Helpless

Sketches of the Future

"Wake up, lazy butt!" Vix shook me violently and threw snow on my face, even though I was already wide awake. I sputtered and sat up, shaking my hair around and making ice fly. "It's Christmas!"
"Oh, gosh!" I gasped and stretched, gazing outside. "It's almost 2011. How crazy is that!?" Diamond tossed some snow in the air and watched it sink back to the ground and into a neat little pile. Time flew by; November was gone, and December was crazy. There were bitter cold nights that almost froze us to death, then there were the gorgeous nights with a light snowstorm and stars were scattered on the black, night sky, almost like a glittery blanket.
"Merry Christmas!" Vix called to the valley below us and skipped around, scooping up piles and piles of snow and throwing them in the air, then intently watching the ice crystals scatter around her. Diamond copied Vix and every now and then flicked snow on her head just to make her growl and threaten to shove her face in an ice block. Diamond then squealed in fright and hid behind me.
"Let's make a snow fort!" Vix clapped her hands together, making snow flutter around her. "C'mon, Diamond!" The smaller girl scrambled to the teen, spreading the snow around everywhere. "Sure thing!" She peeped and started to gather mounds of snow for a fort. "We can sleep in it or something..."
"No, wait!" Vix made Diamond halt, and she stood, thinking for a minute. "We should travel a little, then stop and make a den!" Diamond bounced to her feet, her hair swaying behind her. "Great idea!" I smiled, gathering some of our frozen food and getting ready to walk a few miles. "How about we head this way?" I suggested, pointing in front of us. "Okay!" Vix agreed and led the way, Diamond following and leaving me to carry the heavy, frozen meat.
We traveled for a long time, maybe two or three hours before stopping for the day. The sun was high above our heads, signaling it was noon. "Let's eat something," I held up a piece of our food, making the ice on it crunch. "Vix, would you mind starting a fire?" The brown haired girl shook her head. "No problem," she insisted and snatched up to sticks, rubbing them together and quickly making sparks. Soon a fire emerged from the pile of leaves and sticks Diamond gathered and was baking up a warm campsite. I stuck the meat on a stick and roasted it, inhaling the wonderful scent as the food gradually warmed up and edged closer to edible.
"It's ready!" I announced after the food softened enough, and Vix and Diamond exploded from a pile of snow nearby, licking their lips, ready to eat. I didn't even remember them getting buried in the first place, but Vix must of done something crazy and got them under a pile of snow.
"This is good," Vix mumbled while gnawing on the leg of a warm chicken. Diamond hacked and spit up the bones, ripping them from her teeth and tossing them to a crow begging nearby us. Every now and then Vix would throw the birds some meat from her share, letting them gobble up as much as they wanted. "Bird," Vix shook the chicken around, but the crow bounded away from Vix's vibrating hand.
"It's not eating the chicken because it's a bird too!" Diamond pointed out. "If the crow ate the chicken it would be a cannibal!" Vix thought for a moment before grunting, "Oh." I snickered and chewed a piece of the leg.
Minutes passed before all that was left was crumbs, bones and scraps of chicken. Sparrows pecked at the meat only for a second before they realized they might be eating their own cousins. We packed up our food and set back on track, traveling again for who knows how much longer.