Chapter 6 Hell is Cold #2
I looked into the darkness of the cave, fear creeping in faster than the cold had.
There was nothing but the certainty of a frozen end in the frosty forest behind me.
Goosebumps prickled up my arms as I followed along the wall and deeper into the cave.
The cavern wall was smooth and cold to the touch.
The damp cold was quickly setting in, and I feared frostbite as my nerves screamed in pain.
I wasn’t far from the numbness that preceded death.
I navigated through the dark for some time, wondering if coming into this cave had only delayed my demise. Time blurred and the black swam in and out like a wormhole. Hours must have passed when my heart slammed against my ribs.
I rushed forward, stumbled, and scrambled to my feet again.
There was light.
When I turned the corner, the cave opened out into a massive cavern.
Glowing flora was on every surface. A shallow pool of water glowed in the center. Purple ferns with an ethereal glow rose from the water like streetlights. Bioluminescent moss with a blue hue covered the cavern floor where flower-like plants with bulbs lit the center like a lamp.
Glowing mushrooms beneath the water’s surface lit the pool with an eerie green light. The ceiling was lit with fruit-bearing ivy that hung like décor, its little orange berries emitting faint light amidst the spade-shaped leaves.
Where light and dark may both be.
I wanted to stay here, but I knew I had to keep moving.
Calming my mind, I listened. Touching my hands to the walls, I rested my ear against the stone.
I stayed that way for several minutes, waiting for any sign of movement or voices.
Finally, I felt it. A slight vibration. I kept pausing as I moved on, waiting for any sound to become louder.
Sure enough, it was getting louder. It was flowing water. I followed the sound of the water like a map, the light in the room getting dimmer and dimmer as the water got louder and louder.
I couldn’t catch my breath. My chest burned. I had to keep moving and follow the sound. I reached out before me, hope the only thing that was keeping me upright, and found a dead end.
Agony descended upon me like a downpour as I released a loud groan.
I had to get out of here. Instead of dying in an ice desert, I’d die slowly of starvation in a dark cave.
I leaned forward, waiting for the familiar cold sensation of the rock to press firmly against my skin, but it never came.
Instead, I crashed to the ground like a dead body, barely catching myself with one hand.
Was that dirt?
I stared at the ground, letting my fingers run across the earthen surface that wasn’t buried beneath several feet of snow.
Then, a pair of thick, black-soled boots appeared, and the man they belonged to towered over me.
He wore thick leather armor and a long cloak bound by a silver brooch at his neck, an elegant N embossed there.
His brown eyes stared at me, his short, dark hair shaved closely and evenly around his tan skin.
“You took until the last minute, recruit,” he barked. “Get up. You’re late.”
My brow furrowed. He stood before me with such stern military precision that I sat up straight automatically. Still, it didn’t stop the relief that washed over me. He was an actual living being, which meant that I wasn’t going to die a cold, miserable death.
My focus shifted, taking in the valley and the towering mountains around us, which was definitely not the cave I’d just spent hours in the dark in. How did I get here? I glanced around, finding a large tent pitched nearby. Others dressed in warm, winter clothing, many standing near a large fire.
My fingers trembled as I pressed my palms against the ground and stood, willing my body to stay upright. It was the only physical sign of the fear coursing through my body, and I hated it. I met his scowl, smothering it with anger.
“No one gave me instructions before abandoning me in the middle of nowhere,” I snapped. I was still on the brink of freezing to death, and he was standing there, unconcerned whether I lived or died.
He glared at me with an unblinking stare. “You’re no longer in your mountains, recruit. Watch your tongue.”
I glowered. That was for damn sure. I didn't know where the hell I was, but before I had a chance to speak, he walked away, his cloak gliding after him.
“What a prick,” someone said.
I glanced at a guy approaching me from over by the fire. He nodded in greeting before glancing at the armored man. “I’m Cody.”
He held out his hand.
I shook it awkwardly, noting the misty light of early dawn—I’d spent all night getting here. It was a miracle I didn’t freeze to death. “I’m Anna.”
The tension in his expression softened.
“Oh, good,” he muttered.
I raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Just relieved to find someone,” he glanced around and lowered his voice, “speaking English without an accent that I can’t understand.”
He grimaced. “Don’t get me wrong, I love meeting new people, but I’m partially deaf, and unfamiliar accents on top of that are damn near as hard for me as getting here was.”
“Oh,” I said, amused. “Are we the only ones from across the pond then?”
“We might be,” he chuckled. “I’m glad you got in. How was it out there?”
I shivered thinking about it and noticed his warm cloak that I had seen on many of the others in the camp.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, taking his cloak and throwing it around my shoulders.
The warmth cocooned me, and I basked in its bliss.
I mouthed a silent thank you before giving him a soft, grateful smile.
Without his cloak, I noticed his casual clothing: a black jacket, jeans, and regular sneakers.
His chivalrous move, familiar clothing choices, trustworthy-looking short red hair accompanied by freckles across his nose, and slight midwestern U.S. accent made him my new best friend.
“You look like you’ve been through it,” he said, his face scrunched into an empathetic smile.
I shuddered. “I was dumped in a blizzard, got lost in a cave, and then somehow found this,” I turned and gestured behind me, “exit from the…”
I stared at the rocky cliff face behind us, noting the many layers of sediment with no sign of a cave. I gaped as I walked over to it, sliding my hand against the cold stone. There had to be some mechanism that would reveal a hidden door.
“It was here; just now,” I said, running both hands across the stone.
Wasn’t it? Had the cold gotten into my brain?
I dropped my hands, convinced I must’ve passed out again and lost where I’d come in.
Cody stood there with his hands in his pockets. “This place is weird. I had a similar experience when I arrived. I slipped in the snow and fell into a ravine. I thought for sure I was dead, but when I got up, I was here.”
I shivered, still staring at the rocky wall. It’d be one thing if it were just me, but both of us got here mysteriously? I wasn’t hallucinating, right? These people were real, weren’t they?
I stuck my hand into my pocket, pulling out the riddle. I looked at him, reached out, and touched his arm. Yup, it was an arm. He raised an eyebrow and laughed nervously.
“Here, I used this too,” I said. “Did you have anything like this?”
He took it, squinting hard. “What language is that? I’ve never seen it before; it looks like Arabic, but it's too slanted and has far too many sharp angles.”
I took it, staring at the odd writing. He was right, it was in some language I certainly couldn’t read.
“This was in English before, I swear it was,” I said.
Wasn’t it?
We shared an ominous look.
“Come on,” he said. “Forget it for now. We need to get you warmed up.”
I nodded, but my heart pounded erratically as Cody guided me to the tent.
Inside, cloaks and plain clothing were folded neatly on a wooden table, where a hanging lantern flickered nearby.
I grabbed some, shamelessly tearing off my damp garments and pulling on the fresh ones.
With a fresh cloak, the cold was cast away for the first time.
A cold burst of air hit me as the tent flap whipped open far too soon.
“All recruits are to gather,” said the tall, armored man.
Cody glanced at me. “This should be interesting.”
I swallowed. “Yeah.”
We gathered with the others around the fire. There were perhaps seven or eight dozen of us, some in better condition than others. One person looked ill, their lips too red and skin too pale.
“You think she’s going to be okay?” I whispered to Cody.
He glanced at the frail girl huddled in her cloak. A grim look settled over his face.
I found a space near the fire that raged several paces away. The man dressed in leather armor paced before the fire, waiting for everyone to settle.
“Welcome,” he said, his voice deep.
I massaged my hand as the nerve endings fired rapidly like tiny darts into my muscles. This was perhaps the least welcome I’d ever felt in my life.
“I am Commander Jaden Everson of Nightfall.
The fact that you are here means that you have passed your first task.
In completing that task, you have proven you are not entirely inept, nor lacking all intuition.
You made it here. Some of you got clues.
Whether you used them is another matter entirely.
Still, less than a quarter of recruits who accepted the first task have made it to The Valley of the Lost. That leaves around a hundred of you.
“This land aptly gets its name because many have succumbed to the elements after becoming trapped here,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. Apt indeed. Because nearly freezing to death clearly wasn’t dramatic enough, we needed it spelled out for us with a name like Valley of the Lost. Everson’s deep voice droned on.