Dawn broke without warmth.
The forest stirred, but not like before — no birdsong, no wind through branches, only the slow creak of ice as if the woods were stretching after a long, cold sleep.
Kael rose first. Frost clung to his hair and armor; even his breath came out in dull bursts. The fire had died during the night, leaving behind a circle of pale ash.
He hadn't slept much — every hour had been a battle between exhaustion and the sense that something was standing just beyond the light.
"Time to move," he said quietly.
Lira stirred beside the equipment case, blinking at the dim light. Taro muttered something about coffee and hell in the same breath. Rin was already awake, blade resting across his knees, eyes red from a sleepless night.
"Nothing moved past the perimeter," Rin reported.
"You sure?" Kael asked.
"I said nothing moved," Rin replied, his voice flat. "Didn't say nothing watched."
Kael didn't argue. He'd felt it too — the weight in the air, the faint sound that never quite resolved into a voice.
---
They broke camp in silence. The snow crunched under their boots as they followed the faint trail leading up the ridge.
Mist clung to the trees in low, heavy clouds. Lira's scanner emitted a quiet hum, flickering between weak life signatures and static distortion.
"Signal interference again," she said. "Whatever's ahead is scrambling the readings."
"Wendigo territory," Taro muttered. "Or worse."
The ridge rose higher, jagged and steep. Trees gave way to black rock — fissures and claw marks etched deep into stone. At the top, the world seemed to pause.
Below lay a hollow in the earth.
A cave-mouth split the ridge open, dark and wide enough to swallow an entire transport truck. The air pouring from it was wrong — thick, humid, and heavy with the scent of rot and iron. Frost rimmed the rocks where the mist touched, but deeper in, the ice melted, dripping like sweat.
Lira stepped forward, scanning the entrance.
"Residual heat. The cave's active."
"Alive, you mean," Taro whispered.
Kael crouched near the mouth, studying the ground.
Boot prints — deep, overlapping. Some human. Some not. The snow was disturbed by drag marks leading inward.
"Alpha Squad made it this far," he said. "Then they were taken inside."
"And we're just going to walk in after them?" Taro asked. "Because that seems like a great idea."
"We're here to confirm what happened," Kael replied evenly. "No one said we're storming in blind."
Rin gave him a sharp look. "That's exactly what we're doing."
"Not yet," Kael said. "We set sensors along the perimeter, mark the heat signatures, and pull back to report. Then Command decides what comes next."
"Assuming Command's still listening," Rin muttered.
---
As Lira placed the scanners along the rocks, the signal static grew worse. Her device whined, lights flickering from blue to red.
"Something's jamming us again. Interference's pulsing — almost rhythmic."
Kael turned toward her. "Rhythmic how?"
She hesitated. "Like… a heartbeat."
Before anyone could answer, a sound drifted from deep within the cave.
A soft, wet noise — like meat being torn from bone. Then a low, rasping breath.
Taro froze.
"Tell me that was the wind."
No one answered.
Rin drew his blade, the faint light tracing the runes along its edge. The mist seemed to recoil from the steel.
"We're being watched," he said quietly.
"Mark the sensors and pull back," Kael ordered. "We're not equipped for an engagement."
Lira moved faster now, planting the last beacon near the mouth. As she turned to leave, her scanner flared red — motion detected.
"Kael—something's moving—fast!"
From the darkness, something shot forward — not a figure, but a blur. The air rippled, the mist exploded outward. Rin reacted first, his blade slicing up in an arc of steel and frost. The blur recoiled with a screech — too high-pitched, too human.
For an instant, Kael saw its face in the flickering light.
A man — or what was left of one. Alpha Squad insignia still pinned to his chest, flesh stretched too thin across jagged bone. His eyes were black pits, his jaw unhinged too far to scream.
Then he was gone — retreating back into the dark.
"That was—"
"One of them," Kael said hoarsely. "Alpha Squad's turned."
The words hung in the frozen air.
---
Before they could retreat, the earth beneath them trembled. A low rumble rolled through the cave — like something deep within was breathing.
From inside came faint whispers — dozens, maybe hundreds, overlapping, forming a chorus of voices that didn't belong together.
"They're calling," Lira said, voice barely audible.
"Calling what?" Taro asked.
"Not what," Rin said grimly. "Who."
Kael stepped back slowly, eyes on the cave.
In the mist, deep within the shadows, a shape moved — enormous, sinewy, gliding across the stone like a serpent under flesh.
Every instinct in him screamed to run.
"We've seen enough," Kael said sharply. "Fall back! Now!"
---
They fled down the ridge, snow and ash kicking up under their boots. The mist followed, thinner but still clinging — like it didn't want to let go.
Behind them, the whispers faded back into silence.
When they finally reached the treeline, Kael turned for one last look.
The cave had gone still again — silent, empty, pretending to sleep.
But in the faint dawn light, he saw new words carved into the rock above the entrance.
"FEED US MORE."
Fresh this time. Wet. Dripping.