"Lewis? Are you out here?!"
"Where are you? Talk to us!" The group's shouting just echoed in the calm snowy landscape. The snowstorm had stopped, with just normal snow falling around them. Simon sighed, shaking his head.
"Where could he have gotten to?" He murmured, beginning to lose hope. Hannah gently put a hand on his shoulder, causing Simon to smile slightly, as the search continued.
"Hey, I think I see something!" Turps called. He pointed ahead where, a little in the distance, it looked like there was a person. "Maybe it's him?" He suggested. Simon rushed ahead, with Hannah by his side. Sjin and Turps followed close after, almost crashing into them when they suddenly stopped. "W-What the...?"
In front of the four was who they were looking for – Lewis. But...not how they had expected. His skin was as pale as the snow, and his eyes were crystal blue. His left eye was surrounded in ice, as was the left side of his face. He no longer had his jacket, ice piercing through the fabric on his right arm. He stared at them with no emotion, his dull eyes unblinking.
"L-Lewis?" Hannah asked. She slowly stepped towards him, watching the new version of her lover. There was no reaction from him, watching her step towards him. "Are you...ok?" She asked quietly. Hannah reached out to touch Lewis when he suddenly grabbed her wrist. The other three gasped, unsure of what he was doing. Hannah's wrist began to freeze at his touch, causing her to panic. Simon shoved Lewis away, putting Hannah behind him.
"What's happened to you, Lewis?" He asked. "Please...come back to us." He whispered. Lewis blinked once, watching Simon.
"..." For a few moments, the only sound that could be heard was the wind and, if you listened carefully, each one of their breathing. "...Die." Before anyone could react, an icicle pierced through Simon's chest. His warm blood slowly poured onto the icicle, his body collapsing onto his knees. Nobody knew what to say, but Hannah was instantly by Simon's side, holding him close to try slow the blood loss. Lewis stood over both of them, the blood beginning to stain the pure white snow beneath them. Sjin and Turps didn't know what to do, glancing at each other before looking back at the scene in front of them. Hannah watched the blood slow, and the wound begin to freeze. 'H-He can't die...n-not like this...' She thought to herself. 'This is my fault! Simon just wanted to protect me! Oh fuck!' She closed her eyes, pulling Simon as close as she could. Lewis watched Hannah, a slight look of confusion on his face. He winced, holding the frozen part of his face. He watched Hannah and Simon, his vision blurring. He jumped back, glancing over at Sjin and Turps before he disappeared into the snow. Finally, Sjin and Turps acted, rushing over to the other two.
"We have to get back to the others." Turps started. "Why don't you let Sjin and I carry Simon? We'll move faster that way." He explained. Hannah slowly looked up at Turps, tears streaming down her cheeks. She then nodded, thinking that that was probably the best idea. The three, with an unconscious Simon being carried, decided to go as fast as they could back to the shack. What else could they do?
Meanwhile, the others sat in the shack. Well, all apart from Ross, who was now pacing like Simon had been before. He also didn't have a 'partner', as Trott was occupied with Smith, and Kim was resting with Duncan. Not that he was jealous of them or anything.
"...When do you think the others will come back?" He asked, trying to hide the fear in his tone as he glanced at the four around the room. Smith shrugged, looking up from the sleepy Trott in his arms.
"Dunno, mate. I doubt they'll stay out if it gets any worse. Or if it becomes too dark." He replied. He didn't really know what else to say. "Don't get so worried about it. They're not stupid." Smith added, watching Ross stand by the window. He could tell his friend was nervous, as he could tell he had tried hiding it when he spoke. Duncan felt Kim move in his arms, glancing down as the smaller girl.
"Duncan...I'm scared." He only just heard her voice, being merely louder than a whisper. He hugged Kim tighter, looking into her eyes. Duncan saw the fear in her eyes, just as Ross had fear in his tone. He wondered why they were so scared – even Trott was scared. The three of them had never been scared like this before.
"Don't worry about it Kim. I'm sure they'll be back soon. Lewis will be back soon before you know it too." He replied calmly. He wondered how he and Smith were being the calm ones at this point in time. All of them jumped when there was a knock on the door. Duncan glanced at Smith, who nodded. He let go of Kim, hesitantly walking over to the door. His hand clenched around the handle, slowly twisting it. Ross tried to see through the window, not being able to see as it had become frosted. As Duncan opened the door, a rush of cold air blasted into the room, also knocking the door back. There stood...nobody?
"O-Oh shit..." Trott moved closer to Smith, being more awake from the sudden knocking and rush of cold. "There's n-no one there..." He whispered. "What if it's-"
"Don't be silly, Chris. The Yuki-onna doesn't exist. It was probably just the wind, or maybe somebody knocked something in here." Smith quickly cut him off. Deep down, he was starting to believe maybe something existed, but he didn't let it show. He COULDN'T. He didn't want to worry his friends. "Duncan, close the door, will ya? It's getting colder by the second." He moved his gaze over to Duncan, who didn't move. "...Duncan?"
"...We need to leave." Came his hushed reply. Slowly, Duncan backed back into the room, moving over beside Kim. The others just watched him in confusion, Kim moving slightly to look out. In the snow stood the Yuki-onna, only her black hair and blue lips making her visible from the snow. Without them she would have been camouflaged. Smith stood up, keeping Trott's face against his chest.
"Just keep your eyes shut, Trott. It'll be ok." He murmured. Trott obeyed his taller friend, not moving his face from Smith's chest. Ross stood beside his two friends, glancing over at Duncan and Kim. Duncan kept Kim behind him as he slowly ventured out. He couldn't see the Yuki-onna anywhere. He stepped out, feeling the cold go straight to the bone. 'Great idea, Duncan. Go out in the freezing cold with a creature that wants to kill you.' Duncan thought to himself, leading the others out. "Which way do you think the others went?" Smith's question broke Duncan out of his thoughts.
"Well...there are still faint footprints here. Maybe we could follow these." Duncan suggested. He then turned to the sound of running. They could all hear the crunching of snow, not too far off from where they were. Duncan put himself in front of the others, waiting for what would come. Though, the sight they were greeted with none of them could have expected. It was the return of Hannah, Sjin, Turps and the unconscious Simon.
"G-Guys, we need to go now!" Turps exclaimed.
"We were just going to leave." Kim replied. The three looked at them in confusion and, after Kim had explained the situation, they nodded. "So, did you see her too? Couldn't you find Lewis?" She asked. Hannah looked at her hands, as Sjin and Turps glanced at each other.
"Oh, we found him alright." Hannah whispered, holding Simon's almost frozen hand in hers. "He... he did this to Simon. He's...not who we know him to be anymore. Twisted, cold...he's forgotten us." She explained. Kim's eyes grew wide, her arms around Duncan again.
"I don't think this is the time for explanations!" Ross pointed behind the newcomers, where both the Yuki-onna and Lewis were standing. "I think now is more the time for running." The group backed away a few steps, before they legged it. Alex had now picked Chris up, still keeping his face next to his chest, while Duncan was almost dragging Kim as he could run much faster. Sjin and Turps continued to carry Simon, now with the help of Ross. Hannah stayed close to her dying friend, keeping up with the pace. The Yuki-onna laughed, watching the group run. She glanced at Lewis, gently running her hand down the frozen side of his face.
"Oh...I think this might be a good time for you. Go fetch, my dear." She smirked. Lewis' eyes glowed, before he followed the others. He moved with inhumane speed, seeming like he was teleporting. Hannah glanced back, a tear in her already red eyes. 'What happened to you...?' She thought, the tear tracing the line many other tears had fallen down.
"Hannah!"