Winter Rose, Book 1

The Consequences

It was obvious the second the elevator doors opened that Win's wish had not come true. Their breath was visible in foggy puffs. Ice and frost covered everything in sight. Snow covered the floor and large, long icicles hung down from the ceiling like giant teeth.

"Sorry Win, the walls are not made of gold." Rose sighed as the Doctor clocked the broken and self loathing look that flashed across Win's face.

"You two should go back downstairs." The Doctor told them seriously, knowing that if they found Suki dead and covered in ice that his Triah would blame herself. But Win just scoffed.

"Fat chance, Goose." She told him as she removed her coat from around her waist and pulled it back on in an attempt to fight off the chilling cold. They walked cautiously through the ice covered area. Quickly moving passed the broadcast room filled with skeletons. They came upon a dark room with the walls covered in screens with people covered in frost seated in front of them. Win's stomach churned as her eyes immediately found the familiar form of Suki. Covered in frost and seated in front of a screen. No evidence of breath coming from her lips.

"I started without you." Win's attention snapped to the only other living person in the room. His hair and goatee were white and full of frost. He grinned at them.

"This is fascinating! Satellite Five contains every piece of information in the whole of the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but you three..." He gestured to them. "You don't exist! Not a trace! No birth, no job, not even the slightest kiss. How can you walk through the world without leaving a single footprint?"

"Suki!" Rose gasped, just then spotting the familiar face. Quickly running over to the frozen woman. "Suki, hello? Can you hear me?!" Rose begged, shaking her shoulder to try and get a response as Win starred on sadly.

"Suki! What have you done to her?!" Rose demanded of the frost covered man who simply stared at her with a cold smile.

"She's dead, Rose." Win told her gently, despite the turmoil going on in her own gut.

"But she's working!" Rose protested.

"They've all got chips in their heads, and the chips keep going. Like puppets." The Doctor explained, glaring at Mr. Frosty.

"Oh, you're full of information!" The man cheered. "But it's only fair we get some information back, because apparently, you're no one. It's so rare not to know something. Who are you?"

"Doesn't matter, because we're off. Nice to meet you." The Doctor gave him a false grin, grabbing Win's hand. "Come on, girls." They turned to leave, but the frozen corpses moved surprisingly quickly, latching onto them like leeches and holding them still.

"Tell me who you are!" Mr. Frosty demanded as Rose tried to pull her arm out of Suki's cold, hard grip.

"Since that information is keeping us alive, I'm hardly going to say, am I?" The Doctor snarked back in annoyance.

"Well, perhaps my Editor in Chief could convince you otherwise." He shrugged.

"And who's that?" Win asked, scowling at him.

"It may interest you to know that this is not the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire, in fact, it's not Human at all. It's merely a place where Humans happen to live." Mr. Frosty was interrupted by loud growels that echoed around the room, making him wince slightly.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. It's a place where Humans are allowed to live by kind permission of my client." He clicked his fingers before pointing upwards, the three time traveler's following with their eyes, jaws dropping in uttar repulsion. A massive lump-like creature hung from the ceiling. Its grotesque head hanging down as it snarled and gnashed its spit covered teeth at them. Win felt like she was going to puke.