“Sebastian. Salvador. Enough!” Alejandra’s voice echoes through the house, her frustration palpable. “I swear, you two are brothers and should be each other’s allies, not adversaries.”

“Then tell him to stop going into my room without my permission and playing with my stuff.” Sebastian retorts.

“Well, if you would stop stealing my things and taking them into your room…”

“Enough! This is your last chance.” Alejandra clenches her jaw. “If you two don’t start settling down right now, I swear to God we will cancel this trip. Do you understand?”

Arturo envelops her in a comforting embrace from behind; the familiar scent of his cologne fills her senses. She rests her head against her husband’s sturdy chest. Basking in the solace he provides, she allows herself to unwind.

His chest rumbles, laughing. “Soon, they will be adults, which will be a fond memory.”

Alejandra snorts, and he chuckles even louder.

“Maybe taking four boys on a camping trip for a week is a mistake. They will have more space to kill each other and bury the body.”

Pulling closer, she feels Arturo’s body shake in response to her forlorn comment.

“Remember, I have a twin too, and yes,” interrupting what she was about to say, “we tried to kill each other, but look at us now. Still alive and the best of friends. I’m sure my mom thought the same thing about us. But, trust me, Sebastian and Salvador will one day be best friends.”

Arturo sees his lovely wife calming down but then grins as an evil thought enters his mind. “We can always sic Santiago on them,” which earned him a smack on the chest. Burying his face in her thick raven curls, he kisses the part of the neck not covered by hair.

Muttering under her breath about Arturo needing to be serious, she gives him a quick peck on the chin. “You are forgiven unless you want to arrive at the Grand Canyon at midnight. We must round up the monsters and get them into the car.”

He kisses her back, “You go grab the baby, and I will get the boys into the Rogue,” then he shouts, “Everyone in the van now, or we will leave without you.”

Packing the baby’s bag with diapers, cleaning wipes, lotion, spare clothes, powder, and binkies, Alejandra hears Arturo’s roar, then running, followed by doors slamming shut. She wishes the boys would move that fast when she calls them.

“Hello, sweetheart.” She crosses the carpet floor and picks Sammy up from the crib. Cuddling him close, she let the irritation of the fight drain away, dressing him and getting ready for the trip.

Picking up the diaper bag and a couple of blankets along with Samuel, Alejandra went downstairs to join the others. The rest of the family is in the vehicle and waiting for her. She takes one last cursory look, closing the door behind her, before locking it. She puts the diaper bag with blankets in the back with the boys, then gets Samuel in the car seat before joining Arturo in the front. Clicking the seatbelt around her, she lets out a sigh of relief. Okay, let’s get this trip started and have fun.

After three fights and eight and a half hours of driving, the Ruiz family arrive at the Grand Canyon North Rim Campground. The drive had been exhausting, and Alejandra saw Arturo didn’t fare well. He has dark circles under his eyes and a drawn face. She imagines her face doesn’t look any better. Arturo opens the back doors and releases the monsters onto the unsuspecting campground. Alejandra opens the playpen for Samuel and settles him down with his blanket.

Then joins Arturo to unpack the car, who calls the boys back to help set up their tent. He gives them their sleeping bags and clothes to put inside. Sidling up to him, she mimics, “Remember, one day, they will be adults, and this will be a fond memory.”

“Hardy har har.” They grab their tent and put it up a reasonable distance from the boys. Afterward, Arturo starts a bonfire, and she begins dinner—nothing fancy: hot dogs and macaroni and cheese.

After dinner, Arturo helps the boys set up their tents before washing dishes and cleaning the campsite. The monster’s eyes start closing, so Alejandra sends them to bed. Only the adults remain at the fire, and she can finally relax.

Arturo ambles over with two glasses of Stella berry wine, handing one to her. She takes a sip, sighs in pleasure, and leans back into her chair.

“Now, this is heaven.”

He laughs. “Listen to the sounds of nature and your boy’s snores. The peace.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.” The soothing sounds of nature weave its magic through her bones. She feels the stress melt away like snow in summer. A light breeze filled with pine brushes her cheeks—the hooting of an owl. The crackling of fire carries the smell of cedar in the air. Alejandra drifts into the sea of scents, almost asleep, when a scream shatters the silence. It echoes through the campground, shrill and high, sounding like a woman’s shriek. A screech that made every hair stand at attention on Alejandra’s neck and arms. The sound is filled with extreme pain and duress, and it hits like a physical blow.

She stood up, her hand to her throat, and whispered, “Arturo?”

The boys stumble out of their tent, “Mom … Dad, what was that?”

They stand frozen as the wail trails away, followed by silence. Alejandra could feel time tick away before crickets gradually resumed their chirping, the owls followed, and all the night noise returned.

“It’s alright, you guys; it was most likely an animal killed by a predator. Remember, we’re no longer in civilization,” Arturo tells them. “So, let’s get some sleep so we can get up early tomorrow and catch breakfast.

The boys reluctantly return to their tents, and Alejandra waits to hear their snoring before asking, “Do you believe that’s what we heard?”

“It has to be. Think about it. What animals do we have out here? We have Bears, Mountain Lions, Bobcats, Coyotes, and Snakes. So, the scream has to be a smaller critter eaten by one of them. Plus, we’ve been coming here for many years without incident.”

“I know you are right, but that scream sounds human and close by. Are you positive it’s nothing to worry about?” She rubs her arms to calm the crawling situation creeping over her skin and hugs herself tighter to fight the fear crawling up her spine.

He pulls her into his arms. “Sound travels further out here, so it’s probably far away from us. We are safe here; nothing here is dangerous except for a few wild animals. They won’t bother us as long as we keep our heads.” He kisses her. “Now let’s get some sleep.”

“You’re right.” She shakes off the last remnants of fear and follows him into the tent.

Yet, the scream continues to haunt her, and every whisper of sound wakes her, and she lies beside her husband, frozen in fear, until the noises stop. Alejandra thinks she hears footsteps a couple of times, but they’re faint. They never come near the tent, and she assumes she’s imagined them and soon falls asleep.

5 A.M. came too early, and it’s still dark outside, but Arturo says it’s the best time for fishing. So, he gets the boys up, dresses, and leaves camp 30 minutes later. Alejandra snuggles further into the sleeping bag’s warmth and inhales her husband’s scent. Sammy would be up soon, and she wanted to savor these precious, quiet moments. Floating in a dream, rustling noises invade, forcing her awake. Groggy and fighting to get alert, they’re right outside the tent. Alejandra assumes it’s Arturo, and he’s forgotten something.

“Hey, no sneaking up on the wife, she yells,” before pulling the bag over her head.

There was no response, and now the noises that suspiciously sounded like footsteps moved around the tent. Tossing the covers off, Alejandra slowly sits up, leaning on her hands. She cocks her head to the left and listens intently. Arturo would respond if it had been him. Thinking it could be a critter snooping for food, she waits. Until one of the tent walls frames a large shadow, she realizes it isn’t.

Rotting flesh and sulfur fill the tent with its god-awful stench. Alejandra gags, trying to hold back the bile; it is so bad. Sammy stirs and lets out a whimper. The footsteps stop. She covers her mouth to muffle a scream. Then crawls out of the sleeping bag to the daybed. She picks Sammy up and holds him close, keeping a close eye on the massive shadow on the wall. The dark figure turns around and faces the thin film of plastic that separates her from whatever it is. Panic slithers up her spine as she goes rigid.

Seconds felt like eons as both of them remained still.

Her heartbeat pulses in her temples like rhythmic thumps on drums, but she dares not move. Looking down at the sleeping baby, she thanks whoever is watching over her. Arturo will be back soon. Alejandra needs to keep them alive until then, which reminds her. She reaches behind her and rummages under the pillows, holding Sammy close. Until she finds what she is looking for and pulls the Glock out. A glance confirms the safety switch is off and ready to shoot.

The shadow moves straight for the tent, and Alejandra can’t stop the scream from her throat; she grabs her keys and the gun before scrambling out of the tent. Alejandra hurries to the van and props Sammy against the window using one arm. She fumbles with the key fob and Glock and presses the panic button instead of unlocking the doors while rushing as fast as she can with her baby clinging to her chest and shrieking.

Alejandra flings the driver’s door open, jumps in, slams it shut, and engages the locks. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a dark object dash from behind the tent toward her. It’s tall, hulky, and hairy. She hits the gas pedal. The vehicle fishtails away from the campsite, but she regains control and drives toward the lake. Approaching the lake, she sees Arturo fishing with the boys and drives to the shore, honking the horn in long and short bursts. His face is frozen in shock when she reaches him. He and the boys drop everything and run to her.

Arturo opens the door. “Alejandra. What?”

“There’s something at the campsite. It attacked me.” She babbles about shadows and glimpses of something hairy.

He holds her trembling body, “Honey. Honey. Slow down – I don’t know what you are saying.”

Alejandra takes a deep breath and tries again.

“Are you sure it wasn’t a bobcat or mountain lion?”

“No, it wasn’t. I know what those animals look like, and it wasn’t one of them. I don’t know what it was, but it wasn’t any creature I’ve seen before.”

“Okay, sweetheart, we have to return for our stuff, but I want you and the kids to stay in the car while I check the campsite.”

True to his word, they wait while Arturo looks around. He calls to the boys to help repack.

It was the quietest trip back home – even the monsters weren’t talking. Once home, they left everything in the van and went to bed early.
In their bedroom, Alejandra finally broke the silence. “You believe me, don’t you?”

Arturo looked at her and handed her his cell.

It was a picture of a footprint, unlike any animal in the park. It was larger and broader than Arturo’s foot next to it.

“Yes. I believe you.”