The River

The next morning, Jack and Wynn pack up camp and prepare for the day’s paddling. Because their diet has consisted entirely of berries, both have stomach issues. Once the canoe is loaded, they push off and pass the landing where they had the scary encounter with Pierre. They see no sign of him but stop there to fish, and they eat their catch to provide themselves with some much-needed protein. They then continue downriver, noticing how the wildlife is fleeing from the encroaching fire. Moose, bear, caribou, and other animals swim from one side of the river to the other, all acting on instinct. Wynn and Jack also notice that the smoke is becoming much more defined in the sky, though it’s still gray and not yet black, which leaves them at least some time to escape, though they’re unsure how close the fire actually is. Jack and Wynn resume discussing Pierre; Jack points out that Pierre’s straight-ahead focus on what was in front of him as he neared the rapids revealed that he wasn’t a hunter and likely wasn’t very skilled with a gun. Seeing a caribou calf struggling to swim across the river, they drift toward it so that Jack can reach out and grab it. He kills the calf out of mercy, and they keep the carcass for food later on. They realize that camping on the left shore is a bad idea because that’s the direction from which the fire is approaching. Staying on the opposite side might give them a small chance to survive if it comes upon them suddenly. Maia is beginning to improve. She can speak and walk, though not for any extended period. She’s still disoriented, however. She asks Wynn and Jack where Pierre is.

After Jack answers that Pierre is downriver, Maia asks if Pierre has her data. Unsure what she means, both Jack and Wynn ask her to elaborate. She notes that she has a dull headache and sharp pains in her stomach, and then she explains that she’s a research scientist. She’s studying the effects of acid rain on bodies of water in the arctic, and she’s married to Pierre, who’s also a scientist. Jack and Wynn then probe into how Maia was injured. The argument she had with Pierre turned physical. She remembers him grabbing her and pulling her around, dislocating her shoulder. She retaliated and slapped him, knocking off his glasses and breaking them. This is the extent of her recollection. She doesn’t recall any other details about the nature of her injuries. She does add that Pierre is nearsighted, which explains his intense focus on what was in front of him when Wynn and Jack first saw him on the river.

They make camp for the night and roast the caribou calf and eat it, which replenishes them. Maia drifts off to sleep, and as Wynn and Jack sit by the fire, they hear the sound of waves beginning to crash. They realize that this is likely a sign that the fire is closer than ever. They consider their current options. Wynn is optimistic that the river widens ahead, which he thinks could give them a chance to survive the fire, but Jack brushes that hope aside. They agree that the only course of action is to once again take to the river and paddle through the upcoming rapids in the dark of night.

Soon after pushing off, they experience the first signs that the fire is almost upon them. They hear the crack of trees breaking and snapping, and at the same time, paddling in the dark, they encounter rapids. With skill and some luck, Wynn and Jack manage to pass through the rapids, and as they reach flatter water, Jack talks about the nature of forest fires and how these phenomena tend to be wildly unpredictable and can even initiate their own weather microsystems. As they proceed downriver, the smoke thickens, and they start to see sparks and debris flying all around. The fire is upon them. They try to paddle to the right side of a turn in the river but are pulled into rapids that upend their canoe. All three are now in the water and struggling to stay with the canoe and tethered gear. Fortunately, they’re all alive and manage to swim to the riverbank, where they remain half in the water and take cover against the bank. Just as they lay themselves face down among some small rocks, the fire begins to flash over to their side of the river. Possibly because of a wind change, the heat doesn’t sear them.

After assessing the situation, Jack recommends quickly paddling the canoe to opposite bank, the charred side, because they’re now vulnerable to the fire, which hasn’t entirely swept across their side of the river. As they’re about to cross, a flying piece of bark strikes Wynn in the face, burning him across the cheek. Leaving the canoe beached on a small rocky island, they swim to the other shore. When they reach the other side, the intense wind that the fire creates has died down to almost nothing. Jack tells Wynn that they must run into the charred forest to protect themselves against the unpredictability of the fire, which now is consuming the other side of the river. This strategy is called “running into the black” (188), a tactic that Jack learned from forest firefighters. The idea is that by avoiding areas with more fuel for the fire, they’ll have some shelter against it.

They climb up the bank into the charred forest and stand among the smoking ruins. The ground is still too hot to sit but not hot enough to melt through their boots. They stand there for a long time, exhausted and half asleep. Wynn and Jack tire from holding up Maia, who would otherwise collapse. However, they can’t sit or rest on the ground or rocks because it would burn them. Eventually, they decide to move back toward the beach because all are exhausted, and Maia needs to lie down; they can no longer prop her up. They return to their canoe and discover that it’s undamaged. They sleep next to the boat on the small rock island. It’s a very cold night, but the radiant heat makes it feel warmer—and dries out their clothes and other gear. Upon waking, they realize that they escaped the worst of the fire; however, the new concern is hunger because they lost the blueberries when the boat capsized and now have nothing to eat. The landscape around them is burned and charred, so foraging would require too long a hike. Jack and Wynn decide to fish but catch nothing in the tributaries they pass. Maia notes that most likely, all the trout sensed the coming fire and sought the deeper waters of the river, where they’d stay until their environment stabilized somewhat. They continue to wonder about Pierre, and Maia finally reveals that he did try to kill her. They calculate that Pierre had a full day’s head start and perhaps escaped the fire too, so he still poses a danger. They try to orient themselves from their memory of the map and conclude that they’re at least three days out from Last Chance Falls, where—after portaging around the falls—they’d have a smooth and quick passage out to the town (and safety). As they paddle, they pass the burned remains of a bear and her cubs. Jack asks Wynn to steer toward them because he sees an opportunity for food. Wynn refuses, and they cruise past, to Jack’s ire. They finally arrive at what appears to be the stark, well-defined edge of the burn area, as they can see signs of vegetation. Exhausted, they make camp there.

Wynn and Jack begin the day fishing and both catch some trout. After cleaning the fish, the three eat. Maia has an internal ailment and winces when she eats. Jack tries to get a better sense of what kind of man Pierre is so that he knows what they’re up against. Maia tells him that Pierre is stubborn and persistent. She indicates that he likely tried to kill her because she had publishing credits in academic journals, while he didn’t; she surmises that another possible motive was her family’s wealth.

Jack and Wynn again discuss Maia and the circumstances surrounding her condition. Wynn is still reluctant to fully believe that Pierre is responsible and suggests that maybe it happened because he was drunk. Jack is much more emphatic about Pierre’s having evil intentions. Jack then changes the subject and discusses the mythology of the river, noting that a spirit haunts it and that perhaps this spirit is causing all the mayhem. Just then, they hear a distant rumble and soon determine that it’s a boat motor. It’s the Texans, the two men from earlier in the novel. As they approach, they recognize Wynn and Jack. They also see Maia asleep and become suspicious. Tense moments ensue because Jack and one of the Texans are holding rifles. Eventually, things calm down and, after Jack explains what happened, the Texans offer them food and whiskey. They share their names: Brent is the portly one, and JD is the thin one. JD and Brent set up camp and cook dinner for everyone. Jack realizes that these two men only appear to be hapless partiers; they aren’t fools, and they know what they are doing.