A Haven So Cold

Beginning of the end.

Hanna grabbed the door knob with pause as she heard a purposefully loud throat clearing. She took a moment to carefully choose her words not to be questioned about her “outing”. She hated making eye contact with her father, his eyes were always so cold. Enough to make the winter storm building outside seem like a bright summer’s day in comparison to them. “Where are you going, Hanna. ″ Her father’s tone stated rather than asked. The tone made her stiff,“I’ll be gone only a minute father, just to gather more wood before the storm” she said over her shoulder. “I expect you to be back in time to make dinner.” He demanded. With the confirmation to leave she quickly opened the old door to their cabin and stepped out before any more questions could be asked. Hanna wasn’t going to be honest with her father. She knew if he really knew what she was up to he’d forbid her from leaving that old dark cabin. Not because he was worried for his precious child’s safety, no, it was because she was looking for answers. Answers that she had been seeking for over a year. Answers that he had been desperately trying to deprive her of.

Her doting mother died suddenly and mysteriously. Shortly after her death her father moved them to a secluded cabin in another state completely. Adding to the mystery, her father refused to provide any answers as to what happened to mother or why they moved to the middle of nowhere, deep in the Maine forest. It didn’t matter that they moved into the woods, she loved the outside, but she wanted to know what happened to her loving mother. Why did she leave Hanna with her cold and unloving father? She knew the only way to get answers was to make it to a town where she could get phone service. They had been living in the forest for about a month and Hanna’s memory was poor but she remembered the direction that they arrived at the cabin.

As she began to walk in that direction and noticed a fresh set of animal tracks. Thinking nothing of it she headed in the same direction as the tracks that were actively being consumed by fresh falling snow. The beautiful trees created large shadows that covered most of the light. Hanna took one last look at the small cabin before she could no longer see it past the dense trees. She had a gut feeling it would be the last she saw of her father or the decrepit structure. She felt no sadness at the thought of never seeing her father again but oddly, relief gaining distance from the oppressive man. Little did she know that she would be walking into the arms of another oppressive yet pleasure ensuing male.

Hanna coughed as she felt the cold air dry her throat out. In response to the sound she heard an inhuman growl closely behind her. She gasped as she whipped around, reaching for her pepper spray for protection. An unnaturally large wolf stared down at her from just a few feet away. The wind hindered her senses but she should have been able to hear such a large creature coming up to her. How had she not heard the unnatural creature approaching her? She felt her blood go as cold as the snow when the creature began to stalk towards her. She blinked and felt the Wolf move at unrealistic speed. The pepper spray went flying and the wind knocked out of her as she hit the snowy ground. She could feel his hot breath closer to her than it should have been. Instinctively she brought her arms to her face to protect herself and that’s what stopped the wolf from sinking his teeth around her neck.

Panic sank into her like the jaws of the massive predator. It was going for her neck like a true killer. Her arm was the only thing left between her and the deadly creature. She felt no pain, likely from the adrenaline as she struggled with the wolf’s jaw around her arm causing blood to run down her arm and cover the wolf’s snout. She shuddered as she saw herself pale as a ghost and crimson dots reflecting in its eyes. She knew this situation was getting bad and desperately kneed the large creature, forcing it to release her arm momentarily as it yelped. She reached for anything when she felt a force so heavy hit her leg. The wolf had gone for one of her legs. She screamed out of fear as she got on her elbows and stomach, frantically searching for anything to use as a weapon.

The Wolf bit down on her shoulder from behind and shook her violently. The feeling of helplessness almost consumed her. Images flashed before her, dead and picked clean, buried by the snow. She didn’t want to disappear like her mother. Her mother! She needed to find out what happen to her. She reached behind her and screamed in anger as she clawed at his eye. She was not going down without a fight. She was 26 and still needed to find out what happened to her mom. The Wolf released her once more to get away from her hand. She quickly grabbed a rock and flipped over to aim for the Wolf when she was met with a figure. It was holding the wolf by its neck, almost lifting the large animal off its hind legs. The once brown animal is now covered in her blood.

Its neck was then snapped by the man. The sound reverberated off of her, causing her to flinch. This was no man. No human could lift such a large animal with one hand and snap its neck. The figure dropped the lifeless animal with a large thud and looked down at her. She shuffled her weakening body onto its feet, almost stumbling in the compacted snow. She wielding a rock in her hand as he leisurely began to walk towards her. She screamed, “stop!” and the figure paused. It cocked its head to the side more animal like than human and its eyes bore into hers. It’s eyes, such a deep ember that they took her breath away. It took in her visually as if she were some curiosity behind a glass casing. She felt her body begin to oddly relax and weaken and all her wounds began to rush over her like a weighted blanket of burning flames as she came down from the adrenaline. She screamed in agony as the pain took its course through her.

She felt herself fall as her vision became blurry. The figure that was just some distance in front of her now was next to her and caught her by the back of her neck and small of her back. She felt weightless as she stared up at the mysterious figure. He was conventionally handsome. His captivating ember eyes sat in a pair of upturned eyes, framed by long lashes. She mumbled, “help me” before her vision blackened and she lost consciousness.