Winter's Fury - Volume Two of The Saga of the Twelves

by Richard M. Heredia

  From her vantage, Elena could not see much. The hulking forms of the animals block most of her view, as well as the myriad of trees and bushes they walked amongst. Still, it did not mean she could not hear what was happening.

  As they crept ever closer to the crossroads, it became even more evident to her these were not fell beasts from Storm. They sounded too human in nature. Well, to put it in precise terms, they sounded like humans in the state of fierce disagreement. It was obvious, even to one as young as her they were close to coming to blows.

  “…I don’t give a shit what you think, you stupid, slant-eyed bitch! I’m not following you to your damned house and that’s final! It’s too fucking crazy out here! I’m not about to risk my life traipsing around some demon forest from hell!” raged one of the voices, female and young. Or at least it sounded as much to Elena.

  “Why do you have to be so vulgar, Kimberly?” said a second voice only it did not sound female. Rather, it was male, just as young, though maybe not as young as Louis.

  Elena frowned and strained to hear as the boy went on.

  “You should act more lady-like, and respect people. You’re always so crude and insulting. You should try to be nice for a change.”

  “What did you say?” asked the first voice tinged with shock.

  “I said act like a lady. Is that too much to ask?”

  “In a screwed up place like this, you want me to act like a lady? Are you as stupid as her? Have you seen what’s been going on out here? Have you been paying god damned attention to what attacked us back there?”

  Elena was certain the first female was on the edge of hysteria. She was yelling at the top of her lungs, uncaring of her surroundings.

  “This place is more screwed up than a zombie apocalypse, and you want me to be nicer? Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

  “Yeah, I know, Kim.” He sounded resigned. “I saw the thing flying in the air or whatever the hell it was. We all did, ok? All she is trying to do is help.” The male was not as loud, though he did speak with raw emotion. But, there was calculation in his voice.

  Elena assumed he was more in control of himself than the other.

  “Well, shit, Derek, I am sick of her always trying to be in charge and tell us what to do!”

  “Get over yourself, girl, it was you who suggested to we go to your house first. You wanted to see if it was still there. Hell, it was you that lead us into that… that… nest of those things, so just back off and shut up for once!”

  Now Elena could hear the boy was beginning to get angry. It was creeping into the inflection of his tone.

  “Screw you, Derek!”

  “Go screw yourself, Kimberly and please… JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!” shouted Derek in what sounded like blind rage.

  Yeah, he’d had enough…

  Elena watched the faces of her companions. They all were hard with concern, on edge over the volume with which these new kids were yelling. These idiots were going to bring Fenris down on them like flies on a massive turd.

  They crept closer, trying not to make any noise. But, to be frank, the way the others were carrying on, they could have done the Watsui (music included) all the way through the forest. They could have wiggled right up to them and none of the three newcomers would have noticed.

  She glanced to her right to see if she could see the others across the way. She caught just a shadowy glimpse of Mugzy as he stalked through the forest.

  “Ok, look you guys, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to take control or tell you what to do. Ok?” pleaded a second female voice, more calm and conciliatory than the other two.

  “Whatever, Long Duck Dong or whatever the fuck your name is,” countered the first female.

  Elena surmised this was Kimberly by the back and forth of their conversation.

  She could hear the second female gasp in frustration.

  Derek said: “Forget about her, Hyun. She’s a jerk. She’s been that way ever since she let that asshole rule her life. He even tells her how many squares of toilet paper she has to use when she wipes her ass. Ain’t that right, Kim?”

  All Elena heard next was an animalistic cry, accompanied by some sort of scuffling and jostling. Snow scraped against something plastic. She could almost picture them fighting in the middle of the intersection, flinging debris, in complete disregard for the danger surrounding them.

  It was in no way quiet.

  “Ok, I’m going to end this stupid crap. Otherwise, the entire empire of the Lord of the Storm is going to descend on us,” announced her brother. Without another word, he jogged through the familiars to the edge of the forest.

  Elena followed as Sophie sprang after him, fear written on her face. She worried it was some sort of trap

  Mikalah scrambled hard on her heels, wanting to see what was going on in the intersection for herself.

  Anthony stopped in his tracks, turning back toward the entire group. “Kenai keep the Fist at bay just like we did with Sophie and Louis. I don’t want to scare these guys more than we need to.”

  She nodded, gave a quick look to Garfield.

  He turned back the way they had come, streaking off into the failing light of the day. He was gone in less than a second.

  “He’ll circle around, out of sight. He'll tell those on the other side of the road what you’ve commanded, m’Lord Kring-Hël,” explained Kenai.

  The use of his formal title made a derisive smirk form on Anthony's lips.

  Elena knew he did not like the title. Her brother had never cared for labels of any sort.

  Anthony turned about and stepped into the intersection.

  Elena and her two other female companions stepped to the edge of the forest to see what was happening, but stayed concealed. Elena watched as her brother walked out of the foliage and into the open. He did so as casual as he would if were heading out to meet old friends or going to the Men’s room.

  At her side, Sophie chuckled. “Has he always been so calm and cool like that, like nothing bothers him?”

  Elena and her sister glanced around the older girl, Elena smiling. “You have no idea.”

  “I figured as much,” sighed Sophie. “But, man, it sure is sexy when he does it, though…” She drifted off into a blissful silence.

  “Oh, god!” gagged Mikalah, mock-retching.

  “What?” asked Sophie with just a touch of exasperation.

  “You’re sprung,” challenged Mikalah, sarcastic.

  “I am not!” countered Sophie in husky whisper that made Mikalah grin back at her in triumph.

  “Yeah, I think you are, Sophie,” concluded Elena. But, before the others could reply, she pointed in front of her. “Look,” she said.

  They fell silent, watching the scene unfold before them.

  Anthony was about ten feet from the three others.

  They looked to be wrestling in the small clearing of the intersection of the two trails.

  Elena could see there were in fact two females and a male. If there were a more unlikely trio of companions walking about the Melded World, she vowed she would eat her gloves. There could be no other group around as diverse as the three teenagers she saw before her.

  The male - a black boy about thirteen or fourteen years old - was your typical jock in black jeans and a Laker's jersey. Over that he wore a huge parka stuffed with goose down. He stood in front of an older looking Asian girl, who was grappling with the other female, trying to hit her, though the boy was between them. She was glaring, her face wild, at the second female on the other side of the boy. This second teenager was trying her damnedest to get a hold of the Asian girl at the same time. All the shoving and pushing was making the three of them sort swing one way and then the other. They looked like they were doing some ridiculous, three-person tango.

  Elena figured the Asian for Hyun, given her physical appearance and her Asian sounding name.

  The second female was Caucasian of medium height with dyed, jet-black hair, in a sort of Cleopatra-like styl
e. It hung straight, was shoulder-length complete with bangs cut in a perfect line about half an inch above her eyebrows. Upon seeing her black lipstick and nail polish and the multitude of piercings about her ears and face, Elena knew what Derek had called her was the correct summation of the girl. She was Goth.

  Or maybe Emo, because she’s sure acting like one!

  This had to be Kimberly.

  As they continued their idiotic dance, Anthony walked up, gesturing toward them. Then he waited for them to stop. When nothing happened, he waved at them.

  But still, they were too preoccupied to notice.

  Her brother swiveled at the waist, shrugging at her, her sister and Sophie.

  Elena could not believe they had not realized there was another person standing in their midst. What the heck are you guys thinking? Her brother was mere feet away from them! She glanced over at Mikalah. She bunched her shoulders in confusion, one of her eyebrows higher than the other, her face unbelieving.

  The threesome pivoted again. The Asian girl face aligned with Anthony’s frame. Hyun spotted him in an instant, standing there, his weight to one side as he tapped his foot. She gave a startled screech that made Derek spin on his heel to face him.

  Kimberly jumped out of her skin, and almost tumbled to the ground.

  Her brother stopped tapping and put up both of his hands, palms facing them, using the ubiquitous “I come in peace” gesture. “Hey, hey, don’t wig-out! I’m not going to hurt you or do anything stupid or anything like that. Ok?” Anthony offered, keeping his hands where they could see them.

  Kimberly joined her companions, coming to stand behind Derek in a rush. The animosity she on her visage had vanished with Anthony’s magical appearance out of thin air. She was now shoulder-to-shoulder with Hyun. The fact the two of them had been on the verge of pulling each other’s hair out a second ago did not appear to matter now.

  “Who are you? How did you get here?” demanded Kimberly from over Derek’s shoulder. She was trying not to sound scared, but it was a miserable attempt. Her chest was heaving, and her voice cracked.

  “My name is Anthony Herrera.” He shrugged. “Umm, I guess I got here in the same manner you got here. You know, ugly greenish lights, three loud gongs, nausea, throwing-up, passing out and then waking up here. Am I correct?” came her brother’s reply. He added a smile as the words came from him.

  Elena hoped they could see his sincerity and not think he was making fun of them. He was, after all, just stating the obvious.

  A bewildered silence descended upon them. The three exchanged nervous glances at one another, uncertain of what to make of the situation.

  She could see the confounded feelings in their expressions, in their body language. The shuffling their feet were a tell-tale sign of indecision. The girls even bit on lips or upon insides of cheeks. Their eyes were everywhere at once. They have been through a lot, just like us, and they don’t know what to do. They are afraid to trust.

  “Oh my god, we thought we were the only ones,” blurted Hyun. Her face changed from fright and worry to relief and fatigue in the span of a second.

  “Not by a long shot,” corrected Anthony, which made the others freeze in place and frown back at him. “In total, there should be twelve of us.”

  His revelation made their jaws drop in shock. They gazed back at him with such hope it almost brought tears to Elena’s eyes. One seldom sees such earnest faith, such raw expectation.

  Then, Derek’s frown returned as if something new had occurred to him. “There are more of you out there, aren’t there?”

  “Yup,” was all Anthony said, letting a silence grow between them. Then, “Besides me, in the forest to either side of that trail, there are seven more kids and teenagers. We're all just like you, caught up in this crazy shit we can don't understand.

  “I had them stay back, so you guys wouldn’t freak out, seeing a while gang of kids descending upon you out of the forest.”

  “For real?” asked Hyun.

  But to Elena’s ears it was more like a plea. Her slanted eyes seemed to open as far as they could, almost to bursting at the edges. She wanted it to be true more than anything.

  “Yeah, I’m not lying or anything. I promise… but… well, we also have help,” went on her brother. He raised an eyebrow as though he wanted all three of them to catch on to what he was hinting at.

  “What kind of help?” asked Derek, his face melting in to a suspicious glare.

  “The kind of help you find in a world like this. You know changed, mutated, maybe even scary, but on our side, assisting us, fighting alongside of us. Do you think you guys can handle that?”

  They exchanged a second flurry of glances between them. Then they were whispering amongst themselves so low Elena could not make out what they were saying.

  “We’re not sure, to be honest,” admitted Derek after a time. “Things in this place… well, they’re usually not too nice, you know?”

  Anthony chortled. “Yeah, I can see what you mean. How about you meet the humans among us first? Maybe that will help cushion the blow.” The use of the word “human” made them frown a bit deeper.

  Kimberly even took a half step back.

  An uneasy quiet befell them and, for a second, Elena was sure they were going to bolt. She could see it in their body language.

  Her brother just waited for them to reply, gesturing a few times for them to answer.

  They stayed silent, too shocked to know what to do, frightened out of their minds.

  “Ok,” said Anthony too loud in such quiet.

  It made all three of them flinch.

  Again, he put his hands out, palms up. “How about you meet one of my sisters first? We’ll do this kinda slow. You know, at a pace you guys can handle and not get all weirded-out over. Is that ok?”

  Both of the girls did not move a muscle, but Derek nodded in a jerky, reptilian-like fashion filled with stress and agitation. It seemed like he poised himself upon the balls of his feet, about to run.

  No, don’t go! thought Elena when her brother spoke again and broke her concentration.

  “Good.” Anthony motioned toward the general area where she stood with Sophie and Mikalah. “Elena, come down here and meet these nice people! I want them to see something weird, so they won’t be all shocked and afraid when they meet the Fist.”

  You butt crack! she raged inside.

  Ahead in the intersection, the three newcomers let out bursts of nervous laughter.

  Elena came forward with every intention of socking her brother upside the head.

  *****

  She could not wait any longer!

  She was thinking crazy as the icy breeze flowed around her the dark skin of her cheeks. There would be no other opportunity, no other chance to get free of the garage that had become her prison over the course of the past few days. She had to get out. She had to make a run for it. She had to take that chance, because she had no more food. She had nothing left. She had passed the point of no return already. She knew this within minutes after she awoke to the bright rays of the sun on her face.

  I have no choice!

  She had lain there in the tangled pile of her homemade bed. At first, she was not been sure was happening. She could not figure out why the temperature around her had warmed or why she had been able to see within the garage that early in the morning. Why was there no longer a thundering wind?

  She had sat up squinting, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, grossed out by the amount of crust she had to flake off her eyelids before she could see. I must have had runny eyes all night, yuck!

  That was when she realized it was sunlight, the actual rays of the sun shining down, through the window of the door and onto where she slept. The Sun! she had thought with joy and bound to her feet, rushing over to the door for a better look. She had been unable to stop herself from smiling at what she saw outside. Everything was white. The purest almost incandescent white she had ever laid eyes on. It was smooth and pristine, un
blemished, a deep blanket of fallen snow, ubiquitous about the lay of the land.

  Even from where she had stood, she could see it had gathered alongside the garage, up three and a half feet high about the entire outer wall. For the second time in as many days, she thanked her lucky stars the door opened inward and not the other way around. Otherwise, it might have taken her hours of pushing and shoving to squeeze her way out. Out? it came to her like a whisper in her head. Yeah, out! You need to get out of here. You need food! She had cursed the slowness with which her mind was working earlier that morning. Of course, she would have to leave! This was, after all, what she had been waiting for, a break in the weather. The storm had to end, right? Now, it had, so what else would there be for her to do but leave?

  There was nothing else…

  She had walked with a purpose to the mournful box of energy bars. It showed all the signs of her abuse over the past days as she had agonized over how many of them she could eat. She had lost count how many times she had picked up the box and rummaged through it. Sometimes she was rough, sometimes not. But, she was always counting, calculating, wondering, worrying, counting, figuring, anxious and finally praying. It had gone on and on. Until that morning, she had peered into the box at the last six bars, knowing full well that after they were gone there would be nothing to eat.

  She had gazed at the door. She stared at the broad strokes of light beaming through the window. It shone upon the myriad of pillows she had sewn into being on that first frightening day. Once the energy bars were gone, she would have no choice. She would have to leave or starve to death.

  She had glanced back in the box.

  One, two, three, four, five, six – only six left, food until tonight and then nothing for tomorrow morning. She had felt an ominous weight building upon her shoulders. Her anxiety skyrocket and she immediately felt a twinge in her lower abdomen, the urge pee hitting her almost as hard.

  Ah, the mornings! she complained and put the box on her bedding, striding over to the plastic container she had been using to relieve herself. She had steeled herself against the impending stink, cracking open the lid. She stared in revulsion at the nasty mixture she had deposited there in the hours and days she had lived in the garage.