Haunted Wood no one hurts this pretty girl but her

He exhaled audibly, not quite in a snort, but disbelief was evident in his breath. She sounded sure, but he was anything but. While she considered cutting her losses, he considered a sacrifice. He knew that the odds were not in his favor now, and would be even less so the following morning. In fact, the odds would never be in his favor again. The path which was destined to be laid before him the moment that bear dragged her malicious claws through his face was rife with challenge. He swallowed thickly, and just as the words started to rise on his tongue, his mother spoke again.

"I should be the one to go." He said, after several moments of silence. "I am holding you both back." A tear welled in the corner of his remaining eye, and he squeezed his eye shut, sending the droplet down his cheek.