The official history is a lie.

In 1804, the Corps of Discovery embarks on its legendary journey, with Captain Meriwether Lewis seeking to cast "the light of reason into the dark places of the world". But the vast, unmapped territory they enter is not empty. It’s unnervingly silent. The game has vanished, and the only signs of life are macabre warnings: a salmon bitten cleanly in half, impossible marks carved fifteen feet up a tree, and the snapped neck of a cougar left as a statement.

While Lewis’s pride blinds him to the truth, Captain Clark feels a malevolent presence watching from the trees, and their Shoshone guide, Sacagawea, recognizes the signs from the darkest legends of her people . The expedition has trespassed into the sovereign territory of an ancient, intelligent power—a creature of nightmare known as the Nüma—and they have broken the rules.

What begins as a mission of exploration descends into a desperate, bloody siege. Trapped in a primordial wilderness that actively hunts them, the members of the expedition are picked off one by one. Their science and rifles are useless against a foe that can tear a bull elk in half and attack with tactical brilliance . Their only hope for survival lies in the very "superstition" they once scorned.

Fusing the rich detail of the Lewis and Clark expedition with the spine-chilling suspense of folk horror and a terrifying creature feature, this novella is a must-read for fans of Dan Simmons' The Terror and Alma Katsu's The Hunger. Discover the horrifying secret that Meriwether Lewis buried, a truth so terrible he was forced to create a lie that would become history.