"Joe, please, you have to be still. I have to try and stop the bleeding," Vanessa said in a shaky voice, thankful that Joe seemed to be settling down.

Joe opened his eyes, and looked at Vanessa, trying to focus on her instead of the pain. Vanessa set about trying to take care of Joe’s wounds. Taking off the denim jacket she was wearing, she covered Joe’s bare and bloodied chest as best she could. She had to find Joe’s backpack; the boys never went hiking without a first aid kit.

Looking around the heavily wooded area, she feared she might not be able to find it. But to her relief, she spotted it about twenty feet away. As she raced to retrieve it, she realized Joe must have shrugged it off when the bear started chasing him. Returning to Joe’s side, she quickly removed the first aid kit and began doing what little she could for Joe.

As the last of the sunlight faded away, Vanessa sat by Joe’s side. She had managed to slow the worst of the bleeding for the moment. Her hands cramped from applying constant pressure to the savage wounds, blood seeping through her fingers. Joe had been viciously slashed by the bear across his chest, stomach and right shoulder. Several other wounds marred his body, but the ones on his chest and stomach were by far the worst. They were quite deep, and although Vanessa wasn’t sure, she thought she could see muscle tissue in the chest wound. Even more frightening to Vanessa was the fact that this wound was right above Joe’s heart.

Joe had finally lost consciousness a while ago. Vanessa stared at Joe, praying he would wake up yet thankful he was not in misery at the moment. Seeing Joe writhing in pain was almost more than Vanessa could take. She closed her eyes and said a prayer, asking God to help her get Joe through this…she couldn’t lose him, she just couldn’t.

"Did I…hurt… you?" Joe choked out, before his body was wracked with a coughing fit.

Opening her eyes, Vanessa was stunned; Joe lay there, his body ravaged and bleeding and he was worried about her.

"I’m sorry…that…I pushed you," Joe said, his breathing labored.

Vanessa knew Joe had pushed her down and ran, so that the bear’s attention would be on him.

"Joe you saved me," Vanessa said with tears in her eyes. "Now I’m going to help you. You’re going to be okay. Frank and the others will find us soon; they’re probably already looking for us. Just try to rest."

Vanessa was starting to get really scared. It was completely dark out now; even the brightness of the full October moon did not help much. They were too deep in the woods, and the massive trees blocked out most of the light. Joe had lost consciousness once again, and was now violently shivering. Vanessa wasn’t sure if it was from the drop in temperature, shock or blood loss. Joe had lost entirely too much blood; even in the darkness of the night, she could see how pale he had become.

Vanessa knew she had to somehow start a fire; praying that it wouldn’t lead the men trying to kill Joe straight to them. Joe had already gone into shock and time was running out. Taking a chance, she gently removed her hands from Joe’s wounds.

Reaching into Joe’s backpack, she searched through the contents more thoroughly this time. She found several things she thought she could use: a box of matches tightly wrapped in a water proof container, two unopened bottles of water, a few granola bars, and a small sleeping bag. She gingerly laid the sleeping bag on top of Joe, trying not to jar him.

Pocketing the matches, Vanessa steeled herself for what she had to do next. Vanessa had always been afraid of the dark, but knowing Joe needed to be as warm as possible, she bravely got to her feet and started looking for dry wood to start a fire with. She knew the sleeping bag alone would not keep Joe warm enough.

A short time later, she sat back and studied her handiwork. It wasn’t exactly a raging fire, but it provided the warmth Joe needed so desperately. The glow of the fire provided enough light for Vanessa to survey Joe’s wounds again, and she was met with a horrifying sight. The fresh bandages she had applied just a little while ago were soaked with blood, and Joe was shaking worse than ever.

*****

Robert had no problem picking up the young couples trail. Even as inexperienced as he was, it was clear which way they had traveled. He caught up with Joe and Vanessa just in time to witness the vicious bear attack. Robert was amazed, when Vanessa’s piercing screams scared the bear away. He stood rooted to the same spot for a long while, watching Vanessa, mesmerized. Just as a plan started to form in his tortured mind, the unexpected happened.

Robert heard Kevin’s voice blaring in his ear. He had forgotten he still had the earphone from the two-way radio in his ear.

"If you don’t get back here quick, you are a DEAD MAN!" Kevin yelled.

Robert’s heart began to pound. At first he didn’t answer Kevin, and then he heard Kevin’s angry voice again and tersely replied, "I won’t let you hurt her."

"I’m not interested in your precious jail-bait! I’m sure the others heard the shots you idiot! We have got to get out of here. This place will be crawling with cops soon. You better be here in ten minutes, or I’m leaving with out you," Kevin replied angrily.

"Okay, I’m on my way," Robert said defeated.

Kevin met Robert half way. As soon as he saw the whites of his eyes, he drew back and punched Robert with all his might, laughing fiendishly when Robert landed flat on his back. "That was your one and only warning…you cross me again and YOU die. With you and Hardy dead there will be no one to protect that lovely young lady. Got it?"

"We may not have to worry about Hardy for much longer," Robert said cryptically.

"Why is that?" Kevin snarled.

As they escaped into the night, Robert told Kevin about what he saw when he caught up with the young couple.

*****

Frank and Chet had searched for Joe and Vanessa for well over an hour, and turned up nothing.

"Frank," Chet began sheepishly. "We better head back to the girls. It’s been over an hour and I’m sure Callie has called for help. I know you’re worried, I am too, but it’s getting dark and we’re going to need all the help we can get."

"Something’s happened to them, I know it has. Joe knew how worried I was. He wouldn’t run off and not let me know where he was going. What am I going to do?" Frank said rubbing his temples.

"We’ll find them Frank," Chet said reassuringly.

*****