Bounty Lane

Table of Contents

 

Elena and Diana, sisters with a knack for getting under each other’s skin, were driving through the Alaskan mountains in the middle of a snowstorm from hell. The wind screamed, tossing snow across the windshield of Elena’s beat-up SUV like it was trying to bury them alive. They’d wanted to take separate cars—anything to avoid the inevitable bickering that always flared up when they were stuck together. But their parents, ever the optimists, had practically begged them to ride together, hoping a few hours on the road might patch up their rocky relationship. So, there they were, grudgingly sharing the car, headed to their parents’ place for a visit.

For the first hour, it was dead silent. Not a word. Just the crunch of tires on snow and the wipers slapping back and forth, barely keeping up with the blizzard. Elena, behind the wheel, kept her eyes glued to the road, her hands tight on the steering wheel, while Diana stared out the passenger window, her breath fogging up the glass. The air between them was thick with unspoken grudges, old fights about money, family, and who was the better sister. Finally, Elena couldn’t take the silence anymore.

“So, uh, how’re the kids?”

She asked, her voice a little too bright, like she was trying to force some normalcy.

Diana didn’t miss a beat.

“They’re good. Lily’s reading everything she can get her hands on, and Max is all about hockey now. Skates around the house like it’s a rink.”

Her tone was soft, almost warm, and for a second, it felt like they might actually get through this drive without a fight. They swapped a few stories. Elena talked about her new gig at a wildlife sanctuary, Diana laughed about Max’s latest attempt to cook dinner. It wasn’t perfect, but it was something. A flicker of hope that maybe they could be sisters again, not just rivals.

Then Diana had to ruin it.

“You’re driving too fast, Elena,”

She said, her voice sharp as a knife.

“And these headlights? They’re useless. I can’t see a damn thing out there.”

Elena’s stomach twisted, but she swallowed her irritation and eased off the gas.

“I’m being careful, Di. Chill.”

“Careful?”

Diana snorted.

“Like when you nearly totaled Dad’s truck in high school? You’ve always been reckless.”

That old wound stung, and Elena’s grip on the wheel tightened. She tried to focus on the road, but Diana kept going, nitpicking every turn, every slight swerve.

“You’re all over the place. You’re gonna get us stuck or worse.”

Elena slowed down even more, her jaw clenched, but Diana’s complaints just wouldn’t stop. It was like she was looking for a fight, and Elena was two seconds from giving her one. The argument was heating up, their voices cutting through the storm’s howl, when Diana suddenly froze.

“Déjà vu,”

She whispered, her eyes locked on something outside. Elena shot her a confused look.

“What?”

“That white reindeer,”

Diana said, her voice shaky.

“I saw it before we left the parking lot. It was just… standing there, staring at me with these creepy yellow eyes. Like it was waiting for something. And now it’s out there again.”

She pointed into the swirling snow, her hand trembling. Elena squinted but couldn’t see anything through the blizzard.

“A reindeer? Di, it’s probably just the storm messing with you.”

Before she could say more, a flash of white bolted across the road. Elena yanked the wheel, but it was too late. The SUV skidded and slammed into a snowbank with a jolt that rattled their bones. The engine sputtered and died, leaving only the storm’s eerie wail.

They stumbled out, cold biting through their coats. They were okay, just shaken, and for a moment, their fight didn’t matter. They checked on each other. Elena brushing snow off Diana’s jacket, Diana muttering about her frozen fingers. They tried pushing the car, but it was stuck deep. Diana stepped away, holding up her phone to check for a signal, her eyes scanning the road for any sign of help. Then she gasped.

“There!”

She whispered, pointing. Those yellow eyes glowed through the snow, attached to a white reindeer that blended so perfectly with the storm it was almost invisible. It wasn’t just watching them—it felt like it was hunting them. Elena’s heart raced. She dove into the car, grabbing a pistol and a flare gun from the glovebox. She fired the flare gun into the sky, the red glow lighting up the night, hoping someone would see it. The flare’s light caught the reindeer, and Diana’s breath hitched.

“It’s closer now,”

She said, her voice barely a whisper. Just then, her phone buzzed. A text from their dad, sent forty minutes ago:

“Coming with your uncle to meet you halfway. Storm’s bad.”

“They’re close,”

Diana said, clinging to hope. But the reindeer was moving now, pacing in the middle of the road, its movements jerky and wrong. Elena fired another flare toward it, and the light revealed something horrifying. The reindeer’s body twitched, its limbs bending at unnatural angles. Its head snapped back, and it rose onto its hind legs, morphing into a grotesque, towering creature with jagged antlers and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Those yellow eyes burned like fire, fixed on them.

Elena didn’t think twice. She fired the pistol, unloading every bullet into the thing’s head and legs. The shots should’ve dropped it, but it barely flinched, charging toward them with terrifying speed. They scrambled back into the SUV, slamming the doors and locking them. The creature smashed the passenger window, glass exploding inward. Diana screamed as it grabbed her hair with its teeth, yanking her toward the broken window. Elena fumbled with the flare gun, hands shaking, knowing the flare’s light had spooked it before. She reloaded, praying it would work again.

Before she could fire, blinding headlights sliced through the storm. The creature froze, its grip on Diana loosening. A truck roared up, and the beast let go, vanishing into the snow like a ghost. Their dad and uncle jumped out, faces pale with worry. Diana, clutching her bruised neck and wincing from a shoulder injury, collapsed into their arms. As they patched her up, the sisters spilled the whole terrifying story. Their dad’s face went grim.

“That thing’s been out here for months,”

He said.

“It’s attacked hikers and drivers. Nobody knows what it is. Bullets don’t do a damn thing, but fire hurts it. Folks carry lighters and gas now, just in case.”

Their uncle, a tough old hunter, nodded.

“We’ve tried tracking it, setting traps, but it’s too smart. Slips away every time.”

They piled into the truck, the storm still raging. Elena glanced at Diana, their earlier fight feeling like a lifetime ago. That creature had nearly torn them apart, but it also reminded them they were still sisters, still family. For now, they were alive, and that was enough.