The transport's engines hummed through the iron hull like a heartbeat, steady but uneasy. Outside, the night stretched endless and cold — a black expanse punctuated by ghostly clouds that swallowed the moonlight. Within, the Ash Unit sat in silence, the rhythmic vibration of flight filling what words could not.
Kael sat near the rear hatch, eyes fixed on the frost creeping across the window beside him. His reflection looked back — calm, unreadable, yet beneath that mask, his pulse thrummed with tension. They were heading back to the town where it all began.
Back to Ravenwood.
Taro was the only one speaking, whispering something about how the food back at base was better than field rations. No one laughed. Not even him after a while. Rin sat across from Kael, arms crossed, blade resting beside him. His eyes were half-shut, but Kael could tell he wasn't asleep. Lira had her datapad out, scanning the last coordinates from Alpha Squad before they went silent.
"Their last transmission stopped near the northern ridge," Lira murmured.
"That's just past the ravine where we found the tunnels."
"Then that's where we start," Kael replied.
"Assuming there's still something left to find," Rin muttered.
The cabin's light flickered. For a moment, the shadows deepened — too much like the ones in the tunnels beneath the town. Kael's fingers brushed the hilt of his sword.
"Relax," Taro said weakly. "Just turbulence."
Kael didn't answer.
---
The pilot's voice came through the comm:
"Approaching Ravenwood perimeter. You'll disembark on the ridge — same as last time. No visible activity on thermal or motion sweep, but signal interference is strong."
That wasn't new. Ravenwood had always been cloaked in interference — a side effect of the curse that lingered like rot in the air. But this time, the static was heavier. Denser. It sounded like whispers behind the noise.
The transport tilted. Wind battered against the hull. Below, the forest spread like a black sea of spindly trees dusted with frost. Kael could almost trace the paths they'd walked weeks ago, where blood had painted the snow.
"Two minutes till drop," the pilot announced.
Everyone moved in unison — pulling on gloves, checking their weapons, securing comm lines. The familiarity of it all was almost comforting.
Almost.
Kael caught Lira's glance as she holstered her weapon. Her usual composure had cracks tonight — barely visible, but there.
"We'll find out what happened to Alpha Squad," she said softly.
"We'll bring them home," Kael replied.
She hesitated. "One way or another."
---
The doors opened with a hiss. Cold air rushed in, slicing through the warm cabin like glass. The scent of pine and decay filled their lungs. The forest below them looked still — too still.
They rappelled down into the clearing, boots sinking into snow. The transport lifted off, its lights shrinking into the fog until they vanished entirely. The sound faded with it, leaving behind only silence.
Kael scanned the treeline. The wind whispered through the branches, carrying faint echoes — creaking wood, a distant snap. But no birds. No movement. Nothing alive.
"Feels emptier than last time," Rin said under his breath.
"Or we're being watched," Lira added.
Kael motioned forward. "Let's move. Formation delta. No unnecessary chatter."
They moved through the woods, snow crunching beneath their boots. Each breath misted in the frigid air. The moon hung low — a pale coin behind drifting clouds.
Taro occasionally glanced back, his expression uneasy.
"Hey… Kael," he whispered. "The ground looks weird."
Kael followed his gaze — faint depressions in the snow. Tracks. Fresh ones.
"Wendigo?" Lira asked.
"Maybe," Kael said. "But look at the stride length. Whatever made these was heavy — and dragging something."
The trail led north — toward the ridge.
---
By the time they reached the ridge, dawn was threatening the horizon, staining the frost a dull gray. The remains of an outpost stood before them — a half-collapsed structure of metal and wood. Scorch marks lined the walls. Frozen blood clung to the ground in jagged streaks.
Kael crouched, brushing a gloved hand over the surface. The blood hadn't frozen evenly — it was too recent.
"Someone fought here," he murmured.
Lira knelt beside him, scanning the residue.
"Multiple thermal signatures… two human, four nonhuman. The fight ended less than forty-eight hours ago."
Taro swallowed hard. "Alpha Squad?"
"Or what's left of them," Rin said quietly.
A metallic creak echoed nearby — a door swinging in the wind. Kael raised his hand, signaling for silence. The forest seemed to hold its breath. Then, a faint sound — wet, rhythmic, just beyond the ridge.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
They moved as one, weapons ready, stepping through the ruined gate.
---
Inside, the air was thick with rot. Torn fabric hung from splintered beams. A trail of dark stains led to a collapsed storage room.
Kael approached slowly, his heartbeat steady but heavy.
A flash of movement — a glint of metal — and he was already drawing his blade.
But it wasn't an attack.
The source was human.
A hunter — or what was left of one. The body hung from a broken support beam, throat torn out, uniform shredded. His insignia marked him as part of Alpha Squad.
Taro turned pale, stepping back.
"Oh god…"
Lira's eyes hardened. "He didn't die quickly."
Rin kicked a broken mask aside. It rolled across the floor, stopping near another body — half-buried under debris.
"They were ambushed," he said. "They never stood a chance."
Kael's gaze lingered on the wall behind the corpses — claw marks, deep and deliberate. Not random violence. A message.
Carved into the metal in jagged strokes were words that chilled him more than the cold ever could:
"WE HUNGER STILL."