It was dawn; it was over. The night had passed, and with it, the lives of three souls. The sun illuminated the forest, the bodies, the dust. The ash. A snow storm was coming in. Soon, the bodies of the deceased will be buried. Never again shall sunlight meet their eyes, for the ice grows around them and seals them shut. A nail in a tree. A stake in a pile of dust. A frozen pile of blood around a body. The site is cursed; nevermore to be walked on.
The wind whipped past his face as he ran through the forest. He looked over at his partner. She was sprinting along side him, crossbow in hand. The sun had just set. They needed to finish this, fast. They stopped at a tree. Quickly, he pulled out his knife and carved a human figure in the bark. He slammed a nail in the center of the figure. A howl pierced the silence of the wood. They ran after it.
The crunching of the snow was the only sound she heard as she dashed, almost flying, through the trees. Sweat was dripping down her forehead. She glanced at the sky. Almost moon up. Soon. Just a little longer. Just a little longer...
They stopped again, this time looking at the footprints, then up. Her eyes narrowed, looking north. She slammed a nail into a tree. It had to end soon. Before moon up. Before it happens...
A cold howl pierced the night, echoing through the snow capped pines. She dropped to her knees, clenching in pain. The sound of footsteps in the distance. She got up and ran north, a small trail of red behind her.
His eyes flickered to the ground for a moment. A trail of red, going north. They looked at each other as they ran, then nodded. He drew a dagger out of his belt. Up ahead, the blood streamed on the ground.
She stopped, panting. Looking up, the moon had almost risen fully. Just another minute. Just a minute. She closed her eyes and kneeled. The snow around her began to melt. Footsteps. They were here.
