Chapter 48

It felt like it took an agonizingly long time for Penny to free the can of bear spray from the holster at her waist, but in reality, it was probably only two or three seconds.

They were still the two or three most terrifying, heart-pounding seconds of her life. And that included that brief moment earlier in the day when she thought she might plummet to her death. The thought of getting eaten alive by a grizzly was a lot more horrific.

Finally, though, she managed to get the canister free. And she didn't even wait to point it in the right direction before pressing down on the nozzle.

The spray shot out of the can with a sharp hissssssssssssssss. Penny squeezed her eyes shut - in part to protect herself from the cloud of spray and in part because, if it didn't work, she didn't want to watch those claws and teeth coming at her. Or Xavier. He was on top of her, blocking most of her body, and she couldn't bear the thought of his death being the last thing she saw on this earth.

Xavier p