Reliance [COMPLETED]

Chapter 3

 My ankle still hurts like fire had struck it, so I take a rest on a rock. I pant heavily, and can feel my heartbeat in my throat. Taking out a bottle, I suck on the last remains of water that I have left in it. My lungs burn from the cold, and I shiver like crazy now. Luckily, my jacket produces some warmth from my body heat after running, but the rest of my body still feels like a block of ice.

Being no surprise to my enemies, I'm quite skillful when it comes to climbing trees. This is the only place where I can spend the night, and now that my ankle's flesh has been torn off, I know I'll have to lay low. I figure that laying low would be a much more preferable option for both my ankle and warmth, since the wind is blowing harder as the trees grow higher. Building a fire is ignorant, so I wrap myself in my sleeping bag and lay under a branch with the perfect canopy. As the wind blows hard with a mix of snow and ice, I stare at nothing but the stars, my pistol in hand. Dinner will have to wait. My stomach continues in a series of loud growling and pain throughout the night.

Tonight will be the first night that I starve and freeze.

When it's morning, I wake up to find a white out, which was found a problem and solution. I would have to fight my way through and search endlessly for the market, but it will make it harder for my enemies to locate me as long as I don't make too much noise. After climbing carefully back down to the hard earth, I continue to stare at the whiteness that swirls before me.

I scowl at the fact that I have to go out into that monstrous storm to go into town to trade some game for bullets. All that I could hunt and actually kill were some squirrels and a goose. It wasn't enough for some decent food, but it could get me a pack of new bullets and maybe a pair of gloves.

I pull the straps of my bag tight and stand, feeling a chill run down my body. As I step gingerly through the thick snow, hoping not to be spotted, I realize that I'm an easy target because of my heavy boots. Slipping them off, I wince in pain as my bare feet walk across the cold snow. I'll end up with frostbite for sure.

I can hear the chilling screams of people being murdered, stabbed, or however else a human could die within this forest. Stepping up the pace, I barely feel my toes as I trudge through the snow. If people are being killed in this kind of weather, there are eager pursuers. I decide to take a shortcut though the woods, still barely being able to see. I hear a giant crackkk in the woods. Someone is nearby. Pulling out my knife, I'm ready to fight, but find that it's only a weak tree branch that fell from the heavy snow.

Having barely made it to the market after a long time of searching and dodging, a sniper with an arrow takes his chances and it brushes past my forehead. It wasn't close enough to break the skin, but close enough to feel the arrow pass by. I hear a rustle in the trees, and, with my trusty knife, I throw it in the direction of the arrow. A perfect throw is made as my enemy cries out in agony and collapses about three seconds later.

I whip open the frozen door, slamming it hard when I enter the old market. It was a run down shack with an old bar, which I never understand why we need one. We certainly shouldn't be having drunk people running around trying to blow up the place. However, a good drink once in a while could easily take the fact that you've just killed a man off your mind.

Thankfully, there was one rule in the market: You can't kill anyone.

I make sure my knife is tucked securely in my pocket as I slip my boots back on. My feet are numb, and instantly I know that I have frostbite. Stepping, or more like stomping, to the counter, I pull out my game, showing it to the dealer, Kenton Alveres. The drinkers have been far too drunk to notice that I had even come in, and continue drinking and shouting. Alveres examines each squirrel and the goose carefully.