Ezra expected to see the hungry jaws of some savage predator and hear its bone-rattling roar. Instead, what he heard was Vincent’s laughter from behind. He looked up to see an elk hungrily drawing water from the river.

"I’ve known you a long time Ezra, but I never knew you were so scared of elk."

Ezra shot him a glare. "You think that’s funny? I thought it was a killer carnivore for cryin’ out loud. You could have warned me."

"Sorry brother, I didn’t feel the need to. It never crossed my mind. He’s here for water, not fresh meat."

Ezra worked his jaw, doing his best to hold back a slew of choice words. "I ought to wring your neck right about now."

"Presumptuous of you to assume that you could catch me. Besides, you’re soaking. You’ll move slower - and based on your reaction a moment ago, you'll need time to clean your britches before you can run properly." Vincent let out a hearty chuckle.

Ezra was not amused. "You know, I was just joshing earlier when I mentioned shooting you dead. Now... I’m not so sure."

"Fair enough" he said. "I’ve had my fun. How about we call a truce?"

He walked up to Ezra and offered his hand. Ezra reached out slowly, took hold, and quickly yanked Vincent with all his might. Laughing maniacally as he pulled Vincent down into the water with him. Vincent went down in shock. When he came back up, he was gasping for air.

Ezra perched himself on a nearby rock, watching Vincent with his arms folded. "There, now we’re even."

The commotion spooked the elk and it darted away. They sat for a moment, enjoying the cool of the water and the sounds of nature. "Well, enough horsing around," Ezra said. "Let’s get back to work."

They moved along the river until they came to a spot where the waters were calmer and began their work again, panning and scrutinizing every square inch of the region for any sign of gold. The heat of the day only increased, and the constant stooping, sloshing, and sweating wore on them.

But what may have been the main source of weariness was the fact that after months of back breaking labor, they were still no closer to their goal than they had been when they’d first set out on their arduous journey in hopes of a brighter future. It wasn’t so much for themselves, but for the ones they’d left behind. Every failure affected not only them; it affected those who depended on them. They both felt this intensely, but seldom spoke of it. Whenever they felt like giving up, this was among the primary reasons they pushed themselves to soldier on.

They eventually reached the point of exhaustion and despite their determination and stoicism, they knew the day was nearly spent. They packed up their belongings and filled their canteens again for the journey back. Sensing their time was short and decidedly weary from their work, they were both focused on the task at hand and failed to take the usual precautions. The careful examination of their surroundings had slowly waned as they worked tirelessly in less than favorable conditions.

Though, in truth, it was more than that. The incessant chipping away of their morale had accumulated and now manifested as a fatigue beyond mere physical exertion. Vincent readied his pack, waiting about a hundred yards off from the river. Ezra lingered. He found himself going over the decisions that had led them here. They had worked so hard for this opportunity, but now he questioned ever coming out here. He’d held onto hope as long as he could manage and whenever Ezra faltered, he forced himself to remember what had brought him here in the first place. But eventually even that began to give way to discouragement.

Every day without victory was harder than the one before and with enough time, the dream began to fade as the harshness of reality set in. Vincent always helped to lift his spirits, but Ezra could sense something had changed. Vincent was only human after all - and even he could only endure so much hardship and failure before his spirit was broken as well. Was all the heartache and sacrifice for naught? Was their dream nothing but a hopeless crusade?

Ezra was ripped from his reverie as an ear-piercing roar rang out behind them. In that moment, they knew they had made a fatal mistake. They had let their guard down.

###

The roar shook Ezra to his core and sent a cold shiver through his spine as he whipped around and hastily drew his weapon, ready to fire at his opponent. Vincent’s hand shot instinctively to his holster just as quickly, adrenaline coursing through his veins. A massive grizzly glowered down at Ezra, less than eighty yards from where he was crouched, frozen with fear.

Ezra stared, dumbfounded by the menacingly large beast that could maul him to death with a single blow. His trigger finger was itching to let loose, but by sheer force of willpower, he was able to keep his hand in check. His heart was pounding madly in his chest and the only thing he could hear now was his own shaky breath.

He tried to find some kind of steady rhythm amid the syncopated cacophony of his heart and his lungs. This was the most important decision he had ever faced, and one wrong move would ensure his demise.

"Think, think, think!" He screamed in his mind. "What can I do?"

On the ridge, Vincent watched in abject terror as the bear stood on its hind legs; towering far above Ezra’s own height and roaring ferociously. There were no good options.

He desperately wanted to run to Ezra and help him, but he knew better than to make any sudden moves. If he ran towards Ezra now, he could provoke the grizzly, causing it to charge and sealing his friend’s fate. As he watched in excruciating anticipation, he subconsciously began to mumble under his breath an old saying regarding bears.

"If it’s brown lay down. If it’s black fight back, if its white good night."

He repeated the phrase again and again as if by voicing it, he could will Ezra to hear him. He prayed that Ezra would not discharge his weapon.

The bear roared, and Vincent could see how desperately Ezra wanted to draw his revolver, but to Vincent’s relief, he held his ground. He knew lying down was not the best course of action unless there was no other choice. He wanted to yell out and tell Ezra to back away slowly, but he found himself unable to speak. Partially due to his own fear, but also because he did not want to do anything that might provoke the beast into violence. Having such difficulty dealing with his own hysteria, Vincent could only imagine what Ezra was experiencing.

Ezra’s body was shaking uncontrollably, yet he was frozen where he stood. Sweat poured down his face, stinging his eyes. His mind reeled with a thousand thoughts, but he couldn’t seem to grab hold of any of them. Should he run, should he fight, should he play dead? He was being pulled in so many directions all at once. It took everything he had not to completely lose his composure. He had to keep his head, or he would end up dead for sure. The bear roared again, and it seemed to be testing the boundaries, sizing up its opponent.

Every time it growled, Ezra wanted to jump out of his skin and run as fast and far as he could, but he knew there was no chance of him outrunning a grizzly at this distance.

He imagined running, but the images he saw horrified him. He thought of unloading his gun into the creature, but as that played out in his mind, he grimaced. It would probably be even worse. As he mentally moved through all the options he could think of, he felt hopelessness set in. Maybe he would be better off just aiming at himself and pulling the trigger. This would at least ensure a quick and clean death.

Considering his current predicament, it didn’t seem like such a bad option. He quickly decided he wasn’t willing to compromise. If he was going to die, he would go down fighting. Not die like a coward. He steeled himself and held his resolve. His mind began to quiet, just enough for clearer thoughts to come through. He needed to remain calm and demonstrate that he was not a threat.

He did his best to take on a more relaxed posture and began to back away very slowly and carefully. As he inched backward, he remembered that he should not look the bear in the eye. He made sure not to look directly at the towering monstrosity and instead, focused on controlling his breathing and taking careful steps away from the threat.

Sweat was still pouring down his face, but his heart and his breathing were starting to find a less manic rhythm again. The grizzly dropped from its hind legs and let out a low growl, it seemed to be working. Ezra let out a soft sigh of relief as he slowly made progress and widened the gap between himself and the beast.

Just as he was beginning to regain a measure of hope, he suddenly lost his footing in an unexpected hole in the ground. It was less a hole and more a miniature gulch, but it was enough to throw him off balance and he tumbled to the ground with a yelp.

The grizzly did not respond kindly. Its posture changed in an instant, becoming visibly aggressive. Then, the beast bared its razor-sharp teeth, warping its visage into a grotesque snarl. Completing its final stage of warning. Ezra nearly fainted, visualizing the powerful jaws crushing his bones. He could feel the sheer panic rising within him. He was on the verge of hysteria. He scrambled to get to his feet and watched with horror as the grizzly positioned itself into a running stance and charged.

###

Vincent felt the tension in his muscles relax as Ezra slowly moved back and the animal responded with a noticeable reduction in aggression. He was making significant progress and Vincent began to hope that Ezra would move beyond the point of danger, when he suddenly fell to the ground with a loud cry. This put the grizzly instantly back on alert and its posture signaled danger once more. As it moved into a running position, Vincent recalled that grizzlies were known to feign a charge to test their opponent. They were reluctant to fight unless they deemed it absolutely necessary.

Vincent doubted whether Ezra would know that, but even if he did, he doubted Ezra would be in the proper frame of mind to realize this. He prayed that by some miracle Ezra would have the presence of mind to recall this and stand his ground. To his dismay, Ezra broke and sprinted for his life. A palpable sense of dread fell upon Vincent and time slowed to a crawl. He was as conflicted as he'd ever been.

Watching the grizzly rapidly close the distance to his beloved friend filled him with an indescribable sense of dismay. It was only a matter of time now before it caught and killed Ezra.

Once it was finished, he would be next. It was fight or flight. If he ran now, his friends sacrifice could be enough to ensure that at least one of them would survive. If they both died here, their families would be doomed. Ultimately his sense of self preservation and duty won out.

He turned and ran...