But his voice is a dream. A nightmare. I’m crouched beside the moose and all I hear is the sounds of his breath and my own. His eyes are open, but he’s not moving. There’s a pool of red on the white snow. I put my hand out to try and stop the flow. It’s hot and I pull back in fright.

‘Get the hell away from that damn bull, girl!’ Ralph screams. ‘I need one more shot; it’s not dead yet!’

‘Sky!’ my father yells, running towards me. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Come here, Sky,’ Jaxon shouts. ‘Let’s wait up the hill while they finish.’

‘No,’ I shout back. ‘I’m staying here.’

Ralph marches over, face flushed crimson. ‘Now listen here, young lady. This is my friggin’ day. I paid through my teeth to have your father with me. Dang it. I’m going to take that trophy home. Then we have a list to complete.’

‘No,’ I say again. My hand’s back on the moose’s chest. If only I had a bandage, I could stop the blood running through my fingers. But wait, we do.

‘Bring my bag!’ I yell to Jaxon, who’s still halfway up the hill. ‘There’s a first-aid kit with medical supplies.’ I look up at my father, who’s standing over me. ‘Please don’t kill him, please,’ I say. ‘Please.’

‘It wasn’t a clean shot, Sky,’ he says. ‘Give Ralph a minute to finish the animal off.’

The blood isn’t stopping, the pool of red now staining my pants. I see Jaxon returning with the kit and get up to walk towards him. I look at my father as I pass. ‘Please. Don’t kill him, Adam.’

He sighs and turns to Ralph. ‘Buddy, hold on.’

‘I’m finishing this animal off and continuing with our day, then we’ll see if we’re buddies or not,’ Ralph says angrily.

‘I can’t … She’s my daughter. I just can’t.’

‘You’re an idiot. And, anyway, it’s not humane,’ Ralph says. ‘You taught me that: The objective of every conscientious hunter is to kill the animal as quickly as possible.’ Then he kneels down on one leg and raises the rifle to his armpit.

‘No!’ I lurch towards the moose’s body, but Adam grabs my shoulder just in time.

Bang!

‘Sky!’ My father swivels me around and screams into my face. ‘Are you insane? You could have been killed.’ He’s looking at me like I’ve turned into a lunatic. And maybe I have.

Ralph lowers his gun and looks at Adam. He’s shaking with anger, his face turning a deeper red. ‘I could have shot her. Do you know what that means, Adam? You are over.’