Gone

Lana and her dog Patrick follow Hermit Jim’s tire tracks. They reach an abandoned mining town in the desert. She walks to a large building and throws open the door to dismiss her fear. Though she finds Jim’s truck, she doesn’t find him or his keys. She keeps searching, hopeful they can take the truck to Perdido Beach. Curious, Lana follows a narrow train track into the dark mine.

Before she enters the mine, a coyote pack ambushes her and Patrick. Lana throws rocks while they growl and speak to her, repeating, “No human here” (309). Though she thinks she must be having delusions to hear coyotes talk, Lana speaks to them. She trips over a foul-smelling mass, which she realizes is Jim, the cabin owner who has been dead for a while. The coyotes state they killed him, repeating that no humans are allowed. Lana wonders why, but then the pack rushes her. She dashes into the dark mine. The pack moves her like a prisoner into the frigid depths.

In the darkness, a blinding light appears, and a voice explodes in Lana’s head. She spasms, “every cell” screaming in pain like she’s “being boiled alive” (313).