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house and arm himself before pursuing Cornelius any further. If he did so, however,
he risked losing the man altogether, and to judge by his stumbling step Cornelius was in no fit state to be
wandering alone in the dark. It wasn't so much the bears Will was concerned about, it was the Bay. Cornelius
had headed in the direction of the shore. One slip on the icy rocks and he'd be in water so cold it would stop his
heart.
    He'd reached the spot where Cornelius had been dancing, and followed his tracks away from the comfort of the
lamplight into the murky no-man's-land between the houses and the tidal flats. There he was pleased to discover
Cornelius' phantom figure standing maybe fifty yards from him. He'd given up his spinning and his sky-
watching, and he was standing stone-still, staring out towards the darkness of the shore.
    'Hey, buddy!' Will called to him. 'You're going to get pneumonia.'
Cornelius didn't turn. In fact he didn't move so much as a muscle. What kind of pills had he been popping?, Will
wondered.
'Con!' he yelled again. He was no more than twenty yards from Cornelius' back. 'It's Will! Are you okay? Talk
to me, man.'
Finally, Cornelius spoke. One slurred word that stopped Will in his friend's tracks.
    'Bear.'
    There was a cloud of breath at Will's lips. He waited, as still as Cornelius, while the cloud cleared, then scanned
the scene to the limit of his vision. First to the left. The shore was empty as far as he could see. Then to the
right; the same.
    He dared a one-word question.
    'Where?'
    'Ahead. Of. Me.' Cornelius replied.
    Will took a very slow sideways step. Cornelius' drug-induced senses were not deceiving him. There was indeed
a bear maybe sixteen or seventeen yards in front of him, its form barely visible to Will through the snow-
flecked murk.
    'Are you still there, Will?' Cornelius said.
    'I'm here.'
    'What the fuck do I do?'
    'Back off. But, Con: very, very slowly.'
    Cornelius glanced back over his shoulder, his stricken face suddenly sober.
    'Don't look at me,' Will said. 'Keep your eyes on the animal.'
    Cornelius looked back towards the bear, which had begun its implacable approach. This wasn't one of the
playful adolescents from the dump; nor was it the blind old warrior Will had photographed. This was a fully
grown female; a good six hundred pounds.
    'Fuck...' Cornelius muttered.
    'Just keep coming,' Will coaxed him. 'You're going to be okay. Just don't let her think you're anything worth
chasing.'
    Cornelius managed three tentative backward steps, but his equilibrium was poor after the dervish act, and on the
fourth step his heel slid on the slick ground. He flailed for a moment, then recovered his balance, but the harm
was done. Hissing her intentions, the bear gave up her plod and came bounding at him. Cornelius turned and
ran, the bear roaring in pursuit, her body a blur. Weaponless, all Will could do was dodge out of Cornelius' path
and yell himself hoarse in the hope of distracting the animal. But it was Cornelius she wanted. In two bounds
she'd halved the distance between them, jaws wide in readiness
    'Get down!'
    Will threw a glance back in the direction of the voice and there, God save her, was Adrianna, rifle raised.
    'Con!' she yelled. 'Get your fucking head down!'
    He got the message, and flung himself to the frozen dirt, with the bear a body's length from his heels. Adrianna
fired, and hit the animal's shoulder, checking her before she could catch up with her quarry. The animal rose up
with an agonized roar, blood staining her fur. Cornelius was still within swatting distance, however, if she chose
to take him out. Ducking to make himself as small a target as possible, Will scrambled towards him, and,
grabbing his trembling torso, hauled him out of the bear's path. There was a sharp stink of shit off him.
    He looked back at the bear. She wasn't finished; nowhere near. Roaring so loudly that the ground shook, she
started towards Adrianna, who leveled her