The fog was alive.
It rolled in thick waves, spilling down the slopes and swallowing the road as their convoy cut through the forest. The headlights carved weak tunnels of light through the mist, catching glimpses of skeletal trees and forgotten signs.
Inside the transport, the hum of the engine was the only sound. Kael sat by the window, eyes half-lidded, watching the shapes outside shift and blur.
Taro leaned forward from the back seat, chin resting on his arms. "So… this is Ravenwood?"
Lira glanced up from her dossier. "Technically, not yet. We're still five kilometers out."
"Still feels cursed," Rin muttered, arms crossed. "Fog this thick in the morning? Creepy as hell."
The driver, a stoic man from headquarters, didn't turn. "Locals say it never lifts. They call it the 'breath of the dead.'"
"Comforting," Taro mumbled.
Kael said nothing. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, thumb tracing the worn pattern along the guard. Every instinct told him they were being watched. Not by eyes of flesh — something older, quieter.
The convoy slowed as they reached the outskirts. The town appeared like a mirage — rooftops buried in haze, old lamps flickering weakly along cobblestone streets. Signs hung crooked, rusted cars abandoned on corners. It looked frozen in time.
---
They disembarked at the town square. The air was damp, heavy with rot. Somewhere in the distance, a church bell rang — slow, deliberate, though the clock tower showed no movement.
Rin scanned the area, hand on his sword. "Feels like a ghost town."
Lira crouched beside a cracked water trough, inspecting something. "Blood residue," she murmured. "Old. Two, maybe three days."
Taro looked pale. "So… they really died here?"
Kael straightened, eyes on the fog. "Let's split up. We'll regroup before sunset."
Rin scoffed. "Seriously? First mission and we're already splitting?"
Kael turned to him, voice calm but firm. "We'll cover more ground that way. The Wendigos hide in plain sight — we're not hunting beasts. We're hunting masks."
For a moment, Rin's glare held. Then he sighed and nodded. "Fine. But if one of us gets eaten, I'm haunting you."
Kael allowed a small smile. "You'll have to catch me first."
---
Ravenwood — Noon.
Kael and Taro walked along the marketplace ruins. Stalls stood empty, fruits blackened and decayed. A poster on the wall showed smiling faces — the "Ravenwood Harvest Festival." The date was two weeks ago.
Taro kicked a pebble. "How can people just vanish like this? No blood, no struggle…"
Kael's gaze lingered on a trail of footprints leading into the fog. "Because the Wendigos are clever. They lure, not chase."
"Like… predators pretending to be prey?"
Kael nodded. "Exactly."
They followed the tracks until they reached an alleyway. The stench of iron hit first — sharp and foul. A pile of bones lay scattered near a drain, picked clean.
Taro swallowed hard. "That's… human, isn't it?"
Kael crouched, touching the bone. It was smooth — unnaturally so, as if stripped by something with precision. "Wendigo feeding pattern," he said quietly. "They drain the body dry before devouring the flesh."
Taro stepped back, face pale. "You say that like you've seen it before."
Kael didn't answer.
---
Across town, Rin and Lira moved through the residential district. Most doors were locked, windows boarded. A few lights flickered behind curtains — survivors too afraid to open up.
"Ravenwood used to be a mining town," Lira said, scanning her notes. "Collapse of the main shaft two months ago. First disappearances started shortly after."
Rin kicked at a sign that read "Welcome to Ravenwood." "So we're probably looking at something nesting underground."
"Possibly," Lira replied. "But the reports don't mention tremors or noise. Wendigos prefer surface prey — they mimic humans."
Rin grinned. "So… any of these 'nice folks' could be monsters."
"That's one way to put it."
They turned a corner and stopped.
A figure stood at the end of the street — a woman in a white dress, motionless in the fog. Her head tilted slowly as if listening.
Rin reached for his sword. "Lira…"
"I see her."
The woman stepped forward. Her face was serene, almost too perfect. Then her jaw unhinged — bones cracking, teeth extending into serrated points.
Rin moved instantly. Steel flashed, slicing the air. The blade met resistance — too soft for bone, too firm for flesh. The creature screeched, twisting backward, limbs bending at impossible angles before vanishing into the mist.
Rin spat. "Coward ran."
Lira's eyes flicked around. "No — it's circling."
A whisper brushed Rin's ear — "Hunger."
He spun, but nothing was there. Only fog.
---
Dusk.
The team regrouped at the square, breath misting in the cold air.
"We found bones," Kael said flatly.
"Same," Rin replied. "And a fake human that almost took my head off."
Lira adjusted her glasses. "I managed to scan traces of cursed residue. It's fresh. The Wendigo that attacked you hasn't gone far."
Taro looked between them nervously. "So what now?"
Kael glanced at the darkening forest to the east. "We follow the trail."
Rin groaned. "Into the woods. Of course."
The fog thickened as they left the town behind. The path wound deeper into the forest, where the trees grew twisted and bare. The air carried a low hum — almost like a voice buried in the wind.
Kael slowed, eyes narrowing. The hairs on his neck rose.
Then he saw it — a set of claw marks gouged deep into a tree, fresh and glistening with black residue.
"Stay sharp," he whispered.
A branch cracked behind them.
Taro turned. "Kael—"
Something moved in the fog — tall, spindly, too fast.
The first Wendigo lunged.
Kael's sword was out before it reached him, the steel catching moonlight as he met the strike. The impact sent a shock up his arm, the creature's strength inhuman. Its face was a grotesque blur of human and beast — stretched skin, hollow eyes, and rows of teeth still slick with blood.
"Rin!" Kael shouted.
"On it!"
Rin's blade cleaved through the mist, striking the creature's side. It howled, twisting away, but Lira's knives followed — silver arcs slicing tendons.
Taro dashed forward, blade trembling but aimed true. He struck the creature's leg, forcing it to collapse.
Kael moved in for the finish. One clean motion — swift and deliberate.
The Wendigo's head fell, black mist spilling from the wound like smoke.
Silence.
Taro's breathing came fast. "We… we did it."
Kael wiped his blade, eyes scanning the dark. "No," he said quietly. "That wasn't the only one."
From the trees came a sound — not a growl, not a scream, but a hundred whispering breaths merging into one.
And then the forest moved.