Page 16

So here I was, chasing after the bunnies.

Like a person with the slightest modicum of sense wouldn’t even bother to. But hey, is there anything sane about this trip? A clique of jocks who know literally nothing about nature, a dwarf who barely cares about the project but sleeping, an angry bird, and now this.

But did I stop? No. Because apparently, I had learned nothing from my past experiences with levitating rabbits.

Mia, being the ever-dedicated documentarian, followed with her camera rolling, probably ready to capture my descent into madness.

Everyone else followed because… well, I guess if the nerd decides to wander into the mystical unknown, you have to make sure he doesn’t die.

Even Max and his obnoxious jock friends trudged along, though mostly for the entertainment of watching me suffer.

“This is so dumb,” Joy muttered as we stepped further into the enchanted woods. “Do you even know where you’re going?”

I wheezed. “No, but the bunnies do.”

“The bunnies?” Ethan repeated, walking beside me with a smirk. “The same ones that ruined your life?”

I scowled at him. “Exactly.”

Meanwhile, the forest was starting to get weird.

Trees stretched impossibly tall, their bark shimmering with an eerie silver glow.

The leaves above rustled despite the absence of wind.

Strange flowers pulsed with soft, golden light.

Somewhere in the distance, I swore I heard laughter—though whether it was a trick of the forest or just Max and Ethan making fun of me, I wasn’t sure.

Then—hoofbeats.

Heavy, rhythmic, and getting closer.

Before I could process it, something huge and sparkling stepped out from between the trees.

A unicorn.

But not just any unicorn—this one had a mane of liquid stardust, its hooves left trails of glowing mist, and its spiraled horn shimmered with celestial energy. It moved like an otherworldly dream, impossibly graceful, each step radiating magic. If elegance had a physical form, this was it.

Everyone went silent.

Even Ethan.

Even Max.

Even Joy.

Then, of course, Max ruined it.

“Dude,” he whispered, eyes wide. “That’s a horse with Wi-Fi.”

Joy smacked him. “That is a unicorn, you idiot.”

“Same difference."

“Same—do you even hear yourself—”

I ignored them, too busy staring in awe as the unicorn flicked its ears, and gave us a long unimpressed look. Then, with an air of, “you peasants are beneath me,” it turned and walked off into the mist.

“I got it on camera,” Mia whispered. “And I think it just judged us.”

Ethan grinned. “Can’t blame it.”

And just like that, the moment was over. The unicorn disappeared, the forest settled, and the bunnies—those fluffy little menaces—were nowhere to be seen.

Which meant we had no reason to keep walking.

Which meant we had to walk back.

Which meant—

I groaned. “We’ve been walking for ages. How far did we even go?”

Joy checked her phone. “About five minutes.”

I collapsed against a tree. “I am not built for cardio.”

Ethan clapped a hand on my back, far too cheerful. “Guess you should’ve worked on that instead of being a nerd, huh?”

I glared at him. “I hate you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Come on, Ghost boy. Let’s go find more Wi-Fi horses.”

And just like that, the documenting continued.

I just hoped the bunnies were done haunting me.

We continued trudging along, our group still buzzing with excitement. The air smelled fresh, the sunlight dappled through the enchanted trees, and for once, I thought, “Hey, maybe the rest of today won’t be a disaster.”

I should’ve known better.

Joy smirked at me as we walked. “So, Clark, how does it feel to have your second successful cardio session?”

I groaned. “I chased floating bunnies, Joy. That’s not cardio. That’s insanity.”

“You say that like those two things are different,” she said, giving me a glare I had seen one-too many times.

Max, still hung up on the unicorn, crossed his arms. “I don’t get it. If unicorns are real, do you think Santa’s real?”

Shun finally looked up from her phone. “Santa’s not real, but I bet Krampus is. And I bet he looks exactly like Clark when he runs out of coffee.”

I shot her a look. “First of all, rude. Second of all—”

I had nothing to add up frankly. The point was already made.

Ethan snorted and was about to say something when Mia suddenly gasped. She grabbed my sleeve, almost making me trip.

“Look!” she whispered excitedly, pointing.

That’s when we saw it.

A moose.

Not just any moose—an enchanted moose.

It stood in the clearing ahead, its enormous body partially hidden by a cluster of willow trees, chewing lazily on some glowing purple leaves.

It looked normal at first—brown fur, big antlers, that usual I-don’t-care-about-you moose expression.

But as the wind shifted, its fur shimmered, shifting colors like the surface of a lake under an Aurora-lit sky.

Its antlers weren’t just antlers; they looked like they were made of twisted silver branches, faintly pulsing with golden light.

Tiny blue fireflies hovered around it, almost like they were in awe of the thing.

It was majestic. It was mystical. It was awe-inspiring.

Max squinted at it. “Huh. That’s a funky-looking deer.”

Joy immediately smacked him upside the head. “It’s a moose, you walnut.”

Max rubbed the back of his head, frowning. “Same thing.”

Ethan snickered. “Tell that to the moose.”

Meanwhile, I was staring at the creature with growing alarm. “Uh… guys? Maybe we should, I don’t know, not disturb the giant enchanted beast?”

Ethan, predictably, ignored me.

Instead, he grinned, took a step forward, and in the worst decision ever made by a human being, he said:

"Hey there, gorgeous."

I instinctively grabbed his arm. "NO."

Ethan shrugged me off, still grinning. "Relax. I’m just being friendly."

"It’s a moose," I hissed. "You don’t flirt with moose."

Joy was already pulling out her phone. “Nah, let him do it. This is free entertainment.”

Shun, still scrolling through her phone, finally looked up and sighed. “We’re about to witness a moose-related crime, aren’t we?”

Mia, to my absolute horror, was already filming. “This is gold.”

Meanwhile, Ethan took another step forward and—oh, no—winked at the moose.

“Did it hurt?” he asked, voice dripping with charm.

The moose stopped chewing.

Ethan smirked. “When you fell from—”

The moose snorted aggressively, and the ground shook.

Everything went to hell in approximately 0.2 seconds.

The moose’s eyes, which had been normal brown just moments ago, suddenly glowed bright yellow. Its shimmering fur flared like a nebula, and a deep, unnatural rumble filled the air. Its massive antlers crackled with energy, and with an earth-shattering roar, it charged.

Straight.

At.

Us.

Mia screamed. Joy started laughing maniacally. Shun whispered, “I knew this would happen.”

And Ethan?

The absolute idiot turned on his heel, sprinted toward us, and yelled:

“RUN!”

I did not need to be told twice.

I booked it. Hard. Faster than I had ever run in my entire life.

Max, being the absolute jock that he was, was already way ahead, laughing his head off. “DUDE, YOU FLIRTED WITH A MOOSE!”

“NOT THE TIME, MAX!” Ethan hollered as he bolted past me.

Joy, still laughing, yelled back, “I hope you get rejected, Ethan!”

“I THINK I ALREADY DID!”

The moose bellowed, antlers sparking, and at that moment, I realized it wasn’t just running after us—it was hovering slightly above the ground.

"Oh, come on!" I wheezed. "It can fly?!"

Shun, still scrolling on her phone while running, glanced up. "Oh, cool. A cosmic moose. That’s rare."

"NOT THE TIME, SHUN!" I screamed.

Mia, somehow still filming, panted, “This. Is. The. Best. Documentary. Ever.”

Meanwhile, the moose wasn’t stopping. If anything, it was gaining speed.

"I’M GONNA DIE BECAUSE OF A MOOSENADO!" I shrieked.

Ethan, still running, gasped out, “I—I DIDN’T THINK IT’D GET MAD—”

"YOU WINKED AT IT!" I yelled. "WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?!"

Ethan somehow had the nerve to grin. "To be fair, I’ve flirted with worse."

"ARE YOU SERIOUSLY brAGGING RIGHT NOW?!"

The moose let out another earth-shaking roar, and suddenly, it leapt into the air, its glowing antlers crackling like mini supernovas.

For a second, I thought, This is it. This is how I die. Taken out by a moose that literally has the power of a thousand exploding stars.

And then—

A loud BOOM echoed behind us.

I risked a glance over my shoulder and nearly collapsed in relief. The moose had stopped.

It stood there, staring at us with its glowing eyes, as if deciding whether we were worth the effort of continued murder. Then, with a final snort, it turned and floated away into the forest, disappearing like a ghost.

Silence.

We all collapsed in a heap, gasping for air.

Max, flat on his back, whispered, “That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Joy wiped a tear from her eye. “Best. Moment. Of. My. Life.”

Shun, still barely affected, muttered, “We should’ve let it get Ethan.”

Ethan, still grinning, flopped onto the ground next to me. “Okay. So maybe flirting with a moose was a bad idea.”

I turned my head to glare at him. “Ethan. I want you to listen to me very carefully.”

He blinked. “Yeah?”

“Never. Speak. To a moose. Again.”

Ethan chuckled. “No promises.”

I groaned into the dirt.

“This trip is going to kill me.”