Read the excerpt from chapter 7 of night.

when at last a grayish light appeared on the horizon, it revealed a tangle of human shapes, heads sunk deeply between the shoulders, crouching, piled one on top of the other, like a cemetery covered with snow. in the early dawn light, i tried to distinguish between the living and those who were no more. but there was barely a difference. my gaze remained fixed on someone who, eyes wide open, stared into space. his colorless face was covered with a layer of frost and snow.

which statement best describes the atmosphere the author creates?

it is an atmosphere of relief.
it is an atmosphere of hesitation.
it is a skeptical atmosphere.
it is a nightmarish atmosphere.