Hurriedly tucking himself in, the snuffling behind him caused an urge to do the other kind of evacuation. Although his eyes were adjusted to the dark, having been awake all night, the moon had completely sunk below the horizon. Shapes were vague. Terah knew the fishing hut was directly behind him a few yards. He’d walked straight here. Sound in the dark took on a reality of its own, an urgency amplified by the lack of light. He had to turn and face it. It was a bear. A black bear. It was sniffing at the fishing hut door. The garbage bag of baked goods was in there, and this creature was hungry from hibernation. It wasn’t a huge bear, but the thing about even a small bear was its natural weaponry and lack of social restraint. Terah stood as still as the tree he’d watered, although he knew the bear could smell him. He recalled reading that the scent radius for a human, when it came to bears, was measured in miles. What must a city smell like to such a nose? Wh
Lindsey kept them moving. Analomink was a place Terah was certain he’d never heard of. Lindsey knew where to find provisions, however. Enough to get them through the night. “Will Wednesday attack?” Terah asked. “How the hell should I know?” Lindsey finished off the scraps and had Terah heave the trash bag over his shoulder like a pauper Saint Nick. He was still impressed that Lindsey knew which places put their baked goods out for garbage collection if they didn’t sell during the day. Like any unspoiled lake Analomink had attracted developers, but out past the Rod and Gun Club no roads gave access. It was still cold, but at least the snow was gone. “There used to be fishin’ shanties out here,” she said. “Places for guys to stick their rods and shit.” Darkness had fallen and they had to make their way carefully. Terah had left his flashlight at Dickinsheet, supposing they’d return. A half-moon gave half-light. The wind had driven the clouds away, but full radiati