Fear took hold, gripping around Zerin's neck like a vice.

Warm beads of sweat trickled down the back of his neck, traveling down his spine. The white noise of the crackling fire and howling winds surrounded him.

That voice was one he had known all too well---A voice of a friend.

It was this very familiarity that made it unsettling. He knew it was nearly impossible, yet the notion clung to him.

He was left completely and utterly speechless.

Dex? His thoughts raged in his mind.

He found himself instinctively curling his fingers around the hilt of his sword. Slowly he pulled it free from its human leather sheath.

What were the odds? The mere idea of Dex stumbling upon him in this vast harsh wintery landscape was improbable. It felt like an impossible puzzle piece that forced its way into the wrong picture.

"Can I come in?" Dex's voice spoke again, holding the same tone.

Zerin's ears burned with the unfamiliarity that hit him. After hearing it a second time, he was certain—this voice was not Dex.

Zerin swallowed hard; his heart raced; his eyes widened. What should he do? Should he wait? Or should he respond with his voice or with action?

He didn't know his next course of action. This was entirely new territory for him, he couldn't remember reading anything pertaining to monsters that can be so cunning that they were able to mimic voices, let alone speak.

A slew of howls interrupted the quietness, proceeding from down the mountainside. Zerin heard a sudden shift outside of his door, and then he heard the massive thuds of the creature's footsteps as it faded away as it walked down the mountain. It sounded enormous, far too large to be human.

He exhaled shakily, lowering himself in front of the flickering fire. Its warmth feebly allowing him to keep his composure. Straining his ears, he listened making sure the creature was long gone.

Once he was certain the creature was long gone, a chilling thought enraptured his mind: How did this creature even know to use Dex's voice against him?

He collapsed fully in front of the fire, raising his hands to his head. He definitely just avoided a unfavorable confrontation, but not by chance. No, it was due to sheer arrogance. It had taunted him with the voice of his friend while waiting outside a barricade it could have easily teared down.

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This creature was nothing short of sickening.

***

He allowed himself a few hours to think about his next course of action. The word outside? Nothing but the howling wind.

The storm was picking up rather quickly, snow began to fall in heavy flakes tightly knitted together creating a heavy white fog.

He thought, briefly, that maybe he should have followed what the map suggested earlier—but he shook his head again.

Shelter like this was a stroke of pure luck, and abandoning it wasn't a decision he'd consider under any other circumstances.

Still, waiting here and hoping to avoid a confrontation with that creature didn't feel like a reliable plan either.

He considered fighting, but fighting something without knowing what it was capable of wasn't just unwise—it was downright reckless.

A grimace twisted his features as he acted upon his conclusion.

He began to gather his belongings, making sure to leave the fire crackling behind him. He would surely need it later.

Pushing the table aside, he peeked cautiously into the snowstorm. His gaze followed the massive trail carved into the snow, stretching as far as the fog would allow.

His eyes tracked the path up the mountain until it stopped at the disturbance in the snow—the body he had laid upon the mountain was gone.

The snow was kicked up, leaving no trace of the corpse.

Unease settled in his stomach as he peered cautiously in both directions, making sure his path was clear before he would descend down the mountain.

He dismissed his pack, even though it was empty it would only hinder him. With his sword sheathed, he made his way down, the ice-cold wind biting at him as he continued.

He was drawn deeper into the forest whilst following the path carved into the snow. The trees, once scattered and spread sparingly, now converged. But even under the safety of the trees, the endless snowfall above found its way. Periodically, clumps of snow would break free from the branches to land softly on the ground, creating mounds of snow.

But under the canopy of trees, it wasn't just filled with snow and trees.

The forest floor ahead was littered with overturned trees, their roots unearthed. Scattered among the debris were the corpses of bipedal, wolf-like creatures, their bones jutting painfully through their skin, and some of their snouts crushed. Their forms lay lifeless and sprawled in grotesque positions.

Each creature bore powerful claws and teeth. They were powerful creatures, but he couldn't help but question just what kind of monster could bring down a pack of five of these creatures.

A roar shattered the silence of the forest, reverberating through the trees. Heavy clumps of snow fell from the branches to the ground due to the sheer power of the roar. Zerin peered deeper into the woods, narrowing his eyes against the falling flakes of snow.

There, he saw a wolf-like beast, similar to the mutilated remains scattered behind him, but unlike the corpses, this one was alive.

Emerging from the tree line, its hands, while possessing a semblance of humanity, were tipped with claws of faded onyx, each claw extending about two to three inches long. The creature's body was lean but still undeniably muscular. Its prominent snout was filled with sharp fangs that gleamed like ivory against its bloodied black fur, and its eyes held an amber glow.

Zerin knelt down on the cold, blood-stained snow as he steadied his breath. His hand reached for the hilt of his sword, his fingers brushing against the human leather sheath.

That can't be the creature that spoke with Dex's voice...

Just as his hands tightened around the hilt of his sword, he watched the wolf beast crane its head back, a low growl rumbled from deep within it. Then, with a sudden short burst of movement, another creature emerged from the tree line.

What emerged was a creature Zerin didn't expect. The hefty creature stood before the wolf at a staggering size, slightly taller than the wolf but vastly more imposing. Its skin was a pale blue, and its body was grotesquely swollen, making it at least three times as wide as the wolf. Each step sent ripples through its bloated form. Another characteristic stood out vibrantly: veins riddled its body and were an unnatural shade of azure.

As Zerin saw this creature, the realization struck him then and there: he was staring at the body that had been taken. It had not been removed; rather, it had been reanimated into an abomination, a monster that began to wreak havoc upon everything in this forest.

And the amber-eyed creature, was now the last remnant of its pack, desperately trying to face off against this pale abomination that threatened to annihilate it.

A chill crawled up Zerin's spine. He wondered why the scarred beast wouldn't run and save its life—why would it face this creature alone, knowing it had no chance?

Then Zerin realized how foolish his situation was—but he also remembered that he could very well be the next victim of this horror that had claimed dominion in a single night. And he wasn't just going to sit idly by.