Running with the Bull

Marcus stood at the edge of the woods, his heart pounding like a bass drop at homecoming. The annual Redwood Ridge tradition was supposed to be legendary—seniors **running** through the forest at midnight, proving their courage before graduation. But Marcus wasn't thinking about courage. He was thinking about how his older brother had done this exact run five years ago and never talked about it.

"You good, bro?" Tyrell asked, fidgeting with his varsity jacket. "We can bounce if this feels too much."

Marcus shook his head. The whole point was that he wasn't his brother. He wasn't the quiet kid who sat at the back of the class anymore. This year, he'd made varsity track. He'd finally worked up the nerve to ask Sierra to prom—she'd said yes, smiling like she'd been waiting for him to ask all along. He was done living in anyone's shadow.

The stories about what lived in these woods were **bull**, anyway. Everyone knew Old Man Henderson made up that stuff about wild animals to keep kids off his property. Still, the forest loomed ahead like something that could swallow them whole.

A twig snapped somewhere in the darkness.

"What was that?" Maya whispered, clutching her phone like a lifeline.

Then another sound—low, guttural, and way too close.

"Okay, that's not **bull**," Tyrell said, backing up fast. "That's literally a **bear**."

Marcus's brain went into override mode. Track practice. Cross country meets. The state finals he'd crushed last month. Muscle memory took over. He grabbed Maya's arm and shouted, "RUN! NOW!"

They tore through the forest, branches whipping against their faces, lungs burning, feet flying over uneven ground. Behind them, the creature growled again. Marcus didn't look back. He didn't think about his brother or expectations or proving anything. He just ran like his life depended on it—because it probably did.

They burst through the tree line, collapsing onto the grass of Henderson's front lawn, chests heaving. The porch light flicked on.

"Get off my lawn!" Henderson yelled, waving a broom.

But they were already laughing, that crazy, euphoric laugh that comes after surviving something that should've scared them but didn't. Marcus lay there staring up at the stars, realized his brother had never told this story because some things weren't meant to be explained. They were just meant to be lived.

"Sierra's gonna freak when she hears about this," Tyrell said between breaths.

Marcus grinned at the night sky. Yeah. She absolutely would.