| Rise, Part 1: A Land of Ice | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 7 2016, 04:28 PM (54 Views) | |
| TheIceQueen | Jul 7 2016, 04:28 PM Post #1 |
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I'm so cold... She stands in the middle of the woods, following her companion, trudging through feet of snow. The storm had being dumping on them all day, and showed no signs of letting up. The cold nipping at her exposed skin, fear of frostbite is starting setting in. The cold air bites as she breathes in, the moisture in her lungs starting to freeze, clinging to her like a newborn at a teat, sucking the life from her. She lets out a sigh, condensation forming with every breath, fogging up her goggles. I don't know if I can go on much longer... “Shelbi, this way. We need to get out of this storm if we're going to survive,” he said to her. Jamie stood in front of her worrying. Looking at his friend, the woman he saved from the streets, he reaches out to help her get over a large log blocking their way. “We have to move, there's no saying how close or far that mountain lion we saw is, and in this snow, I don't want to get caught off guard.” She looked at him, her pupils dilated, panicking. “I don't know that I have much more left in me, we need to find a place to build a shelter, and soon,” she says before jumping down off the log, the fresh powder billowing out around her and she lands. The two continue trudging through the snow, pushing through dense underbrush, never stopping except to listen for movement. Only the sound of the snow brushing on their jackets on its trajectory to the ground can be heard over their heavy breathing. This would be almost peaceful if we weren't in danger... The sharpsnap of a not nearly distant enough twig alerts them that they aren't alone, causing them to freeze in place. They both crouch down, lowering themselves into the snow, trying to break any line of sight that might exist between them and whatever was out there. Peering through an opening in the trees, they see the face of their newest companion. A young, male moose staring them down, its giant eyes bulging. He stands still, being down wind of them knows they're there. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck... The moose starts charging them, forcing them to run. Dodging between small trees, the two fly as fast as their feet will take them, trying to find a larger tree to climb. The moose was starting to bridge the gap between them, catching up as they run. 10 feet. The moose struggles to move through the snow. 7 feet. It's giant stride gives it an advantage. 4 feet and closing. Shelbi trips over a hidden fallen branch, dropping into the snow. Jamie lets out a scream of pure terror. I'm going to get trampled... A moment passes, and Shelbi is pulled to her feet. The moose has been stopped dead in its tracks by the large mountain lion wrapped around it's back, it's claws digging in for grip as it tries to bite the moose's throat, destined to rip out its jugular. Blood sprays from the newly opened moose jugular as Jamie pulls the stunned Shelbi. The mountain lion takes down the young moose, a pool of blood already starting to form below it, crimson red in a sea of white. The two start to run, looking over their shoulders the entire time. They reach an open field with a hunting blind on the edge. “This is what's going to keep us alive,” Jamie says, before turning and continuing his way toward the opening, nearly running through the waist high snow. Shelbi and Jamie's breath lingers in the cold air, hanging suspended like a shuttle parts in the Smithsonian Museum. The subzero temperatures weaken drain the strength from their limbs as they cross the field, growing ever closer to the hunting blind. Safety... is... within... reach... Without warning, Shelbi drops to the ground, the light powder swallowing her whole. The unaware Jamie continues to push through the snow, reaching the blind approximately a minute after Shelbi falls. The young man turns back to say something to Shelbi. “Hey, you know... Shelbi? Where the hell are you? Shit...” Jamie turns back, trying to follow the path which he created, digging desperately through the snow trying to find his friend. A loud scream in the distance signals problems to come, the blood curdling screeching of a mountain lion following their tracks. Jamie's gloved hands dig even faster, trying to find his fallen companion, reaching through feet of snow. It's only when he sees a bright flash of blue hair reflecting the low light of the forest. Clearing a bit more snow, he reveals Shelbi's unconscious face. Another screech is heard in the distance, only this time much closer sounding. The mountain lion has followed the tracks. Jamie reaches even further into the snow, grabbing Shelbi under her arms, dragging her out of the snow as quickly as he can, only pausing to check her pulse. Her pulse is faint, her skin cold, hypothermia setting in. He rushes to pull her to the blind, looking up to see the bloody face of the mountain lion reach the edge of the field, looking him right back in the eyes. A shiver runs down his spine, adrenaline triggering his fight or flight instincts. Pulling as fast as he can, never losing sight of the large predator already starting to move in their direction, Jamie struggles to save Shelbi's life again for a second instance. The large cat starts to move faster, bounding as fast as it can through the deep snow, itself being lost in the abyss, if only momentarily before its head pops up again through the snow. Jamie's left foot drops down into a hole, only to become wedged into the roots of a long dead tree. Twenty yards away, the feline moves toward, bearing her teeth, hissing at the large man struggling to free himself from the roots. Cold... Shelbi slowly starts to stir. Her eyes open up, struggling to see through the goggles that are protecting her face. “George?” “No,” Jamie responds, letting her down quickly, and panics as he tries to free his foot. Shelbi, unaware that they aren't alone, reaches down slowly, trying to help her friend free his foot. She pulls back as hard as she can on the root, which has become more brittle over the course of Jamie pulling on it. The root gives way, freeing the young man, but cuts deeply into Shelbi's hand, causing her to let out a yelp in pain. “Be quiet, she's here.” The two turn to face the mountain lion, mere feet away from them, licking its lips and staring at them. They slowly start to back away, never breaking eye contact with the predator. This is it, this is the end... Shelbi reaches out behind her, her pulse racing, blood pouring from her open wound, finding nothingness behind her. Another step back, and her fingertips brushing over a handle. She grabs hold and doesn't let go. She pulls down, the click of a metal as the door latch opens, and she pulls the man beside her in with her. The mountain lion launches forward, reaching the door before Shelbi can completely close it. The struggle between humanity and nature continues, Shelbi pulling as hard as she can as the carnivorous cat tries to do the same, Shelbi fighting an uphill battle. Her strength continues to leave her body, the only thing keeping her going is the fear of death. It's only when Jamie grabs hold that the tide of battle starts to turn in Shelbi's favor. The door nearly closes, but is stopped short as the felid's paw becomes wedged between the door and frame. Shelbi kicks the paw numerous times, the only reaction in response is further flailing. In a momentary lapse in judgment, Jamie pushes back on the door, hitting the cat in the face, which causes it to temporarily withdraw. He pulls the door back nearly as quickly as he pushed it, finally closing the door. “What the hell were you thinking?” Shelbi yells out at her companion, “You could have killed us both!” “I did what had to be done, and we're both alive, aren't we?” Jamie retorts, a smug look crossing his face. “Yeah, but you also jeopardized our lives in the process...” “I SAVED YOUR LIFE!” Her companion screams. “If it weren't for me, you would be dead. Three times I've saved you, and this is how you thank me? You yell at me?” Jamie moves toward her quickly, prompting Shelbi to raise her hands defensively. “I-- I'm sorry,” she says weakly, flinching away from an assumed attacker. “I'm not going to hurt you. Your hand... Jesus, what happened to your hand?” Jamie grabs her hand, seeing the blood pour out faster than it should be at this point, and pulls out a shard of wood out of the wound before carefully pulling the glove off her hand. “We have to stop the bleeding now. This is really, really bad.” Shelbi plops down on the ground, holding her hand out as it continues to ooze from the wound, Jamie reaching into his backpack for a first aid kit and a bottle of water. “Alright, my dear, this is going to suck. A lot,” he says as he starts pouring water on the wound, trying to clear out blood and any left behind splinters of wood before handing her a square of gauze. “Hold this against the wound, apply a fair amount of pressure. I know it's going to hurt, but we need to get the bleeding to stop, or at least get it under control.” As she presses the gauze against the wound, she lets out a grunt in pain. On the other side of the door behind her, another grunt is let out, the frustrated felid pacing outside, waiting for it's opportunity to find another meal. “So uh... why is this thing after us? Shouldn't the moose have been more than enough food for it?” Shelbi inquires. “I have a sneaking suspicion that the cat is a man-eater.” “Like the Hall and Oates song?” She chuckles. “You think this is an appropriate time to joke? Hypothermia, blood loss, and a predator outside that wants nothing more than to rip the flesh from your body?” Jamie retorts. Shelbi pauses for a moment, and looks her savior in the eye. “I'm not joking for the sake of humor, I'm joking because that's how I handle stress. If I'm going to die, I'm not going to do so in fear.” The resolve in Ms. Carter's eyes shines through. “You were always a tenacious one, weren't you?” Jamie pulls the gauze away from Shelbi's hand, examining the wound. “The bleeding hasn't stopped, but it has slowed dramatically. I'm going to have to stitch it up, or I'm afraid you might bleed out. But that's if hypothermia doesn't get you first. Hold your hand out, as still as you can, I'm going to need you to be strong.” “You think this is the first time I've had stitches? Do you not see the scar running up my right arm from where fucking Michael Thunder wrapped barbed wire around it and ripped it off? That was something like 40 staples and a bunch of stitches. I can handle a couple of stitches,” Shelbi counters. Jamie looks her in the eye, “You realize that's not the same, right? I'd say you were probably loaded up with painkillers, or at least a local anesthetic while you were getting closed up. You're going to feel every single time the needle pulls through the skin, you're going to feel the string, and you're most definitely going to hurt for this. So here's the deal, we're going to try to distract you from the pain. I'm going to ask you a few questions, you're going to answer them truthfully.” “But... but...” “No buts, if we're potentially going to die here, you're going to answer some questions I've wanted answers to for a long time, and you've refused to answer. What's the worst that can come of it?” Shelbi purses her lips in defiance, but finally gives in. “Fine, do your worst.” Jamie clears the blood again, rinsing the wound with the nearly frozen water. “Alright, lets start off with the biggest question I've had this whole time about you. Who the fuck is George?” He pulls out the needle and starts threading it, all the while trying to keep Shelbi calm. “He was my best friend, he was there for me when my husband left me. He was there for when I lost my daughter, Grace, and he was my lover for a long time. That being said, he was also the man who stalked me, threatened me and the remainder of my family, and the man that tried to kill me. I went into a federal lockup because I tried to defend myself, and ended up killing him in self defense. He was the man who drove me to the edge of insanity and into drugs. He was everything good and bad in my life, simultaneously. Shit that hurts.” Jamie pushes the needle through her skin at a very, very slow pace, the first of many punctures. “That'll happen. So this George guy really left your head spinning I take it. So why did you say his name earlier?” Jamie inquires. “Did I?” “Yep, when I pulled you out of the snow.” “Shit. I'm sorry. I just... I don't know. I see aspects of you in him, and I can't help but feel like you're here to right the wrongs that he did to me.” Shelbi looks down in shame. “Did he hit you?” Jamie asks. She sits there in silence. “He did, didn't he? That's why you flinched earlier.” Shelbi turns to him as he continues to stitch her hand up, “Yes. A lot. I know it seems stupid, but I didn't know what to do. I stayed with him out of fear. I didn't think I could escape it. It's the same senseless violence that my first boyfriend lashed out at me with before he killed my father and tried to kill me. That same sense of fear gripped at the heart of me in my relationship with George. I was afraid of him, even though I fought men in the ring regularly. And that's part of the problem. No one ever saw the bruises he left on me, they never saw the cuts, the broken bones, because they all thought it was part of the job, not that I was being abused behind closed doors. They didn't see the damage done when he raped me after I finally left him. And no one would believe me, so I held onto that pain, I sat back and tried to forget that it was his fault that I couldn't ever feel like anything but a victim.” The look on Jamie's reflects Shelbi's internal feelings, greatly pained by the ordeal. “So you turned to drugs and alcohol after that, right?” Shelbi closes her eyes. “I... I didn't turn to drugs at that point, I started well before that. I struggled with addiction for a long time before I gave up my career. It started off small, I was offered cocaine at a party, and took a bump. And from that moment on, I was hooked. I kept doing more and more trying to get my fix, never getting the same result that I got the first time, that feeling of euphoria never quite the same. I was doing an eight-ball when I woke up, another for lunch, and finished my day with another. I had a serious problem, and it wasn't helping. I looked for something stronger, a fix that could get me through more of the day, something that was different. That's when I got into heroine. At first, it was to help alleviate the pain I was feeling every day, or at least that's what I told myself. I became more and more desperate, shooting up a few times a day. It got to the point I was fucking my dealer to get a better price. I was a heroine whore. The shame I feel every day when I think back about that, it's indescribable. You met me at my worst, when I blew through my money, living on the streets.” “That is when I met you, you're right. I never knew you from wrestling, but I knew your face from seeing you modeling. You were famous kiddo.” Jamie chuckles. Calling his friend kiddo was more an ongoing joke for them, as Shelbi is three years older than Jamie. “We're about half way done, how does that feel?” Shelbi winces in pain as Jamie pushes the needle through again, “It stings, but it's not as bad as it was at first.” Shelbi looks behind her as the mountain lion growls. It scratches at the door, its claws ripping through the sheet metal. “Fuck! Okay, we need to hurry this up, I'm not going to be any use to you if that thing gets in here.” Jamie raises a hand and turns her face toward her. “Don't worry about that now, just keep talking. We'll get through this. Tell me, why haven't you stepped back into the ring? I was reading about you the other day, trying to get more insight into what makes you tick of course, and saw that you were once one of the top wrestlers in the world. You have to miss that, right?” She lets out another grunt in pain, but wills herself through the pain to smile. “Of course I do. I regret stepping away from the spotlight, but I had to. I was an addict, I watched my life crumble around me, my personal life coming into the spotlight, my demons exposed for the world to see. Fuck, I never got to see my daughter grow up because child protective services took her away from me. She was placed into the custody of an abusive foster parent. She died months later. That's what stopped me from seeking help. I spiraled out of control, and yeah, that took over for a long time.” The mountain lion scratches again at the door, opening a hole in the door that is big enough for it to peer through. Jamie tries to keep Shelbi focused. “So have you thought of going back into the ring? Back into competition?” She turns back, looking the lion in the eye. “I've thought about it, more than once actually. I still think about it now and again. I honestly don't know that I'm fight to fight anymore. I'm not the same woman I used to be, I don't think I'll ever be back in the same condition I used to be. Hell, look at me, I can't even stop shivering. I'm weak.” “You aren't weak, it's negative 20 degrees outside. You've lost a lot of blood, and yet here you are, still going. You almost died out there, and you're still going. I think you have it in you to get back out there and fight again, you just need to make it through this, heal, and start training again. I'll help you with that part, I just need to look into what I have to do to get you back in proper shape,” Jamie expresses. Shelbi pauses for a moment. “What's dead can never die?” “Exactly.” Jamie finishes the last stitch just before the mountain lion rips through the door, making the whole big enough to fit it's head through. “Think of this as your rebirth. Assuming we get through this at least.” “The Ice Queen.” “What?” “That's what I'm going to call myself. I took on the mantle of the Amazon before because I thought I was strong, like the Amazons of Greek mythology. I wasn't strong, I was weak. I succumbed to the temptations of power, of greed, of arrogance. From here on out, I find myself born again in the snow, in the cold, in the icy grip of death itself, and I will conquer it. I will make it my duty to embrace it, I will make it my goal to rise from the bottom to the top again. And this time, to do it the right way. But for now, let's focus at the problem at hand. That half a ton monstrosity trying to eat us.” She turns away, looking at the face of their imminent dilemma, their feline foe. Searching the blind, there isn't much to fight off the brute aside from a stool in the corner. She grabs it, and smashes the stool on the beast's face, which shatters the stool, leaving only a single pointed stick. The mountain lion reels for a moment before sticking its head back in, lashing out in pain, but is only met with the same pointed piece of wood in its eye, backing away quickly, screeching loudly in pain as it runs off. Jamie looks at Shelbi astonished. “Hail the Ice Queen, long may she live.” -End of Part 1- Edited by TheIceQueen, Jul 7 2016, 04:30 PM.
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3:17 AM Jul 11