Eyes of the Wendigo

12 -

Mark trudged through the snow-covered streets of the village, his eyes bloodshot, his face gaunt. The icy wind howled around him, but he barely noticed the cold anymore. It felt like it had settled deep into his bones, chilling him from the inside out. His mind buzzed with an endless stream of thoughts, looping back on themselves, twisted and tangled like the gnarled branches of the trees in the woods. He hadn't slept in days, and the lack of rest was starting to take its toll. Every sound, every movement seemed sharper, more pronounced, as if the world around him had become both hyperreal and unreal at the same time.

He didn't trust anyone. Not anymore.

The villagers had grown wary of him. He saw it in their eyes, in the way they kept their distance, in the way their conversations fell silent when he walked by. But Mark didn't care. He knew they were hiding something. They all were. And it had everything to do with Rob.

Rob's death had been no accident. Mark was sure of it now. Rob had known something, something that someone didn't want him to know. And that's why he had been killed. But who? Who in the village would do something like that? Who could have murdered his best friend, covered it up, and made it look like some kind of tragic accident?

His mind reeled with possibilities, the questions gnawing at him like a constant itch he couldn't scratch. Every time he tried to focus on one answer, another would slip away, replaced by a new, darker suspicion.

Elias.

It always came back to Elias.

Mark's jaw clenched as he marched through the snow, his heart pounding in his chest. Elias had been there when they found Rob's body. He had organized the search parties, led the investigations. He had been the one in control from the very beginning. And now, after weeks of searching, there was still no real explanation for what had happened to Rob.

But Mark had seen something in Elias lately. A shift. A hesitation. Elias wasn't the steady leader the village had always relied on. Not anymore. He was hiding something, Mark could feel it. And every time Mark saw Elias, every time he caught a glimpse of the man's face, he saw guilt lurking behind his eyes.

Mark's thoughts spiraled, his pulse quickening as his feet carried him toward the woods. He had to know the truth. He had to find out what Elias was hiding. The cabin—the one in the woods that Pete had whispered about—was the key. It had to be. If Elias was hiding something, Mark would find it there.

His heart raced as he remembered Pete's hurried words the other night, when they'd crossed paths outside the pub. Pete had mentioned seeing Elias heading into the woods alone, toward a hidden cabin. A place no one else knew about. A place that shouldn't exist.

Mark had pushed Pete for more information, but the man had clammed up, his face pale with fear. "I don't know what he's doing out there," Pete had said, his voice trembling. "But it doesn't feel right, Mark. I don't trust it. I don't trust him."

Mark hadn't needed any more convincing. He knew then that Elias was up to something. And if Elias was involved in Rob's death, Mark would make him pay for it.

The trees loomed ahead, dark and silent, their branches heavy with snow. Mark hesitated for only a moment at the edge of the woods, his breath fogging in the air as he glanced back toward the village. No one had followed him. No one cared enough to stop him. He was on his own now. Alone with his suspicions and his growing rage.

With a deep breath, he plunged into the trees, the snow crunching beneath his boots. The path to the cabin wasn't easy to find—Elias had been careful to cover his tracks—but Mark had been out here enough times to know the land. His instincts guided him, his steps quick and purposeful, his mind locked on a single goal.