Sunlight breached the wooden blinds as dawn arrived. I rolled over, reaching for him. The other side of the bed was cold, telling me he was awake. Probably in the shower. I listened but there was no sound. Nothing except Maddie licking between her toes.

My eyes opened, remembering the events of the night before and what was to come on. With a sigh, I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Maddie felt me move and jumped onto the bed, asking to cuddle. She circled my lap twice before laying down and purring.

"Are you awake?" a voice yelled from the hall.

I groaned, "Yes."

Against her wishes, I pushed Maddie from my lap so I could swing my legs from the bed. Yawning, my arms stretched out, feeling the muscles pop as they ached from the cold. Maddie laced herself between my feet when I walked toward the dresser in search of clothes.

In the reflection of the mirror, I saw him walk into the bedroom with a grin. He leaned to kiss my cheek before backing out the door. "I'm running late, but I'll see you when I get home tonight."

"Love you," I shouted.

"You too!" He yelled from the hallway as he ran.

It wouldn't be long before the police would return. I pulled out a pair of my heavy winter pants and long underwear. Considering what they were coming for, it was safe to assume I would be outside for the majority of the day. 

The cabin was silent as I moved to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. With every step, Maddie howled, continually lacing herself between my feet. She knew with each step I wasn't planning on staying in the house with her.

Outside, we heard the sound of birds singing by the window. It was very faint, but in the distance, I could hear the same owl, continuing to call. Though strange, I let it go, as my mind was preoccupied. 

I stared into my reflection in the bathroom. The dark circles under my eyes were evident. I didn't sleep well. The shock of the corpse stayed with me as I continued to feel his eyes on me. My husband slept through the night as I tossed and turned, never getting comfortable. 

In the corner of my eye, I caught the glimpse of something shining. Whatever it was sat behind the toilet, close to the pipes. Bending down, I reached for it. It was a lighted nock, covered in dried blood. Holding it close, I realized it must have come off of my clothes from the kill with the buck. It was possible since I had lost sight of the arrow in the snow.

Maddie jumped onto the dresser when I returned to my room. I held the nock up to her. She leaned close, sniffing the nock, before licking it. Chuckling, I opened my black and blue jewelry box to store it for later.

They came as promised. I had already moved into the kitchen to cook my oatmeal when I noticed the swarm of vehicles pulling into my driveway. Maddie jumped onto the kitchen windowsill to get a better look at what was to come. She bolted into hiding at the first door knock.

Bowl in hand, I walked over to unlock and open the door. On the other side stood Jeff with his brigade behind him. "Good morning, ma'am. I'm sorry we arrived so early."

Nodding, I waved them inside. "I was already awake."

He shook his head and said, "Ah, ma'am, would it be possible for you to lead us to the body? We've brought some equipment to help us follow you safely."

Sighing, I took the last bite of my oatmeal. "Sure. Give me a couple minutes to get my boots on and I'll be right out."

"Great. Oh, and is your husband home?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, he has already left for work."

Jeff's gaze shifted to my garage before his reassuring smile returned. "Okay. Thank you, ma'am. We'll just be out here."

With a firm grin, I closed the door. The sounds of metal moving against metal outside tugged at my ears. I stared at the collection of people gathering outside my kitchen window. Men and women of various ages were pulling their own four-wheelers off of trailers. They were dressed heavily for the conditions of the mountain.

Leaving my dirty bowl in the sink, I sat on the fireplace to zip my boots up from the night before. Blood from the buck at stained the edges of them, reminding me to clean them later. I reached for my hat and gloves from the counter as I made my way to the door. Maddie howled at me one last time before I shut it behind me.

Bill waved from his ATV. "Good morning!"

"Morning," I said with a nod.

I walked down the steps of my porch to stand next to Bill. "Are you guys ready to follow me?"

"Let me find out," he said before turning back toward Jeff. "Are we good to go?"

Jeff was speaking with a woman I didn't recognize. As Bill shouted, they glanced back at us. Both narrowed their eyes in our direction, lifting their hands to shield their eyes from the sun. Jeff moved to climb on top of his own ATV, while the others moved to another that had a sleigh of equipment attached.

Biting my lower lip, my teeth tugged at the pieces of chapped skin. Acknowledging their readiness, I turn to walk to the back of the house. The chill in the air caressed my cheeks, reminding me of the windburn that would soon return. I heard the rumbling of vehicles following slowly behind me as I walked. The sound only stopped when I opened the shed doors.

The smell inside was potent from the meat. It was still soaking in the salt. Nothing had disturbed it the night before, which was good. Only now did I realize I hadn't locked it the night before like I usually did.

Having been inside, my ATV was more responsive as I turned the key. The engine roared before purring between my legs, waiting for my command. I threw it into reverse and backed up carefully, unsure of where the police were waiting exactly.

Jeff had them angled in the direction we had gone only a few hours prior. Pushing the gas with my thumb, I urged the ATV ahead of him and toward the field in the mountain. We drove for ten minutes, scaring away any animals nearby. The old willow oak came into view as we approached and Jeff's engine started to slow. 

The others followed suit and slowed down while I continued ahead. Only when I was on the other side of the tree, facing them, did I turn my engine off. Instead of climbing down, I simply sat and waited. I wasn't quite sure what would happen next. 

Where Jeff pointed, vehicles circled the tree and me. Bill followed suit, shouting above the engines and pointing toward the body. The entire process of unloading took a full hour and a half. No one came to speak to me. I simply sat and watched as the tents were propped up and the shovels were brought out. 

The coroner was careful when he approached. He stood probably six foot two, same height as my husband. His hair was tied back into a low tight bun, tuckered down by his knit hat. As the police dug, he gracefully stepped into the hole where the hand had been exposed. 

Leaning forward, I propped myself up to get a better look. The head had been turned by his gloved hands. The frozen eyes were staring at me once again. My stomach turned as I stared at this stranger. Our eyes stayed locked as the coroner continued to examine him and the police continued to dig around.

Movement in the corner of my eye forced me to break the trance I had fallen under. My gaze shifted to the trees that were hiding my tree stand. An albino great horned owl sat in the stand, staring at us. At me. 

Hoot.

Beneath the tree stand, a shadow shifted. Something other than the owl was watching us. I watched the bushes on the ground, waiting for the shadow to reveal themselves. But there was nothing.

"Ma'am?"

Jerking me back to reality, Bill stood in front of me, waving his hand. I shook my head before offering him a grin. "I'm sorry. I thought I saw something."

Bill looked toward the trees before he turned to me with a smile. "There's nothing! Do you mind walking over with me?"

"Sure," I said, climbing down from the ATV. 

With my arms folded, I stood next to Bill, watching at they revealed the rest of the body. He was completely naked, body blue with the snow. Jeff was examining the wound in his chest while whispering something to the coroner. Bill slowly swayed from side to side, attempting to keep warm.

"I know it's a difficult thing to ask. But we wanted to be sure. Seeing him fully revealed, are you sure you don't know this man?" he asked.

I shrugged while shaking my head. "I'm sorry, I don't. I don't leave the cabin much except to go to work or the store with my husband."

He nodded, jotting down notes in the same journal from before. "Is there a reason for that?

"I just like the peace of the mountains. It lets me get my work done. I'm not really a people person. I'd rather be on my own," I said, voice dropping toward the end.

"You mean with your husband?" he asked, tilting his head into my view.

"Yeah," I said, eyes meeting his. "Of course."

Jeff pointed to the woman who he was talking with back at the house. "Jane! Make sure you get some good pictures of the entire crime scene and the body. I don't want a single thing lost in this damn snow."

She smirked, holding up her large camera. "Do you doubt my skills?"

Bill rolled his eyes and leaned next to me before whispering, "Jane is a little cocky."

"Damn straight," she shouted, hearing Bill's words.

My body loosened at their exchange. The cold still had its bite, but the tension seemed to lessen as the hours started to move. The sun was already to the west of us when they were nearly finished collecting the body and the scene. 

I was back on my ATV, watching them pack away everything back into the sleigh, including the body. When they tried to pick him up, it was difficult. They weren't able to move him into the body bag until they have shoveled away at least 3 more inches of snow away from the body. The coroner continually shouted at them to be careful. He wanted nothing left behind.

Hoot.

The shadows of the forest shifted under a cool breeze that suddenly returned. The owl hadn't moved from the tree stand as the sun moved. It was unusual enough to see an owl out throughout the entire day. What made it stranger was his lack of movement. 

The ruby red eyes watched as the police completed packing everything away. Jeff trudged through the snow toward me. "I think we can pack up and head out. Thank you so much for your help. We'll keep you informed with the investigation and reach out if we have any more questions."

I nodded. "Okay. Can you find your way back?"

He nodded with narrowed eyes. "Sure, but aren't you following back? It's freezing and the temperature is dropping."

"I know, but I just realized I never found my arrow from the buck last night. I just want to check where I shot him to see if it is over there," I said, pointing toward the tree stand.

"Do you need our help?" he asked.

"No," I said shaking my head. "You guys have a lot of work ahead of you. That's more important than one lone arrow. Don't worry, I'll find my way back like I always do."

He nodded, taking a step back. "If you're sure. Thank you for your help and time, ma'am."

With that, he struggled through the snow once more until he was sitting on his ATV with Jane. Bill waved his goodbye before leading the entire group of them back to my cabin. It wasn't long before I was alone. 

The sun hadn't set quite yet, telling me it was still before five in the evening, giving me a few more minutes before I would need to start dinner. The ATV puttered underneath of me until I pushed the gas. Flicking the headlights on, I aimed them at the trees behind the stand.

Instead of a hoot, the owl screeched. As I looked up, his wings flapped before he lifted into the air, disappearing into the forest. My eyes dropped to the ground, searching for whatever had moved before. I hopped off of the still running ATV and carefully stepped forward. 

"Who's there?" I shouted.

There was no response. Only the breeze as it blew past me, into the trees above with their shifting leaves. An acorn fell in the distance. A cloud of air escaped my lips. 

There was no response. But there were eyes. Milky, white eyes.