Lies and an animal attack

A/N: Ok, I'm taking some liberty with this chapter lol. I'll get a character page set up soon but for now just enjoy the story.

Jaime sat in the cafeteria with her parents even though she felt too upset to really eat. “Jaime I’m sure he’s going to come around. You made the right choice and you have excellent chances now.” Tiffany smiled reassuringly at her daughter though privately she thought the chances were slim for her son. “Look, the snacks he’s got won’t last long. He’ll get hungry enough to join us and he’ll see this isn’t as bad as he’s making it seem like.” Steve sighed wishing he knew how to deal with his son now. “Excuse me; you’re the new girl Jaime right? I’m Liza.” The girl was still fuming over how James had treated her. “Yes I’m Jaime, nice to meet you.” Jaime barely raised her head but responded. “James is your brother right?” Liza wasn’t sure how to say what she wanted too. “He’s my twin but he’s not here.” She sighed sadly at that. “I know, I met him in the woods a little bit ago. I’m sorry to say this but he’s an ass and I hope he’s not selected for me.” Liza barked before walking away. Steve and Tiffany glanced seriously at each other at what the girl had said.

“Hi, your new here aren’t you? I’m Zach. I was wondering if you might want to take a walk down to the river.” A young man approached Jaime. “I suppose.” Jaime felt like crying but knew she had agreed when she accepted her parents’ proposal. Steve and Tiffany smiled brightly as she left with the young man. “Now we just have to get James to cooperate but how?” Tiffany fought back her tears. “I’m going to talk with the elders and see what they recommend.” Steve sighed hoping they would have some answers that will help. “Steve are you sure that’s the best way to figure this out? You know what they’ll say about the whole thing!” Tiffany was too scared to think straight now. “You know we have to report this. If we don’t and they hear about it from others there are going to be major problems for us all.” Steve sighed as he stood to go speak with them.

James smiled to himself when he finished with the branch. He knew his next step was to set the traps since he’d already seen plenty of wildlife. He spent the rest of the day out doing so before returning to the cabin to find his parents waiting for him. “James, sit down.” Steve had a dour expression that made him pause before sitting down with a determined look. “James, the elders have said either you do as we ask or you’ll have to leave and never return.” Tiffany cried piercingly before Steve could say anything else. “If you still refuse to do what we say then you’ll be dead to everyone here. Yes, that includes us and your sister. Let me finish, not only will you be dead to all of us but you’ll have no access to any family money, contacts, or influence. Now, they are willing to give you the rest of the summer but if at the end of the summer you still refuse to do your family duty, banishment will be the result. They’ve also decided that since you choose to act as a child you’ll not be allowed at the meeting where all will be explained.” Steve sighed knowing that this wasn’t going to end well.

James stood quickly with a determined expression and left the room. Steve and Tiffany shared a look before Steve went after his son. “James what are you doing?” Steve entered the bedroom behind him. “Packing.” James grabbed his back pack and started gathering his clothes. “James please just stop a second! At least wait and speak to your sister!” Steve was trying everything he could possibly think of to stop his son. “She made her choice.” James was becoming more determined than ever to leave. “James please just hear me out. They’re giving you time and I know you want answers. If you’ll stay for a while and just make an effort I’ll talk to them about you coming to the meeting but you need to put in some effort.” Steve hoped this would work. James glared over at his father as he shoved another shirt into his bag. “Ok look, I know you’ve decided already your leaving, so what harm would it do then to give it a few weeks? Let them see you’re trying and perhaps I can talk them into allowing you to learn what this is about. Would it really hurt you to be nice to everyone for a few short weeks so you can find out?”” Steve could see his son’s mind was working.

“Fine, I’ll stay for a couple of weeks but I’m not eating with them. I trust them less than I trust you and since I don’t trust you at all that’s saying something.” He snarled but kept his temper in check with major effort. Steve flinched back slightly before leaving the room to tell his wife they had won. He went back into the main room to find Tiffany crying softly. “Honey, everything is going to be fine. The plan worked and he’s staying for a while so he can find out what this is all about. As long as no one let’s on we lied he’ll be fine. I AM worried about the food issue though. He refuses to eat with everyone and I can only assume he thinks someone will do something to the food.” He shook his head wondering why his son was so paranoid and where it came from. “Maybe we can get Jaime to convince him to eat with us.” She wiped her eyes with a hopeful grin. “I’m afraid that won’t work babe. I’ve never seen him so upset with her but then I’ve never seen him so suspicious and paranoid before.” He shook his head in confusion.

James left the cabin quickly feeling he needed to move or risk exploding. He was so angry he wasn’t sure how to keep from hurting someone. His anger only increased when he saw his sister with a boy he didn’t know. She was laughing happily but the guy was trying to gradually get his arm around her. Jaime saw her brother out of the corner of her eye and registered the look on his face. Her smile disappeared quickly as the sadness surfaced again. She knew he was upset with her and wasn’t sure how to fix things. She saw the rage on his face before he turned away and stalked into the woods. “Zach I had fun but I need to go after my brother.” She hurried away before Zach could react. He felt frustration but hoped she would be willing and ready next time he took her to the river. He hoped the selection would give her to him but was determined to have her either way. He smiled thinking maybe his sister could help keep her brother occupied.

James felt like he was about to burst with his anger. He couldn’t explain why he was so angry but knew it didn’t matter at this very moment. He knew how strong he was and if he gave into the anger near people someone would end up hurt. Working on the farm had added a lot more muscle to his frame than he knew was normal but he didn’t think much about that. He was so focused on containing himself he almost didn’t hear the scream from close by. He stopped in confusion until he heard a loud roar he knew was from a large animal. He heard several voices calling for help and took off running in that direction. A couple of minutes later he came into a clearing to find a young woman lying on the ground bleeding from slashes on her leg with a male adult brown bear reared up over her. He could see a couple of dozen people just out into the tree line but no one was attempting to help her. He could see he’d come out at the farthest point but the bear was definitely taller than his 6’6”. Without thinking about it he ran towards the bear before it could hurt the girl further. He heard the angry bear roar again as he got near but it heard him coming and turned to face him. He got his arm up a second too late as it swiped at him.

He felt a burning in his side and let his anger explode through him. Without thinking he sent a huge haymaker into the bear’s jaw stunning it. He barely dodged a second swipe but got his arms far enough around the bear to give a massive heave. He felt his muscles burn but the bear went flying. He sprang after it to get his arms around its neck and with a massive surge of strength snapped its neck before it could throw him off. He slowly stood but felt a sudden wave of dizziness. With nothing to hold onto he felt himself falling before darkness took him. Several minutes later he returned to consciousness to find several young women clustered around him and his sister holding something to his side. “James how are you feeling?” Jaime asked with concern when she noticed he was awake. He didn’t say a word as he slowly sat up with a grimace. “This is no time for the silence thing. You’ve lost a lot of blood and need medical attention!” Jaime felt too many emotions to even determine one in particular. “I’ll be fine.” He grunted as he stood up with his side hurting worse than anything he’d ever felt. He heard whispers all around him but ignored them as he started sluggishly making his way back to the cabin.