Jasmine - Page 1

“Jasmine!” The cry drifted across the garden, quiet at first, but growing louder as the source drew nearer.

“Jasmine!” The cry was repeated. A boy walked out from a fringe of trees at the end of the stretch of grass. He looked distraught, his eyes wide and brow furrowed as he paced restlessly up and down.

So far it had taken him over an hour to find his way back to the house from the depths of the forests where he had been playing. The trees had seemed a source of adventure and mystery that morning; now they towered over him in the deepening gloom of the evening.

Jacob glanced at the large cottage before him. He knew he couldn't go back without Jasmine, his parents would be furious and it was unlikely they would be able to help anyway. No, Jacob decided, he would have to keep searching even if it took all night.

Wandering back down the trampled path through the grass he looked around, his eyes not missing a single detail. Suddenly Jacob caught sight of a slightly flattened area of the tall grass. Throwing caution to the wind he ran towards it, crying out as he went.

“Jasmine! Are you there?” There was no response, but Jacob stayed in his stride. He knew he was getting nearer to his lost friend, he could feel it in his gut.

Then he stumbled over the lip of the large hole. He really tried to stop before he fell, but his momentum carried him forwards and soon his feet, which had been pounding on solid ground moments before, were moving silently in the air. Jacob felt his weight pull him down and let out a small cry of terror as he plummeted down into the dark space below.

Jacob felt his senses come back one at a time. First he noticed he could smell earth, almost like compost. He heard scuffling sounds close to him. His eye lids cracked open to form a slit he could see out of and Jacob saw a large, furry face peering down at him.

His eyes widened automatically and Jacob let out a shriek. The creature leapt back from him and scrambled away behind a large rock lodged in the muddy ground. He couldn't be sure, but Jacob has thought the creature was a grizzly bear. He'd seen them on television. His dad had been watching a nature documentary and explained to him that grizzly bears were one of the largest of their kind and one of the most dangerous to humans.

Panting from the shock, Jacob glanced around quickly, wondering if there was a weapon he could use to defend himself. His mind raced to remember what his dad had told him to do if he ever encountered one of these creatures.

The bear's head peeked out from behind the rock and Jacob glared fiercely at it. He wouldn't let it know he was afraid, animals could sense fear and it was a sign of weakness.

“I'm not scared of you, bear.” He growled, spreading his arms wide to appear larger than he was. If he seemed big then the bear might not bother attacking him, as large prey was usually troublesome.

The bear wrinkled its nose and let out a few short barking sounds. Jacob ducked down, thinking it was preparing to launch itself at him. Then he realised that the barking was how he would imagine a bear would sound if it was laughing. It was laughing at him?