The Alaskan Rescue. Dominique Burton

weeks, but tonight Freddy denied it’s his.”

      The next few minutes happened fast. Sashi watched in terror as Kendra took off, running down the other side of the hill into a hemlock forest, where she tried to climb a big alder tree. A sow with cubs would chase her and follow her up.

      “No, Kendra! No!”

      She had to stop the bear, save her friend. Without a second thought she threw herself in its way. The sow barely noticed her. In the next instant, the eight-foot, salmon-fed animal tossed her in the air, bruising her back and slicing open her left upper arm. Upon landing, Sashi’s right foot hit the ground first and twisted as her body fell at an angle.

      She could only lift her right arm in a futile attempt to prevent her head from hitting a rock on the ground. Fortunately the rock just grazed her temple. Lying facedown on the dirt, she could barely think. The pain radiating from her lower leg was excruciating.

      Sashi knew she had to move and get away from the bear in case it came back. She clawed her way into a nearby cave, dank and cold as a tomb. Too terrified to scream, she curled into a ball on the floor, then craned her neck to see if the bear was there.

      No, it wasn’t. It had gone. Where was Kendra? Was she safe?

      She prayed.

      She realized she needed to start taking care of herself or she was going to die. She counted to three in her mind and then turned herself over. The pain was unbearable.

      Her leg was much worse than she’d thought, probably broken, but right now her main concern was her left arm, which was bleeding profusely. She had to stop it. Using her teeth and right hand, she ripped off a piece of her shirt, which she then somehow managed to tie using her bad arm. At last she got a piece big enough to tie around the cut to stem the flow. It took a few tries to get the rough bandage tight, but she fought through silent tears and sweat, and it worked. Then she relaxed her body and calmed her breathing, and soon she fell asleep from exhaustion.

      She awoke later with a start. “Oh, God, where am I?” Then she remembered and began to shake. She could hear the howl of a wolf in the distance. Breathe, Sashi. You’ve danced for years. Pain is part of being a dancer.

      Where was the group? Maybe Cole would come and find her. He was a bush doctor. Her breathing slowed and she slept again.

      When she came to this time, her thoughts were reeling. I’ll be strong for Kendra and her baby and my parents. I’m their only child and they need me. Thirsty, she turned her head and tried to lick the water trickling down the middle of the cave floor. Yes, I will be found.

      She tried to move her right foot, but couldn’t. She cried silent tears. I don’t want to die. I’m not going to die. I will dance again. Please God, save me.

      She called for her friend. “Kendra? Kendra? Kendra?” Her voice grew hoarse. She refused to think no one could hear her in this cave.

      * * *

      IN A DREAM, COLE COULD HEAR his name being said over and over again. A knock on the door alerted him that he was needed in the E.R. He jumped out of the makeshift hospital bed that was on hand for the emergency room doctors. He slipped on his Crocs and grabbed his white jacket.

      From years of practice he flipped on the light switch, then headed over to the sink to brush his teeth and splash some water on his face. He sure hoped he had time to go home and properly shower before he saw Sashi today. As soon as she called, he would be off duty. Trading schedules with Dr. Reagan, he’d done the all-night shift. It was worth it. He couldn’t wait to see her.

      “Paging Dr. Stevens, Dr. Cole Stevens. Please report to the E.R. desk immediately. That’s Dr. Stevens, Dr. Cole Stevens.” He rushed out the door and headed down the hall, hoping it wasn’t a terrible trauma. He didn’t want any distractions on his day off. Once at the emergency desk, he picked up the phone. “This is Dr. Stevens.”

      “Cole, this is Chief Hunter with the Alaska State Troopers on Prince of Wales Island.”

      “Trace. I know who you are. I’m just trying to figure out why in the hell you’re being so formal with me.” He leaned against the high wraparound desk.

      “We’ve got ourselves a bad situation. I think you’re the twentieth person I’ve called today.”

      Cole chuckled and turned toward the wall to keep his voice from carrying. “You waited that long to get a doctor on board for whatever problem you’ve gotten yourself into?”

      “This isn’t a laughing matter. Two women have gone missing. Joe Running Bear, Freddy Marshall and his friends are very worried about their situation.”

      “How is Joe involved in this?” Cole was afraid something might have happened to Joe’s daughter or one of her friends. He rubbed his whiskered jaw in frustration.

      “It’s not like that. He’s taken some twenty or so city ladies on one of his Native tours.”

      Cole frowned. “I didn’t know Joe got people to go on those anymore. The guy charges a fortune. Last I heard it was two years ago since someone booked.”