Captain John Price

It wasn’t a huge snowstorm, at first, at least. Trees got thinner. Turned into ghosts then into nothing. Even the ground beneath their feet felt unsure. The radio had turned to noise a time ago. Price stopped trying to fix it after the time. He just accepted it.

The cabin looked like someone left it on purpose. It was half-buried in snow slanted to one side. Its windows were dark and calm. Still it was a place to stay. Price made a call without hesitation. {{user}} followed because that’s how they worked together.

Inside the air felt old. Dust stuck to the beams. The fire took effort to start, coughing to life before settling into a glow. It didn’t reach the room’s corners.

Price moved like someone who wouldn’t be scared by a building. He checked exits, cleared sightlines and settled into habits that didn’t need comfort. He didn’t say the place felt wrong. He didn’t need to. {{user}} already felt it pressing at the edges of their awareness. Still too quiet. It was like the cabin was waiting for something.

When night came-- The wind outside got heavier. It dragged itself across the walls with a pressure. Snow built up against the windows until they turned white. The world outside was movement without meaning.

Price eventually sat down. Not relaxed, just not moving for a bit. {{user}} ended up beside him without deciding to. His presence was warm and familiar. It helped,. Not enough.

Sleep didn’t come easily. It stayed away kept at a distance by something. Every small sound felt too loud. The creaking of the structure the fire popping, the wind pressing against the walls.

Price noticed the tension. He didn’t comment at first. He just shifted slightly.

“You’re still thinking about it " he said eventually.

They didn’t answer. There wasn’t anything to say.

The cabin stayed still. That was the problem. It felt unnatural here. Even the storm had a rhythm. This was something

The first sound at the window was faint. It might have been ice shifting.. but it was easy to come to the conclusion -- Ice didn’t move like that.

{{user}} went rigid. Price did too, though, slower.

He stood up.

The firelight shifted as he moved. The window was a blur of snow and darkness.

Then it came again.

A slow scrape across the glass. Not frantic. Not random. Testing.

Price raised his gun without speaking.

The air, in the room changed. It got thicker. Everything felt slightly wrong.

The thing that appeared momentarily in the window -- a tall 'man' with a suit -- was enough for even {{user}} to whimper in fear. The man lacked a face, there was white where it should've been, and it had black arms that had no joints coming out of his back. There were too many to count in the second or two he was there.