Chapter 2

The snow was coming in heavy that morning and the ground was absolutely covered in it, eliminating all signs of paths and roads. The small village at the edge of the woods appeared to be abandoned at first glance but closer inspection would reveal smoke rising from the chimneys of the squat stone houses. It’s a small village and has very few houses which appear to be almost dug into the ground with low roofs and each house has a small stone fence surrounding them.

The locals of this village are made up of a small community of hunters and gatherers with the occasional wood cutting and fishing for extra sustenance. They are close knit and not very trusting of outsiders with the only ones who were tolerated allowed being the various peddlers and wandering merchants that would come by during the summers or other hunters from a village further lower down the mountain.

In one of the houses Lilia, a sixteen-year-old girl, was busy chopping the salted meat that had been preserved since before winter and adding it to a pot to make the soup for the family’s supper. The family consisted of her father, mother and a younger brother, she had an older brother who had already gotten his own family and lived in another house in the village. The rest of her family is gathered around the fire trying to warm themselves up and wrapped in furs made from hunted game. Her brother was on her father’s lap listening to his old hunting stories while appearing drowsy. Her mother was busy mending a pair of hunting pants and quietly warming herself by the flame.

This scene could be repeated in the rest of the houses throughout the village and a pattern was already established for most of the inhabitants of the village. This was heavy winter and the people rarely left their houses except for the most necessary tasks and even then they spent as little time as possible. For this reason, it is quite strange that someone would be walking along the main path through the village in a slow walk while staring intently at the houses of the villages almost as if being able to see through the walls. He stops outside Lilia’s family home and looks at it for a while and appears to be about to step towards the house but stops short and keeps walking. Eventually the strange figure is almost out of the village and there are no more houses left when he spots a lone house that is closer to the woods and appears to be getting swallowed by the forest.

This house is older than the rest of the others and is of a slightly different style which shows that this house was probably built during a different time and by a different generation. The house seems abandoned and the figure moves towards the house’s door. The figure stands in front of the door and pushes the door open which lets out a screech before getting stuck on the floor half-way through. Inside, the house is almost completely empty and the floor no longer has the soft straw covering and whatever is left of it appears to be dried and rotten away. In one corner of the house is a small bed that looks unused and is stripped of its beddings leaving only the grass mattress on top. Along the wall of the house are mounted deer and moose heads, probably trophies from previous hunts, and there at the base of one of these mounted heads is a fireplace with a small fire dying in it and a chair with a man sitting in it.

The strange figure approaches the sitting man in a slow shuffling manner and when he is standing right behind the man reaches towards his shoulder with a gnarly hand. The old man turns around to face the strange figure and looks up at its face.

“So, you finally came back to finish us off huh?” the old man asks in a gruff but surprisingly strong voice despite his shaky stature. The strange figure does not answer the question and instead continues staring at the old man in an unreadable manner.

“Not gonna answer me huh? Well I’ve got some answers for you. Everyone’s dead, I’m the only one who’s still kickin’ and even I ain’t got much left in the tank anymore, reckon I don’t see the end of winter. Although with you showing up it means that I get to kick the bucket a lot sooner.” The old man says that while cracking a toothy smile and staring into the dying flame.

The dark figure pulls the cloak away from its face and head a distorted looking face that appears young but at the same time also seems old and slightly devoid of life, this s the face of a complete stranger one who is easily forgettable. The stranger reaches for a small stool lying against the wall and places it next to the old man before sitting on it.

“Did ya forget how to speak after all that time in the ground?” The old man asks after the stranger finishes settling in. The stranger doesn’t answer this question and instead leans towards the fireplace almost as if it was seeking warmth.

“Frog stuck in your throat ya weirdo,” the old man continues while looking forward towards the fire himself, “that fire there ain’t gonna help neither of us much. Once the cold gets in your bones, it never leaves and I’m guessing that you’ve been in the cold for a very long time.”

The stranger extends his gnarly hands towards the fire and as if in response to his presence the flames appear to almost surge higher and the temperature in the cabin rises by multiple degrees. The stranger then turns to face the old man and appears to be about to speak to the old man but then stops short and turns back to face the now roaring flames.

“Neat trick you got there but should you really be wasting your energy for shit like that,” the old man scoffs after seeing this display.

“ ... what ... me.”

“Did you say something?” the old man asks while still staring ahead.

“What do you think about me?” A raspy voice leaks out from the stranger visibly shocking the old man and making him lean forward and try to look at the face of the stranger and then after a short while he leans back when he realizes that the stranger is not going to say anything more.

“I don’t know how to answer that, “the old man says then continues,” what do you want me to say?”

“Do you despise me?” the raspy voice asks yet again before going back silent.