Page 6 of Primal Snow

There’s nothing.

Just snow. Endless, suffocating snow. It swirls in the headlights, erasing everything like a cruel painter wiping their canvas clean. The road stretches behind us, dark and empty, the forest looming like a wall of bricks.

“What the hell was that?”

“What?” Vicky asks from the backseat, clearly tipsy. “We almost died. Fun!”

Chase seems confused, his eyes bore into my profile. “It was just a moose.” His voice is tense but calm, like he’s trying to convince himself it’s nothing.

“No, there was something else. You didn’t see that?” I stammer, my voice trembling

“There was nothing else, Emma,” he maintains, grasping my hand with concern.

My mind replays the moment over and over again—the shadow, the speed, the moose’s final cry. My chest tightens, and I swear I can still hear the sickening crack of breaking bones somewhere in the distance.

Something is there. Stalking us. On the hunt.

“Where’s the moose then?”

“Probably just ran off. And thank fuck or we would crash,” Chase replies, shrugging it off.

“No,” I insist. “It didn’t run. It—”

“It what?” Mia snaps behind me. “Turned into a unicorn and flew away? Chill, Emma. You’re freaking everyone out.”

I ignore her, looking over her shoulder at Vicky as I ask, “What they were talking about in the store?”

“Oh, my God!” She smacks her lips. “It’s just some urban legend. No serial killer on the loose. No snow monster, either. Calm the fuck down.”

“You good to drive?” Derek cuts in, his voice a little more serious now, leaning forward from the middle row to grab Chase’s shoulder.

Chase nods. “Yeah.”

“Cool.” Derek lets go. “Just don’t kill us, bro.”

I sink back into my seat, my pulse still racing. I know what I saw. Something took it. But everyone else is already moving on, caught up in their own little worlds.

Vicky scrolls through her phone, cursing about the lack of signal before tossing it aside in frustration.

“Yo, if we get stuck here in the middle of fucking nowhere, I’m calling dibs on the front seat,” Jay announces from the back. “Better view for when I become king of the wilderness. Plus, I’m the biggest—I’ll survive the longest. Might even eat one of you for warmth.”

Vicky shakes her head. “Jay, you’re not eating anyone.”

He grins. “I’m not so sure about that. I’m totally eating you out once we get to the cabin.”

“Ugh, disgusting,” Mia groans, wrinkling her nose.

“At least someone’s happy on this goddamn trip,” Derek mutters, crossing his arms.

Mia’s head snaps in his direction. “What are you yapping about now?”

He lets out an overdramatic sigh. “Nothing.” But I can hear him grumble‘fucking shitshow’under his breath.

The rest of the drive is uneventful, though I can’t stop staring out the window, searching for any signs of thething. I try to push it down, the panic clawing at my chest, but it doesn’t work. The thing on the road, it’s not just in my head. I know it’s out there.

By the time we pull up to the cabin, the snow is falling harder, smothering everything in its path, and the wind howls like a warning. But it’s not really any blizzard. Notyet, anyway.

“Home sweet home!” Vicky announces, stumbling out of the car with her beer to go unlock the door. She slips on the icy steps but steadies herself, then fumbles with shaky hands. She didn’t havethatmuch to drink… is she nervous?

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