Hah... hah... hah...
Heavy breathing tore through the night air as their feet crunched through the snow beneath them.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
"Is he following us?" Moon whispered harshly, glancing back over his shoulder into the darkness. The blizzard had intensified, making it nearly impossible to see more than a few meters behind them.
Selene shook her head, her own breathing ragged. "I don't... I don't see anyone."
They had run far from the graveyard, their legs burning from the exertion, their lungs aching from gulping down freezing air. Somehow, miraculously, they'd managed to escape without being caught. But Moon knew that didn't mean they were safe. Just that they'd bought themselves time.
"So what do we do now?" Moon asked, slowing to a walk as his stamina began to fail. His eyes scanned their surroundings for anything that could be useful for survival.
Unfortunately, the view was nothing welcoming, offering no hope.
Selene stopped, taking a deep breath that came out as a thick cloud of frost. "The cold is getting stronger. We need to find a place to hide for the time being and light a fire. If we don't..." She didn't finish the sentence, not that she needed to.
Without shelter and warmth, they'd be dead within hours.
Moon nodded grimly. "Let's keep moving."
They embarked on a desperate search, moving through the unknown landscape, searching for a cave, an overhang, anything that could serve as shelter against the brutal cold.
Crunch... crunch... crunch...
"There," Selene said suddenly, pointing ahead.
Moon followed her gesture and saw a rocky outcropping with what looked like a small depression carved into its base. Not quite a cave, but it would provide some protection from the wind.
It was better than nothing.
They hurried toward it, their last reserves of energy pushing them forward.
Before they were able to enter, a small beast emerged from the depression, its eyes glowing faintly in the darkness. It was no larger than a dog, with white fur that blended almost perfectly with the snow. Sharp teeth bared as it snarled at the intruders threatening its shelter.
Moon and Selene didn't hesitate. Their hands moved simultaneously, gathering mana.
Water balls formed in rapid succession, launching toward the creature from both directions. The attacks swarmed the small beast, overwhelming it before it could even leap forward. Had the water been from a natural source, it would have frozen solid immediately in this temperature, but conjured from mana, it retained its liquid form and force.
The beast yelped once, then collapsed, its small body going still.
[You have killed a level 5 Hipsy.] [You have gained 10 lives.]
Moon glanced at Selene, who was already moving toward the corpse. Without speaking, they both understood what needed to be done. They quickly dragged the dead body into the shallow cave, pulling it away from the entrance to make room.
The depression was small, barely large enough for two people to sit comfortably, but it blocked the worst of the wind. That alone made it infinitely better than being exposed.
Selene knelt beside the hipsy's body, pulling out a small knife she'd been carrying.
"The fur on its back, we can carve it out. Make some kind of covering for ourselves. It's not much, but it'll help." Selene explained as she harvested the fur.
Moon nodded, watching the entrance while Selene began working. His hands were numb, his body shivering slightly now that the adrenaline from their escape was fading.
He had eighty-five lives now.
"We still need fire," Moon said quietly. "The fur will help, but without heat..."
"I know." Selene's knife worked, separating the pelt from the carcass. "But what can we burn? There's no wood here. No fuel."
Moon looked at the hipsy's body, then at Selene. Their eyes met, and understanding passed between them.
The meat. The bones. The body itself.
It was grotesque, but it was survival.
"After you finish with the pelt," Moon said slowly, "we can try to burn what's left. The fat should catch. It won't be pleasant, but—"
"It'll keep us alive," Selene finished. Her hands didn't stop moving. "Let's do it."
Moon nodded and positioned himself near the entrance, keeping watch while Selene worked. The wind howled outside, carrying with it the promise of death for anyone caught unprepared.
Behind them, in that cave where the others still sheltered, Moon wondered if Derek and the rest had realised the danger yet.
Or if it was already too late for them.
When the time came for the fire to burn, Selene set up the materials carefully. Moon noticed how she was still hiding the fact that she could use other elements beyond what she'd initially claimed. But he didn't care at the moment.
There were more pressing matters to be concerned with than an awakener concealing her full strength.
Sitting beside the burning body of the creature, both awakeners remained in comfortable silence. The smell was unpleasant, acrid and wrong, but the heat was precious. It kept the deadly cold at bay, kept their bodies from shutting down entirely.
The wind outside howled relentlessly.
The snow descended in thick curtains.
The night deepened around them, hostile and unforgiving.
Moon took first watch, his eyes fixed on the cave entrance, his body positioned between Selene and any potential threat.
Hours in agonising slowness, but nothing came.
When his watch ended, Selene took over without complaint, and Moon allowed himself to drift into an uneasy sleep, knowing that rest was as vital to survival as warmth.
The daylight emerged gradually, the swirling sky shifting from black to pale blue, signalling a new day in this cursed realm.
He'd positioned himself near the entrance during the night, and luckily, no beasts had approached. The small depression had remained undiscovered.
"Hey, Selene. Wake up, it's time," Moon whispered gently, moving closer to where she'd curled up against the cave wall, wrapped in the hippy's fur pelt.
They'd split the watch time during their stay, alternating every few hours. Now it was time for both of them to venture out, to look for a better place, to figure out their next move.
They'd agreed to set out early in the morning to avoid being caught outside when night fell again. Daylight offered visibility, slightly warmer temperatures, and the possibility of finding resources.
"Hm... good morning." Selene's sleepy voice resonated in the small cave. She stirred, blinking against the dim light filtering in from outside.
Selene sat up slowly, rubbing her arms through the fur. "Any activity during your watch?"
"Nothing," Moon replied. "It was quiet."
"That's almost worse, quiet means we don't know where the dangers are," Selene murmured.
Moon nodded. She was right. In a place like this, silence wasn't peaceful; it was ominous.
"We should move; the fire's nearly out anyway. We can't stay here," he said.
Selene stood, stretching her stiff muscles, and moved toward the entrance. She peered out cautiously, scanning the landscape. "Where do we even go? We have no map, no sense of direction. For all we know, we could be walking in circles."
"Away from Gareth's cave," Moon said firmly. "That's the only direction that matters right now. We put as much distance as possible between us and whatever he is."
Selene looked back at him, her expression troubled. "What about the others? Derek, John, Elara... they're still there."
Moon's jaw tightened. "If they're still alive."
Selene said nothing, but slight guilt was written plainly across her face.
Moon softened slightly. "If there's a chance, if we find help or figure out what's happening here, we can come back. But right now, the best thing we can do for them is survive. We can't help anyone if we're dead."
Selene took a shaky breath, then nodded. "You're right, let's go."
They stepped out into the frozen morning, leaving behind the small shelter that had kept them alive through the night, and began walking into the unknown.