"Where are we going, new kid?" Jenna asked.

"Out of town."

At dusk, the town of Chicaman, Michigan almost seemed to blend into the forest it had been cut out of. Being with the new kid made her feel eerie enough, without the added ambiance of the thick woods. As they moved through the street, she looked toward the houses to remind herself that this was civilization.

"I can't leave town."

"I think you'll soon find that not true."

He was smiling, wickedly. He had shown up outside her bedroom window and waived her down. Normally, she would have ignored such an act by a boy, but she knew this recent arrival had already faced the snooty discrimination that Chicaman could dish out to people who didn't act like everyone else and felt bad for him.

He gave off a strange odor. It wasn't unpleasant, just strange, like cologne you had to get used to, but more natural. Now, what she thought of as her human decency was being overwhelmed by the heebie-jeebies. She was about to say goodbye when the dogs started barking.

"Ah, here they come."

"Here who comes?"

"You'll see soon enough."

The barking came from all directions. She'd heard many dogs barking at once before, but right now it was if every dog in town was agitated.

Something rubbed against her leg. She looked down and saw a striped cat. She didn't think it had rubbed her to be affectionate. No, it had just walked by her to get to him. It joined another cat at his side. Both their tails were puffy with fright and they kept looking up at him and meowing. She noted other cats approaching, some of which she'd seen around town, some that had collars with tags.

"What are they doing? Why do they like being near you so much?"

She almost thought she knew the answer to her last question. It had something to do with his scent.

He spoke loudly, as if to drown out the sounds of the dogs barking and the people shouting for them to be quiet.

"The cats, like the dogs, kind of sense what's about to happen, but, unlike the dogs, they'll try to protect themselves instead of their owners."

"What do they need protection from?"

He laughed. "You'll soon see."

She looked around. What was going on? All she knew was it had something to do with this boy.

"What have you done?"

He nodded to acknowledge the question was apt.

"I understand why you'd think I caused this, but I assure you, I'm merely a witness. I'm like the dogs and cats. I can sense when something is going to happen, but I'm different in that I can sense it from far away."

He looked at her as if to ask if she understood. She didn't, not completely anyway.

"The spiritual world has been upset. There is a rule that this town has broken, and now balance will be restored."

There were suddenly more noises. The noises were coming from the woods. Trees were moving violently. There were the terrible groans of angry beasts.

"You were right in your protest, Jenna. The rule had been the same for many decades. You told them not to alter it."

She started crying. "I think this is all enough. I think I can use it to change their minds."

He laughed. "I think you know that's not true."

There was a crash and then people were screaming. There were more such sounds, mixed in with the groans of many beasts. Someone fired a gun.

"I want to go back for my family. Can we please get them?

"You would have to be with me in order to survive, and I won't return for them."

"Why?"

He smiled wickedly again.

"Because that would make the spirits angry at me. You were the only one that protested extending the season these creatures could be hunted. You are the only one I can save."

Just then a massive brown beast ran out into the street in front of them. It stopped, and they stopped. It looked at them and sniffed the air for a couple of seconds. It then groaned, as if pained in some way, and ran away fast.

The new kid laughed, looking at the cats, which had huddled at his feet. "That's the main reason these cats like to be near me." He laughed again. "Because the bears don't."