"What was that?" Amy glanced at the rearview mirror. The only thing distinguishing the dark, hulking shape from the blackness was the way its broad antlers disrupted the rain like a pair of upturned hands. Gurgling moans chilled her worse than her soaked-through clothes.

"Please tell me those things are scared of noise too," Lucas said.

"No!" Carson slapped his hand over his mouth. Only when he was sure the moose didn't react to his scream did he whisper, "That makes them more aggressive."

Metal screeched as the moose rubbed its antlers against the trunk. A steady knocking filled the vehicle. If Amy didn't know any better, she'd think it was her heart pounding against her ribcage, desperate to escape the danger they found themselves in.

"Screw this." Carson scooted toward the door and wrapped his trembling fingers around the handle.

"Don't even think about it." The doors locked shut with a thunk as Lucas glared at Carson. "In case you forgot, you two dragged me into this. Moose or no moose, you're staying with me."

"We didn't drag you anywhere," Amy said. "You could have just given us the key."

"And let you chug off into the distance with no supplies and no idea where the heck Camp Maplewood even is? I knew this whole thing was a stupid idea, but I'm not an asshole."

"Says the guy who locked the car so nobody can leave." Carson's breath came in ragged gasps as his voice rose in pitch. "Let me out!"

The moose raised its head. Its breath fogged the rear window as it let out a gurgling grunt.

Thunder shook the jeep. A claw of lightning ripped through the sky, illuminating the moose in a terrible flash of brilliance.

The size of its antlers— broad enough to hold all six feet of Lucas and then some— was the least terrifying thing about them. Misshapen lumps of bone rose in sickly spires from their sunken centers.

Stretched between the sharpest points, shreds on pink fabric drooped under the weight of the rain.

"Pink was Jessica's favorite color," Carson choked out.

Even with nothing but a lightning-lit glimpse at it, that color was all too familiar to Amy. It had assaulted her eyes every time she'd glanced at Jessica's side of the cabin they were supposed to share. Even after her belongings had been shipped off to her parents, pink mementos from pens to a stray sock peeking out from under her bed popped up to remind Amy of the friend she should have shared the summer with.

"Carson, you said some animals eventually end up seeing humans as prey. Is there anything that might make an herbivore start targeting people?" she asked.

"Some hold grudges, but I don't think moose are smart enough to do that." Scraps of old leather flaked off the backseat as Carson's trembling hands clutched it. "Then again, I've never heard of them going out of their way to attack people either. If this is the same moose that came into camp the other night, it's safe to say it's at least not afraid of humans."

"But we have every reason to be afraid of it." Lucas kept turning the key in the ignition, but the engine refused to do anything more than cough a puff of exhaust into the moose's face.

"We're going to die," Carson said with a sob. "That thing's out to kill us, and we're going to die!"

"Maybe if we wait quietly enough it'll leave and we can—"

Amy never got to finish that sentence.

Snorting and a hoof pawing through the mud cut through the darkness. The back of the truck crumpled like a soda can as half a ton of muscles and rage plowed into it.