Wendigo

Chapter One

At the End

So much blood.

The wind howled. It tore at his face and burned his skin. He couldn't see. His eyes watered and his lashes were coated in heavy frost. They were freezing inside his sockets. Purple hands reached out and grabbed at the air in front of him. He'd lost his gloves and he couldn't remember where. He concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, snow sticking to his boots and pants. At one point the hard ice gave way, his leg sinking up to his thigh, boot filling with freezing lake water. Blazing pain more intense than anything he'd ever felt before. Pulling backwards, he knew he wouldn't be able to walk anymore. There was no more strength in his body.

He'd have to crawl.

So much blood.

Not far behind him now. It was only a matter of time before its thin white skinned arm would reach out from the darkness and take hold of him.

He didn't want to die.

Not like that.

If he had a choice he'd rather freeze. At least that wouldn't be as bad. He'd heard it was like going to sleep. He could just lie back in the soft snow and close his eyes. Let the numbness overtake him.

Better than being torn to pieces.

One knee in front of the other. Ignore the fact that he could no longer feel his feet or fingers. Ignore the pressure steadily building up inside his head.

One knee in front of the other.

The wind continued to bite his face. Nothing but the darkness and millions of white flakes as they attacked him from above.

When he could no longer crawl, he stretched out in the snow, an obscure bloody angel, legs sinking in the soft drifts. His body grew heavy and peaceful, his eyes refusing to stay open.

Sleepy.

It would be good to rest.

Just as he believed he was going to get his wish, he heard it emerging from behind a tree, a dark shape moving steadily in the night. As it grew closer he could see bits of flesh stuck in its teeth.

He couldn't even muster the strength to scream.

Instead he closed his eyes.

Waited as skeletal hands reached down to claim him.

One

Three Days Earlier

Monday

"Look alive, cowboys and cowgirls, this next trail's gonna be jumpy."

As the tires scrunched in the snow, Reese Camden instinctively put his hand up on the dash to brace himself. It didn't help, the van jolted and they skidded around the icy corner, his head smacking against the roof. Being the tallest was a curse, it only made his sister Rose and her best friend Kaori burst into a fit of laughter.

Deke turned around in the driver's seat to check on them. "Can't say I didn't warn you, cowboy. That's why they call it a 'heads up'."

"Watch the road, you idiot!" Kaori said.

They were too close to the edge. The drop off was a good fifty feet with nothing but thin pine trees to block their fall.

Deke swore and turned the wheel quickly, sending them into a tailspin. Reese braced himself a second time, waiting for the moment when the SUV would go flying off the cliff.