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Ninjas guard this page. |
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Cold Drift is a story in progress that connects the ending of Snow Drift with the plot of Cold Storage. (The title may change.)
Sections[]
1: Unscathed[]
Uphill I run with frantic speed, exerting the last bit of energy once my destination lies in my peripheral.
"Please be open," I plead under a cloudy breath to the isolated igloo, whose CHIPS sign drooped slightly to tip the snowflakes weighing down its surface off. Between pants, I trudge through ankle-deep snow to find the "open" sign still tacked above the entrance. A sigh of relief warms my cold furry body as I make my way inside.
After what seemed like days of racing and evading, I have finally arrived at the acclaimed chip store that, until now, only existed for me through conversation and childhood tales. The journey was supposedly rough, but I did what I could to slip past the furious animals that tried to get in my way. Most yetis I know freeze up in the midst of their travels for the great chip store and return with nothing but warnings from the other creatures of the ice cap. As for me, the chips would be the finest reward. The risk was worth the wait; I smile at this prospect while the emptiness of the store overwhelms me.
Frosted cupboards line the walls, greeting me with their knobbed eyes. Any warm feelings of accomplishment flood out through my pink toes, escaping through the paved snow floor. Advancing inside, I can sense a rumbling vibration between the patter of my footsteps. Nevertheless, I make it to the counter with ease.
A salty crisp taste waters my dry mouth and I interpret the tremours beneath my feet to be the shakiness from my journey. My mind pushes away questioning thoughts with an array of the possible varieties a well known chip store would have to offer. Raw fish crunch? Salted ice?
"Hello?" I speak, my voice resonating against the icy walls and causing the icicle chimes above the counter to sway in their own motions. I watch and wait patiently for the chimes to stop ringing so that I can speak again. To my dismay, they pick up the pace, rattling in an excited frenzy.
Confused, I step back, only to have the vibrations I mistook for my own doing speed up to a quake. My eyes widen towards the exit, but a large snowball suddenly materialises and lodges itself in the doorway. I am surrounded in darkness that removes the floor and the adrenaline of acceleration that chills me straight to the bone.
I fall until the cold numbs the last of my nerves.
2: Undone[]
Multiple lights dancing around in my vision converge into one, sharp picture before my eyes. Startled, my breath fogs my vision as I fall back at the spectacle.
Bodies. Cold and desolate, deprived of life. Their expressions linger in a standstill cry for help.
Slowly, I find myself standing up and looking down at my own body in horror. This isn't who I used to be. Fur that was once white is now glossed over with a lifeless grey. Legs that once did the running have now become limp, giving full length to my arms.
A chill nips through my fur as I survey the canvas of ginormous creatures around me. Encased in a glass of ice, their eyes remain blank like an icy fossil. I shake my head, denying reality. I feel the urge to cry, but no tears emerge. Every fluid in my body is prepared to shut down.
Among the giant creatures, poles are wedged in between. Perhaps they were for hanging bodies, but any that would have been have fallen off in the process. The poles continue up the cold cell, out of eye's reach.
It won't work, I insist. My instincts ignore me.
The first jump, barely a miss, allows me to grab onto the pole with two hands. Somehow I find the strength to hoist myself over the pole, flipping over in a repeated motion.
As I stare at the icy ground below, I close my eyes and thrust up. The feeling of cold metal surges through my skinny arms as I sigh and continue the circular motion.