The frozen lake's ice cracked beneath his feet, a sound that echoed across the otherwise silent wilderness. Nathan paused, his heart pounding in his chest, unsure whether it was the ice or his own anxiety causing the thudding. He'd been walking for hours now, each step taking him deeper into the heart of the forest. The cold air bit at his exposed skin, and the silence was so complete, it was almost unnatural. The only sounds were the crunch of his boots in the snow and the occasional, unsettling crack of the ice beneath him.

He should have turned back by now. The sun was low, casting long shadows over the snow-covered trees, and the temperature was dropping rapidly. But he couldn’t. Not yet. Not when he was so close.