Frostbite

Chapter One

Chapter One

One beast and only one howls in the woods by night.

A single scream cut through the winter's night.

My hands paused on the rope, the water bucket scraping against the side of the well as it ground to a halt. The woods were so silent I was almost sure I had imagine the cry, my ears now straining to remember the sound. The night was so quiet that I excused the cry to child's play, sure the little girl had shrieked when her brother yanked her hair.

The pulley squeaked as I yanked the bucket the rest of the way up, water splashing over the side of the well and melting the snow. There was an uneasiness in the pit of my stomach now and it was working its way into my lungs, quickening my breath as I followed the footpath back to the cottage.

I dropped the bucket when I heard the rumble of laughter. I darted off of the path, crouching behind the trees as I worked my way towards the cottage slowly, my ears picking up the sound of crying. That uneasiness hardened to dread.

"Please—" I heard the woman beg, "please don't do this."

"Where is she?"

The woman's voice shook. "Please—please—" she cried sharply as her daughter gave a sharp cry. "I beg you," the woman shouted, falling to her knees in the snow. I could see them now, the woman and her two children, the family that had provided me with shelter for the last six months.

The Dogs were there, holding lanterns and torches, their garish faces distorted with malice. One of the Dogs had the little girl in his grasp, another held the young boy face down in the snow, a knee on the middle of his back.

The woman held her brown hands up in surrender. She was asking mercy from people who were incapable of feeling empathy. "I don't know who you're talking about," she gasped, eyes fixated on her little girl, "it's only us here."

The head of the platoon, a grizzly looking man, twisted his mouth into a snarl. "In the house," he ordered. The woman started screaming immediately, thrashing around in the hold of her captor as her children were dragged back into the cottage.

"Please," she heaved, tears and mucus running down her face and neck. She let out a sharp cry as her captor kicked her swiftly in the ribs.

"Enuf," he grunted, "givin' me a fuckin' headache."

The woman started to sob.

"Spread out," Grizzly ordered his other man, reaching out as one of the Dogs placed a torch in his hand. "She's close." I froze as Grizzly lifted the flames to his face, slowly turning the torch as if to inspect it.

When he lifted his eyes it was if he was looking right through me.

"Are you just going to watch as they burn?"

"Run Aleena!" the woman screamed as she struggled at the door, her fingers prying at the frame as her captor tried to shove her through it. "Run!" I turned away sharply as the Dog kicked her in the face, breaking her jaw and silencing her before throwing her into the cottage, her children screaming.

"Go!" Grizzly shouted, throwing the torch onto the hatched roof of the cottage.

I jolted, stomach roiling with guilt and grief as I forced my feet into a run. The forest was thick and dark, made even more difficult to navigate with the fresh fallen snow and the approaching storm.

I had no choice but to run.

No choice but to keep running as I heard the crackle of fire, smelt smoke, heard the little girl scream, heard them moan, as they fell silent.