Monday, August 08, 2005

of bears and caterpillars

Last night I dreamt that I was lost in the wide grasslands of some unknown terrain. I was trying to help some woman I didn't know escape from something; the details are fuzzy. All that I can remember about her is her hand, as that's what I was holding onto and pulling through the thigh-high grass.

A long chain link fence poked its way out of the grass. The unknown woman and I ran along its edge. The thinking was that we had finally found the outer edge of the compound we were trapped in. We ran along its length. I was exhausted and filthy. Grain and weeds stuck to my sweaty skin. Burs poked my legs through my socks. But I kept running.

Finally, we reached a corner of the fence. Much to our surprise, however, we realized that we were already on the outside of the fence. At the corner, the fence turned away from us and we found ourselves staring at a wide expanse of grasslands and low hills.

We paused to catch our breath. While trying to get our bearings, I noticed movement down the fence line from us. Something in the grass was moving very quickly towards us. It didn't take long before I recognized the movement as belonging to a pack of extremely pissed-off bears.

Teeth bared, growling, the bears were running full speed directly towards us. Again, I grabbed the woman's hand and looked around frantically for somewhere to run to.

I knew we didn't have long. The bears were much faster than us, much stronger than us, and already moving our way. I was terrified. The only thing I could think of was to try and make it over a nearby hillside and hope that we could lose them.

We had to act fast; the vicious bears were closing the gap between us quickly. The woman and I tore off through the tall grass. It was difficult to run - the grass clutched at our ankles as if trying to tie us into place.

With an extreme amount of effort, we managed to clear the nearest hillside. Much to my surprise we crested the hill directly into what looked like a construction site. For once, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. If we could just make it to the nearest piece of heavy equipment, we could hide inside.

Unfortunately, the bears were must faster than me. As they made it over the top of the hill, everyone in the area panicked. Construction workers started screaming and running. In the chaos of it all, I lost my grip on the hand of the woman I was trying to save. When I turned around to try and find her, I was tackled by a bear.

I could smell the dank musky smell of its breath on me. My hands disappeared into its shaggy mass of fur. Somehow between my legs and my arms, I managed to hold it at bay enough to not have my face bitten off. Somewhere behind me I remember a steamroller crushing a bear to pulp as I struggled under the intense weight of the animal that pinned me to the ground.

The last thing I remember is trying to choke an angry bear to death. I don't think I succeeded.