Alpine

The wind howled through the jagged peaks, carrying whispers of ancient secrets. Mira Callen pulled her parka tighter, squinting against the swirling snow as she trudged up the steep mountain trail. Her boots crunched through a thin layer of ice with each labored step. “How much farther?” she called out to the broad-shouldered figure ahead. Eli Roth glanced back, his weathered face impassive beneath a fur-lined hood. “Another hour, maybe two. Depends how fast you city folks can move.” ...

The wind howled through the jagged peaks of the Broken Range, carrying with it the faint echo of a scream. Lira paused in her climb, her ice axe embedded in the frozen slope. She cocked her head, listening. Nothing but the whistle of the wind and the crunch of snow beneath her crampons. “Just the mountain playing tricks again,” she muttered, shaking off the chill that had nothing to do with the subzero temperatures. ...