trouble on the trails

My Mom said that my family usually travels or migrates north during the winter season, why is that? We were visiting my mom's parents, It was a "tradition" that my family does every winter.

Apparently due to my birth that my family halted the winter for 4 years. During that the time the butlers, maids and other employees would have free reign on the house and maintain it properly.

A whole lot of crates were loaded inside the back of a fancied up and reinforced covered wagon because the trip takes roughly 4 days up to a week depending on the weather. The people who tagged alongside me and my parents was Chloe, Why only her? Because I begged her to come so I don't feel lonely.

The seating arrangement was that my parents sat behind the drover, while Chloe and I were behind them along with the many crates and luggage that we're bringing along.

"Oh, what a time is it to be with a little girl~" were the words coursing through my veins.

Unlike Chloe and my parents who were only wearing jackets and basic winter clothes, My mother fancied me up… Knowing my mother's habits for making extremely specific niche clothes, She made me a very large, puffy, furry, cozy and fluffy sweater, pants, gloves and boots to "protect me from the cold.

I'd bless her soul for that but I rather curse her for making me look like a chimpanzee wearing sheep wool as battle armor… I was basically unable to run or turn properly…

I looked out the covered wagon to observe what the mountain trail looked like, It was a snowy taiga with redwood, spruce and pine trees, it was like Canada, thank god it didn't look like ohio where you barely see snow.

We have been on the road for roughly 3 days, outside has gotten very misty, the snow has only gotten thicker and the temperature has dropped…

"What's wrong Gwen?" Chloe asked while resting on the crates.

"Just observing a herd of reindeers eating grass."

"Don't forget to properly hold on the edges okay?"

"Yes thank you."

Back in my old world I had been on a lot of nature safaris and hiking trips with my family, it was something we usually did during our vacation days.

A few days later, I was still peeking out the wagon for what felt like several days straight, I was… addicted to enjoying the wonderful view.

While observing a nearby moose from inside the wagon I felt a massive chill down my spine, because not a moment later, the moose started acting very distressed by something, the environment got extremely chilly,My breathing got unnaturally heavy. It was extremely difficult to describe it was like I was slowly freezing to death, as if something dangerous was trying to get to me…

The only way I could describe it was… "Overwhelmingly Oppressive, as if the feeling of a looming imminent danger was trying to get a hold of me…" it felt more oppressive than a group of western twitter users, a feminist, and a vegan fighting and complaining about moral high ground amongst each other or anime fans debating about the morality liking fictional characters….

You'd love to see it go down however this felt different it was like death was right around the corner, as if I could slip up at any point… the feeling of an oppressive evil was around me all over….

All of a sudden the wagon stopped.

"Gwen. close the curtains and silently go to Chloe and stay next to her, Now." Whispered my father before lighting up a lantern.

His tone was very serious so I complied, this wasn't normal for him, so I can only trust that there really is something dangerous out there stalking us…

"All of you be quiet." were what He demanded and everyone seemed to comply.

Do they know what this overwhelmingly oppressive feeling is? For what felt like an hour that "force" finally subsided and the wagon has started going up the trails again.

"Dad, what was "That bad feeling" just now….?"

"It's about time you learn what a wendigo is…"

"A wendigo?" After hearing that familiar name My eyes widened, and my heartbeat raised…

"You see Gwen, Wendigos cannibalistic monsters that are highly associated with winter seasons and night they are described as a fearsome beast that stalks and eats humans or as a spirit that possesses humans, causing them to turn into cannibals."

"Cannibals… That's awful"

"Indeed it is…." My mother responded.

"What do they look like?" I asked.

"Wendigos are described as having long slender limbs, long, sharp claws, and teeth, and their eyes are said to be sunken in and glowing red. They are also said to have a long tongue that they use to lick their victim's flesh and can shapeshift into other animal and human forms."

"I see…." I really needed time to process this revelation…

In my old world, the wendigo is human in origin and becomes a monster through a process that results either from acts of starvation-induced cannibalism or from possession by a malicious spirit. It was said that:

"The Wendigo was gaunt to the point of emaciation; its desiccated skin pulled tautly over its bones. With its bones pushing out against its skin, its complexion the ash gray of death, and its eyes pushed back deep into their sockets; the Wendigo looked like a gaunt skeleton recently disinterred from the grave. What lips it had were tattered and bloody. Its body was unclean and suffering from suppurations of the flesh, giving off a strange and eerie odor of decay and decomposition, of death and corruption." Paired with the fact that the word "Wendigo" literally means "evil spirit" in Ojibwe, Wendigos are essentially evil incarnate…"

Never in my Life did I ever expect to encounter one… If any of those old stories applied to this world then I believe I'm in for some real shit…

"Dad, what else do I need to know?"

"Wendigos are powerful supernatural beings born from greed, weakness, and the worst parts of human behavior. Moreover, they're driven by the insatiable desire to kill and eat their victims. They most often come out during winter seasons or cold environments commonly,"

"How effective are the use of magic against them?" I asked.

"Sigh…. You can't."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said you can't a wendigo's mere presence completely negates the usage of any magical or mana related abilities.

"What else do they do? Do they have any abilities and weaknesses?"

"They are said to be blind, and heavily rely on the sound that their preys make… they sometimes use a lure on the prey."

"How so?"

"By mimicking the a voice of a familiar person that the future victim knows…

Hearing that part has made my anxiety go through the bloody roof, it's exactly like back in my world.

"Are there any way to kill one?"

"There is no way to kill a wendigo, however, there are ways to detour one, heat and light are the primary ways to deter them from even attempting to think about going in your direction because they have an extreme vulnerability to heat…"

". . . . .. . " I have no clue what to even say anymore.

"They also move at lightning-fast speed because the moment they detect a living creature making a noise they make a mad dash towards it, It's said that their claw swipes are strong enough to decapitate a powerful magic user or mage…"

"There has to be some way right?"

"No, promise me Gwen, if you ever feel that imposing feeling from a wendigo ever again, you stay quiet and wait it out. The moment one appears in your vicinity, the only true way to live through it is to escape or just wait it out, promise me that Gwen…."

"I promise." I lied to my father....

"Good."

So any Wendigo encounter is not a challenge of killing it but fighting for your own life, it automatically makes any situation a death game you need to push through… Earlier my father said that a wendigo could mimic familiar sounds if it chooses to, so if stories from my past life applied I should be able to tell it's fake…

A few more days later we finally arrived at a nearby town, it was snowy and the houses and buildings resembled those of the 1890-1910 era, I guess some technology does exist here, it's not on Ohio's level of being stuck in the ice age.