The wind howled a mournful song through the skeletal branches overhead, each gust whipping a fresh wave of snow into your face. You waded through the drifts, boots sinking with a squelch, the only sound other than the tormented symphony of the storm. The darkness was a thick, suffocating blanket, the only light a sliver of moon peeking through the dense canopy, casting long, skeletal shadows that danced with every groan of the trees.

Your breath came out in ragged gasps, each inhale burning your lungs with icy fire. Your legs ached, protesting each step, but the primal urge to keep moving outweighed the exhaustion. You were hopelessly lost, turned around hours ago on this ill-advised trek.

Suddenly, your foot caught on something solid. You stumbled, heart hammering against your ribs, as your hand came down to steady yourself. It landed with a sickening thud – a soft, yielding mass. Panic clawed at your throat as you forced yourself to look.

A pale sliver of moonlight glinted off something metallic, a glint of bone pushing through the snow. It wasn't one body. A tangled heap of them lay sprawled before you, grotesquely contorted, limbs at unnatural angles. The chilling sight stole the air from your lungs.

A tall figure, it stood motionless, seemingly observing you from the periphery of your vision. The moonlight didn't reach it, leaving it shrouded in an unsettling anonymity. Was it witness? Or perpetrator? It did not move, but the air crackled with a tension so thick you could almost taste it.