Island Coast – Unthinkable

The snow along the eastern shore was deeper than usual.

Ana and Sasha moved carefully along the high-water line, boots crunching through the crust. Their usual coastal inspection had become slower and more deliberate since the first heavy freezes. Most days they found nothing but ice, driftwood, and the occasional frozen seabird. Today the wind was sharper, cutting in from the open water.

Sasha was the first to stop.

“Ana.”

Her voice was tight. Ana followed her gaze.

Something lay half-buried in the snow near the rocks, only a few metres above the tide line. At first it looked like a body that had washed in and frozen. Then it moved.

A low, wet sound came from it — not quite a moan, not quite a breath. The head turned. The eyes that found them were wrong. Reflective. Hungry.

A Ravager.

On the island.

Sasha stumbled back a step, breath catching hard in her throat. “That’s not possible. They can’t— how did it—?”

Ana did not answer. She was already moving.

Her sidearm came up first. Two precise shots shattered the Ravager’s knees, dropping it face-first into the snow as it tried to rise. It still dragged itself forward with its arms, black fluid seeping into the white. Ana stepped in closer, switched the pistol to her left hand, and drew the short sword she carried on her opposite hip.

The first cut took the right arm at the elbow. The second took the left. Both limbs fell away, still twitching. The Ravager thrashed, mouth opening in a wet, furious sound. Ana put a boot on the back of its neck, forced the face into the snow, and with one clean downward stroke separated the head from the shoulders. She did not step back until the body finally stilled.

Black blood steamed faintly in the cold air.

Sasha was shaking. “Ana— what the fuck— there aren’t supposed to be any on this side. The water— the cold—”

Ana wiped the blade clean on the snow, then sheathed it. She crouched, examined the body for a moment, and closed the still-open mouth with a gloved hand before looking up.

“We’re taking it back,” she said. Her voice was steady, precise. “Rachel and the doctors need to see this. Now.”

Sasha stared at her. “You’re serious.”

“It’s already on the island. That means either the water barrier failed or something brought it. Either way, they need the body intact enough to examine.” Ana stood and glanced along the empty coastline, then back at Sasha. “Help me wrap it. We move fast and we don’t speak about this until Rachel has it.”

Sasha swallowed hard, still pale, but nodded.

Together they bound the limbs and torso in a heavy tarp from Sasha’s pack, working quickly while the wind picked up and fresh snow began to fall. Ana kept the pistol in hand the entire time, eyes moving between the treeline and the water.

When the bundle was secure they started back toward the settlement without another word.

Behind them, the dark stain of black blood was already disappearing under the new snow.

The unthinkable had reached the island.