The rain had turned the ravine into a freezing grave.
I lay half-buried in the mud, my body shaking so violently my teeth clattered together like stones. My left ankle was a pulsating star of agony, radiating heat up my leg, but the rest of me was numb.
Above me, the growl returned.
I looked up through the rain-slicked hair plastered to my face. The bear hadn't given up. It had found a path down the ridge—a deer trail a few yards to my left.
It lumbered into the ravine, a massive shadow of matted fur and muscle. It smelled of rot and old blood. It huffed, swinging its heavy head low, scenting the air.
It smelled the blood from my scraped elbows. It smelled my fear.
I tried to scramble backward, pushing myself through the slime with my hands, but my broken ankl
