The Prey

The roaring sound jolted me awake and an insistent vibration sent my heart racing before my eyes even fluttered open. I clutched the sheets, disoriented, my breath uneven as I tried to place the source of the noise. It wasn’t a storm, nor the ocean crashing against the shore—it was mechanical, rhythmic, and loud enough to rattle the walls.

A helicopter?

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I pushed off the bed and stumbled to the window, the cold floor biting against my bare feet. Pulling aside the heavy curtain, I stared out into the stark, white expanse, blinking against the brightness of the snow. And there it...