"Don't you touch him!" the female bear screamed as she lunged at Edam.
Edam didn't know what to do his mind was moving a million miles a minute. There Harvey was on the ground and he was going to be attacked before he could help his friend. She was coming too fast for him to move.
"Wait!" Edam yelled. At the same time Jerry called, "Edam!"
All at once the bear stopped her attack and looked at the human curiously. "You're Edam?"
"Yes," the man in question nodded. He reached out and greeted the bear placing a hand gently on her side.
"Wait, Edam," Jerry's voice was full of disbelief. Hadn't that bear been just about to kill him? And now he was what… talking to it. And touching it. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Edam looked back at the other man and gave him a smile. "She's fine now. She was just trying to protect him." He said motioning to the trapped bear. Then turning his attention back to the bear he asked, "What can I do to help?"
She motioned to Harvey. "He's stuck in a hunter's trap. We can't get it off," she practically wailed.
"Harvey," Edam moaned. It came out as a breathy sob. He staggered his way over to his downed friend.
"Hey Edam. Do me a favor and help me out here," the bear requested giving a weak chuckle.
"Don't worry, I'll get you out," Edam promised through the tears in his eyes. He had to get Harvey out.
The trap was biting into Harvey's back left foot. The angry metal teeth ripping through tender flesh. Edam kneeled next to his friend and went to twist the releasing mechanism that he saw on the side of the trap. In theory, twisting it should have opened the trap up. It wouldn't budge.
"Damn," he hissed.
Desperately he tried to pry the teeth apart far enough for Harvey to slip his foot through. He tried sticks rocks, a combination of pretty much everything at his disposal, but it wouldn't budge.
Harvey nudged the man, "What's wrong?"
"I can't get it apart. It's stuck," Edam practically sobbed.
Jerry couldn't believe what he was seeing. Or hearing.
Harvey was a bear. That was stuck in a trap. That Edam was most definitely talking to. And they were talking back.
But… then again, they were led to the bear by a bobcat. His heart lurched as he heard Edam utter an anguished cry. He couldn't get the trap off.
Edam was about to reach his hands in between the biting metal when Jerry stepped forward. He had come to help and here was his chance. Besides, he couldn't let Edam wreck his hands trying to save the bear. He rested a hand on Edam's shoulder and crouched down next to him.
In a gentle voice he spoke, "Can I help?"
Tears of gratitude fell from Edam's eyes. Not trusting himself to speak, without making a fool of himself, he nodded to Jerry.
Then together they managed to pry the trap off of Harvey's foot.
The bear just sat there and breathed slow deep breaths for a few minutes. Then he slowly stood up and gingerly put weight on his injured foot. It wouldn't support much, but at least to Jerry's untrained eyes the injury looked like it would heal nicely.
Jerry's billionth surprise of the night came next. Edam wound his arms around the Harvey's neck and the bear nuzzled him in return. It was such a kind heartfelt gesture and he marveled over the sincerity of emotions coming from the pair. They really were friends.
Pulling back from the embrace Edam whispered, "Will you be okay? Do you need anything else?"
"Don't worry about me. Priscilla will take care of me. Thanks for getting the trap off. Opposable thumbs really do make all the difference." The two bears said their goodbyes and started to slowly walk away.
"Hey Harvey?" Edam called.
The bear turned to glance at his friend. "Yeah?"
"I'm glad you're alright. And… tell the bobcat I said thanks. For leading me to you."
Harvey gave a low chuckle, "I'll let Bob know," they walked away, leaving the two men by themselves.
A small laugh broke free from Edam's lips. Jerry gave him a questioning look and that's when Edam remembered that not everyone could understand animals. "The bobcat's name was bob," he explained.
"Must be a family name," Jerry joked.
Edam bent down and gathered the trap, a look of disgust plastered on his face. "I hate things like this. Why is this even on camp property?" he spat.
Jerry didn't know what to say to that so chose an agreeable silence. Then he thought. Surely he'd get an explanation about what just happened. But knowing Edam, the man wasn't going to tell him anything unless absolutely necessary. "Oh, and I just wanna know, what the hell was that?" He made a grand sweeping motion with his hands.
Edam thrust the metal contraption closer to Jerry, "This, this is a bear trap." He said the answer like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Not that. The whole bloody thing. It was like you were talking-
Edam silenced him with a stern look and a raise of his hand.
His expression was weary as he focused on Jerry. "Not here… Not now… I'll… I'll explain back in my room…" he promised.
Jerry couldn't wait to hear his explanation.
Comments (0)
See all