Clara could see her breath in front of her. She snuck a glance at her companion, who seemed completely oblivious to their freezing environment. Part of her wanted to talk, at least for comfort, but it was so cold, she felt like her tightly closed lips were keeping the only warmth she had in. Besides, she couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't alone. When Clara had voiced her concerns earlier, Eduardo said there were snow tigers, white foxes, snow-colored hares, and so on, but she felt there was something else.
Something that didn't want them there.

While she couldn't see anything through the falling snow, she knew something was there. It was watching them, following them, but Clara couldn't see it. That was why it was so frightening. She moved even closer to her companion, seeking some sense of comfort. To her relief, he didn't move away.

Suddenly, a loud howl rang through thr air. The two froze. It sounded unlike anything they had heard before. It wasn't like a wolf or any animal Clara had heard of. In fact, it was almost human.

Whatever it is, it sounds like it's in pain and angry!

Her fear only grew as her companion drew his gun, his eyes scanning their surroundings. Now shaking more from fear than the cold, Clara kept turning her head as they walked. They made some more distance, when the snow under her foot gave way. Barely suppressing a scream, Clara's legs sank. The snow now stopped at her waist.

"C-c-cold!" she gasped.

"Be more careful." Eduardo growled.

He put his gun away as he lifted her up. She ended up falling into his chest. As she was about to pull away, her face red, she felt his arm tighten around her and pull her close. Confused and flustered, she snapped her head up. She gulped at the tense look he had in his eye. No, he wasn't looking at her, but at something behind her.

"Don't. Move." he sternly whispered when she tried to turn her head.

When she heard something lumbering towards them, Eduardo tightened his grip, keeping whatever was there out of her sight. With his other hand, he reached for his gun. Whatever was behind her growled.

Suddenly, something lunged at them from the side. It knocked the two of them down, and Eduardo lost his grip on her. As she rolled away from him, Clara saw what he had been trying to keep her from seeing. She would have screamed, but she was too petrified to move or make a noise.

It, or rather, they were horrifying. Their skin was pale and stretched over long, thin limbs. Their jaws were like a human's, only no lips or skin covered their teeth, and those teeth were long, thin, and sharp. The scleras of their eyes were blood red, while their irises were as black as their pupils. Their noses were like a skeleton's, and their tongues were long and nearly black.

The thing that had knocked them down was now looming over Eduardo, who was lying flat on his back. As he reached for his gun, which had been dropped, it leaned down and licked him. He snarled back, but his weapon was just a few inches out of reach. Seeing this, Clara leaped for it. As soon as she'd pushed it to him, the pirate took it and shot the thing. It shrieked and went running off. He then turned his weapon to the other, which had just been sitting and watching. It suddenly made a noise like a laugh, an excited look in its eyes, then it ran off. Not long after, they could hear the same howl from before, and others that responded.

They shakily stood up.

"W-w-wha..." Clara stuttered.

"We need to get to the cave. The shore's too far away now. Those... things would get us first." Eduardo told her, looking on edge.

Unable to say anything, she just gave him a fearful nod. He reached out and took her arm. They didn't quite run, but they were moving fast. The farhter inland they went, the more aware Clara became of their surroundings. There were large shapes moving through the snow, too far to see clearly, but close enough to make out their bodies. Eduardo noticed, too, as he tightened his grip and urged her on.

Whump

"EEEEK!" Clara shrieked as something crashed into her from behind.

Eduardo kept his grip and pulled her over as he quickly shot at the creature. It howled and ran off, but unlike before, another creature jumped at her companion and once again, he lost his grip on her. She saw his head hit the ground, and he was in a daze. Clara grabbed a nearby rock and slammed it across its head. It snarled as it shifted its attention towards her. Whimpering, Clara backed away. She saw the pirate trying to climb to his feet, but the creature was faster.

It wrapped its long, bony hand around her neck and lifted her up.

"Guh! H-he...lp..." Clara choked out.

"Shit!" Eduardo hissed, trying to aim but his head wasn't clear.

"E...dua- Ack!"

The creature tightened its grip, standing up to its full height, which seemed to be around her companion's height. Tears filled Clara's eyes and slid down her cheeks. Her vision was growing darker and darker as her lungs were burning for air. Just as it seemed she'd pass out, a bullet hit it in the shoulder. It snarled and turned its head, glowering at the one-eyed pirate, who seemed to be trying to smother the creature with a glare. It let out a dry hiss. It pulled back the arm holding the now limp girl and hurled her limp body away.

"Clara!" he yelled.

In her half-conscious state, she felt the ground giving way underneath her. It shattered, dropping her body into a freezing cold river. Before she went underwater, she saw another creature leap at Eduardo from behind. Even when he cried out in pain, it was too late for Clara to do anything. She was pulled along, barely able to breathe in the small space between the ice and the water.