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There was no fight left in him now.
He lay on his stomach, his face resting on jagged rocks in a mockery of sleep, the facade broken only by the vicious wounds that ran deep around his body, the odd angle of his arms hinting at the fate of the bones that lay beneath.
Sunlight filtered through the nearby trees, creating a halo of deeper brown surrounding the pitch black fur of the bear. With massive paws it pushed itself awkwardly onto hind legs, brown eyes wild, bloodied muzzle pulling back over savage teeth - the roar echoed far into the mountains, the ghostly echo celebrating the victory of predator over prey.
"Where do you stand - A man amongst men? Or a God?" Deep crevices lined the old man's face, the dull light creeping towards him bringing no warmth to his features, they remained as sallow as they ever were, shadows falling where the light could not reach. His son leant against the greying wall opposite, the excitement in his face framed by dark curls, far too used to the room to notice the animal heads mounted on the walls, gruesome trophies of the glory days. The wooden chair sighed and creaked as the old man turned to look out of the nearby window, gesturing towards the mountains.
"Out there. That's where you find out who you really are. What you're made of - I was their God. I brought death, I brought mercy - so far as I made sure they were real dead before I took my reward-" He waved carelessly at the array of ancient tokens that lined the walls, "but I never asked more of them than what I was prepared to give myself and that, son, is how I knew where I stood in this life."
The young man joined his father at the window. The mountains themselves challenged him to claim his prize. - Today he would win. Today, he would be God.
Weaving drunkenly from side to side, the bear crashed back to the ground and roared again, causing the air itself to tremble.
And then it was gone.
A flash of light where the bear once stood, and then a silent figure stood upon the matted, broken body as if it were nothing more than a shadow.
The sinking sun bathed the scene in golden light, the dying embers of the day reflecting brightly in the burning eyes of the angel that stood before him, strands of blonde hair dancing silently across the stillness of her face. Laughing softly, the man felt himself falling into the gentle grip of delirium.
"Why are you laughing?" Her voice was a warm vibration, caressing his heart.
He closed his eyes, exhaling slowly.
"Today, I thought I knew God.
Until this moment, I knew nothing of Heaven at all."
- Leanne Haworth, 21.
