Sam couldn't run anymore; he was about to faint. Finally, he stubbornly said, "I can't run anymore. Please let us rest. Why are we running? We've been running for over three days and haven't seen a single person."
Pyp and the others exchanged glances; they shared the same thought but didn't want to voice it publicly. It was clear they silently agreed with him. Sam pressed on. " Jon, we love you, but how do you know someone's following us? Did you and Ghost see them?"
Jon took a sip of water; the icy water burned as it went down his throat. He shook his head. "I didn't see anyone, but I'm sure someone's following us. Ghost can sense it; he's closing in at ever-increasing intervals as we take breaks."
Sam didn't believe in magic; to him, it was dead, along with dragons. But after seeing Jon turn into Ghost, he started believing in magic again—but that went too far. "You think someone's following us? No offense, but Ghost is an animal. Are we acting on animal instincts?"
Sam realized he was starting to convince the others. So he pressed on. "Listen, who would be crazy enough to follow us through this freezing wilderness for more than three days? We're already at the Skirling Pass. Do you think they'd follow us all the way to the Wall? You haven't even seen who or what's chasing us. If they go east, they'll have to go the same way. They might not even be chasing us at all; they might even be trying to use the pass, if anyone is following us."
Pyp and Grenn shared Sam's opinion; they felt the man made sense. Benjen and Eddard, on the other hand, sat there silently, trying to rest as much as possible. Jon tried to persuade them, "I'm sure someone is following us, and those things are dangerous. Because it's getting closer, and I can sense through the Ghost that what's following us isn't human. The Ghost are afraid of it, and it's never afraid of humans. We must keep going."
Pyp added, "What about the owl that can only communicate with you? We haven't seen it for two days. Are we sure the Druid are coming? We haven't heard anything else for a long time."
Despite the lingering doubt, Jon remained steadfast in his belief. "The snowy owl may have encountered some difficulties, or lost track of us. But Ghost's signs and my intuition tell me we are not alone, and it is not friendly. Even now, Ghost wants to run away; you can see its fur is standing on end, because it is very anxious."
Sam, still panting, asked further, "Even if there's something outside, why risk killing ourselves? Whatever it is, we're not prepared. Maybe we can find a defensible position and wait for it to pass. We can make a fire for warmth and protect ourselves from the wild beasts..." He pointed to a rocky hill in the distance and continued, "We can use this place. It has natural fortifications. If we keep going, it will catch up with us anyway. That way, at least we'll have enough energy to fight off the beasts."
Grenn interjected, " Sam is right. We can't afford to chase each other for long in this freezing weather. It's better to face what we might be chasing than to exhaust ourselves."
Benjen finally spoke, " Jon, I respect your and the Druid ' intuition, but we're all exhausted. Sam and the others have a point. Perhaps it's time to assess the situation and carefully plan our next move. We can't keep running away blindly."
They climbed onto the rocky outcrop and started a roaring fire. The surrounding rocks shielded them from the biting wind. They caught an Arctic hare, Eddard was cooking it over the fire.
While everyone rested, Jon was still trying to persuade them to continue, as Ghost's anxiety grew daily, but most of them were exhausted and didn't want to go any further. Jon wondered what could make an apex predator so fearful.
That thing was definitely not human; could it be a large creature like a polar bear? He knew nothing but the impending doom. He had no other feeling, but if it was just an animal, would the Druid have let them run away like this?
Jon had presented all these ideas to his friends and Benjen, but they were too exhausted to accept any of them. A piercing scream echoed through the Skirling Pass. It was a sound none of them recognized, and it sent chills down their spines. The snow-covered earth seemed to absorb the sound, leaving behind an eerie silence.
Jon's senses sharpened, and he cried out urgently, "We have to go! Now!" His futile plea echoed as darkness enveloped them. But it was too late. His companions drew their swords, lit torches, and held their ground, gripped by a chilling fear that made their hearts pound.
A thin mist rolled in, and the darkness grew even deeper; the torchlight did not create any distance between them. Rather than an invisible darkness, it was more like a solid wall.
In the eerie darkness, a pair of glaringly small ice spheres appeared. Below them, eight larger spheres seemed to be pulsating violently. The sight sent chills down their spines; for a moment, time seemed to stand still as they struggled to confront the terrifying reality before them.
Sam lowered his sword, his voice trembling with disbelief, his mind unable to comprehend the nightmare unfolding around them. "They... they're not real," he muttered, desperately trying to deny the truth. "They're just stories for children."
But as Sam spoke, the cold eyeball drew ever closer, its chilling gaze piercing their bodies and filling them with dread. As time ticked by, Ghost's form seemed to solidify further, taking on a terrifying appearance that terrified them.