Fire Fury Freedom

by Amanda Rose

  “I love you Suako…” Vince said as his finger tips finally lost their grip, and slid off from the icy stone rim from which he’d been holding onto. The two fell like stones. Mei nearly jumped off of the wall to get to them herself, but Kato held her back. “Suako! Vince! No!” she shrieked. “No Mei, it won’t help!” Kato desperately tried to hold her back. Yu-Lee turned her eyes away. Masumi froze in place and watched with eyes wide open.

  “Oof!” Suako had the wind knocked out of her as her harness stopped the fall from being fatal. Vince gasped, feeling as if he’d been hit with a boulder to his chest and stomach. The fall caused them to drop their bolting gun, and Suako’s backpack. The discarded items bounced off the mountainside below noisily clashing off of the rock until the final loud thud that they endured upon hitting the hard ground far below. They hung like puppets suspended in the air hanging from the metal bolt they’d last inserted into the rock face. Jolted horribly from the experience, pain surged throughout their bodies; but they were alive. Suako hung a about a meter above Vince, and therefore took most of the impact. Yu-Lee looked back down to them and breathed a sigh of relief, but they were far from danger yet. “Are you ok?” Mack called from below. “Uhn… yes, but hurry…” Suako moaned in agony. “Hold on!” Masumi called to them, about twenty-five feet left of the metal saviour Suako and Vince shared.

  Masumi began to move but then hugged the wall placing her ear against it. Something was wrong. “Everyone, be quiet,” Masumi ordered. She heard something that seemed muffled at first, her gut told her what was wrong, but her head refused to believe it. Slowly the noise grew, and as is became louder it was clearer. Soon the noise apparent to her and her heart jumped. With slow exhalent breaths she dictated her uncomfortably twisting inner feelings, “I… I forgot to tell you before, to keep your voices down…” she listened further in hope that she was wrong. Everyone watched her, now able to hear what she did.

  The mountain began to rumble terribly. Masumi looked up to see fluffy snow, followed by boulders of ice and snow chucks was falling from the heights above. With a racing heart she called to the others, “Avalanche! Stay as close to the wall as you can!” “Oh shit!” Kato used himself as a human shield to Mei. Mack, Jenko and Yu-Lee huddled together. Kairu pressed himself up the chilling rock face. Suako rested on her ropes above Vince, and watched as the tumbling snow came crashing down, pulling her arms and legs in to protect her self just before it hit.

  For the most part the snow flowed like a waterfall a few feet out from them. Still small dustings fell upon them, and the occasional large chuck managed to get near them. The cold snow got into every crevasse, down their coats and shirts onto the bare skin of their backs, up their sleeves and into their shoes it forced its way in. Warm skin shuttered as the now packed itself in. The unpleasant wait seemed to take an eternity to pass.

  Eventually the massive wave of snow slowed down. Below them, the path they walked up to the base had disappeared below the newly formed snow bank. Uncomfortable bodies attempted to rid themselves of the unpleasant snow that commenced to sting their skin. “Everyone alright?” Mack raised his head after hearing the last of the snow crumble below. Voices checked in, in response. Suako had been bombarded by lose snow and minor clumps of hard snowballs. She’d bared the brunt of it above Vince, shielding him from it. Suako swept the heavy build up of snow that rested on her chest and abdomen off of herself. As it floated down it picked up the sunlight like miniature crystals.

  Masumi breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank god that was a minor one…” she said stealing all eyes to her in amazement by the words that slipped out. “…Suako, Vince are you alright?” Mack asked when they hadn’t yet replied. “Uh, yea Mack… Sst ah damn that hurt…” Suako breathed steadily out. Her ribs were sore from one particularly hard blow. “I’m fine Mack. We need help is all,” Vince called. “… You sure you’re ok?” Vince asked just loud enough for Suako to hear. “I’ll be fine. Thanks,” she smiled at him.

  Masumi edged her way over, and Jenko climbed up and over to help as well. “We’re coming! Try not to move to much!” Masumi called in a low voice. They hung there doing just as she asked and stayed as still as they could, though from their fall they found themselves still swaying from the momentum. The stress was having it’s wear on the bolt. Suako was fixated on it, and Vince saw her intent eyes glued above and caught site of it himself. Crank! The metal began to disfigure from their weight. Suako tightened up. “Masumi, it’s not going to hold!” Vince calmly reiterated his panic into words.

  “Here!” Masumi said unbuckling a few odd-looking metal pieces with gear like ends, and tossed them down. Suako caught them, “What are these?” “Listen, see that deep sliver? No, not that. Look over there, the split in the rock wall… Yes, that’s it, I need you to gently sway and shove at least one of those cams into it. Attach your rope to the end of it. If your safety goes, then that will hold you. Ok?” She explained as she shimmied over. “Right… ready Vince?” Suako gulped. “Go for it,” he told her. She agreed with the look in her eyes, took in a deep breath, and began to sway the rope to allow her to reach the wall. The bolt above squeaked as it slowly pulled loose.

  “Almost… argh! Just a little… further…” Suako squirmed. She brushed the wall with the spin-wheel ends. Ping! The top of the safety came loose. Immediately her attention went up; Masumi was just out of reach, and Jenko not far behind. Suako tried once again, legs flailing behind her, attempting to propel forward. The rope began to crawl toward the edge of the metal bit, and the metal started to bend, and then, let them fall.

  Suako managed to stick the cam into the wall just as the metal bolt gave out, and as she did her hand was caught in the loophole it provided. When they fell her wrist caught all their weight, the jolt dislocated her wrist, and she cringed and let out a weak cry. Jenko was now just next to them, so he took his gun out and bolted a metal hold into the rock. “Suako, toss me the end of your rope,” he told her. “Ok,” she threw it to him. He began to tie it when the gear that Suako’s limp wrist held them up with started to slide downward. “Jenko, hurry!” she cried nervous and fear struck.

  Jenko kept his focus, and tied the rope as quickly as his fingers would permit. Again, the bracing cam slid down, Vince’s eyes narrowed in on the shifting support, “Suako… don’t move…” he forcefully told her. Very slowly she tilted her head to look at it and came to see the strain that their weight was having. Perspiration trickled down Vince’s forehead, and burned his eyes. Staying cool, calm and collective was the name of the game. Ice crystals and small stuck stones pulled free of the rock crevasse as their brace edged its way down.

  In a split second they came loose, but Jenko wasn’t yet done the knot. Masumi had made her way to them in the mean time and had grabbed a hold of Suako’s arm just before the fall. Suako bit her tongue in order not to scream from the surging pain she endured as Masumi squeezed her injured wrist. “Jenko… hurry, I can’t… can’t hold them for long,” Masumi flexed. Vince and Suako’s combined weight, along with the force of gravity, was doing quite a number on Masumi.

  “There!” Jenko exclaimed after the knot had been completed. Masumi released the two and they dropped slightly, and swung against the rock wall. Masumi rubbed her arm, which had uncomfortably cramped in place, strained to it’s limit. Finally, they were able to help Vince and Suako back onto the wall. Jenko and Kairu, who had climbed down, helped to get them out of their swinging pendulum-like situation. They pulled them over to the wall and allowed them time to get a good foot and hand hold. Jenko then secured a second safety guard, just in case.

  “Holy shit!” Suako exclaimed in shock. Vince could barely catch his breath; the entire situation had completely blown their minds. Their grasp on reality had temporarily been shaken, and it was taking some time to stop the fear. “Ha! Hardy two you are!” Mack laughed from below. Anxiety turned into good hearty laughter among the two as the world slowed its delirious effects until it came to a stop. “You two ar
e the luckiest little… I don’t believe it!” Mei shook her head, her heart still pounding away. Vince and Suako starred at each other, the adrenaline was pumping full tilt. “That was…” she started slowly speaking, “…in-freaking-credible,” he finished her words in the same slow and mesmerised manner. “Are you ok Vince?” she asked suddenly. “Um, uh, yea… yea I’m fine,” words were hard to conjure. “I’m sorry,” she said, still dazed.

  After Masumi helped wrap up Suako’s wrist, they moved up the rest of the way to the top as a tighter group. In case of any other odd happenings they would be able to deal with it swiftly in the new formation. Kairu shared his bolting gun with Suako and Vince until they reached the cliff ledge they’d aimed to reach. After the avalanche they kept their voices low as they ascended. Suako grit her teeth as she forced herself up the rest of the climb with her throbbing injuries.

  Nearing the end of their ascent they got to see a real sculpture, naturally beautiful an awe inspiring. Where they would camp the night appeared as if someone had taken an enormous ice cream scoop to the side of the mountain. The inner wall had formed rough, exactly like the remnants left by an ice cream scoop. It was odd, yet extremely intriguing and pleasing to the eyes and to touch. The slight overhang would provide them with a wonderful roof to shelter them from any weather that might come, or any more snow that might fall.

  Upon arrival Yu-Lee rebound Suako’s wrist and cast a healing spell to help her recuperate quickly. Setting up camp for the evening they began a fire. The whole experience that day had been rather overwhelming for everyone, but Suako and Vince were making light of it all, exhilarated by their intense near-death experience. That night they all talked about it. Suako told them how she knew she was in serious trouble when the gun and backpack fell as they clinked and clanked down the hill, and how easily that it could have been them tumbling in spirals to an undesirable fate. Making light of it all was the only way to recount the story.

  They set up their sturdy tent once more, and had a strong fire going, over which they’d placed the broth they carried along, which was soon boiling. Masumi threw vegetables into the pot to make a soup, as well as lessen the weight of her load to carry since the root vegetables were heavy. She unloaded a few potatoes, some carrots and onions. She looked for her spices but then remembered how she had to leave it behind at the cabin.

  The entire day had been quite exhausting for everyone, and after dinner they slept like rocks. Suako stole Vince away; she’d been more affected by the fall then she’d wanted to admit to anyone. They sat by the fire, shuffling to find comfortable spots on the hard surface, they sat together with a blanket about them. “Vince, I know I said it before, but I’m really sorry. I could have killed us both…” she gazed into the fire. Vince cut her off short, “It’s okay Suako, really…” he tried to no avail. “No Vince, it’s not. We came this close to being some animal’s dinner. So, I’m sorry. I should’ve been more careful…” she lowered her head into her hands and began to weep.

  Vince held her and just let her to cry; he knew nothing he could say would do much right now. Nor could he think of what would be the right thing to say anyway, so he just held her, gently rocking back and forth. She eventually pulled herself together a lifted her head, he wiped her cheeks free of the salty tears. No words left their lips, and in their silence, came about an understanding. He kissed her forehead and held her close to his body, the lovers sat nurturing each other with unspoken love.

  Clouds rolled in and light snow began to fall. The entire sky became the top of an orb; the clouds looked like they had a blood red colour behind them that they were masking with grey. It was a gentle snowfall at first, but the night brought bad tidings. A storm had blown in, and the temperature drastically dropped.

  “V, Vince I’m freezing… what is this… I’m so cold…” Suako shivered. “This isn’t right,” he said looking around. The sky was no longer just there above them, it was like an attacker closing in on them. Vince had an awful warning in his gut telling him this was a bad tiding. It was as if howls of the wind were war cries to scare the enemy; and it did what it set out to do. “Help me cover the fire!” Vince called to Suako who could barely make out his words as they were being swept away just as fast as they were coming out of his mouth. They stood and did they best with a few spare tent rods to tie the blanket over it. The wind thrashed the blanket about, nearly dragging it from them.

  Snow beat down in pellets at them, the wind was, at least for the moment, steadily pushing in from the north, along with the storm it decided to bring along. “Get the others!” Vince yelled. Suako couldn’t make heads or tails of what he said. “What?” she screamed back. “Mack, get him!” he pointed toward the tent, where miraculously no one had yet emerged from. “You want Mack? Ok!” she confirmed and jogged over to the tent. The snow scratched at her face as she went; the only thing on their side was that the mountain blocked the north wind.

  Suako went to shove the cloth tent door open, but it fought back knocking her onto her backside. Frustrated and slightly dazed she pulled herself up, and finally got it out of her way. Entering the tent, the walls blustered about, ripples twisted their way down the side of the tent. “Mack!” Suako yelled, surprised to actually hear her own voice once more. Everyone woke up as if hit by lightening by her yell, and as if the rude awakening hadn’t been bad enough, soon the fact that the tent being treated like a battering ram became all too evident. “What the hell is going on?” Mack asked catching a brief glimpse of the red lit blizzard bitterly taking its toll outside.

  Grogginess left him like a drunken man suddenly snapping back to a sober state. “Oh, what the fuck is it now?” Mei grunted rubbing her eyes free of sleep. Suako ignored her, “Mack we’re in trouble. A storm rolled in, and fast. You can’t even hear yourself think out there. Vince is trying to salvage the fire, we gotta help him A.S.A.P!” she told him. “Right, Kato, I need you now. Everyone else stay in here, but be prepared for anything,” he told the others, strapping his leather boots around his feet. “Here,” Suako helped him with his coat. They swam through the blustery curtain to get outside.

  Just as directed the others wasted no time dressing themselves. “This sounds bad…” Kato did up his coat and left the tent pulling his hood over his head. Mei watched him follow the others, and felt a sharp pain in her heart as she did. Ignoring Mack’s instruction, she followed Kato out into the tormenting night. The storm cackled at them helplessly stranded there. Mother nature had provided such beautiful clear days for them, which now seemed as if they must have had been a trap to lure them in.

  Mei stepped outside, and she felt as if she’d strayed into a bad dream. She looked all around herself, staring at Suako, Vince, Kato and Mack as they struggled around their only heat source to keep it alive. Her attention then changed to the clouds. Billowing above her, the clouds were not as dark as a clear indigo night, but still intimidating, not showing a shroud of what would be the otherwise visible starry sky. The night growled angrily, and it seemed time was almost going in slow motion in Mei’s eyes. In a very prolonged way she gradually rotated her head, finally pulling her eyes along. The tent next to her was barely standing. Wham! Time nearly went in overtime, catching up for it’s prior impediment. Mei dove into the tent, “Jenko, I need you! Now! We have to pin this tent down, or we ain’t gonna have a tent left any more!”

  They both darted outside, their eyes searching for something to pin the tent to the ground. Stronger and stronger the wind grew, it came to the point when Mei thought they’d nearly lift off of the ground and would be carried away by this gale force. Words were useless, neither one could hear the other. Jenko pointed over to a huge chunk of ice that must’ve been left from the avalanche. Mei followed him over to it, one leg being forced to step, then the next. The struggle to reach it was overcome only with great effort. They broke up the enormous ice chunk and then, faced the wind once more as they made their way to the tent to pin down the corners; it was a night straight from
hell.

  Are we so right to continue? Does this planet desire our help? Why can’t we escape disaster?

  Chapter 16: The Ice Cavern

  The rest of the night was best described as a blur. After attempting to save the fire, they all ducked into the tent. They rode the night out under blankets trying to preserve body heat. No one slept as the viscous winds howled all around them. The hours passed painfully slow, and it was not until many hours later did the storm cease to beat away at the tend walls. Day never seemed to come.

  Once the wind had died off they left the tent one by one. They were entrapped within a newly formed ice cavern. Their fire had not been so lucky as to withstand the torrent night, the blanket shield they’d set up had been carried away, never to be seen again. A few cracks in the snowy cavern roof emitted just enough light in order to let them make out objects a few feet in front of them. Mack went straight to the fire after inspecting the new surroundings.

  Jenko soon noticed Mack and tapped Mei to go with him to help. After about a half-hour of trying with the flint the sparks just refused to catch flame. Masumi had an idea, she took a piece of extra fur from her bag and placed it on top of the leftover pile of sticks and twigs that Kairu had collected from hibernating trees along the mountain path ahead the night before, which now were out of reach. Once again sparks flew, and finally a fire was the resulting factor.