With one final glance around the site, Josh stepped onto the narrow path and began walking; heading once again, in a northerly direction.

Four minutes later, an animal stepped onto the rock where the snail slowly moved, sniffed at the sticky creature and promptly gobbled up the protein-laden crawler. It then leaped from the boulder to the place where Josh had slept and ran its nose along the ground, not allowing a trace of earth to go uninspected. Slowly, in ever increasing swaths, the large animal examined the campsite, inhaling the many enticing scents which lured him here. Following his nose, the adult coyote crossed the pathway, trailing after the three raccoons for a short distance.

Abruptly, the hungry coyote stopped, retraced his steps and sniffed once more at the area where Josh had bedded down, before lifting his nostrils high into the air. For a full minute, the dog-like creature breathed in the odors that had brought him so far from where he began his nocturnal wandering.

Suddenly, he jumped onto the path and padded briskly along, in the same direction that Josh had taken. From time to time, the coyote lowered his snout to the ground, making sure he was still following in the direction of the human, who carried food.

One half mile ahead, Josh, aided by the moonlight, moved at a fast pace along the trail leading to an unforeseen destination.

Somewhere in his consciousness, the voice which had earlier prodded Josh to remove himself from two dangerous situations had now become silent. But, despite the muted voice, Josh felt a powerful indication of haste in his stride. He had no idea why; only the notion that he must not stop to rest, even for a moment. This notion was intensified when the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand on end. Still, Josh did not look behind him. His eyes remained focused on the dark corridor before him. He smiled, as he compared himself to a bird flying south for the winter, or, in his case, north for the spring and summer, with no indication of where he would end up; only the drive to keep heading in the direction that nature, or whatever, forced upon him.

Less than a third of a mile behind, the big coyote trotted steadily along, no longer needing to lower his snout to the ground. He could distinctly smell the human scent in the air now. A mile and a half to the east, another coyote howled, seeking the whereabouts of her mate. The one on the path stopped instantly and let out three short yelps, which were as quickly answered by two more from the female. She set a course in his direction.

One half hour later, Josh came upon what appeared at first, to be a fork in the path. Upon closer examination, however, his eyes were able to determine that, although the path did fork off in two directions, neither one went more than twenty or thirty feet, before becoming swallowed up by heavy brush.

Convinced that, once he was able to get beyond the heavy undergrowth, the pathway would once again open up, Josh plunged into the thicket to his left, using his arms to push the small branches out of his way. The further in he went, the thicker the growth seemed to get. Even with the fading moonlight, Josh was able to see that there was no opening for as far ahead as he looked.

Reluctantly, he turned and high-stepped his way back to where he began. He then headed into the stand of brush to his right, which led diagonally from his original direction, a more northeasterly course.

Unsure, at first, which was the correct route, Josh developed a strong awareness, as he fought his way along, that this, indeed, was the right choice. Despite the absence of a trail and no sign of one ahead, the young man trudged through the entangling copse, intent, not on rediscovering the trail, only on reaching his destination. Somehow, he knew he was on course toward that goal.

One mile eastward, the female coyote scampered along, answering the call of her mate. She knew, by the sound of his yelps, that he had made an important find. She knew also, that it more than likely involved food and her empty stomach let out a low rumble, in anticipation. She trusted in her mate’s ability to locate food, when she was unable to do so. Instinct told her she must go to him quickly.

As the smaller coyote trotted hurriedly along, the early morning breeze brought with it the faint whiff of a human, his sweat glands releasing a scent which clearly indicated to the animal that this was a male human. As her heart rate increased, with this new sense of danger, she immediately picked up her pace, knowing that her mate could be in peril. If so, she would fight to the death to protect him.

Unaware of the presence of the coyotes, Josh proceeded through the heavily grown-in forest inching his way slowly forward. Spiny branches poked at his face, some inflicting small scratches, which brought blood to the skin surface, but did not, save for a few, break through. He constantly bobbed and weaved, ducking his eyes away from the attacking branches. Josh’s progress was slow, but, steady and before long, he had reached a point where the forest opened up a bit, allowing him, at times, to take a few full strides.

Finally, Josh came to a dense stand of pines and his legs and feet luxuriated in walking on the unobstructed forest floor, covered in pine needles; the soft ground under them producing a carpeted effect. He could feel himself moving at a much quicker pace, as the nighttime gave way to gradually increasing morning light. The pine stand was big, covering a large section in the direction that Josh was heading and he followed it for almost two miles, until he began to encounter an increasing number of soggy spots, suddenly finding himself standing directly in front of what appeared to be a small swamp.

Josh pondered his choices, once again. Should he try to find a way around the bog, either to his left, or, right? Peering into the gradually breaking light of dawn, Josh was unable to see the end of the swampy area, but, instead, noticed that there were hundreds of raised grassy clumps, perhaps forty or fifty yards before him.