𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐑 ➪ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐤²

|| 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 ||

The brunette followed his pointed finger to see what appeared to be an opening at the bottom of a sheer cliff. A cave.

"There could be something useful in there since its been kept out of the snow!"

"Good call!" Luna shouted over the wind.

Their pace quickened as they headed for the shelter. The storm was definitely much closer than before. It was getting harder to walk in a straight line with the strong gusts becoming more frequent.

They were approximately twenty meters from the cave when Luna heard it. Something groaned and cracked beneath her feet. She came to a complete halt, almost slipping as a result. "Officer, we need to stop."

The wind was too loud for him to hear.

"Hendorff!"

"What?!" He paused just ahead as another loud crack sounded from beneath them.

Luna held an arm out, signalling for him to stay still, as she bent down and swiped through a thick layer of snow. Her hand came across something smooth and hard. Ice. They were running on something frozen.

"What is it?!" Hendorff asked.

"A lake, or river of some kind!" Luna straightened up and took several ginger steps towards him. The ice creaked with each movement. If it broke and submerged them in freezing water, hypothermia would set it. "Shit," she muttered, trying to come up with a plan.

"What if we just run?!"

"It'll break!"

As soon as the words left her lips, a section of ice just behind them cracked in two, allowing water to pool around the new opening. It only took one shared look of panic to throw caution to the wind. Both Luna and Hendorff launched into a run, keeping their eyes fixed on the cave.

It was impossible to ignore the ice's objections to their quickened movements. Every step was met with whines and groans. Luna expected it to break...but that never happened. Instead, they reached the safety of the cave and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

Luna rolled onto her back, her chest heaving up and down as she tried to catch her breath. The adrenaline was still there, providing a buzz that she hadn't felt for a while. The momentary panic dimmed and turned to laughter.

Hendorff grimaced and sat up, still recovering from the run. "What's funny about nearly falling through a frozen lake?"

"I can't believe we didn't," Luna chuckled. "Founders knows whether we'll be able to make the return journey without getting our feet wet." She remained on the floor and retrieved a cigarette from her pocket. Thanks to the cave's shelter, it was possible to light it this time. She shut her eyes, tucked an arm under her head and brought the cigarette to her lips with a contented sigh. "It's quite cosy in here."

"You might want to rephrase that."

Hendorff's tone made Luna frown. She re-opened her eyes to see him staring into the depths of the cave with a grim expression. After taking a long drag of her cigarette, she hopped up to follow the man's gaze.

Bones. There were hundreds of them littering the ground in piles stretching all the way into the darkness. Some nearby sat in a pool of congealed blood with flecks of rotten meat still clinging to the marrow. However, the most unnerving thing had to be the large, fresh carcass lying near the wall. Whatever lived in this cave had been here not long ago.

"Let's make this quick," Hendorff said. "Gather anything we can use to make a fire and get the hell out of here."

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