Outside,a cracking light of a thunderbolt was going overhead screaming.Inside,Max desperately looked for a hiding spot.He saw an Old ouija board ready to be moved,broken tables with food on it and plates as broken as a block of ice.To his horror, he realised the window and the door was gone.He was stuck.

Behind him the aggressive stood surrounded by light in the doorway,a gun glowing in his hand Max screeched…

…But at that moment,something growled,deeper than lightning. Out of the darkness,not one but two pairs of browny orange eyes emerged, a spark of brown and the yellowest of teeth. Whatever it was launched past Max and stood between him and the terrifying man.

It was huge! Strong and especially brown. Max noticed that he was on the opposite side to a massive bear. It threw back its damage,tented head  and roared.In that instante the man ran away. Max stood rooted to the floor like he was stranding  on glue whilst paralysed in fear.

The bear turned and knelt down in front of Max,relaxing her head on the ground. He could see that she was wounded. A gash of red ran across her side. He had never been so close to such an enormous creature before. He could smell an earthy,musty scent and watch as her pelt of brown fur rippled across her back.

They stared intently at each other.Max felt that she was sizzling him up,seeing deeper and deeper into his very being.But,his fear began to fade:he held out his hand.She leaned her head forward and sniffed. Then she licked his flesh with her smooth,pink tongue. Her eyes glanced as if it was heated by fire. He could see kindness but also a bit of anger.

It was then that she spoke.A low gravelly voice that seemed  to spring from the ground itself. It was a voice of rock and wind combined with “I need your help” she slowly described.”We need to find the gateway”.  

Max stared back,his head nodding as if he could understand.(which he didn’t) He knew at that moment he would do anything to protect this huge,beautiful creature.

Anything. “They’ll come back,” said the bear.”So I must hide”.

Five minutes later,Max and the bear had sneaked through the streets, down to the old warehouse by stroudwater cand. No one ever dared to venture there. Rumours say many ghosts who had died there still haunt it till this day. But, last summer Max had made an entry. He often sat inside and watched kingfishers over and over. The bear curled up into a ball in the dark corner and fell asleep. Max kept watch for any signs of danger coming in or outside of the terrifying regite place.