The cold in Winterfall was the kind that could make even the dead shiver.
The group arrived just before dusk.
A white fog rolled through the narrow streets, glowing faintly under the pale yellow streetlights and giving the whole town a ghostly atmosphere.
The houses were old—dark wood, steep roofs blanketed in snow.
In the distance, the frozen sea broke the silence with the cracking sound of ice colliding far out on the horizon.
"Feels like the kind of place where the coffee comes with a soul contract," Mandy muttered, hugging her arms for warmth.
"Yeah," Kim replied, scanning the quiet streets.
"But there's something off about this silence.
And when silence feels off, it usually means trouble."
Exhausted from the long drive, they stopped at a roadside motel—small, but with working heat.
The rooms were cramped, smelling of old wood and hot tea.
It was the perfect moment to breathe—or at least try.
Kim and Roberto sat on the porch steps, watching the snow fall.
"Don't you get cold?" Roberto asked, handing her a cup of coffee.
Kim smirked.
"Half vampire. Warm blood… and an expensive jacket. I don't feel things like that."
"I'm serious," he said, his tone softening. "You take too many risks, Kim."
She raised an eyebrow.
"You worried about me… or starting to like me?"
He looked away, slightly flustered.
"Just being rational."
"Uh-huh," she teased.
"Rationally cute."
Inside the room, Mandy and Tory were chatting quietly.
"Kim and Roberto, huh?" Mandy said with a grin.
Tory crossed her arms.
"They make a good team. But she still refuses to admit when she needs help."
"Just like you," Mandy replied playfully.
Tory scoffed.
"I asked for help first. That makes me different."
"Of course. 'Different.'" Mandy laughed. "With that deadly look of a protective lover."
Later that night, Mandy went to Kim's room.
"Aunt Val told me to keep an eye on you," she started, half-joking.
Kim chuckled.
"Great. Now I've got a fashion designer and a witch aunt bossing me around."
"I'm just saying… if things go bad, you don't have to play the hero alone."
Kim folded her arms.
"I was never good at sharing the spotlight, Mandy."
"Maybe it's time you learned," Mandy said, leaving her thoughtful.
Meanwhile, Tory and Roberto were in the motel lobby reviewing the map.
"You did good back in Blackshore," Tory said unexpectedly.
"Thanks. That was more luck than skill."
"No. That was strategy," she replied, glancing at him with a faint smile.
"Keep it up… and maybe we'll get along."
Roberto chuckled.
"Maybe?"
"Maybe," Tory said, smirking.
The next day, the group followed a snow-covered trail that led to a half-buried structure — an old research facility.
Its windows were shattered, and the wind whistled through the cracks like a whisper.
Inside, broken vials and scattered papers littered the floor—many marked with claw scars and the sigil of the Circle of Night.
"This place is a monster graveyard," Tory said, picking up a cracked test tube still stained with black blood.
Mandy skimmed through the papers.
"All these experiments… they used creature blood—hybrids, mutations, mind control…"
"Same pattern as before," Kim said, kneeling to pick up a small metallic disk marked with the Circle's symbol.
"And here's the second fragment."
Then, the ground trembled.
A low roar shook the walls.
"Oh no…" Kim muttered, unsheathing her blades. "I know that sound."
From the shadows emerged Frago, the mutant yeti — a grotesque mass of twisted muscle and bone, with burning red eyes.
"Humans… intruders…" he growled, his voice echoing like thunder.
"Karmila sends her regards."
Kim met his gaze.
"Then tell her I'll return the favor."
She twirled her blades, taking stance.
"Tory! Get them out of here, now!"
"I'm not leaving—"
"Not up for debate!" Kim shouted. "Go! I've got this!"
While Tory dragged Mandy and Roberto away, Kim charged the monster.
The clash was brutal.
Each strike split the ground, each impact shook the air.
Frago swung hard, slamming Kim against the wall.
She hit the ground, blood dripping from her lip—then regenerated almost instantly, the crimson steam hissing in the cold.
"You're strong," Frago growled. "But not invincible."
"Good," she shot back. "That'd be boring."
Meanwhile, Roberto found a functioning terminal in one of the corridors.
"The system's still online… I can overload the generator!" he yelled through the communicator.
"Then do it—fast!" Kim's voice came between the sound of clashing steel.
He typed furiously, bypassing security protocols.
A timer began flashing: 60 seconds.
"Kim! The lab's going to blow in one minute!"
"Understood!"
Kim dashed forward, dodging a massive swing, then drove one blade deep into the monster's chest.
Frago roared, collapsing to his knees as she pinned him against a metal wall.
"This is for everyone you killed, you bastard!" she snarled, driving the blade deeper.
She sprinted down the corridor and leapt through a shattered window—
just as the explosion tore through the facility, lighting the gray sky of Winterfall in flames.
When the group regrouped in the van, the air was tense—but there was a fire in Kim's eyes.
"Second fragment," she said. "Mission complete."
Mandy grinned.
"And the monster?"
"Turned into melted snow," Kim replied, pointing her thumb back toward the smoke.
Roberto glanced at her, half-serious, half-relieved.
"And you? You okay?"
Kim smirked.
"Worried rationally again?"
He laughed. She smiled faintly.
Winterfall faded behind them—
and their next destination awaited.
San Riverbend.