was halfway across the clearing, striding toward the snowy mound where Quizo barked with excited intent. Then the world went white. Snow sprayed up and out in a giant concussive boom. D.D. just got her arms up and it still felt like being hit by a thousand stinging needles. Quizo’s deep bark turned into an immediate bay of distress. Someone screamed. Then, another rocking explosion and several more cries, while D.D. was knocked back on her ass, head buried behind both arms to shield herself. “Quizo, Quizo,” someone was crying. Probably Nelson. “D.D., D.D., D.D.,” someone else was crying. Probably Bobby. She got her eyes open in time to see Bobby charging across the clearing, legs plunging through the snow, face ashen with panic. “Are you all right? Talk to me, D.D. Talk to me, dammit.” “What, what, what?” She blinked. Shook ice and snow from her hair. Blinked again. Her ears were ringing, filled with a sense of pressure. She cracked her jaw, trying to release it. Bobby had reached her side, clutching her shoulders.
