The Amazing Stories by John J. Ordover

Author:John J. Ordover [Ordover, John J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, General, Short Stories, Space Opera, Fiction
ISBN: 0743449150
Publisher: Star Trek
Published: 2002-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Worf rushed ahead, breaking trail, listening to the women's directions. He estimated they had covered only five kilometers so far. When they came to a steep embankment, Worf climbed it and put Deanna down on the crest; then he pulled up each of the Inuit women. All of them rested briefly, gasping for air. The cold when they weren't moving was painful, and it hurt to breathe. Worf pulled out his phaser and fired it at a rock alongside the trail. It soon glowed red and radiated heat. The snow and ice around it melted, creating a puddle of water that would soon freeze solid again. The women hurried ahead and huddled around the rock.

They had to rest, frigid atmosphere or no. Worf knew even he had to catch his breath. He carried Deanna to the rock and sat her down on one side of it. Just a few minutes, and they would be on the move again. . . .

None of them heard it coming. Suddenly in the dim light, barely discernible against the snow, Worf saw something white and huge rushing toward them.

Polar bear.

Worf drew his phaser, fired too quickly, and hit snow. He fired again and hit the bear—but the creature was not fazed. It stood on its back legs and roared. Amalik and Ilingnorak threw their spears. Amalik's hit the bear in the stomach, but the point barely grazed its flesh. Worf adjusted his phaser to a higher setting, hoping that being hit with a stronger charge would make the bear decide to go away.

The women crowded behind him. Worf fired again, and this time the bear was hurt. It sank back down onto all fours. With a growl, it swatted at the spear sticking out of its stomach, dislodging it, then lumbered away into the snow where none of them could see it.

Amalik ran to retrieve her spear.

“The bear will come for us again,” Ilingnorak said. “It is the way of bears. They do not give up.”

“I will kill it, then,” Worf said, and he reset his phaser a second time.

The air was noticeably colder than it had been a short time earlier. Blood had frozen on all their lips. Worf pulled Deanna to her feet. “Hurry!” he told everyone. “And keep watch for the bear.”

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