Claws in the Dark | ✔

XXVIII

It was a seemingly peaceful walk from the truck towards the blockade, which had hindered their progress towards the hospital. Landon and Isaac stood before the pile of vehicles, a sign escaping Isaac's mouth as he scanned the area.

"I don't think we'll be able to get by," he murmured. "It's totally blocked and I can't seen to find a way through here."

"That's because we're not going to be passing through here, exactly," Landon mumbled, not looking at Isaac but instead at the periphery of the blockade. "There..." He pointed to the right, where the entrance of the mall was located, it's broken glass door and wrecked inside uninviting as both men took slow steps in its direction.

Isaac peered in through the door and observed the inside. "You expect us to go through here?" he asked.

"There's an exit at the back I'm sure we can use."

"But we don't even know if it's safe," Isaac whined.

Landon walked past the frightened man and stepped through the door. "Well, you can stay out here and cry like a bitch in the cold or get eaten, for all I care, or you could toughen up and fight your way through."

Isaac bit down on his bottom lip and thought for a moment. "Fine," he sighed. "But if I die, I'm fucking haunting you, no matter I didn't know you."

"At this point in time, I could do with a different kind of horror for a change," Landon laughed.

The two walked cautiously into the mall, eyes and ears alert, and maneuvered to to back where they saw the exit door slightly ajar. Landon slowly pushed the door open, and he and Isaac stepped back out into the cold environment.

"Who knew this winter would be this bitter?" Isaac questioned in a whisper as he shivered.

"I don't know, but...I have a theory. The winter arrived around the same time those monsters started wreaking havoc on this town." The detective scanned the surroundings, making sure that they weren't being spied upon by any unsuspecting creatures. "I'd have to say that they have something to do with this."

"Why do you think so?" Isaac asked, sticking by London's side.

"In case you haven't noticed," Landon scoffed, "we're not supposed to have winter for another month."

"What?"

"Shh, keep your voice down," Landon scolded, and the silence returned between the two as they paused and listened for enclosing growls.

Only the howling wind made it's presence known and both men sighed, continuing on their mission.

"What makes you so certain that these monsters have anything to do with the change in weather?" Isaac asked, his voice a bit harsh as he couldn't understand the detective's logics. "That doesn't make any fucking sense."