Camp Antler Point

Chapter 18

Beverly's screams carried a fear so intense that it transcended the need for language. A wordless, primal terror that made the hair on the back of Amy's neck stand on end as she ran toward its source.

Beneath the screaming, a rhythmic thudding pounded through the forest like the beating of a war drum. As Amy and Lucas drew closer, a low, grunting noise confirmed their worst fears.

A moose stomped at the base of a tree. The calf no longer cried with fear like it had when they'd last seen it by the lake. No, these were not the plaintive wails of a helpless animal searching for its mother.

These were the guttural, rage-filled bellows of a killer.

Its antlers were unlike anything Amy had ever seen. Protruding from the calf's head in clusters of velvety bumps, they resembled clumps of coral covered in a fine, milky white fungus. The twisted lumps of bone rammed against the tree, sending splintery shrapnel flying.

A shriek pierced the air as Beverly clung to the branch beneath her. Leaves cascaded onto the moose waiting below as one of her feet lost its hold.

"Take this." Lucas thrust his slingshot into Amy's hands. "I should be able to distract it long enough for you to get away, but if I can't—"

"It's just a baby, so I bet it'll leave if we scare it badly enough." Amy scooped up a fistful of rocks and readied the slingshot. With the way the wind was blowing, they couldn't use the bear spray without hurting Beverly. No, they'd have to take a more primitive approach.

"You can't be serious."

"I'm not leaving Beverly."

He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine, we'll try your way first, but if this doesn't work, I'll lead it away. Got it?"

Once Amy nodded the affirmative, he scooped up as many rocks as he could and jogged so that he and Amy were on opposite sides of the calf.

As the moose lowered its head in preparation for another charge, Amy raised the slingshot. "Leave her alone!" she yelled.

When the calf turned to look at her, she fired a rock at its face.

The stench of half-digested algae filled the air along with a noise that was halfway between a leaf blower and a roaring engine. The calf turned to face her, its spindly legs nearly sending it toppling to the ground as they trembled. Saliva frothed around its mouth as it panted from exertion.

With the tree's splintered trunk and the terrified kid hiding among its branches forgotten, the moose charged.

Amy stood her ground as the mountain of muscle raged toward her, spreading her arms wide and yelling to make herself seem like so much more than she was. Bigger. Scarier. Braver.

If she screamed loud enough, maybe it wouldn't care that her legs were shaking even more than her voice.

It took all of her strength not to fall to the ground sobbing with relief when a rock thunked against the moose's antlers, startling it into stopping. She was close enough to see the look in its eyes the moment the stone hit its mark.

The hate gleaming in the cold black pools.

"There's more where that came from, you glorified cow!" Another rock cracked against the moose's antlers as it charged toward Lucas.

Or at least tried to.

Beverly's tree shuddered as the moose careened into the trunk.

Her breath came in panicked gasps as her shoes scrabbled against the wood. Now she had nothing grabbing the branch but her trembling hands as she dangled above her attacker.

The moose snorted triumphantly as it pawed the ground. One more hit was all it would take. One more hit, and Beverly would fall. Maybe the fall would kill her. Maybe she'd be smashed against the tree trunk in a final, fatal charge. Maybe it was not the twisted bones on the moose's head that would do her in but its cold, hard hooves.

Rocks sailed through the air as both Amy and Lucas fired.

Neither of them knew who made the fateful shot. All they knew was the scream. The horrible, awful scream.

Blood ran down the moose's face in a dark stream. Its remaining eye no longer held hate but sheer, gut-curdling terror as it bellowed its pain for all of the forest to hear.

The injured beast fled into the undergrowth, its hoofprints speckled with blood.