“Secure the bay,” Anika called. Cones blocked traffic; an EMT killed the siren. Security swept the area, twenty feet away from the animal. The bear watched, neither charging nor retreating. “The boy’s cold,” Anika said, tucking a foil blanket. The boy’s lips moved to just murmur, “Cold… river…” The words fogged the air like smoke.
“Get him to Trauma One,” Anika ordered. The EMTs lifted, wheeled, vanished into light. The bear exhaled a heavy, cavernous sound, and then lowered its head and stayed beneath the canopy, rain pooling around its paws. Anika held her position between the doors and the animal. “It has a collar. Call Animal Control and the rangers.”