Vo'ke

Eight

 The ground was frozen beneath our feet as we trudged back up to the cabin. I tried to focus on the sound of ice breaking beneath my weight, eyes searching for slick spots on the frozen snow so I knew where to step. With every flex of my foot, I could feel my blisters brushing against the wool of my socks and I tried not to audibly hiss.

Louis and Niall had radioed in to tell us they were already back up at the cabin. Since they took rest before us, they were still out when the time came to wrap up the investigation for the night. Annalise, Scarlett and I woke up, stretched our joints, and set out through the woods.

I lifted my hand to my neck, stretching it this way and that in an attempt to work out the crick there. It was painful and my eyes clenched together. I was wondering just how much more of this I could take when my boot caught on a hole and I promptly fell face-first into the compacted snow.

"Fuck."

With a long groan, I pushed myself up on my forearms and lifted my head. Scarlett stood before me with her standard indiscernible facial expression, her hand held out to help me up. I accepted with a whispered thanks and brushed the ice from my jacket. Glancing upward, I noticed Annalise stood with her head cocked, brows furrowed as she approached the place where I had tripped.

"What are you doing?" I asked, but she ignored me as she used her gloved hand to brush away at some of the snow. I found myself looking to Scarlett for guidance, but her eyes were focused intently on the place where Annalise was peeling back a rather large chip of ice. Once it was cleared, she took a deep, surprised breath.

At first, I couldn't see anything. Scarlett took a few steps forward, partially blocking my view. I had no choice but to follow to the place where the girls stood, staring down at the hole.

But it wasn't a hole.

It was a deep imprint, one large imperfect circle with four smaller ovals poised above it. At each end of the oval was a point, where long claws had sunk deep into the mud. The print was as large as my shoe, maybe even bigger than that. I nearly shuddered to think what could have made it.

"We have to get Niall out here to see this," Annalise breathed. "Harry, do you know how to get back here from the cabin?" she asked, turning to me.

"Uh... I think so?"

"Scarlett and I will stay here to make sure we don't lose it. Please hurry."

I frowned, wondering how I had been roped so easily into fetching Niall and then returning with him. My feet were in agony, but I mustered up the resolve to set forward alone through the foliage. At least the movement kept me warm in the freezing temperatures.

It took fifteen minutes to walk the rest of the way uphill to where the cabin was settled. Through the frosted windows, I could see Niall and Louis in the living room area, sitting on a couch beside Zayn and Liam as they all went through various pieces of night vision footage from the evening before, hoping to find something. None of us had come across anything in our night's investigation. I remained unsurprised.

I pushed in the door, stomping the snow and ice from my feet as I peeked into the main room. Louis was cradling a cup of tea to his chest, occasionally bringing it to his lips as he pretended to be paying attention to whatever footage Niall was forcing upon him. He wasn't fooling anyone. His eyes were drooping heavily like they did during exams week and occasionally he made a sound like a snore, which therefore woke him from his stupor as he tried to seem productive again. I cleared my throat to catch the attention of the boys in the room.

"Annalise wants you to see something," I declared, looking at Niall. The other boys exchanged looks but didn't question anything as Niall peeled the blankets from his legs and stood up, stretching for a moment before joining me in the doorway.