The snowstorm howled around Arthur Morgan like a pack of vengeful spirits, the wind biting through his coat as if it weren't even there. Taima, Charles's usually steady mare, had been skittish for the last mile, her ears pinned back, nostrils flaring at unseen threats. Arthur had tried to soothe her, but the storm was too much—too unnatural.
Then, without warning, she reared. Arthur hit the ground hard, the world spinning before everything went black.
******
Consciousness returned in slow, painful waves. The storm was gone. The wind had died. The snow still covered him, but the air was eerily still.
Arthur groaned, pushing himself up, his head pounding. He blinked, looking around.
This wasn't right.
Even in the blinding snow, he knew the shape of the mountains they'd been heading toward—this wasn't them. The peaks were sharper, the trees denser, the air colder in a way that didn't feel natural.
Where the hell am I?
He shivered, breath fogging in front of him, and started walking.
Time blurred. His feet crunched through the snow, his fingers numb inside his gloves. The silence was oppressive, broken only by the occasional creak of branches weighed down by ice.
Then—tracks.
Fresh ones. Human.
Arthur followed them, his hand resting on his revolver. The tracks led to a cabin, its windows glowing with firelight. He crouched in the treeline, watching.
Then the door burst open.
A girl—barely dressed in nothing but her underclothes—stormed out into the snow, her breath coming in furious puffs.
Arthur's eyebrows shot up. What in the—?
She threw her arms out and screamed into the night:
"HEY! YEAH! PRICKS! THAT MEANS YOU! I KNOW you're OUT THERE! The FUCK are you trying to do!? You want to ruin our fun THAT BAD?! Well GUESS WHAT? You can't! You can't ruin our good time! Because Michael and I are gonna FUCK! That's right! We are going to have SEX! And it's gonna be HOT! So ENJOY IT! Because I know WE'RE GOING TO!"
Arthur stared, mouth slightly open. He'd seen plenty of strange things in his time, but this—
Before he could even process it, she spun on her heel and slammed the door behind her.
Arthur exhaled sharply, shaking his head. Fool girl's gonna freeze to death—
Then something moved.
Fast.
A figure—no, a creature—darted from the shadows toward the cabin. It was emaciated, skeletal, its gray skin stretched taut over jagged bones. Its eyes glowed red in the darkness, and its claws scraped against the wood as it lunged for the door.
Arthur's blood turned to ice.
The creature reached through the broken window pane beside the door—and the girl inside screamed.
"NO! NO, GET OFF—MICHAEL! HELP—!"
Her fingers clawed at the frame, but the thing yanked her through the shattered glass, her body twisting unnaturally as she was dragged out. Blood streaked the snow.
Then, just like that, the creature was gone, vanishing into the trees with her, her screams fading into the night.
Arthur didn't move. Didn't breathe.
His hand was on his revolver, but his fingers trembled.
What in God's name was that?
He'd seen monsters before—men so evil they might as well have been demons. But that thing… that wasn't human.
And now he was stuck in these mountains with it.
Arthur exhaled slowly, his breath shaking.
The cabin door burst open again, and a man-Michael, Arthur guessed-stumbled out, rifle in one hand, a lantern in the other. He was dressed in nothing but a tank top, jeans, and boots, his face twisted in panic.
"JESSICA!!! Oh my god! Oh my god..."
His wild eyes locked onto Arthur.
In an instant, the rifle snapped up, barrel trembling. "Where is she?! What the hell did you do with her?!"
Arthur didn't flinch. He just scowled, thumbing back the hammer on his Cattleman. "Shut up and follow me if you wanna save your damn lady."
Without waiting for a response, Arthur took off into the trees, following the disturbed snow and the distant, fading screams.
Mike hesitated for only a second before sprinting after him.
They crashed through the underbrush, breath ragged in the freezing air.
"Who the hell are you?!" Mike panted, barely keeping up.
"Ain't the time for introductions, son," Arthur growled.
They hit a river, icy water rushing over slick rocks. Arthur didn't slow-he leaped onto a fallen log, balancing for half a second before jumping to the other side. Mike followed, nearly slipping before catching himself.
"JESS! JESSICA! JESSICAAA!!" Mike bellowed into the night.
No answer.
They reached a ledge overlooking a steep drop. Mike frantically raised his rifle, peering through the scope.
"Jesus... Fuck! Fuck! JESS!! NO!!"
Arthur followed his gaze. Below, Jessica-bruised, bleeding, barely clothed-was scrambling backward through the snow. Then, with a sudden jerk, she was yanked into the darkness by something unseen.
"ARGH!! NO!!!! MICHAAEELLLL HELP ME!!!! HELP ME!!!!"
"What'd you see?!" Arthur barked.
"Something-something grabbed her -!" Mike's voice cracked. "We gotta get down there-NOW!"
Mike started climbing down the cliffside, using jagged ledges to lower himself. Arthur didn't bother. He jumped, grabbing a pine branch halfway down to slow his fall before dropping the rest of the way.
Mike landed beside him seconds later, and they took off running again.
"Keep goin', son!" Arthur urged as they vaulted over a fallen log.
They reached another ledge-this one a sheer drop into a snowbank.
Arthur holstered his revolver, clapped Mike on the shoulder, and said, "Let's go for it."
Then he slid down, snow spraying up around him. Mike followed, swearing the whole way.
"Oh shit... NO NO DAMMIT NOOOO!"
They hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of them. Gasping, Arthur rolled to his feet just as another scream echoed from a nearby mine building.
"HELP ME!!" Jessica's voice was raw with terror.
"Come on. Shit! Shit! Shit shit!" Mike scrambled up, sprinting toward the sound.
"Oh no, Michael!"
"JESSICA!!"
"HELP ME!!"
"JESSICA!! ...JESS!!"
They burst into the decrepit building, their boots pounding down rotting wooden stairs into the mines below. The air was thick with dust and the scent of blood.
Jessica's screams bounced off the walls.
"ARGH!! NO!!!! MICHAAEELLLL HELP ME!!!! HELP ME!!!"
"JESSICA I'M COMING!!!!" Mike roared back.
"HELP ME!! Oh no, Michael!"
"JESSICA!! JESSICA!!"
"...JESS!!"
They skidded to a halt in front of an old elevator shaft.
Jessica lay sprawled across the rusted platform, her body battered, her breaths shallow.
"NO!!! OH GOD!!! Nooo... Jessica... Oh god!! Jess!! Jess! Are you okay!?" Mike dropped to his knees, reaching for her.
She barely lifted her head. "...Help..."
Then-
The elevator lurched.
With a screech of metal, it plummeted into the darkness, Jessica's weak cry swallowed by the abyss.
"JESSSICAAAAA!!!!!!" Mike's scream was pure agony.
Then he froze.
His eyes snapped up.
Someone-something-was moving in the shadows above them.
"Huh? What the fuck."
Mike turned to Arthur, desperation burning in his gaze. "Big guy—come on. We gotta go. Now."
Arthur exhaled through his nose, jaw tight. Then he nodded.
"Lead the way, kid."
And together, they charged back up the stairs—into the unknown.