Suddenly Josh's arms were around her, clawed hands curling around her wrists as he pressed flush against her. They were so close, frosted breath mingling in the air and for a moment Sam forgot about the pending threat perhaps only metres away.

She imagined what he would feel like without her thick coat between them - would she have felt lean muscle pressed against her stomach, or the sharp press of ribs? Would he have been able to feel her pulse, hot and frantic against his own skin? Sam's cheeks flushed, and she buried her head in the crook of his neck.

"Where is it?" Josh's voice was gravelly in her ear, his arms tightening around her.

"I don't know," Sam whispered back. The urge to crane her neck around and look was overwhelming but her body refused to move. It was like she was frozen, limbs seizing despite the adrenaline bubbling in her veins.

Somewhere close by, the Wendigo let out a long, piercing screech.

It's okay, she told herself silently, you know the score. Just. Don't. Move. She had done this before; in this exact spot three months ago. One moment Hannah's snarling face had been so close to hers she had felt breath on her cheeks, the smell of rotting flesh filling up her nose, the urge to vomit rising-

As if sensing her fear - and hell, maybe Wendigo's could - Josh let out a quiet purr, nuzzling into her hair. "Won't let it hurt you," he told her - and he sounded so sure, so convinced of his own abilities that Sam had to believe him.

With his arms around her, head resting atop hers, Sam knew she was safe.

A flash of grey passed through Sam's peripheral, slinking along the blackened wall with ease. It scuttled right above them like some huge, deformed spider before settling above the remains of the fireplace.

Sam felt it looming above them; the physical embodiment of fear pressing down on her, suffocating. She sucked in a breath as it moved, daring to flicker her eyes up. She instantly regretted it.

Staring right back at her were those awful milky eyes rimmed with dark, deep set circles.

A shuddering breath left her and Josh whined quietly in response. A warning not to move.

The Wendigo dropped to the ground with an echoing thud, gangly limbs twisting in a way no human limb should be able to. Well, it was far from human now; those laws didn't apply. For a moment it just stood there, grey-blue eyes boring into Sam's soul - then it crossed the distance between them in one loping step, face inches away.

She wanted to bury her face in Josh's neck, squeeze her eyes shut and wish it all away - but despite her brain screaming at her to do so, her body knew what was best. To stay frozen still. Not even her chest moved, her breath held perfectly.

It saw them - it knew they were there. It was impossible for it to be so close and not have any idea it was so close to another living being. Any second now it was going to realise, going to unhinge that awful jaw and rip out her throat.

Won't let it hurt you. Josh's voice echoed in her mind; so sure of himself, of their safety.

The Wendigo tilted its head, let out a long, slow growl - and then it was scuttling away, disappearing through the gaping hole in the wall and back out into the snow.

Sam drank in a breath, head spinning. Slowly her arms relaxed and she stepped away from Josh - only for her legs to collapse beneath her. She hit the bed of snow and ash, a grey cloud exploding up around her. Closing her eyes she let out a shaky laugh. "We're alive!" she exclaimed - then cracked an eye open just to make sure the damn thing wasn't still around to hear her. No, they were definitely alone.

Josh joined her on the ground, collapsing into an ungainly heap at her side. "Safer to stay here tonight?"

Sam cringed. "No way; I'll freeze. if it doesn't know where we are, we should be okay to head back. Just keep an eye out." It wasn't as if Wendigo knew how to track footprints. Right?

Josh turned to her, doing his best attempt to raise an eyebrow - instead he sort of just looked like he was grimacing. "Stay here. Too dangerous outside." He put a hand on hers - for the first time Sam noticed he no longer seemed hesitant to touch her - and shook his head.

Sam turned her hand palm up so she could gently wrap her fingers around his. She didn't need to be careful of the claws any more. "Please? The later it gets the colder it gets - I don't have your new Wendigo cold resistance. Do you know how to deal with someone who has frostbite?" Sam quirked a brow, smiling gently to let him know she wasn't really annoyed.

He just huffed, lips puckering into a pout. "No."

"Then let's get back." Her legs felt impossibly heavy as she pulled herself to her feet, threatening to collapse back underneath her. Bits of ash floated up and she brushed them away with a wince. If she never had to see this lodge again, she would be happy.

Josh kept close to her side as they braved the outside again - it seemed nothing was going to make him leave her side. She wasn't complaining though.

The wind ripped at her hair, thick tendrils of blonde twirling up into the sky. Most of her bun was just a tangled rat's nest doing its best to blind her. She swiped it away with a cold-stiff hand, only for it to whip right back into her eyes. She turned to Josh with a pout - only to hear him stifle a laugh. At least her misfortune was entertaining. From what little she was able to see of him in the inky darkness, he definitely looked at ease.

"I can't see shit," Sam grouched as her foot came down on a hard lump that could have only been a rock. "I hope I don't end up flat on my face." She kept walking, hands burrowed deep in her jacket pockets. After a few moments she stopped and turned - why did she feel like Josh wasn't beside her any more? Squinting in the darkness she saw that he wasn't.

He stopped a few feet back, head tilted to the side in the telltale sign he was thinking. Then he grinned, spiked teeth glinting in the night. In one swoop he closed the distance between them, spindly arms wrapping around Sam, and hoisted her onto his shoulders.

Sam shrieked as her feet left the ground, automatically trying to wiggle out of Josh's grasp. Before she knew it she was clinging to his back for dear life. He felt far too skinny to be able to support her weight like this.

"Jeez Sammy, you're heavy," he joked, adjusting his position - which happened to include wrapping his arms around her thighs to support her.

Her face flushed, and for once she was grateful for the dark night. "It's muscle and you know it," she shot back with a smile in her voice, "besides, you love it."

"I like my women buff."

His response was so deadpan, so serious, that Sam felt the laughter bubble up before she could stop it. She couldn't figure out if he was trying and failing to flirt, or if he just hadn't got the hang of speaking clearly yet. Either way a laugh burst from her lips as she dropped her head into the crook of Josh's neck, the giggles causing Josh to almost lose his grip.

Wincing, Sam socked him in the shoulder. "Watch the thigh! It still hurts like hell."

With Sam clinging tightly to his back they made the slow progress across the expanse of heavy snow. It was easy to imagine they were just heading back to the lodge after a day of throwing snowballs and messing around. They would come back to Jess or Matt cooking dinner, Chris and Ash curled up on the sofa watching a shitty movie. Just like countless years before.

Sam huffed quietly, glaring at the darkness ahead. If only time travel existed.

A sound caught her ears, so quiet at first she couldn't make out what it was. She opened her mouth to point it out - but Josh beat her to it. "Hear that?" he questioned, voice low.

"Yeah. What is it?"

Then she heard it - louder, clearer. A low, almost cautionary whine from somewhere to their left. Then again behind them, closer than before. Sam pictured the Wendigo, hidden by the darkness, stalking them. Slowly but steadily closing ground until it was only feet away. It was going to wait until they were almost back at the cabin, and then...

It let out a shriek, so close that Sam felt it ringing in her ears, the tinny sound lasting long after their surroundings fell silent. She tensed, burying her face in Josh's shoulder. "Shit. I thought it was gone!"

"We can make it back. Hide."

"Hiding won't work," Sam snapped. It wasn't helping but God she was terrified and the cabin was no safe haven and she really, really didn't want to die now when she had come so far. Her hands shook so furiously she was losing her grip around Josh, heart thundering so furiously his next words were drowned out to nothing more than senseless muttering.

Before she had a chance to protest Josh dropped her haphazardly onto her feet. They wobbled but she held her ground, wide eyes squinting at him in the darkness. "What are you doing?"

"I can fight better," he replied with a casual shrug - but even in the darkness Sam saw how wide his eyes were, how unsteady he looked as he cast a furtive glance behind. His eyes shone silver in the dark.

Again that inhuman scream rang out, echoing into the nothingness. The way it seemed to bounce around the mountain top made it seem like there were dozens of Wendigo, all creeping up on them from every direction.

Despite the snow surrounding them, Sam felt too hot, too stifled. "I saw we run for it. Get inside, grab my gun, hole ourselves up." Yeah, what an excellent plan. She didn't give herself time to dwell on it as she grabbed Josh by the hand and took off. Her feet only sank into the snow, soaking into her jeans - but she pushed on, legs burning with the effort.

All of a sudden, chaos exploded around them. Before she knew it Sam was streaking across the mountain, Josh loping along beside her. Her legs protested, her lungs were gasping for air but she didn't - couldn't - stop. Something screamed behind her and she barrelled forward even faster, groping in the darkness for something to steady her.

Her foot hit something buried under the snow and she tumbled, hand leaving Josh's as she smashed the ground. Pain bloomed along her thigh - but the ice soaking through to her skin was so cold it started to numb. Then gangly arms scooped her up and they were running again, not daring to look back.

Her brain was a buzz of activity, vision blurred - she didn't even see the cabin until her hands met solid wood, pushing the door open without even realising they were back. With a gasp she slammed it closed, lungs finally filling with cold night air.

"Josh, shove something up against the broken window. I'm getting the pistol." The words barely left her lips before she was on the move again, but dimly she thought like that will stop it. There are plenty of other windows to smash.

It wasn't until she toughed the cool smoothness of the gun in her hands that Sam allowed herself a moment to breath. It was almost impossible to hear over the thud thud of her heart - but the dim scrape of claws against wood still rang in her ears.

It was just outside.

Josh slipped into the room perfectly soundlessly, bare feet not making a sound against the wooden floor. His eyes shone faintly - like a cat, Sam thought absently.

Absurdly a laugh threatened to spill from her lips, more hysteric than amused - but she choked it down with a stifled cough behind her hand.

The dull scratching moved on, clawed fingers raking against the outside walls but moving away. In seconds, there was only silence.

Sam held her breath, straining her ears for any sort of sound - but there was only the pattering of snow against the roof and the rhythm of her own heartbeat. "Maybe it doesn't know we're here?" Sam whispered.

The words barely left her lips - then there was an explosion of sound as glass shattered, the shriek of the Wendigo so shrill it hurt.

Sam dropped to the ground as glass shards scattered around her, gasping as something sliced across her cheek. There was a sharp shock of pain as blood bloomed - but not giving herself time to worry Sam pushed herself back to her feet.

Josh was already in front of her, towering above her like some weird, denim-clad knight in shining armour. Then there stood the Wendigo, all stretched out limbs and sunken eye sockets. Seeing them like that, for one frightening moment it became clear what Josh could have become.

It was then that Sam realised her hands were empty. The gun! With no lights there was only grey, the dim outline of furniture reduced to deformed lumps. She stretched out a hand but felt only cool floor. Dammit. Where was it? She threw out a hand again, fumbling in the darkness for something she wasn't even sure was there-

Then the Wendigo's silvery white eyes turned to her. In a blurr of motion it launched itself across the bedroom, arms knocking Sam backward with such force she was left breathless. It loomed above her, staring unblinkingly, as if trying to decide what to do with her.

She was shaking, breath leaving her in short, sharp gasps as she stared into the blank eyes of a monster. She had escaped this thing too many times before - looking at it, somehow she knew it wasn't going to let that happen again.

Good thing she didn't intend on dying on this stupid mountain.

With a yell Sam kicked out, boots knocking the Wendigo away with more force than she thought herself capable of. Her injured thigh protested, blood dampening her already filthy jeans - but Sam was on her feet in a second, barely giving herself time to think.

The Wendigo tumbled away with a shriek, hitting the wall with a satisfying thump.

Josh was by her side in a second and she swore he was grinning at her - although the way his hands shook suggested he didn't feel any better than she did.

"Distract it; I need the gun."

She didn't say another word but Josh seemed to know exactly what to do. She wondered if Jess was right, all those times she said she and Josh had a psychic connection.

Sam turned as the Wendigo clambered back to its feet - but she didn't miss the way it twisted, limbs bent at impossible angles. In the almost perfect darkness, it looked like something out of the worst horror movies.

Spinning, Sam searched for the pistol - but it was impossible to see, her eyes straining but coming up with nothing. She dropped to the floor, heart pounding in her ears, and threw a hand out. She had to find it!

Behind her, the Wendigo circled Josh. Sam forced herself not to look, but she felt the way it edged closer, talons curling toward Josh.

Her hand bumped against something small and cool. Immediately she grasped for it, a sigh of relief escaping her lips as her hand curled around the familiar shape of her pistol. Jumping to her feet she spun around, a triumphant grin spreading across her face. She aimed, flicked off the safety and-

The Wendigo had other ideas. One huge, spindly hand reached out, knocking Josh away as if he was a toy it had lost interest in.

Josh hit the wall with a pained grunt, the force somehow sending a long crack spiralling along the wall.

"Shit, Josh!" Sam cried out, launching into action - but the Wendigo was faster, a blur as it reached for her. Then it grabbed her by the waist and shoved her against the wall.

Her head hit plaster and for a moment the world spun around her. Her grip held steady on the gun but it was too close now, her arms trapped at her side. She wriggled in its grasp, fought against the skinny arms pressing into her more and more. Why was it so difficult to breathe?