An eerie draft came from the black abyss which was the doorway. The darkness almost seemed alive and appeared to be reaching out to engulf Fox. Despite the ominous air of it all though, Fox just waltzed right in. Soon he was quickly followed by the weasels and a reluctant Bird. Pushing down my mounting fear I hesitantly stepped through the doorway. I could see nothing, not even my own hands a few inches in front of my face, regret soon welled up within me. I frantically waved my arms around in search of my friends, it was so quiet that it felt dangerous to break the silence. My thoughts came to a screeching halt when my fingertips brushed up against something as cold as death. I yanked my hand back in shock and stared in horror at the now shimmering darkness where I brushed the thing. The longer I stared in bewilderment the more frantic it got until finally, I felt an ice-cold hand brush up against the calf of my right leg.

Instantly I began to back up through the door and looked down in terror at a hand of pure darkness with long slender fingers trying to grasp my ankle. I turned to run and found something frightening, in front of me was a large patch of upturned snow caused by several sets of footprints. I was back where it all began, I turned back in confusion and found that the door I just walked through along with the arm was gone. I was back, but this time I was alone. Worried about Fox and Bird, as well as the weasels, I took off in the direction I thought we took to warn them. But, no matter how fast or far I ran I could not find the cabin again. Finally, my body gave way and I slammed to the ground after fumbling through a particularly deep snowdrift.

I tried to get up but the exhaustion of countless hours of wandering in the cold caused my arms and legs to become like a newborn fowl’s. I rolled over onto my back and tried to get up once again, succeeding this time. At a slower more sustainable pace, I followed the trail I believed led to the cabin. As I stumbled in pursuit of our footprints I noticed something weird, at a distance away from the tracks was a squiggling line in the snow. I hadn't noticed them before in my hours upon hours of wondering and I jumped at the chance to follow it. Yes, it could be dangerous but it's the best lead I got.

My legs were screaming in agony at each step I took and my sight was fading but I continued on. My body was drawing to an end, I could feel it. The trees seemed to be closing in and the snow seemed to be becoming deeper. Shadows started to discreetly skirt across the corners of my eyes, ducking behind trees every time I turned my head. But I vowed to continue on until my collapse, which unfortunately was quickly coming. I finally had to brace myself on a tree for a bit in a fruitless attempt to regain some energy when finally my legs could take it no more, I dropped there and then. I was so cold, was this how I'm going to die? In this godforsaken forest all alone never to be found again? My eyes grew blurry at the thought of my family and friends faces. I blankly stared at the clouded sky, how long had it stayed the same? It must have been days since I got separated but the storm has never let up once. My vision continued to fade as my eyes lost focus and darkness started to creep in. I always thought I would die side by side with my brothers, not alone in a godforsaken hell. My thoughts began to become loose and disconnected until finally, the darkness took over and my consciousness faded out.

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POV shift————————————————

I was growing tired of this man’s antics, despite my many pokes and prods we weren’t going anywhere predictive. Run for a bit, hide, I attack, and run some more, rinse and repeat. That was until he ran into a very interesting room that was lit with a singular pearly white candle. All the previous rooms were as dark as can be and there was something strange with that candle. A sweet scent permeated throughout the small room originating from it, but that wasn’t what caught my attention underneath that smell was an even sweeter one, it was the smell of death. After a second of looking around with a singular bloodshot eye, I took the other one, the man finally collapsed from a combination of fear, exhaustion, and blood loss. To be fair he would have collapsed a very long time ago if not for my preservation efforts. I was still intrigued though, about how such a seemingly unhealthy man could last so long. I unceremoniously kicked his body to the side and approached the flickering light.

The candle had a very mundane appearance except for the base which had the appearance of scorched wood. Besides its smell and the normal spiritual element of a candle, it was pretty normal. Despite that, the smell eased my frustration caused by the series of disappointments I have encountered so far. I plucked it from the metal stand it was sitting on and lightly blew out the flickering flame before placing it in my robe. I swiveled and stalked up to the heavily injured man, his breathing was labored and his heart was slowing. This was his end. I place a claw on his exposed ribcage and pierced through it, putting him out of his misery. I plucked his other eye before moving on, I already wasted too much time on this fruitless endeavor and needed to get moving. I already detected the party-goers arriving around five minutes ago and I want to go back and observe the pestilence in action in this new environment.

A/N- If you have time please leave a like, review, rating, and a comment. These things give me the motivation to write and personally makes me very happy. It helps me power through this rough patch of life.