By nine o’clock, the fire had burned down to glowing embers.
Crickets chirped in the trees. The wind whispered through the branches overhead.
Inside the tent, {text:child_name} shifted inside a sleeping bag.
{text:child_gender_1} friends were settling into nearby tents, their voices fading as sleep came for each of them.
The campground grew still.
Then came a sound.
Scritch. Slide. Sniff. Snort.
{text:child_name} opened one eye. That sound was not the wind. Then something bumped the cooler.
CLUNK.
“Did you hear that?” someone said in a panicked voice.
“Probably just a raccoon,” a voice from another tent replied.
But outside, the noises grew louder.
HUFF!
CRUNCH!