurice was not the type to go hiking. He loved his job, and the monetary things it allowed him to acquire. The Dodge Ram pick-up in Brandons driveway was his. Sunburnt red, a two-inch lift kit, and a banks power package made this a very nice, and powerful vehicle. It was Maurices baby. He had not found a significant other after high school. Every penny he earned was spent on no one other than himself and his small number of friends. Brandon was at the top of that list. He no longer had Sean, but he was not as close to Sean anyways. He had accepted the death for what it was, an accident. There was one thing he did understand however, and that was never to go in to the wild alone. He and Brandon would hike to the spot of Seans demise. Maurice did not need any answers. He understood that Brandon did. He had dropped by the sports store in town prior to reaching Brandons house to buy a Garmin device. If anything bad were to happen, they'd at least have it to call for help. No one had spotted any other bears since Seans encounter. Fish and Game had done extensive scouting of the area. Not only did they not find any bears, they also didn't find any signs of bears. No bear scat, no scratch marks, not even a den where bears might hibernate. The attack on Sean was a mystery indeed. Brian, the lead Ranger, would give a community briefing. He would explain that a sick bear may have wandered into the area from up north. He was certain the bear had either died or kept on moving out of the national forest above the town of Orian.
Pine Tar trail had become a popular destination. People were infatuated with the story of the bear attack. Such a young man was killed. They could not believe it, and the fascination of seeing the spot the attack had occurred, drove them to the area in large numbers. Most of these inquiring souls had no hiking experience. No clue how to read a map, no sense of direction on the planet they lived on. This meant that the majority of them would never even make it to where the maintained path ended, and the bushwacking began. Even those that could make it, didn't want to walk through the large swaths of buckthorn. It was as if a fortified wall had been built around a castle to protect what lay beyond. Even the Fish and Game department used helicopters to lower themselves to the spot Sean had camped. Brandon had walked the trail with Sean before, but he had never ventured past the buckthorn. He and Maurice were still in fairly good shape. It was easy going initially. Not more than two hours had passed since they left Maurices parked Ram. The weather was perfect for hiking. A few clouds trailed off in the distant horizon and a slight cool breeze caressed their faces denying any perspiration from accumulating. "What do you think we are going to find up here Brandon?" "Are you wanting to actually see if there are bears up here?" Brandon wasn't sure himself what he wanted to find on this mountain. He just knew he had to see the spot. He had to see what it looked like. "I don't know exactly what I think we'll find Maurice." "I just want to see it, maybe be able to make some more sense out of it all." "I know it won't bring him back." "But maybe it will shed some light on how it happened." "Nobody's seen a bear up here since the attack, nor had anyone seen a bear prior to it!" Brandon could feel the uncertainty coming from Maurice. But Maurice was a good friend and would carry on with whatever Brandon wanted. Before them stood the huge cluster of buckthorns. Neither of them really had any prior experience walking through it, and they quickly realized what they were in for. Maurice was a big guy at two hundred and twenty pounds. Brandon was about forty pounds lighter, but five inches taller. As they forced themselves through the thorny brush, they could feel their skin being punctured. Little drops of blood formed on their broken skin. They weren't certain if it was going to be possible. Doubt was creeping into their minds. The thought of turning back crept in. It was at that moment that something shiny caught Brandons eye.
