The Long Dark- A Journey Through Frozen Hell

Behind Enemy Lines

Vaughn awoke, looking around until he noticed he stood beside several soldiers. He couldn't tell who they were, but they had an air of familiarity. Like he knew these men before.

He looked around his surroundings, noting that this was a village somewhere in Afghanistan.

Next to him was a woman standing beside a wall.

She was in a typical hijab and garments, but she held a young infant in her arms.

She was drop dead gorgeous, and the sight made Vaughn draw closer to her like he was supposed to.

But as he drew near, he realized the woman was a dessicrated corpse with the infant purple and bloated with blood seeping out of its mouth, dying of a plague. As they turned to dust, he awoke.

Vaughn shot up, hyperventilating as he stared at the wall, his breath visible in the night.

Frozen beads of sweat poured down his face as he tried to comprehend what he had just witnessed.

After a good while, he laid back down and reluctantly closed his eyes but didn't sleep.

...

Miho and Yukari finished organizing the dog sled.

Yukari tied down Currie, deep in thought about her friend's behavior. How Miho killed that convict without any remorse.

Miho wasn't doing good either. She thought about how she killed that man and felt nothing but anger. Anger towards Mathis, if he survived his injury and Donner, who was also probably dead. She also thought about how the structure of the gang would be, too. Would they just fall apart, or would it fall into the hands of Heller or Vachon?

Nonetheless, they packed up as Miho stared at the map, plotting a course to evade any and all roads to the prison and around the mountain.

"Everything's packed." Yukari said.

"Let's check, Mister Vaughn." Miho said.

The two girls approached his bedside as Vaughn coughed.

Yukari took a cloth rag, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"Are you going to be okay?" Miho asked, making sure he had enough antibiotics.

"I don't know, but I want you to try to find that satellite. It's our only shot out of here." Vaughn said with a raspy voice.

"We'll try Mister Vaughn." Miho said.

Vaughn was silent, staring at the wall.

"Be safe. Please." Miho said.

"Same to you two. Don't take any major risks." He muttered.

The two girls set out, leaving behind the cabin and into the wilderness.

They were quiet as Miho operated the sled, only occasionally yelling haw or gee to steer the dogs.

Soon, they came across a road as Miho glanced at her map, following it until it split off away from the prison.

They were now in familiar territory, usually being a good thing, but since this territory was more dangerous, this was bad. Still, they pushed on, determined to help their friend Vaughn by finding Doctor Atwood, whoever she is.

Yukari thought about what Jace mentioned about Atwood. What did she mean by "fragile"? Was she hurt? Sick? What did it mean?

Anyways, they managed to make some ground before having to stop for the night.

The two sat beside a fire as the dogs ran on their pickett lines, playing as they cooked some soup in a can.

"What do we do when we find Atwood?" Yukari asked.