They hiked on, leaving behind a meadow for a thick stand of lodgepole pines.
Jason stopped. “He was just here. He rested.”
There at the base of a tree was a depression in the snow. Winona could see not only paw marks, but also dark fur that had been rubbed off by the bark. There were fresh tracks in the snow heading due west now.
Then Winona spotted the animal. “Stop.He’s still here.”
She dropped her backpack, took out a block of frozen beef, cut off a piece. Then she walked between the trees to get a clear line of sight to toss the meat and—
“Win, stop!”
Click. CRACK!
Agony.
Winona screamed, collapsed to the ground, pain shattering her left leg, the shock of it driving her to the brink of unconsciousness.
“Jesus!” Jason was there beside her, but he sounded far away. “It’s an old, steel bear trap. Help me get it off her—now!”
“I’ll open it. You pull her leg out.” That was the ranger.
Fresh pain brought her back as they moved her. “Stop!”
“We have to get this off you.” Jason caught her beneath her arms. “You ready?”
Winona heard Henriksen grunt with effort, opened her eyes, saw blood.
“It’s stuck!”
“We have to break her free, or she’ll bleed out. You can do it, Henriksen.”
The ranger tried again. “Got it!”
Jason dragged her backward, pulling her free, the pain of having her leg dragged over the snowy ground making Winona cry out, driving her once more toward darkness.
The trap closed with a sharpsnap.
Hands touched her leg, the pain terrible.
“She probably has a tib-fib fracture.” Henriksen sounded afraid. “She’s bleeding pretty badly. I think it severed an artery.”
“Do you have a medkit? She needs a tourniquet.” That was Jason again.
“Just basic first aid, but there is a tourniquet. No pain meds.”
Something landed in the snow beside her. She willed her eyes to open, saw an orange bag with a white cross on it.
“You go for help. I’ll do what I can for her.”
“I’m going to head back toward the campsite and try to get a radio signal. I’ll have to wait there and lead rescuers to you.”
“Do it. Go!”
Boots in snow, moving fast.
A zipper being ripped open.
“Win, can you hear me?”