My eyes slowly opened, but I was in the castle again. I was in the hallway, just outside the door. I tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. I pressed my ear against the door, hearing things slightly more clearly. Howls. Definitely animal noises. What truly bothered me was the other sound I distinctly heard. Whips. The sound of leather whips against skin. I grabbed at the handles of the door, pulling as hard as I could. Nothing happened. But I heard footsteps come towards me from the back. As I turned around, a hand wrapped around my eyes. 

"You don't belong here."

My eyes shot open to be met with grey ones. They leaned back and I was able to see what they were.

"LEOPARD!!"

I screech, the large cat reels back with bared teeth. I couldn't move much, they had me pinned. I was so sure that I was cat food. They face back down, staring at me with cold, stone eyes. It roared, and I just....

Felix's POV

"It doesn't make sense. How did Jack suddenly come here?"

"Well he did, and it is where Jesse should be too."

I nod, Mark's logic making it's way true. I look over the white wasteland, completely black and bare trees. There were no NPCs in sight, even though there should have been wolves. 

"Where are all the enemies?"

"I don't know. This place should be loaded."

We continue to walk, the only sounds were our soft breathing, the crunching of snow beneath out feet, and a breeze. Only as time went on, the breeze turned to a storm. We could barely see ten feet in front of ourselves. I heard Mark shout over the howling wind.

"Felix! We need to stop before we freeze to death!"

"What about Jack?!"

I was able to look at him, his expression grave.

"I don't know."

It took a while of bickering, but he got me to stay at a cave that was nearby. Inside wasn't too cold, and a thick layer of moss was comfy to lay on. As soon as we knew we were safe, Mark tackled me into a hug. 

"For all we know he's gone and the last thing I was doing with him was yelling at him Felix.."

I wrapped my arms around Mark, feeling just as guilty. I looked to the cave entrance, as if somehow, magically, Jack would show up at the mouth of the cave. Staring at us with that goofy smile, come and tell us everything was alright.

But something else came.

And it made everything all wrong.

My eyes widened, and I shook Mark.

"M-Mark... Get your sword. Now."

He turned to look, his eyes widening as well.

A giant snow leopard.

It's glowing grey eyes.

But then I noticed something. And I knew it meant something indeed bad did happen.

It's bloody muzzle.

And I could tell... Something bad did happen...

And the scraps of black and green cloth on it's teeth.

... To Jack.

3rd Person POV

The leopard moved slowly inward, making the two young men back away. Their teeth were bared, the blood making them only more fearful. A roar echoed through the cave from it's throat. The glow of their eyes faded, and made it impossible to see them as they stepped into the shadows. Mark and Felix stood back to back, weapons drawn. They stayed as quiet as possible, trying to listen for the prowling beast. 

For a while, nothing happened. 

Just silence and soft breathing. 

Mark's brown eyes met Felix's blue ones.

Each were asking each other

'What's going on?'

Just as they were about to speak,

Something pounce onto the American.

"AHH!"

The leopard had knocked his sword out of his hand, leaving him to only struggle under the massive weight. Felix moved quickly, aiming at the leopard. They quickly moved and rolled over while still holding Mark, ending when he became pinned again. 

Mark made eye contact with the beast on top of him, his fearful chocolate eyes meeting the ashy animal's. A sudden need for sleep quickly washed over him, like the stone orbs had hypnotized him. He tried to turn his head and warn Felix to not make the mistake he made.

But he was too late.

Felix watched in horror as Mark closed his eyes. He foolishly met the cold gaze of the large cat. Same as Mark, he felt extremely tired at an unnatural speed. He fell to the floor, watching through hazy vision as the cat moved off Mark and towards him. The paws moved close to him, then the head moved down to match his vision range. 

Glowing silver eyes were the last things he saw.