STEP CLOSER, MY STEP BROTHER
she whispers, her voice breaking.
“I’m here,” I say quickly, even though my own voice is not steady anymore.
The bushes ahead of us move, slow at first, then again, stronger this time, and I can see something shifting in the darkness. A shape. Big. Way too big. My breath catches as it steps forward just enough for the moonlight to hit it slightly, and that’s when I see it clearly.
A bear.
For a second, I can’t even think. My brain just stops, like it refuses to understand what I’m looking at. Isabella presses closer behind me, almost hiding, and I can feel her shaking against my back.