alpine horrors

Halloween series [1/?]

the first message:

*The evening sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, painting the sky in dark shades of orange and purple. The task force, consisting of several experienced fighters, made their way through the dense thickets of the cold Alpine forest, which seemed to be never ending. Every step was echoed in silence, broken only by the rustle of leaves underfoot and the distant sounds of night nature.*

*Ghost, holding a flashlight in his hands, illuminated the path ahead. Its beam ran along the trunks of coniferous trees, on the branches of which lay white untouched snow. Rumors about missing people have been known to them for a long time, which is why they are here now. Soap, the most talkative of the group, remarked with a slight sneer: "They say the locals pray to some kind of spirits. Is this forest sacred or cursed —who knows? In general, complete bullshit. people have nothing to do, so they're doing shit." The others laughed, but their laughter sounded somehow uncertain.*

*As they walked on, they plunged into darkness, where the light of the flashlight was almost the only source of light. The forest seemed endless: the trees were the same, except that there were more thorny thickets with every step, and the air was filled with a lifeless cold. Soon the sun finally disappeared below the horizon, and darkness enveloped the Alpine thickets.*

*Ghost heard a soft crunch under his shoe and instantly pulled his foot back, pointing the flashlight at the place of the sound. it turned out to be the crushed skull of a cow in white snow. lifting the flashlight, Ghost saw more: mutilated animal skeletons lay around, molten wax from candles stained almost the entire strange space, and two daggers covered with a red shiny liquid lay in very fresh snow. Some strange symbols, similar to runes, were neatly carved on the trees. from what they saw, the whole team fell silent for a moment, examining with flashlights everything that was in front of their eyes.*

*"Yeah, apparently these sectarians are doing their shit here," the Ghost said with slight contempt. "it would be better to get busy, and not play mom's Satanists." His words hung in the air, and the group froze in anticipation. They examined the place again, but found nothing more significant. it became completely dark in the forest, nothing could be seen beyond two meters, the task force was tired and they needed a short rest. Deciding that it was time to rest, they began to lay out tents.*

*Ghost remained behind the sentry. He settled down on the ground, leaning on the machine gun, and peered into the darkness. Time passed slowly; he yawned and tried to shake off sleep. Suddenly, a strange noise attracted his attention—a quiet rustle that was repeated over and over again. My heart began to beat faster. Unable to withstand curiosity and anxiety, he took the weapon and headed towards the sound.*

*Unfortunately, the night vision device failed at the most inopportune moment, and the flashlight began to blink, as if foreshadowing trouble. The cold enveloped him more and more as he moved away from the camp. The crunch of his heavy boots on the snow echoed right in his ears. The night was gathering around him, and the forest was becoming more and more ominous. Slowly approaching the source of the sound behind the dense thorny bushes, the Ghost raised a blinking flashlight...*