The snow was only getting worse. My fingers felt non existent and I had the mother of all headaches. "I'm cold" Anna said. I dropped the last few pieces of sticks I managed to scrape from the snow into the fire. "You don't say" I answered with. I was doing everything I could to keep us warm but the cold winds from the outside of our small cave kept harassing us. I couldn't bear to get out of our cave and to pick up a few more sticks. I gripped my rifle, trying to get some sensation in my fingers, trying to get my spirit up. "How many shots do you have left?" I asked Anna. She took her arm out of her coat to look at her handgun. "I think seven more. You?" I held the rifle even closer to me, basically hugging it at this point and said "Four." Anna set her eyes off of me and onto the fire. "We should get moving again" I said, teeth clattering. Anna shut her eyes and shook her head. She was clearly seen shaking from the cold - it was getting worse as the minutes passed by. "I'm sorry but I'd rather die out there than in a cave. Let's go." I got up but I lost my balance and landed on one knee. I pressed my hand on the floor to pick myself up and then leaned on the stone wall. Anna slowly lifted herself up as she groaned from pain from her lower body. Her open wounds still appeared fresh. I stepped on the fire and proceeded to brace myself for the snow. "Come on. Stay close to me." I tightened the bandage around my head, blood drizzled down my right eye.
We were running on fumes as we stepped through the snow. Every step we took, every bit of blood we dropped from our open wounds, every breath we took, every time we looked at the trees to see if that thing was following us, it was worth it. It was better than staying in one place preparing for a battle we won't win. "Was that you?" Anna asked me. I turned my head to look behind me only to see Anna turning her head too. We saw the long trail we left in the snow. "No. What was it?" I questioned. Anna stayed silent. A voice was heard in the distance. "Marcus! Anna! Where are you!?" a voice yelled from the misty snow behind us. Anna turned her entire body about to back track. We couldn't see a thing. Our snow trail was even disappearing in the bowels of this storm. "Dad! Its-" I quickly placed my hand over Anna's mouth. "That's not him" I silently said to her. That poor man was killed. I saw it with my own two eyes. "Maybe it's really him" Anna said, trying to walk towards the voice. The wind of the snowstorm got loud in an instant. The voice was barely heard and I wasn't about to let that thing get any closer. "Move!" I practically yelled, yanking on Anna's arm.
The snow felt heavier. Colder. I couldn't feel my legs anymore. In a way, that was a good thing. It meant that I didn't feel myself trying to push through the many inches of thick snow. I kept tugging Anna's arm towards me to get as far as possible from the voice we just heard. My hand holding Anna suddenly shot downwards. I fell back with whatever force took me down. I looked at where Anna was and she was already being devoured by the snow. She fainted. "Anna!" I shouted. That shout was nothing but a whisper in this storm. The winds got faster and my ears started ringing. I pulled on Anna's frozen body to at least get her head out of the snow. I pulled and pulled but my arms were not powerful enough anymore. I gave Anna one final pull and managed to get her head out of the snow. Her eyes were closed, face pink that dripped blood on the snow. I found the energy in me to drag her body under a tree where the snow wasn't as thick. I set her on the tree to figure out a way to get warm in such a cold hell like this. I'm not even sure if my lighter even works anymore.
In the midst of the wind, the sound of snow being plowed through was heard. That persistent thing actually caught up with us in this weather. I swung the rifle off my back and pointed it towards the sound. For a moment, I thought I was only hearing things. My paranoia, fear, and suffering of this sharp, trembling coldness was messing with my head. That was until I heard "Marcus!" in the distance. Why God? Why? I pulled the bolt of my rifle back, ready to be fired. Nearly all of my senses were gone at this point. I felt numb. Nothing but shivering and sleepiness kicked in as I tried to see where that thing was going to attack us from. More snow was heard being moved aside. The sound of tree branches being snapped was heard. I noticed the silhouettes of the trees through the snowy mist being swayed back and forth. It was getting closer. "Anna!" I heard. Fear came back to me. "Anna! Marcus!" the thing screamed. The sounds were now unnatural. Clicking noises and the sound of distinct heavy groaning was heard after every name shout. "Marcus! Anna!" This animal must've been no more than twenty feet away from me. If it wasn't for this heavy snow blocking our sights, we would've been long gone by now. "Marcus" I faintly heard behind me. My eyes widened in pure shock as I snapped around.
It wasn't the thing. It was Anna holding up her open hand towards me. "Don't. Just lay down. Stop. I'm... Marcus" she struggled to say. Her head fell forward. Her arm fell downwards out of her coat and the handgun dropped to the snow. She was gone. I couldn't find it in me to grieve. Not because I didn't care that my beloved sister has just died from the cold, but because I was going to die as well. There was no point to the mourning if I will shortly follow her path. I will see her soon enough. My name was once again heard. This time, it was only a few footsteps away from me. What's left of me? I fired a round and the muzzle flash illuminated the thin creature's silhouette in the storm as it was standing on all fours. My face felt warm as the blood of the beast sprayed on me. The thing let out a spine tingling howl that will follow me to my snowy grave. The noise surrounded me, making me hallucinate more than one of those creatures. They circled us, and there we were in the middle, wounded prey - an easy feast.
I quickly pulled back the bolt of my rifle to load in another shot but the thing placed its hand on my entire body, making my rifle vanish into the snow. It shoved me down into the snow, almost suffocating me. I threw my legs around trying to put up a decent fight but my demise was already confirmed. The animal dug its dagger of a nail into my shoulder, making me grunt in pain I have never felt in my entire life. I pathetically threw a weak punch onto the beast's head. I only made my death worse as the brute jammed its jagged teeth into the flesh of my right hand. It bit and chew my limb like a playful dog all while the creature twisted its nail stuck deep into my shoulder. As much as I accepted death, I still subconsciously didn't want to die. I looked at Anna's lifeless body and saw her weapon buried into the snow. Only the grip of the firearm was seen. I launched my left arm towards it, trying to make this death quicker. "Anna! Help me!" I said all of a sudden. I knew she was dead yet I call for her help? Knowing you'll die does plenty on the human mind.
The creature suddenly stopped. It looked up. The creature tilted its head, huffing and puffing. Its skin moved abnormally and slits started to open up on its neck. "Help me! Anna! Marcus! Hello! Run! There! Go! Dad! Monster!" It was mocking me with the new words its learning. It had to be. Those voices sounded just like the people the monster consumed by now. The creature looked down at me with its dark, lifeless black eyes. It opened its mouth to me, about to feast on its easy prey. I fumbled around as much as my body would let me. I felt my right shoulder pop out. I felt the nail of the animal scrape my bones. I felt the heat of its breath against my nose.
Bang
A sudden shot came to the creature. And then another. And then one after that. A slight pause followed by three more shots. It refused to fall. I swung my good arm and forced my hand into the bullet holes in its head. It groaned and vibrated the snow around me. I dug my way though its pale flesh and made a river of blood pour on me. It finally collapsed. I yanked my arm out of it, a warm comforting feeling came over me as its warm blood made me feel safe for two short seconds.
The brutality of the snow was quick to take it away though. The cold came back, worse than before. I crawled to Anna, and placed my hand on her leg as she shivered in intensity. "Anna" I found myself saying. She was whispering something. I couldn't hear her.
"I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die "
I reached for her pistol but her hand was frozen shut holding it. Frostbite was consuming the both of us.
"I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die"
Anna was stuck on a loop. Mentally broken as death toyed with her. I still kept trying to take away the handgun and at last, I took it away, along with pieces of her skin. The sound of trees moving was heard.
"I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die "
Anna wasn't moving anymore. The sounds of trees being moved stopped.
"I don't want to die"
Anna's lips were shut cold by the blood turning into ice.
"I don't want to die"
Voice torn.
"I don't want to die"
A warm breath down my neck.
"I don't want to die"
Her whisper came closer to my ear from behind.
"I DON'T WANT TO DIE"
