The bear’s tracks were as clear as day, so Catskill kept running through the snowbound forest, the blunderbuss bumping at her flanks in its harness, the bandolier bouncing at her chest, her breath getting forced through her balaclava and almost steaming up her goggles. The problem with rabid animals (particularly in the disease’s later stages) was that they were unpredictable. This bear, for instance, kept swerving from side to side, doubling back on itself, taking the long way around, that sort of thing. Luckily, the bear was a bear, so its tracks were clear as day.