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!