The morning air bit into his skin as Darwin trudged through the snow. His back burned with every movement; blood seeped slowly through the weak bandage made of torn cloth.
He needed food.
He needed strength.
He needed anything that kept him alive another hour.
Darwin scanned the silent forest.
His breath fogged the air.
His left hand held the cheap knife—dull, cracked, barely usable.
But it was all he had.
He remembered the mansion kitchens—warm food, overflowing tables—but none of that had been meant for him. Servants whispered about how feeding him was pointless. His mother once walked past him during dinner as though he didn't exist.
The memory stung.
Darwin's jaw tightened.
"They threw me away…" he muttered.
"They didn't even look back."
His fingers curled into a fist.
Every step he took through the snow felt heavier—
as if the valley itself was crushing him.
Minutes stretched.
Nothing moved.
He searched behind bushes, around fallen logs, under frozen roots—
nothing but cold silence.
Just as despair crept into his chest—
A rabbit hopped between two bushes.
Darwin froze.
It hadn't noticed him.
He exhaled quietly, lowering his body, moving slowly through the snow.
His heart hammered.
*If I miss… I'll starve.*
He lunged.
The rabbit tried to run—but Darwin was desperate. He crashed onto it, gripping it tightly as it thrashed.
"S–Stop—!"
His knife trembled in his hand.
Then—
He forced it down.
arm blood stained the snow.
Darwin dropped to his knees, shaking. Tears pricked at his eyes—not out of pity, but exhaustion, fear, and humiliation.
"This is what my life has become…" he whispered.
"Thrown away like garbage…"
He wiped his face and stood.
But then—
A low growl pierced the air.
Darwin froze.
Those eyes—
Crimson.
Predatory.
Burning with hunger.
The Ice Hound.
It had followed his blood.
His breathing quickened.
"No… no, not again…"
The beast stepped from behind the trees, fangs glistening with frost.
Darwin stumbled backward.
The cliff on his left.
Thick forest on his right.
Nowhere to run.
His knife trembled in his grip.
His lungs constricted.
His legs shook.
The anger inside him twisted into terror.
The beast lowered its body—
Darwin whispered:
"…Why does everything chase me…? Why wasn't I born normal…? Why did *they* abandon me…?"
His voice cracked.
The Ice Hound lunged