After almost two hours of pushing through the freezing forest, all four of them were tired, half-numb, and more than done with the cold.
Their breaths came out in thick white clouds, their boots sinking deep into the snow with every step.
Clunch... clunch...!
Ahead of the three of them, Selina slowly walked through the thick snow, muttering in annoyance.
"If we don't find a cave soon, I'm gonna—"
FWUMP!
She suddenly vanished.
"SELINA?!" Lyra shrieked.
Gray rushed forward, only to see Selina's legs sticking out of a huge mound of snow as she kicked wildly.
"WHAT THE—GET ME OUT OF HERE!" she yelled, her voice echoing strangely.
Gray grabbed her ankles and pulled her backward. Selina slid out, coughing snow, but behind her… the hole she made opened into a dark space.
"Wait… that's—" Selene blinked.
"A cave," Gray finished.
They brushed away more snow, and a hidden entrance slowly took shape, a small cave mouth completely buried under a thick layer of packed snow.
