I wake up as the wagon I am in hits a large hole in the road, jostling me awake and causing me to hit my head on the floor. I sit up slowly and painfully. My head throbbing and my eye's blurry. My memory fails me and I forget where I am. The burning pain in the back of my head intensifies as I feel the bump that has formed on the back of my head. I take a deep breathe and the memories begin to flood my mind. I then begin to panic as I realize where I now am. I had to escape, but we were moving and I had no idea where I would be. I had to wait it out and see what happens. I take out my gluten pills and see there are only two.
"Damn..." I curse to myself as I slide one back into my boot and take the other. The pain in my head instantly begins to fade. "Much better..." I mumble to myself. I may just survive yet. I move around the cart slowly, taking care not to bump into anything, attempting to make the least amount of noise as possible. Those men... Who were they? What do they want with me? I then noticed how very cold it was. Numbingly cold. I begin to shiver as my body begs for warmth. We were not in Ubay anymore I knew that for a fact. Suddenly I am deafened by a sudden popping in my ears. Popping... I remember what this meant... Only vaguely.. As I sit there struggling to recall the meaning of my ears popping I feel the cart stop. I can hear men's boot crackle on the ground as they walk towards the cart entrance. "Crackling..... They shouldn't be... Oh my god."
I say to myself terror rising from my gullet. It was at the moment that the curtain was pulled back that I remembered what the popping meant. Three men clad in fur covered garments and amber colored visors took hold of me and pulled me out into the frigid air. The popping was my ears adjusting to the altitude. I was high in the mountains somewhere. I didnt even know this place had mountains. I began to protest and pull against their grip. One of them quickly responded by stick a slender metal tube to my side, I fell to my knees from the pain. The device had shocked me! I slowly got back to my feet and protested no more. I was a prisoner and I had to deal with it. For now. The world was white around me, the radiant color hurting my eyes. Wishing I also had a visor I tread through the frost in my boots.
"Where are we going?" I ask the men. My only reply was a stern grunt and another jab to my side. "Okay, fine I get it. No talking." I say as I get back up from my knees once more. We then continued through the snow. I began to lose feeling in my hands. Where were we going? I wondered. The pressure of fear in my chest rising. As we traversed over the last hill of white I began to see the gleam of grey walls in the distance. As we got closer I noticed the barbed wire across the top of the wall, armed guards patrolling around the ramparts, seeming to guard a valuable resource. But what resource I have yet to know. We then approached the entrance of the wall, a small metal gate the size of a man, and opened it into a long dimly lit concrete hallway. They pushed me in and one of the men said briskly.
"Go down the path to the other side. Or sit there and freeze to death. I don't really care which you pick." He then closed the gate and I heard a deadbolt lock in place. Sealing my fate. I sat down against the wall, head in my hands. What was I going to do... Alone once more. Why must fate throw this my way. Why must the world forsake me so often. I check my person quickly and subtly as not to catch the eye of any cameras or eyes that may be watching and find I have a few items. My knife, still concealed in my boot. My last gluten pill, and the picture of Emma. I feel a slight twinge in my heart and I reach for the teardrop around my neck. I quickly shake this feeling off and prepare myself for whatever may lay ahead. I was so very cold. The bitter frost crept through my close, angrily assaulting my skin and embedding itself in my very bone. I shivered violently and slide the knife up my sleeve. I may need it soon. I then get on my feet slowly, the cold making any movement impossibly painful. I then begin to make my way down the seemingly endless hallway. I could see no exit in sight, but I did see the remains of those who could not bear to make it. Frozen bodies littered the path in front of me. My terror surged through me, it was too much. I almost fell to the ground. But then a strange calmness came over me. I began to walk forward. The erie grey walls around me feeling more and more like a grave than a prison. But I kept on. If I had any chance of surviving this it was at the end of this path. I kept my head up as I walked, not from confidence or hope, but because if I looked down and saw the bodies once more I believe I would lose my sudden bravery. The deeper I trecked into the unknown the more viscous the cold became. I then lost all feeling in my fingers and toes, my boots a miserable barrier from the torrent of chill. But I kept on. Because I knew deep inside if I were to stop would mean my certain death. I began to play games in my mind to keep my mind off the cold.
