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Russel spoke of the bear as if it was its own living thing. I could see why. The little voice... not even a voice, but a thought in my head would seem like it was trying to influence me. For example, I never liked fish. Something about it was nasty to me. But the eagle wanted that fish, and it wanted it now.

Russel kept giving commands that I blindly followed. My head ran on autopilot as everything seemed like a blur, and it was all real. In a few days, Russel had almost entirely become a bear, and soon I would follow as an eagle. How would I make it home? Will I ever go home?

"Dean? You alright there, bud?" Russel asked, pushing his shoulder into my hip.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good. So we are ready to cook then?" I replied, taking in all I had done to the fish without realizing it.

"Sure, we gotta get the fire going. I would help, but ya know, paws, heh." Russel gave a forced laugh and began walking to the door.

I grabbed the emergency pack, hoping to use the foil inside like a grill, and, following Russel, carried a small plastic plate with the four cuts of fish out the door. Russel began rolling the old wood chunks toward the fire pit and dragging small sticks for kindling. I stacked the wood and tried to ignite the small sticks and grass with a lighter. The grass caught fire and began to ignite the dry wood, and the flame slowly grew in size.

"Just let it get hotter. Then you can put them on." Russel said as he lay down on the grass. Resting his head on his paws, "the heat already feels great, though." Russel closed his eyes.

The day was dragging on, and the sun was falling. The warmth of the fire against my feathers was incredibly relaxing as the wood lightly crackled. I fell back into a folding chair and leaned my head back. The lowering sun and cool breeze made the warmth of the fire more inviting. I closed my eyes for a moment to take in the sounds.

Upon opening my eyes, the sky was dark. The fire was low and smoldering. Russel lay on the opposite side of the fire, but it was hard to make it out in the dark. The plate sitting next to the fire was empty, I tried to focus my eyes to see if Russel was awake, but once my vision had cleared, I could see it again. I froze as I made out the bear sniffing around Russel, I wanted to yell, but I didn't want to startle the wild bear.

Speaking softly, I tried to wake Russel, "Russ, you awake?"

The bear seemed to nudge Russel, stirring him awake. "What?" Russel groaned as his head turned and saw the bear, "oh god."

I stood up from the chair, but as I did, the bear turned from Russel and began to inch toward me, growling. I wanted to run, but the bear stood between me and the cabin.

"Dean! Run for the water, and I'll handle the bear." Russel growled.

"Russel, I'm not going to leave you again! I'll run, and you head for the cabin." I started taking small steps backward, keeping the distance between the bear and me.

"You can't outrun him. Run for the water. I can't hold it back any longer, anyway. Get home, find out what this is." Russel's voice cracked as he stood up on his hind legs and swung at the bear, striking it on the back.

"Russel! RUN!" I shouted, but the two bears were intertwined, swinging at each other and roaring. I didn't want to leave him again, but there was nothing I could do. I grabbed the bag and ran for the water. Tossing the bag into the canoe, I gave another look back at the two bears before climbing in and shoving off the shore.

"Russel! I'm safe. Run to the cabin!" I screamed, but the two bears continued to fight out front of the cabin, lit from the dim light of the dying fire. No matter how loud I yelled, neither reacted to me.

Afraid this would be the end for Russel, I opened up the bag and removed the flare gun. Holding the small orange gun in my hands, I aimed it at the bears. This could be my last chance to save Russel and my only chance to save him from the bear. I pressed my finger against the trigger and squeezed it.

BANG!

A blinding ball of light followed the loud pop as the flare fired from the barrel. The area was filled with an orange glow as the projectile flew toward the bears. The ball of light struck the ground only six feet from the bears and bounced, gliding further toward the cabin. As it passed the bears, they pushed apart and ran from the cabin, slowly separating further apart. The projectile struck a window on the cabin and disappeared with a crash.

"Russel! I shouted, but there was no response. Unable to see either of the bears, I loaded another round into the flare gun. Pointing the gun to the air, I pulled the trigger releasing another orange ball of light into the sky. From the dim light, I could see what appeared to be the two bears slowly walking into the woods together.

"No, no, no! Russel! Don't leave!" I shouted as loud as I could, "We have to stay together! We have to go home!" But the bears kept walking. As they entered the woods, the flare burnt out. I grabbed both sides of the canoe to steady myself. Was that Russel? It couldn't have been.

I tried to keep calm, but my mind was racing. Could I have stopped Russel? Surely there was another way. Now I was alone on a canoe without a paddle, on a lake in the woods, countless miles from anyone.

There was a glow in the corner of my eye, slowly growing brighter. Looking at it, I could see the cabin with bright orange light emanating from the windows. Black smoke poured from the roof as flames emerged from every crevice. Unable to direct the small boat, I couldn't attempt to put it out if I wanted to.

My mind, still racing, began to feel light. My vision blurred, and my body felt numb. Spots filled my vision as I tried to lay on the canoe floor. I cried as not only did I lose everything, I felt like I was losing myself. I made one last attempt to call out for Russel before I felt myself drift away.

I saw a blue car pull up to the passenger pickup outside the sizable commercial airport, and Russel climbed out of the car, opening the trunk.

"Russel! It's been a hot minute, hasn't it?" I exclaimed, holding my arms out for a hug.

Russel wrapped his around me and threw my bag in the trunk. "Wait till you see the cabin! I've been going there since I was a wee child." Russel spoke excitedly as we both climbed into the car.

"What's so special that we must be flown out to it?" I asked.

"It's out in the forest. There is no way for cars to get to it, not a road or any towns within miles of it. It's a private getaway." Russel explained as he pulled out of the airport.

"You said it was great for a short vacation."

"It is excellent for a little trip! Only a little hike from the runway, and you don't have to worry about neighbors or any noise. You can be as rowdy as you want." Russel nudged me with his arm, "Your gonna love it, I promise ya."

"When you said you wanted to meet up, I didn't quite expect a wilderness trip, you know."

"You'll be fine. I bet you'll be asking to go again! Just a short trip out and back, and I'll have you back home quick as can be. You can keep living your boring life, Dean." Russel joked as we pulled into his driveway.

When I opened my eyes again, the sun had risen. Birds were signing, and I could hear the soft lapping of water. Sitting up in the canoe, I could see the burnt remains of the cabin. Only the basic shape was standing, and the roof had collapsed. I climbed out of the canoe and began slowly walking to the cabin. The smell of burnt wood and plastic emanated from the charred remains. Walking through what used to be the doorway, you could make out where the counter sat, although only the metal sink was recognizable.

My bag, the supplies, and the phone were all destroyed in the fire. The only things I still had were the emergency bag, and whatever was left outside. I gathered everything I could find and placed it near the fire pit. Of everything I could scrounge up, I had the fishing equipment with nothing to carry it in, the emergency bag, and flares. Looking around, I searched for any sign of Russel. Part of me wanted to think he was hiding somewhere, but another part knew he was gone.

"Russel!" I shouted and quietly waited for a response. But only the sounds of the forest called back.

I would search for Russel after I got some camp going again. While organizing things by usefulnesses, my stomach growled and arched. I grabbed what I needed from the fishing gear and walked to the water's edge. I spent an hour hoping something would bite, getting desperate as I couldn't remember how long it had been since I ate anything beyond trail mix. The bobber dripped, and quickly pulling the rod, I had something hooked.

Reeling in the line, I pulled the fish from the water. Holding the small fish in my hand, I removed the hook. I began walking back to the pile of junk I considered camp and tried to find a knife to clean the fish with. Searching and searching, finding nothing useable, my mind drifted as thoughts filled my head. Looking closely at the fish, I had thoughts of eating it raw, thoughts that were not my own.

My face trembled at the thought and began to ache. Only focused on eating, I held the fish to my face and looked closer. I was not feeling the two new parts spreading my lips apart. I pushed my head forward, expecting my lips to touch the fish, but instead, it felt almost as if my teeth touched it first. I opened my mouth and bit down, requiring less effort than I imagined. I twisted my head and pulled, tearing into the fish. Filling my head back, I opened my mouth, and the chuck of fish fell back into my throat.

After repeating the action a few dozen more times, I realized I had eaten most of the flesh from the fish using only my mouth. Satisfied, the alien thoughts faded, and I started noticing a few things. My lips felt numb, but more interestingly, I saw something yellow when I crossed my eyes. Reaching a single hand to my face, I expected to touch my mouth, but instead, there was something large and hard stuck to my face. Running my hand across, I could feel my hand and the new appendage. Opening my mouth, the large object also hinged open.

That was when I realized not only had I eaten raw fish.

I had also grown a beak.