What was supposed to be a half-an-hour walk to Darkwood turned into an hour and a half struggle.
My bones have never felt more fatigued and tensed in my life. Claw stopped and whimpered softly in the direction of the bag.
Food.
Horrified that I didn't yet feed him, I twisted the bag in front of me and opened it carefully, taking out the napkin with whatever food was in it. Turning to Claw, I gave him the food. He wolfed it down - no pun intended.
Trying to see through the blizzard was freakin' 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴, but I noted some trees in the distance.
𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴.
A moment of hesitation passed through me. This has got to be one of the worst things anyone would do.
Maybe I could just turn around now?
My uncertainty bubbled into bitterness when the thoughts of what happened earlier settled in my mind. I still didn't want to see his face.
I pushed forward, practically ploughing through the snow. My feet stopped just outside of Darkwood like there was an imaginary line between safety and danger.
"You ready?"
Claw's tail wasn't wagging anymore. He is from here, so he must know what is in there too. I reached my hand out to stroke him.
Poor Claw.
He must be terrified.
I took one step that turned into another and another. Eventually, it all felt somewhat normal again, like when I used to hunt for Deer. I knew some of these parts, so I didn't exactly feel all creeped out. I'm lying.
I was 𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥.
More than ever, because no one ever knew what this place was like in winter. Let alone a blizzard. Did I expect trees to catch fire in the absolute freezing temperature?
Maybe.
Was I waiting for something to jump out and kill me? Possibly.
It was strangely quiet. Even though there was wind, it felt like everything was still. Claw crouched down as a low growl escaped from his muzzle. I stopped and looked around me.
𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.
There was nothing but snow and trees that surrounded us. I hated this. I peered deep into the woods and noticed something ridiculously impossible. All of the trees where I was standing were moving due to the wind, but ahead of me, they 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵.
They were still.
Like, not moving at all.
Crap.
My ears were ringing too loud for me to think clearly, but I did know I wanted to get out of the wind. And the cold.
"You think this is a good idea?" My teeth chattered.
Claw just looked back at me.
My body jerked forward. The snow became deeper as we got closer. I groaned into the wind as I struggled to take each step. Claw was also struggling beside me.
I couldn't take it anymore. Neither could my body. Why was it so hard to take breaths now? I collapsed into the snow and felt myself...hyperventilating?
No, no, no, no, no, 𝘯𝘰!
I need to keep moving. I felt movement as Claw shuffled somewhere behind me. It felt 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘰 nice to finally close my eyes.