Eyes of the Wendigo

4 -

The cold air was still and thick as Elias Conroy led the group of hunters deeper into the forest, their breath rising in small clouds of fog before disappearing into the morning light. The snow beneath their boots crunched with every step, and despite the clear sky overhead, the chill sank into their bones. The trees around them were tall and foreboding, their shadows stretching long and ominous in the pale sunlight.

Elias had been up before dawn, gathering the men, organizing their gear, and preparing for the hunt. It wasn't the first time he'd led a search party into these woods, but today felt different. There was a weight in the air, a tension that none of them could shake. He could see it in the faces of the men around him—Pete Langford, John Alcott, and two others, Bill and Graham—each of them silent and on edge.

This wasn't just another hunt. It was something more, something darker. Two men had already gone missing—Rob Mercer and Roy Briggs—and the village was growing restless. Fear had taken root in White Pines, and the whispers about the Wendigo had only gotten louder. Even if Elias didn't believe in the legend, it didn't matter. The villagers did, and their fear was turning to suspicion. People wanted answers. They wanted someone to blame.

And Elias was their leader.

He had known Rob his whole life, had hunted with him, trusted him. Rob had been a good man, a good hunter, and the sight of his twisted, frozen body had shaken Elias more than he cared to admit. But he had to keep his focus. He had to find the truth, whatever it was. This thing, whatever it was—animal, predator, or something else entirely—it had to be stopped.

As they moved through the forest, Elias glanced back at the men following him. They were all seasoned hunters, men who knew the woods as well as he did. But today, they walked with their shoulders hunched, their eyes darting nervously from tree to tree. Even John, usually loud and boisterous, had been silent since they set out.

"We'll start by checking the northern ridge," Elias said, his voice gruff as he broke the silence. "If there's anything out here—tracks, signs of movement—that's where we'll find it."

Pete nodded, his face pale beneath his thick scarf. "Think we'll find anything?"

Elias didn't answer right away. He didn't want to give false hope, didn't want to say the wrong thing. But the truth was, he didn't know what they were looking for. They'd already checked most of the area around where Rob had been found, and there had been nothing. No tracks, no signs of struggle. Just Rob's frozen body.

"We'll find something," Elias said, though his voice lacked conviction. "We have to."

The others didn't respond. They just kept walking, their footsteps echoing through the quiet forest. The deeper they went, the thicker the trees became, the shadows closing in around them. Elias kept his rifle at the ready, his eyes scanning the ground for any signs of movement. Every snap of a twig, every rustle of the wind set his nerves on edge. Something was out there—he could feel it. But whether it was an animal or something else entirely, he didn't know.

As they neared the northern ridge, the landscape changed. The trees grew taller, their branches heavier with snow, and the ground sloped upward into rocky terrain. Elias stopped, raising his hand to signal the others to halt.

"Spread out," he ordered. "Check for tracks, droppings, anything."

The men fanned out, moving carefully through the snow, their eyes on the ground. Elias stayed where he was, watching them work. He could feel the weight of their expectations pressing down on him. They were looking to him for answers, for direction. And if they didn't find anything today, he knew their faith in him would begin to crumble.

For a long time, there was nothing. Just the soft sound of boots crunching in the snow, the occasional sniff of cold air, the distant caw of a raven somewhere in the trees. Elias knelt down, running his gloved hand over the snow, searching for any signs of tracks, but the surface was smooth and undisturbed.