The thing emerges from the trees into broad daylight, and Trisha's first thought upon seeing it is, "Is that all? Is that all it ever was?" (pg. 205) For the thing which has paced her through the woods reveals itself to be a common, fully grown, North American black bear. It grasps a branch in its paw like a scepter, and as it rises onto all fours in the middle of the road, Trisha realizes it is not a bear at all. The thing that looks like a bear peers at her out of empty eye sockets, and Trisha knows deep in her bones that she is face to face with the God of the Lost. It is sixty feet away, and it has come for her at last.
The God which inhabits the.....
