Signal Lost in the Woods

Maya's thumb hovered over the send button, her heart pounding like she'd just sprinted a mile. The text to Jordan—her best friend since kindergarten—sat waiting: 'I know you hooked up with Lucas at the party.'

Her iphone flashed. 1%. Then: 0%. Dead.

"You've got to be kidding me," Maya groaned, tossing the phone onto her sleeping bag. Outside their tent, the Colorado mountains loomed like silent giants in the moonlight.

"What's wrong?" Chloe whispered from across the tent. She'd been asleep until Maya's dramatic sigh.

"Dead battery. I was about to confront Jordan."

"About Lucas?" Chloe sat up, sleepy eyes wide. "Maya, he's a total player. Jordan should know better."

"Exactly!" Maya crawled toward the tent flap. "I'm going to the car to charge it. I need to send this before I lose my nerve."

"It's like 2 AM. The zombie apocalypse could be happening out there."

"Funny. I'll be five minutes."

Maya zipped open the tent. The night air hit her—pine, cold mountain, something else she couldn't place. The campsite was silent except for the distant murmur of the river. She reached for the car door handle.

Snap.

The sound came from behind her. Then again. Closer.

Maya froze. Every horror movie she'd ever watched flashed through her brain—people wandering off alone, getting picked off one by one. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She reached for her phone before remembering: dead.

A fox trotted into the moonlight, its rust-colored coat glowing. It paused, watching her with intelligent yellow eyes.

Maya exhaled. "You scared the crap out of me, little dude."

The fox's ears suddenly flattened. A low rumble vibrated through the ground. Something moved between the trees, massive and dark.

Bear.

Maya's breath caught. The fox bolted. The bear emerged into the clearing—huge, dark fur catching moonlight, nowhere near as cute as the ones in storybooks. It huffed, sniffed the air, and took a step toward her.

She couldn't scream. Couldn't move. The bear raised its head, tasting her scent.

Then, from behind her: "HEY! GET OUT OF HERE!"

Jordan's voice. Her flashlight beam cut through darkness, blinding the bear. The animal startled, shuffling back, then lumbering into the trees.

Maya collapsed against the car, legs shaking. "What—how—"

"I saw you leave the tent," Jordan said, her voice trembling. "I was already awake. I couldn't sleep. I saw what Lucas did—he was all over Sarah. I was coming to tell you."

Maya stared at her friend. "You knew?"

"I was about to text you but my phone died. I came out to the car to charge it and saw you standing here, practically face-to-face with a bear."

They sat on the car hood in silence, watching the trees where the bear had disappeared. The fox crept back, watching from a safe distance, like it knew something they didn't.

"I was sending you a text too," Maya admitted. "About Lucas."

Jordan laughed, shaky but real. "We almost got ourselves killed over a guy who's not worth it."

The zombie notification Jordan had made fun of earlier suddenly made sense. They'd been the walking dead—haunted by jealousy, miscommunication, boys who didn't deserve either of them.

"Next time," Jordan said, "we just talk. Like actual human beings."

"Deal." Maya leaned into her friend's shoulder. "Also? We're never coming camping again."

"Agreed. Hotels exist for a reason."

Under the mountain stars, with bears lurking and foxes watching, Maya learned something electronics couldn't teach her: some signals don't need battery power. Friendship, it turned out, had the strongest connection of all.