Cold

Chapter Two

A bell sounds. A whistle blows. A drum plays. Three sounds, one meaning. The gates to the cold opened, and all 500 if us ran in. We immediately spread out into teams. Some went alone. Those with kids practically dragged them. My group stayed at the gate. I was admiring how beautiful it all was. It was like a winter wonderland, except for no snow. It was cold, but like a freezing summer day.

"We should make a camp" said Justin.

"I agree. I will make the camp with Justin and Lucas. Tyler, Skyler and Emma, you guys go find fruit and some tree branches" I said.

"Why should we listen to you?" asked Emma.

"Because she knows everything about what we need to do in order to survive. Do you?" said Skyler. I couldn't help but smile. Emma shook her head.

"We will meet in the caves over there." I pointed to the north.

"Are there even caves there? And how would you know if there are caves there?!?" asked a ticked off Emma.

"Well, there's a mountain. Most mountains has at least one or more caves. It's our best guess that this mountain is one of them. We will meet there in two hours" I explained. Skyler, Tyler, and Emma left.

"Lets go" said Justin. We were on our way.

***

Silence. Fear. The woods getting longer and longer as we went along. Every step sounds like someone is following us. Turning around doesn't help. No one is there. We all progressively got faster and faster when we walked. The cave just in sight. Then I heard it. A trumpet. People running. Eventually we are surrounded by people I could not recognise. They are all wearing masks, covered in fur clothing. One walks over to me and touches my face. I can't move, I am so petrified.

"Why do you come here" he asked. Justin and Lucas are grabbed by his allies. They are struggling to break free.

"We have no choice" I said behind a shaky voice. I was more nervous than I needed to be. I had no idea who these people are. If the 500 are turning against each other, we are screwed.

"We didn't either" he whispered.

"What do you mean?" I said as his allies let go of Justin and Lucas.

"Our ancestors got locked in here 100s of years ago. They had no choice. Children, adults, everyone. They were all the same. Power hungry. Except for one. She went into the caves and gave her life to the mountain. Because of her actions, our society has been trapped here. We grow old, we live, we die. We stay here and take care of one another in hopes that someone will save us" he said.

"Zombies" whispered Justin. "You were right. They aren't zombies. They are people." People. People did this to them. They damned everyone who was in the cold all those years ago. It will probably happen to us. I feel bad for these people. Stuck in a world where nothing you do matters. It's how you do them that matters.

"How can we help?" I asked.

"Are you crazy?!? We have no idea who these people are. What if they killed us?!?" questioned Justin.

"You said it yourself. They are people. The least we can do is help them get the future they deserve. The future they need" I said. "So. What do we do?"

He took a deep breath before saying, "Go to your people. The mountain will know of your arrival and get mad. You must get your people to band together and help us defeat the mountain. We defeat the mountain, we defeat the cold."

***

'Mountains are scary. Mountains are dangerous. Mountains are deadly. Mountains can also be welcoming, safe, and lively. Mountains can either be full of life, or full of death. It all matters what you do with that mountain to determine where you belong.'

The man we met, named Von, is reciting a book he read as a kid. It's amazing how these guys have evolved. Von told us they built a city. Multiple cities. Apparently each of the 500 all those years ago went their seperate ways and created their own mini cities, which escalated into beautiful towns full of life. It seems our guards lied. They told us no one survived. Well here we are. On our way to find the others with Von, then going to his town to prepare to fight the mountain. Fighting the mountain actually doesn't make sense, but I will do whatever I can to make sure these guys get their life back. It's the least I can do.

"There." Lucas pointed to a child and an adult warming themselves with a fire. I soon realized that the adult and child were Tyler and Skyler.

"Hey guys" I said as we neared them. "Where's Emma?"

"Why don't you ask your new friend, seeing as his people murdered her right before our eyes" said Tyler. Something isn't right.

"What do you mean?!? Who killed her?!?" I asked regretfully.

"We didn't see his face. He came to us and killed her" said Skyler. I could tell she was holding back tears. But none of this makes sense. Why would they just stand around and watch her die?!? How would they know who these people are?!? Why didn't they think it was one of the 500?!?

"What was he wearing?!?" asked Justin. By his tone of voice, I could tell he was thinking the same thing as me. Skyler looked at us.

"Run" was all she said before her eyes started bleeding and Tyler dropped dead.

"The mountain!!! She's furious!!! We have to go!! I know a safe place where she won't find us" exclaimed Von. Lucas grabbed my hand and pulled me so I was running beside him and Justin. Von was ahead of us. Running like the wind. He was so fast that we soon lost him.

"Von!!!" I shouted.

"Shh!!" I heard someone say. I turned and looked. Someone was lying on the gound.

"Who are you?" I asked before I could think.

"Shh!!! You'll blow my cover" she whispered.

"From what" I asked. My brain really needs to work.

"The ones in the masks" she said. How does everyone know about the people in masks?!? This cold, it is cursed.

"Come with us" I said reluctantly. She just looked at me. As she got up, someone shot her head. I stepped back. Justing grabbed my hand and we started running. We lost sight of Von. We have no idea where we are going. But we have to get out of here.

***

NARRATION CONTINUES BY MOUNTAIN

Perfect. My plan is falling into place. Now we just wait. It's too soon to tell, but I think the one they call Summer will give her life to me. I hope I am right. The last one's time is up.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
When I write in italics, that is the mountain narrating. Normal writing is Summer. Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy :)