Winter #4

Ethan smelled a deer about two kilometers away from the cave he was in. It had been a while since he had smelled an animal, and his last hunt had been three Sundays ago. It was rare to see animals wandering around in the middle of a snowstorm like this, if they had come out it was usually because there was nothing to eat.

Perhaps the deer was an unfortunate animal that had gotten separated from the herd, winter is a tough time for anyone. And even so, there was no way Ethan would let the deer go just out of pity. There was only one slice of bacon left and he was sure Emily hadn't put anything in her stomach since yesterday afternoon. And he was grateful for his rat nose signaling to save his life for at least the next weeks.

The young man then grabbed his bow as fast as the snow fractals descended to the earth. He zipped up his coat after making sure that his old boots were perfectly fitted.

"Hey, where are you going?" asked Emily when she saw Ethan preparing to leave without saying goodbye to her.

"Hunting," the young man replied shortly.

Emily then got up from where she was lying. The girl couldn't imagine anyone hunting in the middle of an extreme snowstorm, early in the morning when the sun wasn't even visible.

"Are you out of your mind? It's like the snow and ice are raging outside!" she squealed worriedly.

"Never mind, I have to hurry. It'll only be light for a few hours, so don't shorten my time by arguing here."

Emily made a grim face.

"There's a slice of bacon I keep in the hollow wall by the fireplace. You can warm it up while you wait for me to hunt," Ethan ordered before stepping out from the lip of the cave.

"While you yourself go hunting on an empty stomach?" snapped Emily still with a sour face.

Her heart ached when Ethan didn't respond to her at all and chose to blend in with the whiteness of the trees and the bone-chilling dance of the wind. She looked at the snow that flew like foam before Emily closed the cave lip again as Ethan did.

The girl contemplated in front of the fireplace while warming her body. Being stranded in the middle of the forest and sleeping with the young man she just met yesterday was really something that was never in her plans at all. Her life had changed drastically, she didn't even have time to mourn Amy and Joe's death.

"God, strengthen me above the storm you are creating." The girl chanted.

She obeyed Ethan's order to burn the remaining bacon, making the aroma of roasted meat fill the damp and dimly lit cave. Her heart warmed at the concern of a stranger who was willing to give up his last meal for her.

Meanwhile on the East side a kilometer away, Ethan took aim with his bow frozen and his heart hammering between the dense gaps in the trees. On his way to trace the deer's scent, Ethan realized there was another animal smell, the young man had never expected at all. In front of him an emaciated deer clawed at a tree and a pair of wolf eyes watched him with eerie silence. Ethan often smelled wolves but this was the first time he had encountered one, even by accident. From this close, the wolf's odor was even sharper as its fangs protruded.

The young man's breath seemed to be held as the wolf slowly stepped closer to the deer without making any sound, with such a large body and mighty strides, it was surprising that the deer was not aware of what was stalking him. Ethan tightened his grip on the bow even more, his teeth chattering in the cold that swirled around him.

This forest is so wild, the strong will always win. In one blink of an eye the wolf bit into the moose's neck and the poor animal collapsed on the white snow, blood flowing to make the snow turn red, pooling then freezing in the next second. With careful calculation though accompanied by a trepidation that had never appeared before, Ethan drew his arrow further back. The young man was a great archer, but killing a wolf had never been done before. He couldn't afford to waste any time if he didn't want his target deer to be further damaged by the wolf.

His first shot arrived right at the wolf's heart, making the animal's stout body collapse to the ground in an instant. Throwing a second shot to make sure the wolf was completely dead and unable to run, Ethan stuck the arrow in its right leg. The screech of the wolf was lost in the strong wind and the heavier snowfall, the young man's vision blurred. 20 paces from where he was hiding, two animals died next to each other and Ethan only wanted to take the deer as was his original intention of hunting. Although, actually taking the wolf with him could keep his food supply safe for months, but the young man couldn't do it.

The young man's footsteps trembled as his distance from the two animal carcasses grew closer. He could not imagine what would happen if the wolf only pretended to be dead and instead ambushed him when he got there. Perhaps it wasn't just the deer that had the misfortune, his fate was no different. A chill swirled between them. Ethan drew his arrow from the wolf's heart and the snow turned ruby red. Redder than the deer's congealed blood. When he was sure the wolf was truly dead, Ethan skinned its fur to bandage the neck of the deer that was still oozing blood. The neck of the deer was then placed on his burly shoulders.

The young man's breathing was ragged, like he had just let go of an enormous burden. His footsteps were heavy every time his boots slipped into the thick snow, and within seconds his steps were swept away by the heavier falling snow. The sky was completely gray up there, if Ethan didn't walk faster he would have to go home in the dark.

In extreme caution, he cleaned the deer as soon as he came across the spring. It wasn't impossible for predators to smell fresh blood from the deer he was cleaning, so Ethan did everything in a hurry. Skinning it, separating the fat and meat, his empty stomach was made absolutely hungry at the thought of the delicious roast he would be eating soon. His hands were obviously numb from carrying the deer on his shoulders, the cold from the icy water in the river making it worse. However, he endured all that suffering in order to survive.

The feeling of excitement could not be hidden when the cave where he lived began to appear, Ethan could not wait to show the results of his hunt to Emily. But the image of that was immediately lost when he found an empty cave.