^{Designed in Canva}

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The makeshift sleds moved quietly across the empty parking area, carving thin paths through the grimy snow. Mark shielded his eyes against the biting wind, peering into the foggy distance. Visibility was limited, but he was certain they were nearing the next line of vehicles. They had to press on.

Next to him, Jenny was shivering in her camouflage jacket, her hood cinched tightly around her face. “How much longer?” she queried, her voice barely audible.

“I can’t say for sure,” Mark confessed. “But we should be close to the gas station.”

^{Original image taken from the announcement post of the contest}

When the snowstorm struck the previous day, Mark and Jenny were at the grocery store gathering provisions. By the time they exited, the ground was blanketed with three feet of snow and the town was without power. With the roads impassable, they chose to take refuge in the grocery store with a group of other customers and staff.

They spent an anxious night together in the manager’s office, the wind’s howl their only company. Their initial relief at weathering the storm soon gave way to apprehension as the snowfall showed no signs of abating. As their food reserves dwindled, a small search party ventured out for help, repurposing aluminum shelves as sleds.

That was four hours prior. There had been no word from the others since.

Jenny let out a sharp intake of breath and Mark turned to see the indistinct form of a body behind one of the snow-laden cars. As they drew nearer, he recognized with a jolt of horror that it was Lily—the warm-hearted cashier who had given them mints at the checkout counter the day before.

Her eyes were open, staring blankly at the cloudy sky, her face frozen in a mask of fear. Dark blood marred the snow around her.

Mark felt a wave of nausea. “What happened?” He managed to ask. “Where are the others?”

Jenny could only shake her head, speechless. Mark began to paddle faster, his eyes darting around the lot. A tall, angular figure loomed out of the fog, lurching towards them on thin legs. Mark’s heart clenched—it wasn’t human. It couldn’t be…

The entity paused next to another vehicle, bending over a fallen figure on the ground. It looked almost like a spidery scarecrow as it hunched there...feeding.

Mark recoiled in horror, nearly falling off his makeshift sled.

“Go back!” He croaked. Jenny didn’t hesitate—she jumped off her sled and sprinted towards the grocery store, struggling through the deep snow.

Glancing over his shoulder, Mark saw two more entities clambering over the parked vehicles, closing in on them. He jumped off his sled and chased after Jenny. Behind them, otherworldly screams cut through the dense air. The entities had seen them.

Mark’s heart pounded in his chest. The freezing wind burned his throat. He didn’t dare look back. They just had to reach the safety of the store…

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I hope this story gave you the heebie-jeebies! 😱

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^{I would like to invite @ty-ty, @dove11, @cruzamilcar63, @waterjoe, @senehasa, @damithudaya, @f2i5, @weisser-rabe, @enrisanti, and @paholags to join this contest through this link, if they have not already taken part in it.}

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^{Author: @waqarahmadshah | Date: 06-Feb-2024 | Achievement 1}