“Can you hurry up already?!” Jacob yelled, his voice muffled by his helmet. He’d been crouched on the hill for what felt like forever, and his knees were freezing even through his snow pants. Down the slope, his little sister, Steph, was inching along, looking like some kind of lost turtle. Her skis were stuck in that dumb “pizza” shape they always made little kids do in lessons. 

“I am hurrying!” she whined, her voice high-pitched and annoying, like she was trying to break glass or something.

Jacob groaned and flopped his head into the snow. They’d been on this stupid green circle run for ages. Sure, his helmet and goggles felt itchy and lame, but at least they hid his face from everyone speeding past. He was positive the skiers and snowboarders were laughing at them. “Move it, turtle! Seriously!” he yelled again, his voice muffled by the snow.

Steph shot back, “I’m telling Mom you said that! She specifically said “I’m not supposed to go fast until I learn French fries!”

Jacob rolled his eyes so hard it hurt. Being stuck with his little sister sucked enough, but this? Three green circle runs in two hours? Total torture. By the time she finally waddled her way to the chairlift, Jacob was fuming quietly. He stared down at the skiers below, tiny dots zipping around on the white slopes like ants.

“We have to put the bar down, Jacob—Mom said!” Steph piped up, breaking the silence.

“Oh my god, you’re not gonna fall! Chill out,” Jacob snapped. But his sister freaked out anyway, clutching the bar like her life depended on it. And when it was time to get off? Total disaster. Steph panicked and wiped out, flinging her skis wide enough to catch on Jacob’s snowboard.

The two of them tumbled off the lift in a ridiculous heap, skis and board going everywhere. Jacob hit the icy ground hard, his ribs aching and his face burning with embarrassment. People were staring. He could feel them staring.

“You are literally the worst,” he snapped, shoving Steph as he scrambled to his feet. “You can’t do anything right!”

Jacob stomped his way over to the ski-route sign, dragging his board with a loud scrape. He was done. “I didn’t mean to!” Steph called after him, her voice shrill and whiny as she tried to keep up. She was like one of those tiny dogs that won’t leave you alone, and it was driving him crazy.

Jacob squinted at the map. The green circle runs were all there—Rabbit Hop, Snowflake Alley, and Pine Cone Park—mocking him. He groaned. If he had to do one of those boring baby slopes again, he’d lose it.

Then he heard some familiar voices. Jacob turned and spotted a group of kids hanging out near Powder Fang, one of the black diamond runs. His chest tightened with excitement. He knew those kids—his church youth group friends. 

Jacob’s stomach flipped. Powder Fang was legendary—it had just opened this winter, and he’d been dying to try it. His eyes darted between the kids, the sleek black diamond run, and Steph, who was still fumbling with her poles a few feet away.

“So where are we going?” she asked, crashing straight into his dream moment abruptly. 

Jacob clenched his fists, barely holding back a scream. His parents had ruined this day by forcing him to babysit Steph. Though he technically lived on the mountain because of his dad’s work between school, sports, and church, he hardly got any time to snowboard. Now that he finally did, Steph was dragging him down.

“Jacob!” Peter, an older kid he knew shouted, lifting his goggles and waving him over. Peter pointed at him, then to Powder Fang, beckoning him to come. Jacob hesitated for a split second, then made his choice.

“I’m going on an actual fun run,” he snapped, strapping his board on. “You can do whatever you want.”

“But Mom said—”

“Shut up, Steph. I’m not doing another baby run. Just meet me at the bottom.”

Jacob didn’t wait for her reply. He marched over to Peter, fist-bumped him, and launched himself onto the run. His guilt hovered for a moment as he glanced back—but only for a moment. The guilt melted away as he hit the powder.

The snow under his board was perfect, soft and untouched, and the view ahead was like a postcard. The air felt cold on his face but in a good way. He wanted more, so halfway down, he ripped off his helmet, letting it dangle by his side. This was freedom. Finally.

That is, until he reached the bottom of the slope, where he saw his mother and father unexpectedly waiting for him. By them stood Steph blushing in her pink jacket with cheeks shining from tears. His parents looked very cross. Jacob’s shoulders sagged, he knew what was about to happen. 

“Jacob Alan Johnson, get over here right now!” His mother said sternly.

Jacob’s ego took a blow, he hated when she used his full name. He tried to play innocent, “Why?”

“Listen to me! Come here!”

Jacob’s stomach dropped with the severity in her voice. He was in trouble.

“What?” Jacob said in an effort to be casual.

“Oh you know exactly what Little Man, don’t even try to play that game.” Jacob’s chimed in.

Jacob’s mother crossed her arms, “Why didn’t you stay with Steph like I told you to do Jacob?” 

Apparently, according to his parents, after Jacob had left, one of his dad’s coworkers on ski patrol had spotted Steph crying at the top of the hill. He called Jacob’s dad who quickly left mid ski run with his mom to meet a friend after snowmobiling Steph down. 

“Not chill at all Little Man, what were you thinking? First you ditch your sis and then you don’t wear your helmet while going down a Black Diamond???” His dad chastised. Jacob blushed, hiding his helmet behind him.

“It’s not a big deal! And I wouldn’t have left Steph if she wasn’t such a baby–”

Jacobs dad raised a hand, “I don’t want to hear it bud. I get it, sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do. But ditching your sister and not even abiding by basic safety requirements is unacceptable.”

“But Dad–”

“No buts, you’re grounded for the next two weeks. The rest of the day you have an option, either A, stay in the lodge where I know you won’t get hurt, or B, finish out the day on the slopes with me.”

Jacobs chest was tight with frustration, he looked down at his feet and bored mumbling something.

“So what’ll it be, Little Man?” His dad pushed.

Jacob didn’t look up, “I guess I’ll go with you…”

Jacob’s dad nodded to his mom who took Steph down to one of the little run’s they had down by the village. Jacob’s dad strapped his foot in and started heading toward the lift. Jacob dragged his feet behind.

Once in line, Jacob’s dad looked down at him.

“What?!” Jacob snapped.

“You’re forgetting something.”

Jacob looked down at his helmet on his arm. “It’s itchy though dad…don’t make me–”

“I have four rules that I expect you to abide by when snowboarding anywhere on this mountain.” Jacob’s dad counted on his fingers.

“One, wear safety gear, two, obey signs and ropes, three, don’t go alone and four, don’t eat yellow snow. So helmet on, strap in, and stick close unless you want to twiddle your thumbs at the lodge for the rest of the evening.”

Jacob groaned, “Fine…”

The ride up to the top was awkward at best, Jacob gazed into the snowy trees stewing. After a few moments his dad sighed, “So, I was thinking of heading over to Black Ridge, the powder was fantastic when your mother and I went down.”

Jacob didn’t answer staring into the frosted trees. 

“Common little dude, don’t be like this, please.”

Jacob made a little sigh, “Black Ridge sounds fine,” he said knocking the snow off of his board. 

“Actually,” his dad said thoughtfully, “nah, we can check out the map, there may be some good options we haven’t gone on yet,”

Jacob did a little nod enough to be respectful but minimal enough to still be begrudging.

When they hit the top, they skated over to the side and observed the map. 

“Now lets see,” Jacob’s dad started as he read the map, “You already did powder fang, and I already did Black Ridge. Maybe we could check out Check Mate on the right side or we could also…” Jacob could barely hear him as he scanned over the several runs, all marked respectively; he wanted to find a run that would prove to his dad how he didn’t need to be babied with lame rules like Steph. 

A little far out, a brightly coloured roped off section took Jacob’s attention. It had been closed for over twenty years, his dad said. Too many animal carcasses appear there for some reason. Though Jacob couldn’t lie that the old run had an intimidating history, he couldn’t help to feel drawn to it in an odd way. 

“Yo Christian!” Jacob’s dad yelled to a short man in a ski patrol jacket.  

“Hey man,” Christian grinned walking over.

“What’s up?!”

“Nothing much, you riding today?”

“Yeah man, me and my little buddy. Gonna go practice some safe fun.”

The two men started conversing over avalanche conditions, new snow machines, and the next staff meeting. Jacob growing more and more bored looked back to the old roped off section. 

Before he could talk himself out of it, Jacob quietly skated away, his heart beating in his chest. This was something he knew was going to be a challenge, but he had to find some way to prove to his dad how capable he actually was. 

With one more glance over his shoulder at his father Jacob strapped in and looked down. It wasn’t as steep as he initially thought it would be. Still, it easily could be considered a double black diamond, something Jacob hadn’t gone down before. Nonetheless he let his board slip over the edge and hit the fresh powder. 

At first he found it easy to weave between the trees, it was fantastic powder. The further he went down the run however the more uneven the snow became and the more his legs ached. As he was looking up admiring the trees a small branch caught the edge of his board. Suddenly the only thing Jacob could see was white.

He gasped for air, lifting his head wiping powder from his goggles. He attempted to climb back upright but sank further into the snow. Jacob kept struggling and he was sucked even further down. His board was now buried under three feet of it. Jacob huffed, unstrapping and digging his board out. He was exhausted already and he was probably not more than a fraction down the slope. 

Once he had his board in his gloved hands, Jacob laid back looking at the grey sky. He considered for a moment waiting to see if his father would follow behind him, but he knew his dad probably had no clue where he had gone, and no way of knowing. He came to the conclusion that this was a stupid idea. 

He strapped back in and looked around at his surroundings to see if there was a way he could cut over to a groomed run nearby. But as he looked around he realized this run became more and more isolated. He couldn’t even hear any other skiers and snowboarders from afar. It was completely silent. 

Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes that made Jacob’s heart stop. His gaze darted over to some thick brush. He wasn’t alone, someone or something was here with him.

Jacob thought of all the things it could be, a bear, a moose, a wolf; did that have wolves in the mountains? Jacob thought quickly of the wilderness classes he took at his church day camp. If it was a bear, the best thing he could do was scare it off with his voice.

“Hello!!!” Jacob said, his voice cracking a little. The rustling absorbed into the silence for the moment. 

Jacob waited. A deer appeared from the brush, slowly struggling its way through the snow. Jacob watched it in aw. Its long legs looked like stilts as it made its way across the run and into the woods on the other side.

Jacob exhaled a little, he seemed embarrassed for himself that he was nervous about a deer. 

Sick and tired of being more helpless than that deer. Jacob decided to get moving. The sooner he got out the better at this point. He knew his dad was going to be very angry with him, but even then he just wanted to get home. 

He started slowly shifting his weight to travel down the hill. He started closer to the trees to see if he could find a trail in order to get over to another run. The further he made his way further into the trees, the more and more uncomfortable Jacob got. 

“Jekub,” 

If the forest hadn’t been so quiet Jacob would have missed it under the sound of his board digging into the slope. His eyes went wide and he halted looking around him. Maybe his dad had somehow tracked him down.

When he stopped to listen though, he heard nothing.

Must have been the wind.

 After a couple seconds he started down the mountain. His board screeched against a few ice patches making him grit his teeth, “Jakeb,” he thought he heard again. Jacob stopped.

“Hello?” Jacob called. “Hello Hello Hello–” His voice echoed, Jacob began to think he was going crazy. He could have sworn he heard—

“Jakub…”

Jacob’s head spun around. There it was again. It almost sounded like someone saying his name, but with some sort of heavy accent. 

“Hello?” He called again.

“Jekob…Jakub…Jekob…Jecob—”

Jacob scrambled to follow the voice, his dad must have sent out people to look for him. 

“Jacob! Yes it’s me Jacob! I’m right here!” Jacob yelled out, his chest burning but he didn’t care. He was so relieved someone had found him. 

He stopped again though, anxiety filling him. Where were they?

“Hello!!!” Jacob yelled.

“Jay-cob…Jayyy-cob…Jacob…”

Jacob paused, the voice sounded odd, uneven of sorts. Like when you put music on .5 x speed and each word sounds warped.

Jacob paused, the logical part of him thought he should call out, but another part of him kept him from doing so. He stood looking around. Then like a whisper in the wind, he heard it again.

“Jacob…Jacob, Jaaacob, Jacooob, Jaaaacooob.” 

The voice didn’t sound normal, it sounded like someone attempting to talk normally. Trying to find the perfect way to say the name. Elongating syllables made it sound more like a tone you’d use for a dog to get their attention. 

Jacob turned towards the sound. It seemed like it was coming from a tree a few feet away from him.

“Hello?” Jacob regretted calling again. But what could a tree do? Perhaps someone left a radio by the tree?

“Jacobbbbb….” 

Jacob took a few steps towards the tree looking into its branches.

He didn’t see anything in the branches…

Maybe it was strapped to the trunk…

Jacob tried to see the tree’s trunk.

All he could see was the dark tree well.

But then. Something moved in the darkness. He thought.

Jacob squinted.

 “Jacobbbbb….Jacobbb…” The voice floated out of the well.

Someone was crouched in there. Jacob held his breath. 

“Jacob?” The voice seemed to sound inquisitive now. Two dark eyes reflected in the darkness now. Locked on him. 

He could only see them because the light shined off of them like glass marbles.

Taking notice of him, those eyes slowly lowered to the ground. Jacob couldn’t hear it shift. But he could see the figure dropping its head down. Like when a cat is about to pounce. 

Jacob’s eyes looked back like doe into headlights.

“Jacob.” Its voice sounded more like an order now. 

Jacob moved back. 

That was a mistake.

The eyes cocked to the side, with an awful crack.

“Jacob-Jacob-Jacob,” It chanted, splaying a hand out of the hole.

Its hand was bruised purple, and had one too many fingers. “Jacob com err–” The voice slurred, yanking itself slowly into the light.

Jacob moved even further back. Frozen.

From the six fingered hand in the snow came a thick veiny long arm, from the arm came a mangle blue shoulder, from the shoulder brought a face set upon a too long neck.

Jacob screamed.

The face of the creature was gaunt and decayed. It had hair that looked like mossy black mold dripping from its cracking scalp.

Jacob’s instincts finally kicked in. Run.

Jacob turned and flew down the hill as fast as he could. But was slammed to a stop as he looked down at a seven foot drop. Not much, but enough to be a bad idea to drop down.

Jacob’s stomach twisted with dread.

“Jacobbb..” the voice crooned behind him.

This creature was now standing up all the way. Jacob’s blood went cold. 

It was too tall, and too skinny. It’s head cocked to the side eight feet above the ground.

“Jacob..” It attempted sweetly. The edges of its mouth began to crack and bleed.

Its cheeks tore open with a wide smile. 

“Jacob…don’t go…”

Its arms hung loosely at its side, “Stay..” it said tilting its head. “Stay…”

With the sound of his heart beat in his ear Jacob jumped off the drop. He crashed into the snow and ice. His face burned in the ice. He pushed himself on though. He rode the hill down and looked behind him.

The thing hadn’t followed him. It simply stood tall and high with the trees. If you weren’t looking for the dark figure you may overlook it as a dead tree.

Then it screamed. It sounded like metal against ice. It shattered the space around them. Jacob fled further down. 

He knew he’d die if he stopped now. Around  tree after tree after tree, over and over. The scream kept seeming to possess the space around Jacob. And yet, he still kept going. 

Suddenly, there was silence. 

Jacob squinted his eyes shut. He heard the sound of snowboarders and people. He looked out, he had shouted out into the bottom of some run. He looked around. No one seemed to have heard or noticed the scream.

Jacob looked back, the forest, that of he could see, was empty.

Though that’s what he saw, Jacob could feel himself being stared at.

Then suddenly, wham!

Jacob woke up to a huge headache. He didn’t know where he was for a second.

“Can you hear me, Little Man?” Jacob looked over, his dad stared at him from a chair in his base layer and snow pants. 

“Dad?”

“Well at least you haven’t got amnesia.”

Jacob’s dad gave a knowing but worried smile.

The Clinic was empty for the most part. Jacob ached all over in the shallow medical bed. 

“What- what happened?”

Jacob’s dad ran his hand through his sandy blonde hair.

“Well after I was so rudely ditched, you seemed to get hit by a numb nut bombing down the ski hill.”

Jacob looked at his dad confused. “That knocked me out.”

“Yeah why do you think I tell you to wear your helmet buddy? I’ll give you a hint, it’s not to be a fashion statement.”

Jacob’s dad went over and pulled out the helmet, it was cracked and dented.

Jacob swallowed hard, he was never going to do something stupid like that ever again.