Stunned with amazement, I initially did not react when Dante called out to

me, telling me to ride the horse down. But then I snapped out of my stupor and rode into the darkness. The further I rode, the less I could see. When I was deep enough in the tunnel, my uncle and Dante closed the trapdoor, and it became pitch black. My uncle lit a torch and led us further into the tunnel’s interior. After a few meters, we arrived at a large cave. Sharp stones jutted from the floor and ceiling, and between them sat people—many people. Young and old, women and men, had set up camp here. Once again, I froze, gazing at the scene in astonishment with my mouth agape. When I was able to speak again, I asked my uncle, “W-why are you here? Who are all these people?”

“These are the people from our village. One night, we were woken up by screams, so we packed our things and fled here. It turned out that someone from our village had seen the bear and alerted everyone to flee. We built this bunker years ago for our protection in case of such a crisis.”