The bear was huge! Standing on its hind legs, it looked like it was close to seven feet tall— although my perception of its height could have been skewed by my terror. I didn’t know if bears reacted to the smell of blood or fear, but I was still bleeding—and I was definitely scared.

I’d read that if you were confronted by a bear the best approach was to drop to the belly and stretch out. Although I’d also read to curl into a fetal position. Decisions, decisions.

I was still recovering from the ordeal in the river and could barely think, let alone decide which strategy to follow. I did know enough not to panic or run. But I couldn’t bring myself to go submissive. If anything happened, I wanted to be in a position to at least try to save my life.

Shaking its head, the bear opened its mouth and roared. Its teeth were huge and its paws were monstrous. Then it dropped to all fours and began to charge. Instinctively, I turned to run. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a blur of movement. A low threatening growl—different from the bear’s—reverberated through the area. I spun back around in time to see a wolf leap onto the bear.

Scrambling back, I tripped over something and landed hard on my .

I thought I should use the distraction of the wolf’s attack to run, but somehow I couldn’t tear my gaze from the animals that were snarling and snapping at each other. The bear slapped at the wolf. I heard it yelp and I could see streamers of blood on its hindquarters where the bear’s claws had ripped through.

But it didn’t back down as it crouched, placing itself between the bear and me. I didn’t want this wolf to die. It wasn’t the one I’d seen last night. Of that I was certain. Its fur was light golden blonde. It bared its teeth.

Standing on its hind legs, the bear growled. The wolf snapped, a low warning sound vibrating from its throat.

I knew I should have been running, but I just didn’t have the energy. Now that I was back on the ground, I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to get up. I wanted to scream. I wanted one of the sherpas to find me, to help me.

The bear made another swipe at the wolf, tossing it in the air as though it were nothing. After landing hard, the wolf scrambled up, went into a crouch, and began circling the bear. Then it sprung forward, went in low, and nipped the bear on the leg. The bear released a little yelp, turned tail, and ran.

Still crouching, the wolf turned toward me. Was I about to become its victim? I remembered what Yi Fan had said: A healthy wolf had never attacked a human.

I tried not to cower. I didn’t want it to sense that I had reservations, that I was wary of it. But exhaustion, fear, and everythingI’d endured since the rope snapped were claiming me, and I began trembling violently.

Trying to regain control of myself, I focused on the wolf rather than on how badly I hurt. It reminded me of a big dog. It was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen. Its  its eyes were a lively silver, not the dull gray of the wolf I’d seen last night. I had this odd sensation that it was looking me over, trying to determine— what? Why was it watching me? Why was it just standing there?

The longer it stood there, the more comfortable I became with it. I felt this strange sort of bonding that I couldn’t exactly explain. The wolves in my nightmares were always fierce, but this one had saved me, had put itself between me and the bear.

All these years had I let what happened to my parents affect my dreams? I was afraid of something, but it wasn’t the wilderness or this wolf. It was something inside me, something I didn’t understand.

I heard a cacophony of voices. The others. I thought of Dr. Won and his obsession with wolves.

“Run,” I whispered harshly. “Be safe.”

He turned his head at a quizzical angle. Then he bolted away, disappearing behind the dense foliage.

“Yejin!” Bora yelled.

“Here!” I stayed where I was, striving to gather my strength.

“Oh my God!” Bora cried as she, Min Ji, Chanyeol, Suho, and Mason broke into the clearing.

I was surprised Yi Fan wasn’t in the group. Bora rushed over to me, dropped to her knees, and began rubbing my arm, careful to avoid the scrapes. It felt so good.

“We were afraid you’d drowned,” Min Ji said as she joined Bora and began rubbing my other arm. The additional warmth was heavenly.

I gave a weak laugh. “No.”

Chanyeol removed his shirt. “You should take off your wet shirt.”

Bora snatched his shirt and shooed the guys away.

“Yi Fan has ink like that,” I heard Mason say as they walked away.

On the left shoulder of Chanyeol’s back was a tattoo, something that looked like a Celtic symbol.

Very much like the necklace I wore. I touched it now, relieved to find that I hadn’t lost it in the river.

“Yeah, frat initiation,” Chanyeol said. “Crazy, huh?”

Considering the circumstances, my first thought was wildly insane: I couldn’t picture Yi Fan joining a fraternity. The thought after that was that he’d stayed behind with the others and the supplies, rather than make sure I was okay. I couldn’t squash my disappointment.

Bora nudged my shoulder, bringing me back from my distracted musings. “Come on. We need to get you out of these wet clothes.”

I took off my shirt and bra. Min Ji bundled them up while I drew on Chanyeol’s shirt. It still carried his body heat and was as comforting as a warm blanket. It made me feel so much better. My shorts were made of a quick-drying material, and while I wasn’t toasty, I wasn’t nearly as chilled as I had been.

Once I was wearing Chanyeol’s shirt, the guys came back over.

“Should we build a fire here or just get her back to camp?” Suho asked.

“Get her back to camp,” Chanyeol said. “Can you carry her?”

“Yeah, sure,” Suho responded.

“I can walk,” I insisted. “The movement will help warm me up some more, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, probably,” Suho said. “Can you stand? Start moving around?”

I nodded and he pulled me to my feet.

“What about Yi Fan?” Mason asked. “The way he was running shouldn’t he have beat us here?”

He isn’t at the camp? He came after me?

I felt this small spark of joy that made my eyes sting. How weird was that? Another delayed reaction to the trauma. That’s what it had to be. I wasn’t special to Yi Fan; he wasn’t special to me, except in a we-are-sherpas kind of bond.

“He probably lost sight of Yejin in the water and ran right past where she ended up coming to shore,” Chanyeol explained. “The guy’s going to university on a track scholarship. He runs like the wind. I’ll search down a little farther, see if I can find him. You guys head back. Yejin needs to drink something warm—the sooner, the better.”

He didn’t wait for anyone to argue with him. He just started walking in the direction that the wolf had gone.

“Be careful!” I called out. “There was a wolf and a bear.”

Chanyeol stopped as though he wanted to say something, but Mason beat him to it. “Where?”

“Here. They fought. They both ran off. The wolf is hurt. If you run across him—”

“Don’t worry. I won’t approach him. Wild animals and I don’t get along.” He hurried away to try to find Yi Fan to let him know I was okay.

When we got back to camp, I was glad to see that the tents were set up. I slipped into mine. I couldn’t get out of my damp shorts fast enough. I pulled on some warm flannel pants and a sweatshirt. The scratches I’d received were no longer bleeding, but I put some antiseptic on them.

Couldn’t be too careful in the woods. Then I grabbed a blanket, wrapped it around me, and went out to sit by the fire. I needed some comfort food. A big bag of Double Stuf Oreos would be nice. But alas, I hadn’t packed our provisions.

Bora handed me a mug of soup. “Drink that. It’ll help warm you.”

She sat beside me. “We were so worried.”

“Not as worried as I was.”

“Okay, don’t take this wrong, but I’m glad it was you and not me. I’m not a strong swimmer.”

“If swimming the rapids is ever an Olympic event, I might have another chance to make the team.”

She laughed, getting my corny joke, because I’d shared with her my almost making the Olympic team. “Most definitely.”

She put her arm around me and hugged me tightly. “God, I don’t know if I’ve ever been so scared for someone in my entire life.”

I laid my head on her shoulder. I thought I could go to sleep right there. The only thing that I would have found more comforting was Yi Fan’s shoulder. I was touched that he’d been in such a panic to find me that he’d raced right past me. He’d probably be angry with himself when he realized what had happened. He wasn’t perfect. Not that I planned to point that out to him.

Yi Fan and Chanyeol strolled into camp with an easy stride.

“I was right,” Chanyeol said, “he’d run faster than the river had carried you downstream. He went right past the area where you came ashore.”

“That’s what you get for holding the university record in the mile,” Suho said.

Yi Fan barely acknowledged Suho’s remark before crouching beside me. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I answered, embarrassed by all the attention. “I didn’t mean to cause so much fuss. I don’t know why the rope gave way.”

“They didn’t tell you?”

I gave him a confused look. “Tell me what?”

“The rope was cut.”