Excerpt
An Excerpt from Brian's Winter
He would have to find some way to protect himself, some weapon. The fire
worked well when it was burning, but it had burned down. His hatchet and
knife would have done nothing more than make the bear really angry--something
he did not like to think about--and his bow was good only for smaller
game. He had never tried to shoot anything bigger than a foolbird or rabbit
with it and doubted that the bow would push the arrow deep enough to do
anything but--again--make the bear really mad.
He bundled in his bag that night, the end of the two weeks of warm weather.
He kept putting wood on the fire, half afraid the bear would come back.
All the while he tried to think of a solution.
But in reality, the bear was not his primary adversary. Nor was the wolf,
nor any animal. Brian had become his own worst enemy because in all the
business of hunting, fishing and surviving he had forgotten the primary
rule: Always, always pay attention to what was happening. Everything
in nature means something and he had missed the warnings that summer was
ending, had in many ways already ended, and what was coming would be the
most dangerous thing he had faced since the plane crash.