Footsteps in the Dark

Jessie sat in the car, their forehead pressed against the top of the steering wheel. Somehow, they managed a slow, deep inhale and exhale, and relaxed their body. The drive so far had been grueling, and there was still quite a bit left of the trip. The closest town with a hotel was still almost an hour away at this point. Not quite a quarter of the way into the trip, Jessie wondered why they had even thought this was a good idea in this weather, let alone at night.

Jessie looked over to the passenger seat, where their Australian Shepherd, Lilac, slept peacefully. At least one of us in managing some rest, Jessie thought as they looked back to the map on their phone. It was nearly seven in the evening, but with the heavy snowfall and the fact that there was limited daylight in Alaska this time of year, it may as well have been the middle of the night.

After quickly booking a room in Talkeetna, Jessie hopped out of the car to brush the snow that had collected off the hood of the car and the windshield. Once getting back in the car and getting buckled in, they gave Lilac a few scritches, and got back on the road.

The drive to Talkeetna fortunately only took another 40 minutes, and by 8 p.m., Jessie and Lilac were unwinding in a cozy cabin. Jessie fed Lilac, then jumped in the shower. The hot water felt good, and helped relax the muscles that had tightened from the stressful drive. Jessie finished the shower, got out, and dried off, then threw on some pajamas. They grabbed the novel they were reading, The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, and got cozy in the bed.

Around 9:30, a noise startled Jessie awake. They pressed themself to seated, and noticed Lilac was alert as well. Jessie got out of bed, and slipped on their boots. The sound was still audible, and was coming from outside. They peeked out the window, but couldn’t see anything. Lilac was sniffing around the bottom of the door, and looked up at Jessie. When she noticed Jessie looking at her, she whined and pawed at the door.

Jessie chuckled. “Of course you want to go out in this ridiculous weather to see what’s making that noise. You realize it’s probably just the wind or some snow that fell off the roof, right?” Lilac looked at them and whined again. “Alright, alright, let’s go.” Jessie threw on their coat and opened the door.

Outside the room, the snow had piled even deeper. Around the window and door to their room, the snow was tossed about, as if someone had been around the door. None of the prints were clear, so Jessie couldn’t make out who - or what - had been outside their room. There was a barely visible trail of prints that led off to the edge of the woods. They looked at Lilac, who was panting and wagging her tail, a clear signal of let’s go check it out.

Jessie looked up at the sky. The stars were shining bright, and there was a faint glow of the Northern Lights hanging in the air. For a little while, at least, the snow had stopped, so they didn’t have to worry about their footprints getting covered.. They pulled their headlamp out of their pocket, and put it on, then turned on the light. “May as well have a little extra light,” they told Lilac. They reached dogs and ruffled the hair on the dog’s head. “Let’s go check it out. Not too far though, we aren’t exactly dressed properly for being out in the cold too long.”

Jessie and Lilac walked through the trees for about five minutes, following the barely visible tracks. It was hard to tell the distance between each of the steps of whatever it was they were tracking. Jessie was about to tell Lilac it was time to turn around when they noticed some movement about 30 feet away. They signaled to Lilac to stop, then slowly focused the flashlight in the direction of the movement. She froze when she saw it.

There, barely within the light of her flashlight, was a large bull moose. Jessie started to get nervous, knowing that in Alaska, moose were more of a threat to safety than bears. They also knew that running could also startle the animal, making it more likely to charge. Jessie motioned for Lilac to get behind them, and the dog immediately behaved. The moose watched Jessie and Lilac silently, looking unconcerned about their presence.

Then, the moose started to slowly move toward them. Jessie started looking around to see if there was any good path of escape, though with all of the snow, they knew that the moose would overtake them easily. They decided to stay still, and commanded Lilac to do the same.

As the moose neared the place where Jessie and Lilac stood, Jessie carefully shifted their body so that the tree next to them would be a short-term block if the moose suddenly decided to charge. When the moose was 10 feet away, it stopped. It looked around slowly, then started to edge closer. Jessie maintained stillness, and watched the moose silently.

The moose stopped again just five feet from where Jessie was standing. They stood there in silence for what must have been two minutes, and then Jessie slowly lifted their arm, hand outstretched toward the moose. The moose looked at their hand momentarily, then slowly stepped forward and nudged Jessie’s hand with his nose. He let Jessie pet his nose for a minute, then backed up slowly. After watching Jessie and Lilac for a moment, the moose turned and walked away.

Jessie watched the moose until he was out of sight. They realized they were holding their breath, and slowly let it out, and plopped down into the snow. “That was something, eh Lilac? I guess it was a good thing that you made me bring you out here.” The pair sat in the snow for a few minutes while Jessie gathered their nerves.

Back in the hotel room, Jessie heated some water to make some tea. The experience with the moose had certainly warmed them, but they were still chilled to the bone. Once the tea was ready, Jessie grabbed their journal to write down the experience. They didn’t think they would ever forget this, but it wasn’t a risk worth taking.

By the time Jessie finished retelling the tale for themself, it was 2 a.m., and they were exhausted. They finished the last sip of tea, gave Lilac a hug, and crawled back into bed. As they drifted back to sleep, they smiled slightly. Moving to Alaska was the best idea I’ve ever had, Jessie thought, then drifted off to sleep.

***Author's note: This story is completely fictional, and at no point is it ever advisable to attempt to pet a moose in the wild. Moose are very dangerous, and should be treated with the respect that all wild creatures deserve. Please leave wildlife alone, and watch from a safe distance at all times.