The beaver ate a ways up the big human’s calf before looking up. She’d ignored the second thunderclap and recognized intimately the sound of a tree falling. She surveyed the scene around her. There were humans on the ground everywhere, but up in front of her was the one that she’d found after the cat attacked her. Still running. The beaver almost admired the human’s persistence. It wanted to get away so badly. It’d gotten to where the grass ended and the pavement started, maybe twelve feet away.

            The beaver didn’t need to rush anymore. Two humans were down on the pavement to the left of the runner. One more to the right. And then she saw her. The two on the pavement: on...

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