“Wake up! Everyone evacuate to the meeting halls!” The door to the cabin slamming open and the sudden yell from the staff barging in roused Brian and the rest of the cabin mates in a hurry. Brian’s heartbeat quickened as he sat up, looking around at his groggy, confused cbain mates.

“What’s going on?” Brian asked, lurching out from his bottom bunk as Oliver crawled towards the ladder. The staff member looked at him, his eyes wide and bright.

“We’ve got a situation. Everyone needs to get to the meeting halls, now. I need to get the other Leo cabins up, can you get this group there?” He asked. Brian nodded, steeping past him towards the door and flicking on the lights.

The staff member surged past him and slammed their hand on the light switch, plunging the cabin back into darkness. Brian looked at him, an unsettling feeling surging through him.

“No lights. Move quick, move quiet, don’t draw attention to yourselves. The meeting halls aren’t far.” He said, his voice harsh and quiet. Brian’s head spun as the staff member moved around him, heading back towards the door to the cabin. Brian reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back around.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Brian asked again.

“There’s no time. Get them up, and go, the staff there will explain once you’re safe.” The staff member disappeared out into the night, his silhouette fading through the floodlights as he ran across the clearing outside the cabins.

“Brian?” Brian turned, looking at Steve across the room, his eyes wide and scared in the dim light spilling inside from the windows. Brian looked around the cabin, where Oliver and Mark were helping Will and Fred out of bed. Zeke and Kevin already had their shoes on, but were tucked together in the back of the room.

If fear has a stench, Brian was sure that the cabin would be swamped with it.

“All right, you heard him. Get your shoes on and we’re out. The meeting halls aren’t far, we’ll be there before we know it.” Brian said quietly, stepping lightly towards his bunk. He pulled his shoes on, not bothering to fish through his trunk for socks. The staff member’s quiet panic had lit a fire inside Brian, and the urge to get going as quickly as possible was a near-tangible shove against his back.

“What about flashlights? The path’s going to be dark once we get away from the cabins.” Mark asked.

“He said no lights. Whatever is going on, we need to move stealthily.”

“Like ninjas?” Will asked. A sudden brainwave ran through Brian, and the panic and fear that thrummed through him fell away.

A mysterious threat, and a short run outside? The staff acting strangely, with odd instructions, and leaving them by themselves instead of sticking with them to ensure they got to their destination? Of course, this wasn’t anything nefarious or dangerous. It was just another camp event the staff had cooked up, a special program for this week. Likely they were gathering for an early-morning round of some cross-campus stealth game they had come up with, and the secrecy and strange way the staff member had acted was just to set the ambiance. Still, it would have been nice to have been warned ahead of time whether or not they wanted to participate, especially just past 1:30 am. Brian’s shoulders and back still ached from weeding, and if he had been given a choice, he might have considered not participating. Brian smiled and turned to Will, a refreshing sense of calm settling over him.

“Right, like ninjas. We’re on a secret mission to get to the meeting halls without being seen or heard. Grab your flashlights in case we need them later, but keep them off for now. Come on.” Brian urged. He shot a look towards Oliver and Mark and winked. They both looked at each other, and after a moment, Brian saw the same realization come over the both of them, their stances relaxing and small grins on their faces.

“Are we all set? All right, remember, no flashlights, no noise. We’re close, so we just head straight there. I’ll lead, Mark, Ollie, can you bring up the rear? We need to stick together, so keep an eye on everyone, right?” Brian looked over the group, the younger boys all looking nervous, Oliver and Mark behind them nodding, masking their calm.

It wouldn’t do to break the illusion now, not after all the staff must have done to set up such an intriguing and mysterious game. Despite his exhaustion, his nerves were fired up, and excitement coursed through him, wondering what the event was going to turn out to be. Camp-wide cops and robbers? A midnight nerf gun war? Whatever it was, anticipation coursed through him.

“All right, follow me.” Brian turned, and the group headed outside.

The air was still and calm outside, and Brian looked up. The clouds that had covered the sky during the campfire had peeled away, and the moon shone bright overhead. In the dark of night, the comet glowed an angry red, almost looking as though flames were coming off of it.

Goosebumps prickled his skin as his ears caught the far-off sounds of screams. Brian laughed to himself, someone must have gotten caught trying to sneak to the meeting halls. Brian idly wondered what the punishment for failing to get there without being noticed was.

The muffled sounds of other campers getting up in their own cabins floated by as they crept through the clearing. Brian felt somewhat foolish for acting so sneaky, they were still illuminated by the lights that hung over the doors of each cabin, a pale orange glow that flickered with the swarms of insects buzzing around the lightbulbs. Brian caught the eye of another camper as they stepped out of their cabin, deep shadows scooping down their face from the light overhead. Brian waved at them as they passed by, the other camper hesitantly waving back, his gaze alternating between them and the inside of the cabin. Brian thought about waving him over, but decided against it. Arriving at the meeting halls with his own cabin would probably be better for attendance purposes.

The light behind them slowly faded, their shadows growing long as they reached the pathway, the trees closing in around them. Brian kept his eyes peeled for any other staff members, his skin prickling as more screams erupted in the distance. The shuffling footsteps of his cabin mates behind him bolstered him forwards as they turned down the pathway.

The lights around the meeting halls quickly came into view at the end of the gently curved pathway, and Brian chuckled softly to himself. They were lucky, their cabin site was very close to the meeting halls to begin with. He’d have hated to be all the way in Taurus or Gemini.

“What’s that?” Kevin whispered. Brian looked over his shoulder at him. Kevin was frozen in place, staring at the ground, Oliver nearly running into him. Brian stopped to turn-

A tremor ran through the ground underneath him, and Brian froze. A second , then a third, then more tremors ran up his legs. Brian whirled around, eyes scanning the darkness around him. An earthquake? Not likely, not in the Adirondacks. Trees falling? There was no wind, multiple trees falling without any reason was inconceivable.

“Brian!” Mark pointed ahead of them, towards the meeting halls. Brian turned, and his blood ran cold.

A mass of shadow, nearly as tall as the buildings, spread from behind the Medusa meeting hall, blotting out the walls of the Andromeda main meeting hall behind it. It moved slowly, but Brian realized that it had thick, trunk-like legs, it’s footfalls coinciding with the quakes in the ground. Dark smoke drifted lazily off it’s entire being, wreathing it in shadow. Brian could hear it’s breath, snuffling and snorting as it scratched at Andromeda’s walls.

“Back up, slowly.” Brian whispered. He kept his eyes on it, stepping backwards into the group. “Mark, Ollie, back to the cabin.”

“What is that?” Zeke breathed, also frozen in place.

“Is that a bear?”

“Do they grow that big? It’s massive!”

“No time for that, we need to go, now.” Brian hushed them. “Ninjas, remember?” Suddenly, it didn’t seem much like a game anymore.

“Ah!” Fred tripped over himself, landing hard on the pathway. Brian whirled, shushing the group as Oliver helped him up. Brian looked back-

Red, angry eyes, flames of hatred burning within them stared back. It’s mouth dropped open, revealing long, serrated teeth that Brian swore were covered in blood. An earsplitting, shrieking roar nearly blasted them all off of their feet, and the shaking started as the demonic bear began lumbering towards them.

“Run!” Brian shouted. He pushed Kevin ahead of him as he ran, the rest of the group quickly following his lead and sprinting back down the path. Brian’s eyes widened as they erupted back into the cabin clearing, where another group of boys had stopped in the middle of the clearing, frightened glances bouncing between them.

“Run! Hide!” Brian repeated, pointing back at their cabin as they approached. The other group looked shell-shocked, frozen in place, uncomprehending stares between them. He dashed over to them, pushing them back towards their cabin.

“Brian!” Oliver shouted, and Brian looked back as the demon bear barrelled into the cabin clearing. The boys in front of him shouted in panic, immediately scrambling back towards their cabin. Brian left them, sprinting to catch up with the rest of his cabin mates as they approached their own cabin in the back of the line-

Brian was thrown off of his feet as a titanic explosion of sound erupted behind him, wood and metal shrieking, glass shattering as bits of debris pelted him. Brian looked back, and his heart stopped.

The demon bear had smashed into the first cabin with all the force of a wrecking ball, collapsing the entire structure around it as it fought to get loose of the ruins. The dim orange light from the other cabins cast harsh shadows across the broken timbers and warped metal roof.

The boy’s screams of panic were now silent, and Brian saw dark red blood oozing through the shattered cabin walls.

Brian wondered how many of the other screams he had been hearing through their short sojourn outside were other campers being murdered.

“Brian! Come one, we gotta move!” Mark shouted, hauling him to his feet. Brian shook the thoughts out of his mind as he looked at the demon bear, still trying to shake itself loose of the wreckage. He turned, mind racing.

“We can’t go back to the cabin. It’ll just do the same to us.” Brian stated, running to catch up to the group.

“Then where do we go?” Oliver asked.

“Operations, or the Maintenance building. They’re both big.” Mark replied.

“Maintenance. There’s vehicles there, we could outrun it.” Brian said. “Through the trees, they might slow it down more.” Brian directed, and the whole group rushed towards the tree line behind their cabin.

“They’ll be locked up.” Mark replied.

“We could try hotwiring them.” Zeke chimed in. Brian glared at him for a second, but then rolled his eyes. It was a good idea, and they didn’t have the time for an ethics discussion right now.

“The keys should be somewhere nearby. Probably in the office.” Brian huffed, his breath coming harder as they pushed into the woods.

“What if we can’t find them? Hotwiring might be faster.” Will replied.

“Fine, fine. Anyone know how?” Brian asked.

“My brother showed me now, I can try.” Steve replied as they burst through the tree line onto the pathway behind the maintenance building.

“Good enough. When we get there you go for that, the rest of us will look for the keys-”

“Look out!” Mark shouted. A hand shoved Brian from behind, and he stumbled forwards.

A bone-rattling tremor threw him off his feet, and someone screamed as his ears rang. Brian turned over, and his stomach retched violently.

Just a few feet away, another demonic bear raised a massive paw off the ground. Mark’s crushed and mangled torso went with it, his decapitated head still on the ground, eyes still wide and mouth open in a silent scream. Brian watched in horror as the bear crunched into his shattered body, bones snapping and grinding between it’s jaws as a fountain of blood showered the ground.

“Run! Run!” Bright flashlights pierced the darkness, aimed straight at the bear’s enormous red eyes. It roared in fury, spattering Brian with blood as it’s hot breath filled with death washed over him. Hands grabbed him, and Brian staggered to his feet as he was pulled around the corner of the maintenance building. The younger boys pulled him inside the front door as they rounded to the other side, Oliver following closely, two bright flashlights still aimed into the bear’s eyes.

The door slammed behind them, and Brian collapsed to the cement floor of the garage.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

“Where’s the office?”

“Other side!”

“Mark’s dead!”

“What do we do?!”

“Which truck should I do?”

“That one, the 4’ by 4’!”

“We need to run!”

“Is there a phone in the office? Call for help!”

Shouts and screams from the other boys echoed in Brian’s ears as he stared into Mark’s dead eyes. He could still see the absolute terror in them as his head lay there on the pathway, unceremoniously separated from the rest of his body.

Mark had saved him with that last-second push out of the way, and he died for it.

Fire flooded his veins as he sat up straight in the darkness. A red haze overtook his vision.

Mark was dead.

And Brian knew what he had to do.

“Steve, how’s the hotwiring coming?” He asked, his voice calm as he stood up. Steve’s head appeared from underneath the dashboard of the red ford pickup.

“Give me a minute, I’m trying to remember-”

The building shook, the demon bear’s muffled rage echoing in the night outside. Everyone froze as dust fell from the ceiling. The building shook again, and Brian breathed in deeply.

“Work fast. We might not have much time.” Brian said. Steve nodded, diving back under the dashboard.

“Phones are out! No dial tone!” Oliver yelled from the other side of the cavernous space, just outside the office. No calling for help then, they were on their own. Brian looked around the space, flicking on the flashlight he pulled from his pocket.

“Zeke, Will, grab those chainsaws and load them into the back. Check that they’re full, the gas should be nearby. We might need to fend it off if it’s faster than us.” Brian pointed at the shelves, and the two boys ran over.

“Fred, there’s some flood lights over there, get them on the truck too. I’m grabbing extra car batteries to plug them into, we might be able to blind it again.” Brian ran over to the back wall, hauling a heavy battery off their chargers. Oliver came alongside, grabbing another one.

“What’s the plan?” Oliver asked. “Are we going off-campus?”

“No, if they’re faster than us, the road won’t slow it down enough to keep it back all the way to town. There’s only one thing we can do.” Brian rumbled, hoisting the batteries into the bed of the truck and climbing in as Fred ran over, floodlights in hand.

“What’s that?” Oliver asked.

“We’re going to kill it.” Brian growled.

Movement around the truck ceased as the other boys stared at him. Brian looked around at them. Fear filled their eyes, and Brian’s burning anger that had burnt down to embers through action roared back to life. This was no time for fear, only swift, decisive action.

“How?” Steve asked, peering out from under the dashboard again. Brian nodded at him, fierce pride flooding him as he looked at the smallest amongst them. At least one of them was willing to follow him without question.

“We drive to the shotgun range, load up the guns, and blow it’s fucking head off!” Brian roared, punctuated by another building-shuddering slam outside.

“That’s suicide!” Zeke shouted, and Brian wanted nothing more than to jump off the truck bed and punch him.

“If we don’t kill it, it will kill us, and god knows how many people are already dead! With the truck, the lights, and the chainsaws, we have the best chance of getting to the guns and wiping them out before they kill more people.” Brian argued.

“But what about the staff? Shouldn’t they be taking care of this?” Kevin whined.

“How?! How the hell could any of them ‘take care of this?’ You saw it destroy that cabin like nothing, we need to call for help!” Fred cried.

“Help isn’t coming, the phones are dead, and if the staff has any other ways to contact the outside, they would have done it by now. Brian’s right, this is our only option” Oliver replied, his voice shaking. Brian looked at him, and Oliver looked back up at him. His shoulders shook, but his eyes were bright and full of anger.

“For Mark.” Brian stated quietly. The others were quiet as Oliver nodded.

“For Mark.” He repeated fiercely.

The younger boys looked at them, and at each other, a sense of calm, righteous anger filling the garage.

“For Mark!” They echoed, rage and anger filling the empty space, their voices bouncing off the walls as they chanted, tears spilling down their faces, shouting and screaming, filling Brian with fierce, burning pride.

“Got it!” Steve shouted, the truck rumbling to life beneath them.

“Oliver, take the wheel!” Brian snapped, and Oliver jumped in. “Steve and Will, you’re the smallest, cram into the cab with him, we’ll need space to move back here. Fred, you’re on lights. Keep that bastard lit up bright, keep it blinded. Zeke, you’re chainsaw on the left, Kevin, you’re on the right, I’ve got the rear.” They all scrambled into position, the floodlights on top of the cabin flaring to life, the chainsaws roaring as Zeke and Kevin pulled their ripcords.

“Brian, who’s opening the door?” Oliver asked.

“I am. It’s on a motor, so it’ll take a minute for it to raise enough for us to get out, I’ll have time to get back into the truck. Be ready to hit the gas as soon as I say we’re clear, and everyone else, be ready, as soon as that door starts lifting, that bastard will know we’re coming. Be ready!” Brian ran over to the garage door, looking back at the truck. The furious, terrified faces of his friends stared back at him.

“For Mark!” He roared.

“FOR MARK!” They roared back, and he slammed his fist on the button.

The motor above them groaned to life, the chains rattling as they pulled up the metal garage door. Brian sprinted around the truck, clambering up onto the tailgate and lifting it behind him. He grabbed his chainsaw off the floor, nearly tearing the ripcord out of it as he pulled, it’s wonderful, ferocious vibrations filling his arms.

The demon bear bellowed from outside, and the truck rocked forwards for a second as Oliver startled.

“Hold! Hold!” Brian yelled over the engine. The garage door seemed to inch upwards as they waited, the seconds creeping by as they watched. The parking lot outside slowly came into view, and Brian crouched behind the cabin.

“Now! Go!” He shouted. Oliver slammed on the gas, and the truck roared to life, lurching forwards. The truck pushed out into the night, and Brian turned. The demon bear bellowed again, racing towards them from the opposite end of the building.

“Go around the lot! Circle around the cars! Fred, blind it!” Brian shouted, and Oliver jerked the truck to the left, away from their destination. The demon bear followed, gaining speed as Oliver stomped on the gas, the engine revving hard. Fred climbed back up on top of the cab, grabbing the floodlights and turning them on the bear over their heads. The bear roared in fury as it slowed, but Brian’s heart sank as it continued to catch up.

“Chainsaws ready!” Brian shouted, and Zeke and Kevin came alongside him. The demon bear seemed to slow as it barrelled towards them, the truck’s acceleration beginning to even out their speed.

“Hold!” Brian yelled. The bear lunged, it’s massive front paws reaching for them.

“Now!” Triple chainsaws roared to life, and Brian thrust forwards, brandishing it before him with all the fury of the world behind him. Zeke and Kevin roared beside him, and Brian roared with them.

The chainsaws on either side of him bit deep into the demon bear’s paws, Brian shouting with rage as he pushed his deep into the bear’s snout. The bear howled with pain and rage as it twisted, and Brian’s chainsaw was torn out of his hands, stuck in its mouth. Brian’s heart sang with triumph as the demon bear crashed down behind the truck. Black blood rained down on each of them as the chainsaws in Zeke and Kevin’s hands continued to spin.

“Brace! U-Turn!” Oliver shouted. Brian crouched as the truck seemed to slam sideways, the tires screeching across the pavement as Oliver spun the wheel. After a few dizzying moments the truck evened out, and the engine revved once more as Oliver slammed on the gas, speeding back the opposite direction towards the dark paths that would lead them to the shotgun range.

Brian looked back at the demon bear as it pushed itself back to its feet, letting loose an earsplitting, shrieking roar as it tried to climb over the cars in it’s way towards them, the chainsaw still stuck in it’s cheek, it’s jaw hanging wide open, unable to close. Brian snorted, a grin slashing its way across his face. For all of their brute strength and terrifying power, they weren't very smart, or it would have avoided the cars and tried to follow on the other side of the parking lot until they reached the end of the row.

“Hang on! Gonna be a bumpy ride!” Oliver turned the truck at the end of the parking lot, vaulting the curb and onto the packed dirt pathway.

“Fred, keep those spotlights shining in front, I want Oliver to be able to see if another’s coming from the sides!” Brian shouted. Fred nodded from the front of the bed, turning the floodlights forwards and framing the headlights, illuminating a wide spread of forest on either side of the truck. Shadows danced amongst the trees, and Brian kept his eyes peeled for any irregularities.

“If there’s any of them nearby, they’re going to hear us coming!” Kevin shouted.

“Not much we can do about that. We’re a target now, best we can hope is to outrun them on the pathways. Hopefully the turns will slow them down.” Brian replied.

“They’re going to slow us down too.” Zeke said.

“Like I said, just gotta hope we can outrun them.” The truck barrelled down the pathways, Brian hanging on to the side of the truck bed as the truck shook beneath him. Each root and rock the truck slammed over made his teeth rattle, but he didn’t dare tell Oliver to slow down.

They passed the dining hall, and Brian absently noted that the power generators next to it were running, their engines running full-tilt. His brow furrowed. Why had the bears left those alone? Were there none near enough to hear them, or were the bears only attracted to living targets? But if the generators were running, that meant the power from outside the camp was off, so had they broken one of the powerlines into the camp?

“Right!” Fred screamed, and Brian’s head whipped to the side. Another demon bear, it’s eyes burning with rage, bellowed as it barrelled out of the wilderness survival site. Oliver pushed the truck harder, quickly outstripping the bear as it made the turn onto the pathway, leaving it in the dust.

“Don’t let up, it’s after us now!” Brian yelled. He watched as the bear lumbered after them, picking up speed and soon, it was gaining on them.

“Blind it!” Fred turned one of the spotlights on it, and the bear howled with rage as it slowed.

“Brace!” The truck slammed around a tight turn to the left, and Brian lost sight of the bear as the truck picked up speed again.

“We’re almost there! Keep it up!” Brian yelled. He watched the turn they left behind, until suddenly, the shadowy mass of the bear slammed through the bend in the path, hitting the trees on the other side. It roared in rage as it struggled to right itself, Brian smirking victoriously as they gained ground.

“Looks like those bastards can’t corner very well.” Zeke shouted.

“Good, gives us a bit more time to get armed. Ollie, when we get there, just slow down near the shed, then keep going. We’ll need you to keep the bear distracted while we break in and get the guns loaded.”

“We won’t be able to outrun it for long in a clearing!” Oliver shouted.

“Do your best! It shouldn’t take us long.” Brian grabbed one of the car batteries from the truck bed and looked at the other two in the truck bed. He hesitated for a moment, then sighed, resigning himself to the inevitable.

“Zeke, you’re with me. Fred, keep those lights on the bear, and Kevin, you’re still on chainsaw if it gets close.” They all nodded, and Zeke set down his chainsaw on the floor.

“Get ready! We’re going to jump and run to the backside!” He shouted to Zeke. The younger boy nodded, and they braced at the side of the truck bed.

“Here we go!” Oliver shouted. The truck exploded into the clearing, racing towards the shed a few dozen feet away.

“Go!” Zeke jumped as Brian threw the car battery out of the truck bed, flinging himself out after it. He rolled on the ground as the truck sped away. As he stood, Zeke had already grabbed the car battery from where it landed, hauling it to the backside of the shed. Brian sprinted after him, turning the corner behind it.

“What’s this for?” Zeke asked, gasping for breath. Brian motioned to the small window above them.

“Better than trying to break in the door. Padlocked.” Brian replied. “Come on, we need to get in before the bear gets here or it might see us.” Zeke nodded, lifting the battery off the ground. Brian grabbed it with him, and together, they slammed it through the window, the glass breaking easily under the weight of the battery.

“You first.” Brian kneeled, and Zeke tore several shards of glass out of the window frame before he put his feet on Brian’s knee and pushed himself through. Brian jumped in after him, Zeke pulling his arms from the other side.

“No lights. Not until the bear passes.” Brian whispered as the walls began to shake. Brian heard the truck's horn begin to honk in the distance as the shaking continued to intensify, the floodlight waving wildly across the field. The demon bear’s titanic footfalls rattled the whole shed as it passed them by. Brian waited for only a moment before flicking on his flashlight, his eyes adjusting to the change before he began looking around.

“Here, battery again.” He pointed at the padlock on a tall cabinet, and they bashed the door open, breaking the padlock off in the process.

“Bingo.” Zeke smirked.

Brian had never been more relieved to see guns in his life. The two shotguns in the rack weren’t much to look at, but to Brian, they practically glowed. He reached for both of them, pulling them out of the cabinet.

“One for each of us. Ammo?” He asked. Zeke turned, rummaging through the shelves behind him before returning with a box. They pried it open, and loaded the double-barrels with shells.

“Have you ever shot one of these before?” Brian asked. Zeke shook his head.

“Just the rifles. Shotguns are restricted to the seventeen-year-olds. Next year was going to be the first time.” He replied.

“Well, here’s a head start. Brace it, like this, against your shoulder, and lean forwards into it, legs like so. There’s quite a bit of kickback, especially when you fire a double barrel. You’ll have to pull both triggers, do them both at once. And they don’t have a long range, so we’re going to have to wait till it gets close. Aim between the eyes.” Zeke paled as Brian handed over the gun.

“One chance then.” He said, voice shaking. Brian put his hand on Zeke’s shoulder.

“I’m right there with you. It’s up to us. For Mark.” Brian said. Zeke’s eyes cleared and his shoulders tightened.

“For Mark.”

They climbed back out of the window, turning to see the truck roaring back towards them, the bear in hot pursuit. The headlights illuminated the both of them, and Brian waved the gun over his head, pointing down the pathway beside them. Zeke squared up next to him as the truck turned slightly, angled to pass by them by a few feet.

Brian breathed deep, his heart pounding out of his chest. He lifted the gun to his shoulder, bracing himself behind it, aiming it past the truck.

The very personification of death roared as it barrelled closer, the truck flying by and brakes screeching as it slowed past them. Brian squinted as the dust flew by him. The ground shook as the bear came towards them, light swinging around to blind it once again.

“Hold!” Brian shouted as the bear came towards them, a dark avalanche of smoke and death, the fires in its eyes burning bright as it roared. Zeke flinched, but held firm. The ground shook beneath them, and Brian breathed once more.

“FIRE!” The shotguns deafened him as they blasted fire from each of their double barrels into the night. The bear shrieked as it’s face exploded. Brian and Zeke split, scrambling to each side as the bear slammed into the ground. It’s legs folded underneath it as it slid between them, and Brian stared at the enormous mass of the bear, fully appreciating just how large the beast was for the first time.

The night was silent for a few moments, until Brian’s rage overtook him once more. He cracked open the shotgun and loaded fresh shells in, aiming it back at the bear as he slowly walked around its body to the front.

Zeke met him, hurriedly re-loading the shotgun as well once he saw Brian’s example, and they both stood before it, watching for any sign of movement. The dark smoke drifting off of it made it hard to tell if it was even breathing.

“Is it dead?” Zeke whispered. Brian narrowed his eyes as he stepped forwards.

The shotgun in his hands blasted again, emptying both shells near point-blank range into the bear’s skull. It’s head split apart, and Brian was showered in it’s blood and gore. He turned, looking back at Zeke, the younger boy’s face pale.

“Brian! Zeke!” The other boys shouted as the truck reversed, coming back towards them until Oliver stopped, throwing himself out of the truck. He slammed into Brian, hugging him fiercely.

“Damn it, don’t do that again! I thought you were dead!” Oliver cried, tears overtaking him. The other boys crowded around, their relief palpable as they cheered into the dark of the night.

“Jeezus christ, that thing’s as big as an elephant.” Will breathed. “Wish I could have helped more.” Brian turned, a glorious, triumphant elation filling him as he stood over the demon bear’s corpse.

“You’ll get your chance. Load back up, we’re moving out once we get more ammo from the shed.” Brian said. The younger boys looked at him, awe in their eyes.

“Where to, Brian?” Oliver asked.

“First, the rifle range. They may not pack enough of a punch to kill them, but the 22’s should be good for blinding them, or distracting them long enough for the shotguns to do their job.” Brian replied, walking around the bear’s corpse to the shed once more.Silence echoed in the clearing as they looked at each other, a sense of heady determination settling over them as they nodded, eyes fierce and determined, confident. Brian grinned.

“Gear up, boys. We’re going hunting.”