"Bye!" Karey waved her parents out the door.

"See you in a bit!"

"We'll be back in two hours, sweetie. Food's in the fridge."

"Okay, okay." Karey watched their sedan rumble down the gravel driveway until their headlights disappeared behind trees. Her family lived in a farmhouse on a few dozen acres of property, which meant two things: their driveway was almost a quarter mile long, and the internet connection was mediocre at best.

She flopped onto the couch and turned the TV on. A few reruns of Thanksgiving specials were playing, but nothing caught her interest so she turned to her phone for social media. It was going to be a peaceful— if a bit boring— night without her parents around the house. For all her mom's bustle about leaving their thirteen-year-old daughter home alone in the dark evening, nobody else was around to bother her. At least not within a half mile radius.

Night fell over the windows like tar, the highway too distant for its sights and sounds to reach the house. Only cricket song peppered the droning narration of a nature documentary she'd left running. Karey felt it was an appropriate atmosphere. Yes, appropriate. Not creepy, or lonely, appropriate. She was fine with being left at home without a babysitter for the first time. Pretending like this wasn't a normal night would be childish at best.

Coyotes let out a few howls in the distance.

Karey frowned. They usually had the decency to wait until she was trying to sleep before giving her the chills. No matter how many times she heard them, their wails were always a little unsettling. Regardless, she chalked it up to chance and turned back to scrolling.

A howl sounded off disturbingly close.

Karey frowned again. There was a fence that should keep them away from the house, and they were naturally rather human-shy. This was...

Another joined in, followed by several more.

... much too close for comfort. Her heart beat a bit faster in her chest. Why did they sound so loud?

The chorus trailed off.

I’ll be fine, they’re on the other side of the fence. I can always grab Dad’s shotgun.

Another howl came from right outside the door. Karey jumped to her feet in shock. Something was wrong.

More yips and wails pierced through the walls on all sides, coyotes seemingly milling about the house. Karey didn’t dare go near any windows to check. They can’t break down the doors or glass. I just need to wait... Still, she slowly started to make her way towards the gun cabinet, which wasn’t far from the front door. They don’t know I’m here, I’ll be fine...

The clamor outside broke into hawing laughter, drunkenly shifting pitch and overlapping into an awful discordance.

Karey clenched her fists. I can’t believe it. Mr. Dodder said those idiots were warned about trespassing! The neighbor had told Karey’s father about chasing intoxicated teenagers off his land not one week ago. She was furious at herself for thinking it would be real when it was so obviously a stupid prank in hindsight.

“Shut up! If you don’t leave I’m calling the cops, and you’ll be arrested for trespassing!” Karey yelled. The doors were locked, so she should be—

Glass shattered.

Karey stopped breathing, immediately moving into the nearby hall closet on instinct. She left the door cracked just enough that she could see the living room. A silent prayer that they couldn’t hear her over the TV left her lips.

Only a random commercial broke the silence. Karey slowly pulled her phone out. If they left, she’d call her parents, otherwise—

The back door slammed open.

Of course. Karey opened her phone app to dial 911, but before she tapped the first digit a figure stepped into the living room.

It wasn’t human. It wasn’t quite coyote, either, though that was a much closer guess. Its stooped posture left it at her shoulder height, but she knew it’d beat her in strength any day if those wiry limbs were any indication. Black lips peeled back from pearly white fangs as the beast sniffed the air. Two more trotted in behind it on whisper-quiet feet.

Karey had to leave. She had to leave right now. The only problem was how. The things weren’t between her and the front door, thankfully, but it wouldn’t be long before they smelled her out, and she would never outrun them.

She looked down at her phone. Maybe...

With as little noise as physically possible— thank God this thing is always on silent— Karey typed in a number and pressed call.

Sharp ringing blared through the house from the kitchen and the master bedroom landlines. The creatures snarled and barked, loping off to investigate, most importantly in directions away from her.

Karey didn’t give herself time to rethink. Phone back in her pocket, she busted out of the closet, feet carrying her down the short hallway to the door. One hand snagged the truck keys off their peg while the other unlocked and opened the front door. She heard one of the things roar behind her. Her survival would be counted in seconds if she tripped, she knew.

She flew across the driveway, furiously spamming the unlock button on the keypad. The driver’s side already facing her. She just had to make it.

Open, jump, slam, SLAM. The lead beast missed her by a breath. Key in the slot, start, start, start, damn you.

Rough, distorted cackling vied for Karey’s attention. She didn’t grant it, not yet. The truck finally started and she fumbled to turn on the headlights. The biggest beast appeared in front of her, while the other two tested the truck’s defenses. Not fair.

Okay, okay, press the brakes— her leg stretched to reach— shift into drive... and GO!

Gravel sprayed out behind her, almost fishtailing the truck before it started to gain speed. The coyote-thing grinned at her and proceeded to leap onto the hood.

So not fair!!

Karey desperately swerved to try and dislodge it, but only succeeded in throwing off its blows to the windshield. She couldn’t fully see the driveway but knew it was a straight shot to the road. Then... then she’d... drive to town?

THUMP, THUMP. The other beasts had caught up with her, and were now in the bed of the truck.

I guess that’s that. Karey focused on keeping the creatures off-balance as much as she could without crashing. Adrenaline numbed her grip on the steering wheel. She reached the road, suspension creaking in protest as she took the right turn hard. The lead coyote slid off.

Only now it was bounding alongside the truck, trying to push her into the ditch by hurling itself against the door. Karey pressed down on the accelerator.

Before she could lose one of the monstrosities, however, the other two finally shattered the rear window. Karey screamed and braked too quickly in fright, putting the truck into a slide on the wet asphalt. It skidded over the edge of the ditch, jolting to a stop at an angle. She slammed on the gas over and over trying to move, do anything, but the wheels only dug into soft mud.

The pair of beasts in the back snapped at her, apparently too big to squeeze into the panel they’d broken, but it was only matter of time. Karey shakily grabbed her phone. She could call the police. They’d answer, right?

She was in a dead spot. Karey cursed the countryside. Her hands shook more as the truck rocked on its wheels.

She curled in on herself, ignoring the nasty sniggering coming from so close to her. What can I do... what...

Noise. She had to call for help, just not with her phone.

Karey laid on the horn, over and over and over. The things snarled at her. Tough shit, creeps. The truck had plenty of gas; she could keep this up 'til morning.

For a while the creatures beat against the truck more and more, frantically trying to pry her shell open. The driver’s window cracked. Karey closed her eyes and kept honking.

Shouting. Human shouting. And knocking, not beating. Karey opened her eyes. Red and blue lights flashed on the side of the road. Saved! She slumped down, releasing the horn at last.

The cop leaned in. “You done there, kid?” His voice was muffled through the glass, and she couldn’t see his face clearly in the dark, but it was good enough for her.

Karey sighed. “... Yeah.”

Her parents lectured her something awful when they got home. What bothered them most wasn’t that she drove the truck, or even wrecked the truck, but that she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt while doing any of it. Because apparently the cop deemed fit to tell them that when he called. Whatever.

No matter how much she insisted that she’d been chased out of the house, the adults seemed skeptical of her version of events. Sure, the back door was open, and the rear window of the truck was shattered, but coyotes? The lock on the door wasn’t even broken, did they carry lockpicks in their mouths or something?

To Karey’s endless surprise only the open door and truck window were hard evidence of the whole happening. No broken glass in the house, no dents on the truck, nothing except a loop of muddy paw prints going around the yard, no other tracks leading to them. Karey had to relent on pursuing the topic when she overheard her parents discussing a visit to a psychiatrist. Once she did, her parents quietly fixed the truck and let the whole night fade into memory.

And Karey almost would have believed their narrative of a psychological break or costumed vandals, if it weren’t for the occasional laughter she heard mixed in with the coyote howls at night. When she did hear them, or even spotted hunched silhouettes limned in moonlight, she clutched her shiny new softball bat a little closer, and told herself that it didn’t matter. If they wanted a sequel to that cursed night, it would go very differently. She was sure of it.