by KM Fortune
FOREVER WINTER
A Future Dystopian Survival Series
Book 1 – 4
by
KM FORTUNE
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 KM Fortune
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
20171125
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
BOOK I - AWAKENING
PRESENT DAY
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
BOOK II - SURVIVAL
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
BOOK III - DISCOVERY
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
BOOK IV - JUDGEMENT
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
SNEAK PREAK BOOK V – TOLERANCE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BOOK I - AWAKENING
PRESENT DAY
A RAVEN.
Raven Winter watched the bird, her namesake, as it circled lazily in the sky above her and knew she was wrong. It is a hawk perhaps, she thought, watching. A raven would not fly this high among the mountain peaks. The blackness of it must have been an illusion, a play of sunlight and shadow. Unless it’s a miracle, which it could be. Raven had no trouble believing in miracles and it was that kind of day. Perfect and beautiful in every way imaginable. As if reading her thoughts, she saw her partner, Brady, smile down from where he was stopped on a ledge above. She smiled back.
Brady, lean and handsome, was connected to a safety line attached to his climbing harness. His strong legs and muscular body pressed against the cold stone of the mountain face. Raven knew mountaineering was always such a joy for him and she was happy it was something they could share. It was an important part of his life. Even though he claimed he was a novice, only having begun the sport three years ago, she was completely confident in his skill and experience. She had wholeheartedly agreed to let him teach her how to mountain climb and over the last year while they were dating, many weekends were spent on some rock face or another. Today, however, was turning out to be the most beautiful, most magical, ascent of them all.
“Everything okay?” Brady yelled down to her, a slight wind threatening to steal his words. Raven waved reassuringly to him. She was fine. Just resting for a moment and taking in the breathtaking beauty of the world around her. A kaleidoscope of whites, blues, and grays. She hung about three hundred feet below Brady, using her own agile but strong frame to hold her in place. A snowflake whispered across Raven's cheek as she found new handholds on the miniscule ledge where she rested, preparing to move upward again. The trace of moisture felt much like an innocent child's kiss and Raven smiled. If my fifth-grade elementary school class could see me now! she thought and pushed off to keep going.
Raven was new to climbing but had taken to it with the natural ease she took to all athletic endeavors. All twenty-seven years of her life she was good at anything physical. Even as a baby, she walked early and her parents swore she came out of the womb running. She excelled at sports, being all-state in cross-country and women’s field hockey, and now loved competitive amateur tennis as an adult. But what Raven enjoyed the most of all was the challenge of pushing her body and always testing her limits. Which was exactly why mountain climbing was so perfect for her. The sport was exciting and today’s climb was her idea. She had wanted to attack the difficult climb she and Brady were on. At first Brady had been hesitant to take her to such a high and challenging spot, one in which he was not as familiar with, but eventually he gave into her charms and agreed.
Now she was especially glad they had come. The scenic beauty of the snowcapped Sierra Nevada Mountains was absolutely breathtaking and they had enjoyed spectacular weather. The last two days had been unseasonably warm and made it possible to get to areas and be at heights which were normally already closed in mid-November. Today was another near perfect morning and Raven felt a pang of sadness this would be their last climb before returning to Los Angeles. A part of her wished they could explore always. Although she loved her life and her career, the sense of freedom and adventure of being out in the raw wild appealed to a craving within her to experience more of the world around her.
The feeling, the inner need, vague but ever persistent, had always been with her. Even when she was a child, Raven sensed the universe had something greater in mind for her, that she was destined to do important things, and make a difference in the world. In the back of her mind was a small but powerful wanting, pushing her to continually analyze her choices and question if she was living up to her full potential. Teaching brought some relief. Although she had explored being a doctor or a lawyer, and was easily intelligent enough to be either, teaching was what drew her most and she was great at it. She loved enlightening the young minds who ventured through her classroom year after year. Her students were like sponges and it was very fulfilling work. Every fall, Raven was excited to see the little personalities who would walk through her door. They challenged and inspired her and she never regretted choosing the profession. Yet, at times the vague feeling to accomplish something larger, more significant, was very strong. Some mornings she would wake up, having dreamt of things she could not remember, and feel almost an ache in her heart to do more. Always she was left wondering what the more could be. Today was one of those mornings. Raven had woken with an intense sense of adventure running through her. She originally believed it was only her desire to climb, which was making her excited, but now, though they were high on the mountain and the day was thrilling, her inner compass still tingled.
HIGH ABOVE THE SHEER slope where Brady and Raven climbed, the unseasonably warm sun glistened off the pure white snow. Buried deep below the crystal surface, ancient glacier ice, blue and patient for lifetimes, waited for sunlight which never came. Shifting with undetectable slowness, the great weight of snow moved on the mountain top and carved the rock face perfectly smooth. Almost. The tiniest of stones, caught in the ice wall, had begun a minute crack hundreds of years ago. Over the centuries, the crack spread and amplified. Finally, as if waiting for the perfect temperature and the perfect moment, on this single da
y in November, the ice gave way and began to slip.
Brady, still waiting for Raven to reach him so they could continue upward together, seemed to feel the sound of the ice cracking above him before he actually heard it. The resonance of it sent a tremor through his entire being and reflex made him glance upward at the glistening snowcapped peaks. When he did look up, he saw and he knew. The mountain was moving. The snow and ice were becoming an avalanche. Raven heard it a moment later, just before Brady began to scream her name. In amazement at the spectacle of something once solid suddenly moving in one great mass, Raven froze in place and watched as the ice of ages descended upon them. She saw Brady repelling down in a frantic descent. “We have to move!” he yelled, barely audible over the building sound of the rumble rising from the mountain.
Raven understood. The avalanche would come down straight on them and they stood no chance against the white mass rushing from above. The ledge she had stopped at would provide no shelter. Glancing around quickly, she realized there were no indentations or crevices to try to press into. Looking up again, the moving snow now becoming a massive, roaring tide, she saw Brady quickly coming at her. But the avalanche, gaining momentum as more and more snow slipped free with it, was too fast.
He can't possibly outrun it, Raven thought before she realized he was only trying to reach her and not trying to escape. As she watched, she knew he wouldn’t make it in time. In that instance, Raven realized she wouldn’t either. My life is over, she thought, strangely feeling no panic or fear. And there was so much more I wanted to do... Raven suddenly felt a deep sadness of unfulfilled desires and destinies. She knew they had no chance against the force of nature descending. With no other alternative, Raven pushed back from the narrow shelf and let herself fall. The safety line whizzed through the eye-hooks as she gracefully descended.
I’m flying, she thought just as the edge of the avalanche caught her. With barely a tug, Raven's safety line snapped and she fell through space as one with the powdery whiteness. Enveloped in the snow, she realized for a second the avalanche was carrying her in a veil of white. Nothing but air stood between her, the rolling cloud, and the valley below. It's so peaceful, she thought, surprisingly not afraid, having faith this was as it was meant to be and she would go on to a better place.
She was completely frozen by the time the avalanche planted her in the snow filled ravine far below. Tucked into a fetal position, Raven plunged even deeper into the soft bank and was gone.
CHAPTER 1
IN THE FUTURE.
Clad in cold resistant clothing covered by a heavy black and gray parka, a lone figure climbed down an icy mountain slope. The narrow crevice the climber followed provided at least a little shelter from the winter's freezing wind. Resting for a moment, the figure leaned against a wall of black granite and glacial ice. With a gloved hand, he pulled down his half mask, uncovering his mouth and nose. Steam escaped as he gulped the frigid air. The condensation quickly turned to ice crystals and covered the edge of the fabric in a frosty white. The man rubbed a gloved hand over his heavily bearded face to knock away the ice and lifted his snow goggles to look around. Nothing but white snow, gray ice, and black rock surrounded him.
Still panting from the climb, he turned and looked at the ice and rock he leaned up against. Shades of gray and blue reflected back faint glimmers of afternoon sun trying to peek out of an ever cloudy gray sky. Taking an ice axe from his belt, he chipped at the glacier. Slivers of ice fell at his feet. With his thickly gloved fingers, he dusted away the remaining shards and examined the small hole he had chopped, trying to peer deeper into the glacier. Unsatisfied with what he saw, he took a few steps and then chopped again.
As he swung the small, sharp axe, a second man climbed into the crevice beside him. Like his comrade, the second man pulled down his half mask and exposed his bearded face to the cold. “What are you doing, Matthew?” the second man asked. Matthew stopped his work and gasped for a breath, the altitude and cold making it hard to breathe. Matthew motioned at the ice with his axe.
“From above, on the trail, I thought I saw something buried in the ice.” Interested, the second man moved up to the ice wall, bent to look in the hole Matthew had just chopped, and tried to see past its murky surface.
“Really? But we have come back this way every month for a year, why have we never seen it before?” the man asked.
“It's getting warmer,” Matthew responded, picking another spot and starting in at the ice again with his axe. “Some of the ice has shifted. Perhaps it was just covered before.”
Matthew's comrade nodded in agreement. “It has been growing warmer. If you consider five degrees below zero warmer.” He knelt down and pressed his face closer to the ice. “What is it shaped like?”
Matthew shook his head. “Not much. Only a lump. It could be anything. Help me dig and find out.” Matthew’s friend thought about it for a moment, then followed suit and unslung his ice axe. Together they began to cut a small tunnel into the glacier.
The progress was slow but the two men were able to carve a narrow tunnel about four feet toward the center of the ice by the time the faint glow of midday had moved across the sky into evening. Finally, the second man stopped to rest and leaned his axe up against a nearby boulder. “We have to stop. We can't be up here after nightfall.” Matthew ignored his friend’s plea and continued to chop eagerly at the thick ice. “Matthew!” the friend said, louder this time. “We have to stop! It will be here next time. Let's go.” Matthew held his axe for a moment and looked hard into the tunnel, trying to make out the dark object frozen in the ice beyond him. He pulled a flashlight from his belt and shone it into the tunnel.
“We are so close. I think I can see it,” he said, beckoning to his friend to look again. The second man gazed into the tunnel and shook his head.
“Your eyes are a lot better than mine then. I can maybe see there is something there, but what?” Matthew sighed and slid his ice axe and flashlight into their holsters on his belt, readying to travel onward down the path.
“It's hard to tell for sure. But I am almost certain I could make out one thing,” Matthew said.
“Yeah? And what do you think you see?” his comrade asked turning to head back toward home. Matthew was quiet for a few steps, thoughtful about answering.
“I'm still not positive, but I think I saw a face. A human face.”
FOUR MEN NOW CHOPPED away at the glacier. Their progress, limited by their simple axes and lack of room to maneuver, was slow but steady. Matthew continued to work at the original tunnel he had begun the month before. Another comrade chopped beside him. Two others worked from above, hoping to meet Matthew's passage at the mysterious object in the ice.
“It's a human!” Matthew cried out from the tunnel now nearly eight feet into the ice. The man beside him relayed the message along to the men atop the glacier of blue.
“Matthew says it's human!” he yelled. One of the men on the top stopped digging and walked to the edge of the ice. He looked down at them.
“Male or female?” he asked. The man on the ground leaned into the tunnel to repeat the question. Matthew shook his head.
“I can't tell yet, but it looks to be a full carcass. I believe we should proceed.” The man nodded in agreement and went to report to the others while Matthew resumed digging. Piece by piece the ice gave way and yielded a path to the frozen figure long ago trapped in the snow. Finally both parties reached the ice shell surrounding the encased body. Before Matthew could break through, his comrade called to him.
“Stop, Matthew. Samuel wants to speak to you before you continue,” he said. Matthew stopped working, feeling frustrated but knowing he did not dare proceed, and shimmied out of the tunnel. He went to the edge of the crevice and looked up where another man waited for him. It was the search party's leader, Samuel. His hood was pushed back and his bearded face was uncovered. Matthew did not like how serious he looked, but gathered his courage. Recovering the body was imperative for his
work.
“Report,” Samuel called down to Matthew.
“I think we should bring it back with us,” Matthew stated, knowing the decision was not up to him to make. Samuel looked down at Matthew and frowned.
“Why? It’s a corpse.”
Matthew nodded but did not hesitate to make his case. “It's definitely a female. The eggs may be salvageable and, when reconstituted, possibly be potent if she was frozen before the plague,” he said. Samuel paused, looking off into the distance, considering the new information. Matthew knew it was a lot to think about. If he was right, and he truly believed he was, the find was of huge significance. Unfortunately, he just was not sure if Samuel would believe him. After all, the man was not a scientist like Matthew. Finally, the leader nodded and shouted to the rest of the men.
“Bring the chains and the sleigh. Proceed with the recovery.” Two men from the team moved quickly to fetch the items from down the trail beyond the entrance to the crevice. Samuel looked back at Matthew. “What would be the best way to preserve the remains?”
Matthew swallowed hard, excited to have permission to continue, but not daring to let Samuel see his eagerness to get to work. The man could be difficult and it would not be unusual for him to suddenly change his mind. “I suggest we saw around the corpse and lift it out whole in a block of ice to reduce damaging it. Then I can defrost the specimen back in the laboratory slowly in my embryonic chamber.”
Samuel nodded and stepped aside as the men returned with the chains and sleigh. Matthew slid back into the tunnel with a saw and started to work again, now being much more careful. Even though it would not be too critical if they accidentally cut into the specimen, he would prefer to try to keep it intact. In his thirty-two years, he had never heard of anyone recovering a full body and he certainly never experienced a chance to work with any sample this large. It was all very exciting.
Working together with a pulley and rope, the men were finally able to slip chains around the four-by-three block of ice, drag it from the crevice, and lever it onto the wooden sleigh. Once tied in place, Matthew and three of the men each grabbed a tow rope and, following Samuel, pulled the heavy load down the icy trail and away from the hole it had been trapped in.
