"David. David. Over here."
I heard something move in the direction of the sound. My muscles tightened as the rustling stopped.
"David, please."
Karen, I thought, but I was afraid to move. It sounded like her voice, but there was something else in the night. I swore in fear, conjuring up some nightmare that might be enticing me into the woods, reading my mind and calling in a soft voice.
"David, help me."
"Karen," I shouted, straining to hear the voice again. Something moved in the carpet of thick growth. I swung the light in a full circle, but the blackness seemed to absorb it.
"Where are you?" I shouted.
I heard the noise and started to bring the light to bear, with the automatic held in my other hand. I was halfway around when the light picked out something big and black that sprang with a snarl. A tearing pain slammed into my chest, hurling me back as the light spun away. Something fell on me. I reached out and caught thick fur, jamming the gun into it, firing until all eight shots were out. I was barely conscious from the pain, pushing away from the weight across me. I rolled free and started to fall through black space, head over heels through the ripping hiss of the roar in my head.
Something stopped my headlong plunge and I felt my head being lifted. I could hear Karen talking from a million miles distant, then shots exploded in my ear.
"David," she screamed. I couldn't breathe or lift my left arm as I struggled to get up.