Camp Antler Point

Chapter 23

Amy had almost forgotten how good it felt to just sit back and relax.

No rain soaking her to the bone, no children in need of saving, no rampaging moose trying to kill her. Just her, her friends, and her third plateful of the Holiday Inn's breakfast buffet.

"Are you kids sure you should be eating so much?" asked their waitress. She leaned over to pour fresh orange juice into everyone's cups. "You might want to slow down a smidge, or else that's gonna hit your stomachs like a sack of bricks."

Lucas looked up from shoveling scrambled eggs into his mouth. "We got chased by moose, almost died, and have barely eaten anything but garbage since we left Camp Antler Point. We're hungry."

"Oh, you're those kids! Well then, you just let me know if you need anything." She scurried off to the next table so quickly she nearly spilled juice all over a gaggle of kids, exchanging a rush of chatter with her coworkers.

"Great, now the whole place'll know we're here," Carson muttered. "I swear if we have to do one more interview, I'm going to scream."

The moose incident was the most exciting thing that had happened to Vermont since the birth of Ben & Jerry's in the 70's. Their faces had been plastered all over every newspaper in the state, and more than a few reporters had hounded them about the moose gone mad.

"Look on the bright side," Lucas said. "We're going to be the most popular guys on campus. I mean, how many people do you know that have fought off a moose?"

"I never want to hear about those things again," Carson said.

"You and me both," Amy said softly. She'd barely slept since the attacks. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw what her dad must have gone through, how worried he must have been for her.

And those twisted, blood-crusted antlers.

"Fair enough," Lucas said. He scratched at the cast wrapped around his arm. Doodles and thank you messages from the kids they'd saved covered every inch in a marker-scented collage. "What are you guys going to do with the rest of summer, anyway? I'm probably going to be stuck at home."

Carson shrugged. "Apply for another job, I guess. Worst off, the movie theater's always hiring."

"I'll be flying back to Mom's in a few days," Amy said. "She'll keep me busy for a while. Then I think I'll go to Middlebury next year. I'm not sure yet, but it would be nice to be around people who know about all this, you know?"

The boys nodded. They'd heard each other's screams in the night, knew how hard it would be for them all to adjust.

"Carson, are you still up for that movie marathon?"

"I'm pretty burned out on horror right now, but how about some of that Hallmark crap? I don't know about you, but ripping those things apart always cheers me up."

"Sounds great! You coming, Lucas?"

"Duh!"

Once they finished off their breakfasts and sprinted past the reporters lurking in the lobby, the three of them headed over to Carson's room for a day full of relaxing and roasting dumb movies.

Or so they thought. The minute they turned on the TV, a blurry photo of a moose flashed on screen above the headline Moose on the Loose. "Authorities have yet to track down the moose that terrorized two summer camps this past week," said the newscaster with the barest hint of concern. "Hikers are warned to steer clear of Lake Murgenthal and the surrounding area until the remaining animals have been dealt with."

"You'd think being lit on fire would make them want to stay the hell away from people," Lucas said acidly.

"I'm just glad those things will be put down," Carson said.

Amy's eyes widened as a photo of the last known moose sighting appeared on the screen. "I don't think they'll be people's only problem anytime soon."

Crouched over the body of a moose with the tattered remains of a sweater caught in its antlers, a grizzly snarled at the camera with a froth of bloody saliva dripping from its mouth.