Page 97 of Dark Sky

Joe couldn’t clearly see or hear what was going on outside through the slit opening of the cave they were in. He knew two riders had gone by earlier because he’d heard them and caught glimpses of horse legs, and hethoughthe’d heard the murmur of voices far below them near the creek. The voices shimmered as if carried away by the breeze.

“Where are they?” Price asked in an urgent whisper.

“Shhhhh.” Joe gestured toward the roof of the opening. “Someone is still up there,” he mouthed.

Price’s eyes enlarged, and he stared up at the slab rock, as if by concentrating he could see through it.

Then Price growled, which startled Joe. The growl was deep and rumbling and guttural. It was a sound that had come from deep within the man’s chest. Joe shot him an annoyed look.

“That wasn’t me,” Price hissed.

There was another growl. It was coming from the dark, beyond where Price lay, from deeper into the cave where itnarrowed. Joe felt Price burrow into him and grip his right shoulder so hard he winced.

Slowly, Joe raised the headlamp in the gloom and pointed it toward the back of the cave. Price didn’t watch. Instead, he buried his face into Joe’s shoulder. Joe could feel the man trembling.

Joe fumbled for the on button and pressed it. The beam of light was startling in the dark and it took a second for his eyes to adjust to what he’d illuminated. He didn’t see it in its totality at first. Instead, there was a rapid series of impressions:

Two large round eyes reflecting orange in the beam.

Spike-like teeth glistening wet; black lips curled back.

A low-to-the-ground, heavy body.

Shimmering long hair and folds of skin.

The flash of claws...

And the creature was on them, rushing them, grunting, slashing with its claws like single-bladed razors, fighting to get out of the cave.

Price cried out and Joe felt the crush of the animal as it scrambled over the top of him. He guessed it weighed forty or fifty pounds, and its thick coat smelled musky and strong of oil, dried blood, and pine. Like Price, Joe flattened himself onto the cave floor to allow for as much space as possible to allow for the beast to see the opening and rush toward it while slicing away at him the entire time. He could feel rents being ripped through his clothing and piercing cuts in the flesh of his back, legs, and neck.

When it cleared them, Joe opened his eyes to see that theanimal was blocking out most of the light from the opening. For some reason, it had stopped there. Joe hoped it wouldn’t wheel around and tear into them again.

But it did.

Before Joe could react and raise the .22, the beast was on him again, trying to roll him over on top of Price, and then he felt an electric jolt in his shoulder as it sunk its teeth into him. Although less than a third of Joe’s body weight, the animal had enormous strength and quickness.

Joe grunted and swung at his attacker with his fists. He landed a solid blow on the top of its head with enough force that he heard its jaws snap together.

It was enough. The creature backed away and shot out through the opening.

—

Huhnnnn.

Huhnnnn.

Huhnnnn.

At first, Joe couldn’t account for the repetitious tone in his right ear. Then, as the dozens of cuts and scratches in his back began to scream at him, he realized it was coming from Price. Price was hugging him so tightly that his nose was pressed into Joe’s ear. The man’s breathing was panicked and ragged.

“It’s gone,” Joe said.

“Are you sure?”

“I saw it go.”

“What in the bloody hell was it? A bear?”