Whispers of the Mountain - Act 3

A cold sweat fell over his brow as the hunter hid. The tree trunk was hollowed, rotting to its shell, with winds gently blowing into the dusky night. A fellow hunter let out his final shriek before suffering a horrific demise. The hunter didn’t move an inch. Gurgling and flesh ripping filled his hearing as he looked at the snowy ground. His body froze to the crunchy footsteps that trod through the snow.

The hunter covered his mouth, hoping the beast didn’t hear him. It snorted before letting out a distorted howl. The horrid sound sent shivers down his spine as the breeze overtook the creature’s sudden murmurs. A corpse flopped before him. The violent impact snapped the spinal column. Warm blood gushed onto the white thicket. The eyes of the dead friend come face to face with the hunter.

The hunter covered his mouth tightly. His face was nearly disfigured, and his upper body was flayed from the monster’s sharp talons. A peep would surely lead to his own demise, but the culprit lingered above the log, sensing and smelling out its prey. Perhaps it was the blood of his comrade that distracted it, but the hunter got a final look at his friend before a massive hand reached down to grab the corpse. Unnaturally serrated and famished, it pierced through the mangled body, tearing flesh with ease before taking it away.

The shock and horror alone sent the survivor into slumber, with whispers carrying into the horrific night.

Its haunting gaze was the last thing he remembered.

The next day, Enne overheard of a survivor who narrowly evaded the windigo’s grasp the night before. She convinced the wanderer to join her with some enticement. It wasn’t without their disagreements, as the wanderer saw little point in investing more time in the town’s problems. Alejandro stopped just short of the room’s exit as his companion reached the door. She looked over her shoulder, finding his subtle reluctance. His cane waddled from his sheer exhaustion.

“Allie?” she sighed. She put her back against the door to face him.

“We don’t need to get involved,” he said.

“This again? Why are you so adamant about not helping these people out? This windigo is affecting their way of life.”

“Look around us, Enne. It was like this long before we showed up… With or without the windigo.”

“Ever the contrarian… So, you’re saying we shouldn’t bother—”

“I’m saying… We can’t keep meddling. If your theory is correct, then there’s a chance a windigo can always appear.”

“Even providing a glimmer of hope makes it all worth the while, Allie.”

“That’s unreasonable….”

“Then you can stay,” she raised her voice. “But I will do what I have to.”

“En—”

Enne paid little heed to what he had to say. Before he could reach over, she shut the door. The force jammed it, so he couldn’t leave. The wanderer stood there as her heavy footsteps disappeared to the floor below. He had become more concerned about her health. The expanding dark scaley patches caused alarm since he understood little of it. It wasn’t something commonly found among Ethoxians he met. He turned his tired body toward the window, taking a deep breath before proceeding toward it.

Having thrown her hood over her protruding ears, she listened to Alejandro’s suggestion that she’d wear something more convincing. Guilt racked her heart with every step she took. She felt like she shouldn’t have responded so strongly. Alejandro had her best interests at heart. It was a simple matter of the differences in approach to the world they inhabited. Enne couldn’t allow injustice to slip by if she could do something.

She sensed the tension in the air while passing through the snow-covered street. Despite all the people present, there was an eerie silence. The dark, scaley marking below her eye was hard to hide, even with her silver hair barely covering it. Enne had become more self-conscious of her appearance since it began. Her left hand had hardened like that of calluses. The more she pondered her bodily changes, the more she thought of her father.

Enne soon reached the infirmary where the survivor had since remained. The entrance had rotted from its base, giving an uneven floor as she ascended the short steps. An older woman stood outside, looking at the hooded woman suspiciously. Enne stopped as she approached; She looked over, appearing as welcoming as possible. The woman’s brown eyes narrowed, standing a decent distance from her while holding an unwelcoming frown.

“What business do you have here?” she asked. “Oh? You’re that woman?”

Enne ignored the woman’s antagonistic tone.

“Hm… I hear you have someone that survived the attack. I’d like to talk to him.”

“Good luck with that.”

“Huh? Why is that?”

“We moved everyone out when he started acting… weird. We’ve given him food, but he won’t eat.”

“How did you find him?”

“I’m just here to make sure he doesn’t croak over. I don’t know all the details.”

“I take it you’re a nurse, then?”

The woman turned away without utterance. Enne fixated on the door, disturbed by the nurse’s lack of compassion. Perhaps it was due to the man being an outsider or an underlying apathy that plagued the town. The wooden floor creaked when Enne took the first step. The door inched over. Light breached the darkness. She saw the untouched food before glimpsing the figure sitting alone by a lamp. Once the sudden wind hit his skin, his head jerked in her direction. His startled pant quickly relaxed as she closed the door.

“I’m sorry to intrude, but I have a few questions about—” Enne said before he raised his finger.

“Don’t say it,” his voice cracked. Enne nodded, watching him lower his finger. “Is this what you’re here for, lady?”

“I want to know what happened. What did you see?”

“Heh…You’re the only one curious. Everyone knows what happened, but nobody wants to hear the details.”

“I’m trying to solve this… On behalf of the townsfolk.”

“And who the hell are you again? Ah… You’re the woman who donated all that meat to the kitchen, along with that wanderer.”

“His name is Allie,” she replied. “And yes, I’m the one.

“That’s awfully kind of you. I’ve only been here for a few weeks. They buried a few of their own a few days before you arrived. I don’t know why these fools choose to stay in this shithole.”

Enne gulped down his sharp remarks as the man’s eyes trailed away momentarily. She walked over to sit on a bed across from him. He noticed the marking under her eye with the tinge of lilac reflecting from the weak flame.

“You ain’t human,” he remarked.

“What did you see out there?” Enne ignored his observation.

“Me and the boys… We really thought it was a bear that done it, but—”

“Bears weren’t usually found in these parts.”

“You thunk we believed that? All tall tales in these parts, too? Hairy men, wandering spirits… Most of it was bullshit, or so I thought. Whatever the hell that thing was isn’t anything we’ve seen.”

“What did it look like?”

The hunter’s head turned toward the candlelight. He watched his breath disappear above its glow. He grasped his trembling hands. Again, her curiosity made her overlook the more pressing concerns of his mental state. He had seen horrors no one should see. Yet here she was, forcing the man to divulge the details.

“Had I seen it face-to-face,” he spoke. His gaze slowly redirected at Enne. “I wouldn’t be here speaking to you.”

“Then…” Enne pressed for a response.

“I just remember its eyes. A vibrant orange yet empty all the same. It killed each of my friends in the cruelest ways. Want me to describe that too?”

“N—no. That won’t be necessary.”

The door suddenly swung open. The man cowered as he fell onto the ground. Enne calmly looked over. The familiar figure gasped for breath as he clung to the doorway. As the man shut the door, Enne helped the hunter up. The dim lighting revealed a cold sweat as she sat him on the bed. The wanderer took strides forward with light reflecting on his amber eyes.

“I see you found a way to escape,” Enne said, twirling the strand of hair over her hood.

“You didn’t think I’d go after you?” Alejandro replied.

“Is this some lover’s quarrel?” the hunter asked.

“Business as usual,” They replied tiredly after looking at each other.

Enne scooted over to let Alejandro sit by her. The hunter sized up the town’s benefactors, bemused by the unlikely duo. She leaned against the wanderer as he set the cane against his thigh. She regretted leaving him the way he did. Even then, the wanderer remained faithful to her cause, though she knew it wouldn’t be without some lecture later that night.

“A goddamned wanderer and an elf,” the hunter smirked. “Both playing heroes?”

“We’re just trying to do the right thing,” Enne replied.

“Haven’t your kind already done enough? Years… and many dead people.”

“Are you going to rat us out?” the wanderer asked.

“Ain’t got nothing against you. Well, not that fine-looking—”

“Let’s not stray from the point here,” Alejandro interrupted when he saw the man’s eyes lower upon her body. The hunter looked at the wanderer with tired indifference. “We want to know what you saw out there, so we can understand what we’re up against.”

The hunter licked his lips before reaching for the half-empty cup of water. He savored the taste. The thought finally unraveled as though looking for the answers laced with the frosty breath.

“Death incarnate,” he answered. “I didn’t dare look at it. Nah…”

“Where did this happen?” Alejandro pressed, unbeknownst to his partner’s uneasiness. The hunter held a sense of bewilderment at the question.

“You think you can take that thing?”

The wanderer’s silence left the impression of confidence the hunter couldn’t quite comprehend. It would have to take a monster to kill another, according to a mere mortal. The hunter’s brown eyes trailed to the end of the empty infirmary. Enne rustled the blanket between Alejandro and her. When the wanderer looked over, he found what would amount to be shocking. After a constant back and forth, Alejandro chose a different approach. She leaned in, lips quivering as words trickled.

“Are you sure about this?” Enne whispered. Somehow, the wanderer found her softened tone oddly alluring.

“Don’t make me change my mind,” Alejandro replied. He kept his eyes on the hunter as he slowly returned his focus. Something was amiss, perhaps the glint in his eyes. The wanderer didn’t bring it up, not while Enne was around.

“A few miles into the mountainside,” the hunter answered.

“And you simply… Got away?” Alejandro asked.

“Barely, but—”

“Do you feel strange?”

“Allie?” Enne said, seeing his hand gesture his resolve to hear the hunter’s response.

“Eh?” the hunter winced. “The fuck are you on about?”

“Nothing. I think we’ve got what we came here for. We’ll be heading out.”

Before Enne could ask, the wanderer wobbled to his feet. The side glimpse was enough to gain her acknowledgment as she stood with him. The hunter reached for his cup, realizing it was empty. Alejandro had observed the subtle abnormalities involved. There was a reason he was alone. They took their leave, exiting onto the deck with the door firmly shut. The nurse sat at the far corner, watching them closely. The wanderer shrugged off her stare as Enne moved into view before he took the first step down the stairs.

“You want to explain what that was about?” Enne asked. His amber eyes saw the inquisitiveness laced in her silver irises.

“I read a little more into windigos,” he sighed begrudgingly.

“I thought you already knew enough about the concept.”

“That I do. But… All of them were based on indigenous legends or some psychology-related papers. There are some… overlaps in the details.”

“Such as?”

“Buddy boy back there didn’t look like he was in the right state of mind.”

“He had his entire group slaughtered.”

Alejandro shook his head. Enne allowed him passage when he continued down the steps. His hands shivered; whether it was from the tiredness or the cold, she couldn’t tell. What was concerning was the grim frown he wore as he processed his thoughts.

“It was something in his eyes,” Alejandro finally responded. “He’s afflicted.”

“Afflicted? But how? But Mr. Winston seemed normal when we spoke to him.”

“He never mentioned looking it in the eyes.”

Enne’s mouth gaped slightly. However, neither understood what this entailed. She gently gripped his shoulder, prompting the furrowing of his eyes. A spark in her eye shone with enthusiasm.

“Then?” she asked.

“Then what?” he replied. “It’s merely an observation. According to stories involving windigos, anyone who survives an attack would be harassed by it… Until they died.”

“What? So—”

“I think there’s a peculiar spin to this circumstance, however. If the windigo isn’t killed properly….”

“Then it would inhabit the one who last saw it?”

The words trailed off her tongue as though she held the answer. A strange realization struck her when the wanderer silently acknowledged her response. He waddled toward the open, where a flurry of snowflakes descended upon them. Enne looked over, finding his eased smile beneath his snow-covered beard.

In those silent moments, the wanderer saw the beauty standing out against the snowy backdrop. Her sense of wonder somehow made light of the situation. The ugliness that bound his world became a lot less ugly, especially when she finally responded with a smile.