The Mistwalker

Chapter 1

The armored military transport bounced and buckled as it drove through the snowy mountain pass. The back cabin of the transport was dark, only illuminated by a couple of dim red lights scattered around the space. Worst of all, it was cold to the bone. Milly could not stop shacking. She looked like she was huffing up clouds. The other four were not doing any better. The two personnel, however, were unfazed. These guys were decked out in jet black armor, with the only color coming from their yellow visors.

The trip seemed to have been going on for a couple of hours when the lights suddenly turned from red to green. One of the side hatches opened up across from Milly, staring into the white, snowy world. One of the personnel grabbed a passenger and started to drag him towards the opening. The passenger struggled against the personal which didn't help him in the slightest. The personnel shoved the passenger toward the opening. Then followed the shove with an armored strike to the face, sending the passenger into the pitch white of nothing. Milly gulped. The lights the turned back to red as the side hatch closed.

This process repeated for what seemed like every twenty minutes until it was only Milly left. Then it was her turn. The lights turned green, the side hatch opened, and she was escorted over. She didn't struggle, but that didn't stop the personnel from cracking an elbow in her face, sending her into darkness. She though she heard someone say "sorry kid" but that was probably just her scared, depressed self telling her that.

God, how'd this happen? The whole journey to this frozen hell started when Milly's parents passed away due to an accident only a few months back. The village she lived in was already struggling in every way possible. She would just be a burden, so there was no choice but send her into the orphanage program. With Milly being fourteen years old, she had no choice but to go along with it, and somehow, she got sent to these frozen lands.

Milly dazed back to reality sometime later with a face full of snow. She got up slowly, wiping the snow from her face. The heavy snowfall had already masked the convoy's tracks, leaving her with no idea where she was. The ice-cold temperatures were getting to her. Her body felt like it was freezing over, as if her dark pink hair was morphing into icicles. Her peach skin would soon turn as white as the snow. Her navy-blue eyes felt like orbs of ice. The black, pink tiger striped t-shirt and beige colored slacks were defiantly not helping Milly fight the cold. The brown hoodie barely kept any heat within. She needed to find warmth, and that started by going deeper into the frozen forest.

After a short time of traveling, it seemed that her journey was coming to an end. She was losing feeling in her legs and arms. She felt as though she was dragging herself through the snow. Every time she breathed out warm air, cold air would come in, almost freezing her throat solid. The last nail in the coffin was the path she was taking, which was turning into a very steep incline to the top of the mountains. She looked around, maybe for a place to rest. She saw something, maybe seventy meters to her right. A light coming from a cave on the base of the mountain. Could be a fire. Could also be her delusional insanity playing tricks on her. What difference did it make? It would lead to a rest. Long or short, it did not matter. She dragged herself into the cave and collapsed next to the fire.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" came a voice in the shadows. A large figure came out of the darkness, a man, but it was tough for Milly to really make him out. "Hold on." He muttered as he lifted Milly up, throwing her arm over his shoulder. He sat her down on a bolder across the fire. She had a nice view of the fire and the blizzard outside. The boulder also felt like a nice chair for all she cared. The man pulled up her pant legs, then left into the shadows once more. He returned a minute later with a couple of soaked rags that looked more like shirts. He then started to wrap them around her legs.