Erick was at a loss. Before he went into his shower, it was a sunny morning in early July. A blizzard this intense was nearly unheard of in these parts. But to happen in the middle of summer was purely insane! Nothing he had seen either on his tours of duty or all the hunting trips with his father came close to what he was witnessing now.
He had come to the cabin in search of some respite, a break from the bustling city. The loss of his father weighed heavily on his spirit. This was the cabin that he helped build with his dad and grandfather. Perhaps visiting the place was a way for him to pay his respects and start healing, or maybe just a distraction from it all.
He paused and glanced at the pale, sleeping elf-looking girl with disbelief.
Who was this strange visitor? He noticed several scrapes on her face that were oozing a small amount of thick blood, and many bruises on her arms and shoulders. She had obviously been put through the wringer, wherever she came from.
“I wanted a diversion, but this is a bit much!”
He went back to his bathroom and retrieved a fresh cloth from the linen closet. He also grabbed some antiseptic ointment and adhesive bandages from behind the mirror.
When Erick returned, he carefully and tenderly cleaned and treated the scrapes on the mysterious elf girl’s face. She stirred peacefully in her sleep, and he couldn’t help but admire her beauty. Her features were so unlike anything he had ever seen before- pale off-blue skin, pure white hair, and long pointed ears. He tried not to stare for too long, as he didn’t want to awaken her. And it was a bit awkward.
After he applied the adhesive bandages to her scrapes he went downstairs to brew himself some coffee while he pondered the strange situation he found himself in. Where did this snowstorm come from? Did it literally blow the elf girl through his door? Snow in this part of the world was a rarity! There was tons of rain for sure, maybe the occasional sopping wet, heavy snowfall, but a full-on winter storm was a new experience.
Erick walked over to the front door, intending to poke his head out the door.
“Did I leave it locked?”
After unlocking the bolt, Erick opened the door, and sure enough, he was greeted by an intense wintery blast that dropped the cabin’s temperature significantly. He quickly shut the door.
“Great idea, Erick. Real smart. What did you expect?”
He returned to the living room to make use of the cabin’s fireplace. There was always a stack of firewood on hand. A roaring blaze was quite the comfort during the rainy season on the mountain.
Once he had built the fire and stoked it sufficiently he closed his eyes and soaked in the crackling warmth.
Amongst the dancing shadows cast by the flames, Erick took a seat on an easy chair leaning back and resting his feet on the ornate coffee table his grandfather built many years ago. Despite it being mid-morning, he found himself nodding off. Why was he suddenly so tired? Was it because of the icy elf girl’s embrace or the odd situation as a whole? Erick was sure both of those factors contributed. And he was still grieving the loss of his father.
Erick wasn’t sure for how long he had drifted off when he was jolted awake by the most ungodly-sounding howl he’d ever heard as it reverberated throughout the cabin. It didn’t sound like any animal he knew of and he heard nothing remotely similar on his forays into the forest. The unnerving cry sounded far from natural and Erick could feel its malice seeping into his bones.
He shot up from his seat and stared toward the closed cabin door. Cold beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. Sounds of angry snarls could faintly be heard just beyond the threshold.
“The beasts have found me.”
Erick nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice that suddenly spoke up behind him. He turned and saw the pale elf girl standing close by, her long knives clasped in her hands. She wore a grim expression on her face. Erick could tell he stood in the presence of a battle-hardened warrior.
