Behind The Flames: A Detective Chineke Series

Chapter 11

"Damn!" I whispered.

These kids were hiding for hours from this grizzly bear. If the bear knew the kids were in this den, they would be dead.

"Okay, stay still until it's safe." I told the kids.

Both the girl and boy were so frightened that they were uncontrollably speechless. Their eyes said it all. I wouldn't be surprised if they pissed their pants! We couldn't wait until the bear fell asleep. That could take hours! So, on to the next idea. I grabbed a few pebbles on the ground and threw them over past the bear to distract it. The pebbles hit the ground and the bear growled before it walked over to the noise.

"Okay, come on!" I commanded the kids as I signaled them to follow me.

They still didn't say a word. The silence was key to our survival at this point. Both of them slowly followed me until we reached the rock slope of the bear's den. I squatted to lift the kids over the rock slope by using my hands. One by one the kids stepped into my hands and I lifted them above the slope, then I started climbing up myself.

"It's coming!" The young girl screamed as she pointed behind me. I quickly glanced to see how close it was. The bear was charging at full speed towards me.

"Woah!" I yelled as I quickly threw myself up the slope.

The bear had almost clawed at my legs before I made it up.

"RUN! Now!" I told the kids loudly.

We all began running out of the bear's den. I looked back to see the bear climbing over the slope to come after us. Not today! The bear was faster than it looked to be eight hundred pounds. It was nearly right behind me. Suddenly, I pushed myself to a higher speed. Shortly after the kids were out of the cave, I made it out right behind them.

"It's still coming!" The young boy screamed loudly.

I quickly turned around and took a deep breath. Then, my body temperature dropped just enough for me to make my move. I opened my eyes, and the grizzly bear was inches close to the outside of the cave.

"Ice wall!" I shouted as I used my hands to form an entirely white, crystal ice wall to seal the bear's den.

"Wowwww!" Both kids whispered as they saw my power.

My hands were releasing a cold frost like my hands were freezer burnt. The wall of ice was strong enough to hold the bear off for an hour or so. I didn't want to harm the bear, but I had to freeze the cave for us to make it away safely. Fighting it with my power wouldn't have been an issue if I didn't have to keep these kids safe and alive.

"That was awesome!" The little boy mentioned.

" Yeah, it was. Don't try it at home." I told the little boy.

"Right, I'm glad that's over." The young girl commented.

That was the first time I ever showed anyone my power. I used to hide my power as much as I could. I guess it was time to stop hiding it.

"Okay, let's go you two!" I told the two kids.

Just as I started walking, I noticed the kids didn't move at all. Now, it suddenly became awkward just standing there.

"What?" I asked as the two of them just stared at me.

"Uhm, my brother pooped on himself." The young girl said.

I guess that was expected if they both were in the woods for a day and a half. I just slapped my forehead and started walking back to their house.

"Oh well kid, you can bathe when you get back to your house. Now, keep up or...you can wait for the ice to melt to see if the bear is still hungry." I mentioned sarcastically to both.

The kids began walking beside me to get back to their house. It was obvious that both were ready to get home, yet something didn't feel right.

"Where are the other cops?" The young girl asked.

I glanced at her for a second. She was smarter than she looked. Maybe because of the amount of television she probably watched throughout her years. Truthfully, I couldn't tell if she was curious or nosey.

"Well, my partner took your sitter back the house. Just to be safe." I responded honestly.

As we kept walking, there were moments where it would get quiet randomly. Don't get me wrong, I love peace, but it was too quiet. Apart from the silence, the only sounds I could hear were the birds chirping and squirrels chasing each other across tree branches.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" The little boy asked curiously.

That was the last thing I expected to be asked by a kid. Whether I did or didn't, it wasn't something he needed to know.

"Henry, you can't ask him that." The young girl said.

"Why not? Cops ask other people questions all the time." Henry replied to his sister.

I laughed for a moment. The funny thing was that I had forgotten the couple mentioned the boy's name when I was gathering information before the search. Plus, Henry was right about the cops. I wasn't a cop at all.

"What's your name?" I asked the young girl.

"Oh, it's Emily." Emily answered softly.

"Well, Emily and Henry, I never killed anyone before. And I hope it stays that way." I told them both.

We kept walking back to the house and eventually, we would be safe. I thought to myself that if need be, I'd kill to keep Tarah safe. I won't make the same mistake twice.