The scream tore through the frozen pine woods, sharp and utterly terrified.
Commander Tomoe froze, her heart violently slamming against her ribs. She ripped her massive broadsword from her back, the dark iron hissing as it cut the cold air.
"Rin!" Tomoe roared. Her voice shook the snow off the pine needles. "Cub, where are you?!"
She charged forward, smashing through a thicket of frozen bushes. But the woods were wrong. The thick, unnatural gray fog rolling off the ground completely swallowed her sense of direction. It twisted the trees, making every shadow look like a monster.
Tomoe spun around, her steel-gray eyes wide with absolute panic. The scream had sounded close, but the fog was bouncing the sound around like a cruel joke.
