The Gift of Loot Chapter 32: Chapter 32: An Un-bear-able Decision

Read chapter 32 of The Gift of Loot by Jack_Golightly on NovelPedia.

The first thing Thomas noticed about the robber, besides his bleeding, crying, and the leg he was practically dragging behind him, was that he was skinny. Like, model-thin. The second thing was that he had enough tattoos to make Post Malone blush. The guy turned terror-filled eyes on the two of them. "Help me," he begged. Thomas might have thought it was a trick, until he saw what was coming for the robber. Out of the bushes sprang another bear cub. Easy to guess that this was what had savaged the robber's leg. There was very little chance he could have escaped a full-grown bear. The bear cub was not nearly as cute as the others had been. Now that it had tasted blood, it ran after its prey in a low, controlled stalk that didn't fit a baby animal. Its bloody muzzle was pulled back from sharp, dagger teeth, and even the head seemed slightly elongated, like the mask had slipped and the real monster had been unleashed. It coiled up and prepared to spring in a way no bear cub should. It was so focused on its prey, in fact, that it completely missed Thomas's approach. Mace in hand, Thomas did his best golf swing and struck the monster side-on, sending it flying a good 6 feet. The monster fell and tried to get up, but Jo stepped in and chopped down with her sword. The monster was instantly decapitated. Thomas and Jo exchanged a look, then they both turned to the robber. The man was in a terrible state. It looked like the bear monster had either chewed or slashed his hip and knee joints, and honestly, Thomas wasn't sure how he was still standing. He was breathing so hard and fast it looked like he was hyperventilating. "Oh man, thank you, I won't forget this, but how do we get out of here? What do we do? Where is the exit?" the robber demanded, speaking quickly through gulps of air. "What's this 'we' business?" Thomas asked. "You're the one who chased us here. Maybe we should just feed you to the bears." The robber shook his head vigorously. "No, no, that wasn't me. I mean, I was with the group, but honest to God, I didn't think it would get this far. I didn't think that we'd be shooting people. But when Grimm said to go, none of us got no choice. Look, man," the robber took a limping step up to him. When Thomas stepped back, he seemed to realize how he looked and stepped to the side instead, sort of weaving his shoulders as he did. "Look, man," he said again, speaking so quickly the words practically tripped over one another. "I know things got bad out there. I'm sorry about that. But when Grimm says you jump, you say how high." "Oh, poor you," Thomas snapped. "I saw your friends shoot into that car in front of me." Though he was pretty sure this guy at least hadn't been one of the shooters. He had a very distinctive look, to put it lightly. The guy shook his head again, frantically, still doing that odd weave. He had not stopped moving for a second. "It got too crazy, too fast. That wasn't supposed to be the plan. And if I knew what would happen, I never would have joined." "You chased me to the dungeon!" "Yeah, 'cause of Grimm. He's crazy , you don't understand. He'd shoot me if I said no." Thomas didn't believe him for a second. He looked at Jo, who was watching the robber with zero expression on her face. No help there. "Look," the guy said, "Just point me to the exit. I'll go, you'll never see me again. Or... or can I follow you? You two seem strong, and I don't want no trouble. I just want to live and get out of here and go back home. If I can." Great, they'd just collected a follower. What were they going to do with this guy? Thomas hadn't had much of a plan when he attacked the grizzly cub monster. But now he was stuck with a huge dilemma. Should they... kill the guy? Give him a taste of the mace? It had put down that other robber. But this man wasn't attacking him. He was asking for help. And Thomas... Thomas didn't trust him, but he wasn't sure he could just put someone down like that when it wasn't clear self-defense. "St