Ezra held onto Vincent, moving as quickly as their injuries would allow. He knew that Vincent would never admit to needing a break. He would do everything he could to hold out, even if he were in excruciating pain; in an effort to avoid becoming an inconvenience or slow them down. So, it was up to Ezra to set the pace and observe Vincent carefully to determine when he needed to rest.

He found himself surprised at Vincent's resilience. Ezra himself had wanted to stop for a moments reprieve on several occasions along the way, but since Vincent had yet to complain, he dared not voice his desire to stop and take a breather.

Of course, there was far more to it than that, but it was a powerful motivator to say the least. Ezra found himself grimacing every time he glanced at Vincent's wounds. They looked incredibly painful and despite their best efforts, he was still losing a small amount of blood.

Progress was decidedly slow. Too slow. Ezra wanted to pick up the pace, but they were already moving as fast as they could manage while still taking the proper precaution regarding Vincent's wounds. Ezra considered asking Vincent if he could pick up the pace and deep down, he knew that Vincent would be willing to do just that, but he couldn't ask him in good conscience.

He gritted his teeth as he glanced at Vincent's leg.

"I think we may need to stop and check your bandages again brother," Ezra said. Vincent shook his head weakly.

"No, we need to keep going."

"I know we need to keep moving, but not at the expense of your health."

"No, Ezra. You don't understand. We never killed that bear. We just wounded it."

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"Yes, Ezra said slowly. And it ran away. We haven't seen any sign of it whatsoever since we scared it off."

"I know, but it is still alive. And since it's still alive, that means it's probably in pain."

Ezra scoffed cynically. "Well, I sure hope it's in pain with all the suffering it caused us."

Vincent gave a suffering sigh, mustering his patience.

"What I mean is, bears who survive an attack and are wounded but not killed, are known to track down those who wounded it to finish them off."

Vincent paused, allowing a moment to let this sink in. Ezra paled in response.

"There's no way it knows where we are now, right? I mean, it's been quite some time since the attack. It wouldn't be lying in wait now just for the sake of revenge, would it? Doesn't it have better things to do?"

"If it views us as a serious enough threat, it just might make a point of ignoring whatever else was on its mind and go out of its way to put us down for good."

This was obviously not what Ezra wanted to hear, but he didn't exactly have a good objection. Vincent continued.

"We may be in its territory, so it may not even really need to go out of its way to track us."

Ezra mulled this over as they continued toward their destination.

"I see what you're getting at. We need to prioritize putting distance between us and the grizzly's territory to avoid potentially running into it again. Because if we do, we won't have any chance of getting on peacefully."

"That's right," Vincent confirmed. "If it spots us, it's coming for blood. No questions asked."

"Well, isn't that just wonderful? Ezra said with frustration. As if our lives weren't difficult enough already. The only reason I had any hope was on account of besting that bear. Now you're telling me it has us marked down as public enemy number one?"

"Something like that." Vincent said. Managing a smile.

"You must have lost more blood than I thought brother, because now is not a time to be smiling. I have no idea what could possibly be going through your addled mind right now."

This only served to exacerbate Vincent's current mood. His smile quickly progressed into full on laughter.

Ezra shook his head in disapproval.

"How did I get stuck with you?" He asked incredulously. "Here we are, hobbling for our lives and you're laughing like a maniac. God help us."

"You keep running, I'll keep praying," Vincent responded.