Last Legacy

Chapter 2

I woke up to the bed thumping violently. My eyes flew open to see what was going on. I assumed it was an earthquake or a piece of machinery working outside, but it was just Koda scratching an itch on the bed. His back leg thumped rhythmically against the mattress.

I let out a breath.

It was light outside, but since we were in the season where the sun is almost always up, it meant nothing. I reached over to the shared nightstand and grabbed Steve's watch. It read about half past six.

I sighed and put the watch back. It felt cold in my hand, in fact, the whole room was cold. There wasn't a wood stove like I had in my cabin, and the small electric heater only did so much. It was a good thing I passed on washing my hair in the shower last night. I pulled the blankets tighter around me and curled my legs up into a fetal position.

I wanted to go back to sleep, I wanted to drift off and visit Asgard in my dreams, but Koda had other plans entirely. He walked up to my face on the small bed, and gave me a big, wet, slobbery kiss. 

"Well Koda. That was gross." I whispered, and scratched behind his ears. "Do you need to go out?" He let out a snort, and I sighed again. "Okay, let's go."

I pulled myself out of the cold bed and into the even colder room. My joints and muscles groaned in protest as I forced them to get moving for the day. I wrote Steve a note on the bedside stationary, laced up my boots, and snuck out the door with Koda right by my side.

The town was old, and in no way easy on the eyes. The buildings were obviously built to withstand the harsh winter, not to look pretty. It was hard to tell the difference between a house and a public building.

Koda sniffed around happily as we walked down the street. There was no snow, but a thin sheet of morning frost covered every surface, giving the town a whitish film. Smoke rose from every chimney in sight and blended into the grey sky.

The town was lively though. The roads full of four-wheelers, many of them pulling trailers full of firewood. Everyone was stocking up for winter.

The liveliest place I noticed, was a green shack that looked just as run down as all the others. People frequently went in and out, so when I saw the sign above the door that read, "The Igloo" I knew it was worth checking out.

Not now though, first I needed to find some groceries. I decided I'd go back to The Igloo with Steve later, and find out what exactly it was.

I actually did manage to find a general store with the help of a few locals. They didn't have much besides canned goods and flour, but I managed to find a few cans of beans, some canned peaches, and best of all, instant coffee. I paid with the little bit of cash that I had left, and headed back to the hotel to see if Steve had woken up yet.

The door creaked when I opened it, and even though the lights in the room had been turned on, I still had to let my eyes adjust to the darkness of the room.

Koda ran straight back to the bed, and jumped on. His wet paws probably got the covers all wet, but we would be gone soon anyway so it really didn't matter.

Steve was putting his shoes on when I walked in. He looked up as Koda raced passed, and smiled.

"Morning." I said awkwardly. Call me antisocial, or socially deprived, but I still wasn't used to being around someone who wasn't Loki. Being with Steve...was weird.

"Morning. What's our game plan for today?" He asked. He was very down to business, very militaristic. It reminded me of my handlers in Hydra.

"There's a place in town called The Igloo. I think it's either a restaurant or a coffee shop. We can go there and hopefully get some information. If we get lucky, we'll find someone to sneak us into Siberia."