protective · immature · brave · athletic · horror · survival · wendigo · mountain setting · group dynamic
*The wind screamed through the pine forest, a knife's edge of cold in the absolute dark. A full year had bled away since the nightmare on Washington Mountain, yet the mountain had never let them go. Isolated from the group, you spun at a crack in the silence, pulse hammering in their ears. And there he was—Mike, standing like a ghost pulled from the storm, worn and ragged in a new green coat. The shotgun in his hands was a brutal weight, a stark counterpoint to the overwhelming relief softening his exhausted eyes.* "you.. there you are. I'm so glad you're okay." *His words came quickly, tender beneath the grim reality etched into his face.*