I've been tearing through the countryside on an ATV for a few minutes, racing to the vantage point an African weapons dealer directed me to. Why? Blood diamonds. Or something like that. He quotes the bible every time I visit him, justifying violence with a steady stream of verses. I'll be honest, a lot of what he says is lost on me. He's using me—of course—just like every other "friend" I've made since arriving in Kyrat. I'm okay with it, though; as long as it means I get to thin the ranks of the local tyrant's, Pagan Min's, army.

Just as I arrive where the GPS led me, I hear a roar. My body tenses up. I look to my right and for a moment I miss the bear staring down at me from the grassy rise. I spot it on the double take. And then it charges.

If you've seen The Revenant then I trust you have an appropriate and heightened fear of bears along with a strong desire to avoid incoming attacks from said bears. Instead of spending the next hour as a crippled mess without Tom Hardy or an Oscar to chase, I did the only thing that makes sense in Kyrat. I ran the other way and jumped off the cliff.

I hear the bear one more time just before engaging my wing suit. As I glide towards a clearing in the forest below I pull my parachute and land on the grass below. The smuggler I was after escaped during my brush with nature. I failed the mission, but survive to fight another day in Kyrat's wilds. There's a victory in that.

---

About twenty minutes later I'm on a different cliffside, observing a rickety radio tower reaching into the sky before me. I trekked across the wilderness to get here after acquiring and delivering my second try blood diamonds. After, I saved a hostage from a soldier but he was killed by a leopard just after I freed him. I couldn't put down the big cat fast enough to save him a second time. Look, I tried. Shit happens and Kyrat is a dangerous place.

I make it halfway to the tower and my walkie-talkie barks; a lieutenant of Pagan Min's is nearby. Eliminating him would be good for the rebellion, so I take a detour. I creep through the foliage and around a tree to survey the scene: he's with three other men. I make short work of the lot with a silenced rifle and move in to retrieve the officer's orders. As I'm looting the bodies, I hear a scream, another scream, gunfire, and something familiar.

Like any well-armed and well-adjusted human, I run towards the commotion. Just as I'm approaching the road I hear the last sound again—far too close this time. I swivel my head and see it.

I turn and I run.

The road sweeps down and winds back and forth on itself in a series of switchbacks. Rather than follow it, I run perpendicular and cut through the muddy colored grass between them. I jump from the high road and land hard close to the middle one.

That was a mistake, I should have kept it simple and just slid down the incline; this ain't no action flick and I ain't no hero. It takes a moment to gather myself off the ground but I start running again as soon as I can. I fumble through my arsenal as I cut across the middle road and down through the grass on the other side.

And then something vital escapes my subconscious.

I took down a helicopter with an explosive tipped arrow somewhere between being chased by bears today. I still have eight of those arrows.

Just as I cross the last road, I spin around—my back facing another steep decline. I get my first good look at this bear and accept that only one of us is walking away from this encounter. I draw the bow back as he closes in and release the only arrow I'll have time to shoot.

The explosion doesn't send it backwards like I expected. It deflects the bear instead and I watch it soar over the road to my left. At this point, I'm laughing like the monster I am. How would I explain this to my neighbors? The bear lands and slides to a rest near a yak who gallops off. Yeah buddy, I would too. I make my way to the carcass and skin the beast. I don't need the resources; I want a trophy.

You haven't killed me today, Kyrat. I took the bear you sent for me. I know in my heart it was the one from earlier.

I leave the carcass and look up behind me. I can still see the tower. Excuse me, I have a propaganda radio station to stop.