"I remember the cat snarling. I remember Daniel backing up. And I remember Rafe, lying on the ground, saying, "It's okay. It's okay" over and over in this calm voice, completely calm, like he didn't even the cougar. The cat backed up, getting closer and closer to Rafe and he didn't move a muscle and I remember thinking, "She's protecting him," which was crazy, but that's what I thought. Then the world blinked, and my legs gave way. As I went down, Daniel ran toward me, and I opened my mouth to shout for him not to turn his back on the cat, but she was already twisting away. I don't remember anything else. No, that's a lie. I remember one more thing. I remember the cougar turning away and I remember what I saw on her flank. A dark patch of fur in the shape of a paw print."