Search and Rescue Grizzly Style

The car skidded left and right before it spun off the road and down the embankment. The sound of squealing tires, and the crash noise, should have attracted some attention. Except this was a rural area, and the driver was sure he would die alone.

Blood oozed from his forehead as he fought to stay awake, he tried to take off his seat beat, but the more he struggled, the tighter it seemed to become. He screamed out in frustration, despite knowing no one would hear him.

He heard a crashing noise in the bush, and a moment later, he saw the head of a Grizzle pop out of the trees. He laughed, "Come on, eat away. Save me the pain of taking three bloody days to bleed out!"

The Bear moved closer and stared through the shattered front windshield at the man for a long moment. The man was not sure what the Bear was doing. He just wanted it over quickly; his wounds were beginning to hurt.

"Come on, you stupid bastard!" he yelled at the Bear, almost taunting it to try to eat him.

The Bear turned his head slightly and seemed to have an expression of, "Who me?"

"You stupid Son of a Bitch," Yelled the driver as he struggled to get out of his seat belt.

The Bear looked at the driver again and cleared its throat, "That will be enough of that!" the Bear exclaimed in perfect English.

The driver was sure now he had lost all touch with reality. He was now hearing a Grizzly Bear talking to him. He thought at least the madness would make time go faster. "Great talking, Bears!" he laughed loudly.

The Bear moved around the vehicle wreck, "ˇTalking bears, do you not trust your ears, your eyes and what your other senses are telling you."

The Bear moved outside of the driver's window. The driver could see the Bear's nose moving close to his window and hear his big nasally sniff. "Did I hit my head that hard that I am seeing talking bears?" he thought.

The Bear leaned up, exposing his gigantic body as he scanned the area around the accident. He followed this by moving down close to the driver's window. "I will be back, do not try to winkle too much you are one edge of a big tree; beyond the tree, it goes way down to the creek."

The Bear moved away, and the driver was now more than ever sure; he imagined the whole thing as he waited for Death to appear and take him away. For a moment, he thought about family and friends and how he permitted his job to be his living God. He thought of Marley the Ghost would colleagues say, "Be was a good man of business."

The Bear returned suddenly; the driver was shocked at how quietly he crept to the car. The Bear grunted loudly, "Now that sandwich on the seat next to you is needed." He mentioned in passing.

The driver looked over to the empty right passenger seat; a half-eaten burger he had purchased earlier sat on the edge of the seat near the crushed right passenger seat. "Ah, I guess so," he replied, startled by the enquiry.

"Good," the Bear said as he looked behind himself and nodded at something unseen. "They will have you out of that seat belt in a moment, do not struggle as they work."

The driver was unsure what was happening until he saw several field mice and one nasty-looking rat appear on his and start nibbling away at the seat belt. He tried very hard to stay still, but for a moment, the rat's eyes met his, and he thought the rat was considering gnawing his nose off.

"Stay still; it was hard to convince the fellows not to wait till you were almost gone and help themselves to you and afterwards your sandwich.

The driver was shocked in a matter of minutes, he was free from the seat belt, and the rodents had vanished with the burger. He tried to get up but found part of the dash, and the door prevented him from moving.

The Bear looked over again momentarily, "Now comes the interesting part; if it works, remember never to tell anyone; woodland creatures helped you. Second, do not be foolish and mention talking bears?"

The driver looked into the Bear's eyes, 'Afraid of people coming to look for you?"

"Nha, certain humans will come to no matter what, but you mention talking bears, mice and rats and other creatures helping you, and they will give you lots of pretty coloured pills." Said the Bear as he grasped the driver's door with his two large front paws and began to pull.

The vehicle shook and seemed to slide a little before the door popped open, the driver slowly tried to move out of the car as blood blurred his vision, and he discovered his legs did not work well.

The driver felt himself going up the slope toward the highway, unsure if it was a dream, but he thought he saw several deer and maybe a moose pulling a large rope he held. The last thing he vaguely remembered as he passed out was the Bear looking into his face.

"Vehicles coming, human; remember woodland creatures are not stupid, and I know who my father was. ." The Bear disappeared into the early morning light.

The driver heard a large truck's air brakes come on, and he thought he saw a small car's hazard lights come on. A moment later, several people were around him; their voices seemed like they were miles away.

Author's Note

Have you ever wondered how people sometimes survive accidents where they are left alone and injured but survive? Maybe a friendly Woodland Creature assisted them.

I have travelled in the backcountry of British Columbia and Alberta provinces and marvelled at the wonderous beasts of nature. Thank you for reading my fable of Woodland Beasts, Miracles and Auto Accidents. Please drive with care in the backcountry.

Bruce Curle