The moose limped ahead, its body swaying with every step, but it pressed on, determined. Jacob followed cautiously, his hands clenched into fists. The creature’s grunts of pain made his chest tighten, but he didn’t dare speak.
The forest thickened around them, and the air grew dense with the sounds of unseen creatures. The occasional rustle of leaves, a distant snap of a branch—Jacob’s skin crawled. The once familiar woods felt foreign, alive with unseen eyes. Each step sent his pulse hammering in his ears.