On the coldest night of the new year, Park Ranger Dave cranked up the heat in the forestry truck. At full blast it barely put out enough heat to keep a mouse warm. “Damn thing” grunted Dave as he pocketed his hands in his oversized coat and buried his mouth in the collar. Thick flakes of snow were gently falling all around. His tracks to the truck had already been filled in. It was a dark midnight, and just to his luck, the headlights weren’t working. “I keep asking Sam about getting a new truck” he mutters to himself as he keeps turning the key with no luck. “Tomorrow I’ll be telling him we need a new truck” The engine roars to life and the vibrating hum fills air. Feeling victory, he begins to turn the radio. It is all static. On Friday it worked. He couldn’t believe it. He flicks on the headlights. They light up the darkness of night and the ghostly white figure with dangling arms behind some trees and in front of the truck. Dave hit his head on the roof from being startled. The stale piping hot coffee splashed on him. When he opened his eyes it was gone. “Sunuva…” Dave cranked the window down by rolling the handle. Though his arm was turning fast, the window squeeked down. “You owe me a coffee you sneaky bastard!” The only reply he got was from the gently snowfall “I know it’s you Sam…. No sense hiding anymore” Utter stillness. Dave pulls out his cell phone. “Not as smart as you think…” he dials Sam’s number and tilts his head to the wind. In the distant he heard a faint phone ringing. “Got ‘em” Dave exited the truck and began walking toward the ringtone, having to dial again. “Jokes on you… you’re the one who’s been waiting in the freezing snow just to scare me… which you didn’t” the ringing stopped but he was getting close. A third dial. Walking in front of the headlights, he is almost out of sight from the high beams and into the woods. The ringing is getting louder. The headlights from the truck flash. “Games over, come on out” he calls out once more. Now turning on the flashlight and feeling nervous. He scans around him, panning the flashlight from his phone slowly around him. Something quickly moves behind the trees and it startles him. Almost relieved, Dave begins to take another careful step “Okay you win, you scared me” a bone snapping crunch happens beneath his seasoned Ranger boots. It’s Sam’s frozen and frostbitten fingers, and his head close by. Both badly frozen. Shock takes over and he moves the flashlight up again, this time more frantically scanning the area. He reaches for the gun in his holster but realizes he left it in the truck. Rustling from some bushes happens. “Whoever’s there, show your self! This is a Park Ranger” commanded Dave. The steam from his breath is held inside his lungs. A head slowly reveals itself from behind the tree, prying it out slowly. The creature was tall and pale. It’s eyes were that of a predators and reflected all light back, and it’s jowls and teeth protruded outward like jagged spear heads. He raced back to the truck, praying he knew where it still was as the headlights had gone out. Thankfully it was still there. He jumped in and slammed the door shut behind it, fumbling to call 9-1-1. “Don’t panic, don’t panic” a loud thud came from the roof of the truck, denting it inward. Dave grabbed his pistol and slowly drew the pin back. The roof of began denting in around the footsteps. He emptied the clip through the roof, hoping to hit the creature. A glass shattering screech was let out and blood flowed in through the bullet holes and trickled down Daves nose and the barrel of his gun. The creature falls to down onto the hood and rolls off drivers side, pooling blood in the snow. Dave is in shock from the events that just took place. As he’s staring down at the corpse of the creature, a chunk of flesh from his neck gets bitten off from behind. Blood is gushing out of his neck and into the creatures mouth as it keeps chomping away at his necks flesh and tearing up the muscle and ligaments. His screams were soon muffled with him gurgling his own rich blood.