Eternal Winter

Needed Remedies: Part I

The cold snow wrapped around my legs and reached for my knees. My hand kept a tight hold on the reins of my horse as I forced each foot forward into another bank of snow. My breath misted into my face. The heat clung to my eyelashes and froze. I weaved in and out of the innumerable trees, slowly, each appeared the same as the last. With a glance over my shoulder I saw Sammy, struggling to keep pace. His own horse was in tow, bogged down by the two bags of supplies we had gathered in the last town.

"How are you feeling Sammy?" I called out.

"F-f-f-fine!" he replied in a chittering voice.

I creased my brows together and looked at our surroundings. Forest pressed in from each side with no other sign of shelter otherwise. I couldn't see the faint outline of the sun behind the snow-sagging canopy and clouds above. If I didn't figure out something fast, we would be out here when dark came. I shivered.

"Just a little farther," I said. "We'll take a rest up ahead."

No reply, but the crunch of snow continued behind me. He was still following. It was exhausting work to trek through the snow-covered forest, as ill-prepared as we were. Still, we couldn't risk the soldiers who had trailed behind us. Ren could've hired people to come after us, or even gave our descriptions to the Dark Master herself to send out soldiers. It would almost be better safe than sorry if we weren't in a winter wasteland. Now, I was regretting the impulsive decision.

My horse stalled for a moment and left out a soft snort. The hot breath was easily visible in the cold. Gently, I held my horse's muzzle and stroked its hair. I glanced around at our surroundings quickly, but nothing looked off in the wooded, white expanse.

"Why did we stop, Lyra?" Sammy called from behind.

I opened my mouth to shush him when a flash of black caught on the farthest corner of my eye. Further in the direction we were travelling. My attention snapped there. "Stay here," I demanded as I shuffled through the snow towards the black spot.

As I neared, I eased myself into the space behind the trees seated between me and where I deemed the flash had been seen. I slowly stepped into the open and laid my eyes on the body I had caught sight of. My breaths were steady and the fog filled the air where I stood and stared down. The deer carcass still oozed blood onto the partially melted snow. No breath puffed into the air like my own. Its eye was glazed over and its face covered in blood, but there was little else of the animal left intact. I covered my mouth with a gloved hand and slowly backed away. A faint metallic smell had hung in the air directly beside the carcass, but the crisp, wet snow quickly covered it for me the farther I went.

My trained eyes noticed the snow prints before my brain could register what they were. I crouched down to see the many, winding paw prints pressed into the snow. Larger than a fox, smaller than a bear. "A pack of wolves," I murmured under my breath. I followed the path of prints from the packed snow around the deer and into the woods. East, perpendicular to our southern trek.

I stood abruptly and made my way back to where Sammy and the horses had paused. "Let's go," I stated. I shallowly angled our original direction towards west in order to avoid Sammy running into the carcass and to put some distance between us and that pack.

I patted my horse's muzzle and fed it the second half of a wrinkled apple. I pressed my other hand against a tree and sent out a pulse of magic. Through the earth I could feel the echoes of each tree around us, each squirrel in their trunks, and each bird in their branches. I could feel the echoes of the pack's footsteps as they drew farther away. As I pulled away from the trunk, I let out a light breath before we trudged on.

The dim light of the forest grew slightly brighter as it approached midday. I peered through a break in the skeletal canopy at the gray skies. A few hardy birds flitted about in the upper branches. The horses appeared calm for the circumstances. With a nod I looped my horse's reins over a low hanging branch and turned to Sammy.

"All right, let's rest here for now," I said.

Sammy nodded and looped his horse's reins beside mine with trembling fingers. The horses took to the dry shrubbery that poked through the snow and Sammy shivered as he brushed the light layer of snow off the sturdy animals. I went around and gathered up twigs and some sticks for a small fire. The cold here wasn't nearly as frigid as it had been in Olym, however, we didn't have a log cabin to go back to when done outside.

When I returned, Sammy was up and walking around, blowing into his gloveless hands. I set to work setting up the fire and asked, "Where are your gloves?"

"Just in my satchel," he said as he twisted to show the small, open bag that hung at his waist. "I was getting some food and water ready." He pointed to the tin pot that sat on the ground with snow already piled in. Some leaves had found their way into the pot as well. He rummaged through the saddlebags for the bits of dried jerky we had.

Once the flames took root, Sammy held his hands close. A smear of red was at the corner of his lips and stained at the tips of his fingers. "You found berries? In this cold?"

He nodded and reached into his satchel for a small handful of tiny, red berries. "They were a little buried by the snow but they weren't frozen or anything." He scrunched his nose as he held one up to his face. "They're a bit tart though, want one while the snow melts?"

I offered my hand out and he dropped the one in. "I haven't seen these before in Olym. If they're cold resistant, I suppose that's a good thing for Mysti." I popped it into my mouth and my lips puckered. "You're right on the taste, too."

As I stoked the fire, the water rapidly melted and boiled until it was drinkable. Teacher always cautioned of the danger of drinking or eating contaminated things. I gently moved my finger in a circle above the pot to swirl the liquid within. I chewed on a piece of the jerky as we waited, when Sammy swayed. He held a hand to his head and blinked his eyes several times.

I lifted an eyebrow and paused whatever I was doing. "You ok there, Sammy?"

He went to give me a slow nod when he suddenly jerked his body away from me and the fire. I heard a retching noise. When I jumped to his side, I immediately saw the steaming red that spattered the snow. My insides curdled at the sight and I grabbed Sammy's twitching hand in mine.

Pain shot through my head. I winced and a barrage of images flipped back to back in my mind. Whispers roared in my ears, louder than the wind. A black-haired woman towered above, a syringe in her hand. A booming voice from just behind and the pressure of hands that pulled me back. A boy...pale as snow and just as cold, limp in my arms. The edges grew fuzzy and gray. A scream. A piercing screech. A raw voice that desperately yelled, help!

The wave of heat quickly gave way to the cold temperatures once again. I dropped to my knees and laid my other hand on his back. Another ripple went through his body as the process repeated. Contrary to what my panicked thoughts tried to convince me of, what my memories tried to warn me of, there was no more bright red. It wasn't blood.

Slowly, I rubbed his quivering back, unsure of what to do. His breathing was heavy and slow, but there was a line of sweat that spotted his hairline. I picked up his hat and pulled it down over his ears. His gloves were on his hands again after I pulled them from his satchel. The temporary rest stop was immediately torn down as Sammy sat heavily against a dry, brittle log mostly obscured by snowbanks.

"Lyra..." he managed weakly. He held a hand to his stomach. Tears welled at the corners of his eyes and he took in slow, deep breaths. "Am I...am I going to die?"

I took my sleeve and gingerly wiped away the bit of red from the side of his mouth. "No, not on my watch. Not ever. I'll take care of you, as long as we need."

Then, I heard a rumble. The noise shook my chest. I shivered and turned to look east. A creature stalked closer from the shadows, no less than 30 feet away. Its brisk coat of fur shimmered under the dim light of the sun. As it neared, I could see that where it lacked in height it made up for in weight. Huge, stained fangs protruded from an elongated snout with bloodied drool dripping off them.

I crouched low in front of Sammy. The horses shuffled uncomfortably. From behind the creature, the Lycanth, came several more. A pack of wolves would be preferable to this, any day.