The Mounted Animal Nature Trail

a story about controlling the future and past

The mounted animal nature trail brought people from far and wide to see taxidermized wildlife in a natural setting.

Visitors couldn’t agree on whether it was sad, beautiful, or terrifying: the stiff limbs, unblinking eyes, and snarling mouths of predators frozen in the moment before they strike.

But they could agree on this: it got infinitely more terrifying the day they came back to life.

I don't know if any of my fellow Canucks know the Canadian comedy band The Arrogant Worms, but band member Trevor Strong randomly reached out to me on Twitter about singing some of my short stories on his music livestream today, and it inspired me to write this story based on my fav song from their discography.

Short story written by Peter Chiykowski

Story prompt taken from a photo by Anvesh Baru