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My heart sank It happened in half an instant, because half an instant was all we had I didn’t have tiry, or even forlorn

And that’s because the bear was already charging

“UNNNFFF!”

One second I was staring straight over Morgan’s shoulder The next…

The next she was gone

The brown bear’s roar obliterated the silence, its huge paeeping doard to the spot where Morgan used to be Jere speed and quickness, tackling her so violently they both went rolling to the floor

After that, everything was a blur

“GET BACK!”

I heard Boone’s shout just as the bear locked eyes with me It was absolutely tremendous The s like a rancid old carpet mixed in with vomit, or maybe shit, or both

Either way, the impact was almost as bad as its roar

I could see right away it hadn’t co, but not covered in snow It was also flat on one side, like it had been laying on it for a while Or maybe—

Hibernating

And someone — namely, us — had woken it up

It screaain, and the brown bear’s teeth were yellowed but ferocious looking It began sniffing the air, then looking down in the direction of Jerean

I took another step backward, looking around for a weapon There wasn’t anything around A few pieces of kindling, ht be better than nothing…