Perpetual Winter

Seth nearly choked on a piece of thinly sliced eye round when he saw the Night Owls. It was the same two that had held the elevator for them when they first arrived at Andropolis. Plans of action and escape blazed through Seth's head as he feverishly tried to calculate all of the possibilities, but then he felt a tug on his hand as Helena began walking him back towards restroom. He assumed she knew what she was doing, so for the moment he just played it cool. Until he heard

"That's them over there!!"

There was a scream from somewhere in the restaurant, followed by a crash. Seth could only assume at this point as they were headed in the opposite direction, but it would seem that the four Night Owls were busting through the restaurant to get to them.

The two busted through the door, an emergency exit. It gave way to a long hallway. At the end of the hallway, which looked about a million miles away, were large, bold red letters that said.

Do Not Enter. Outside Access! Warning! Extreme conditions ahead! Authorized personnel Only!!
​

Seth looked at Helena, about to speak, when the door behind them thundered open.This time Seth grabbed her hand as they sprinted down the hall and towards the door. Behind them the sound of footsteps in triplicate echoed down the hall. Seth ran like the wind, like hell was closing in, like….they were being chased by Night Owls.

They reached the door with the large warning sign, and Seth chanced a split second look behind them. The four hulking Night Owls were about 15 feet behind them, but seeing that Seth was going to open the door and expose them all to the elements, they stopped.

"Kid, don't do it. You'll die out there before night fall." He shifted uneasily, adjusting his helmet and mask" We just want to talk, c'mon?"

"Fuck you!" Was Seth's defiant reply as he shoved the door open.

The two were hit with a cold, dry blast of air. It was like the feeling you get from standing in front of a fan for too long on a hot day; Instantly chapped and dried out. It was followed by the intense cold that they both had grown up with their entire lives. No matter where they went in the world, the climate was in a state of perpetual Winter.

Seth continued to hold Helena's hand as he ran into the abyss. The terrain was rocky and frozen. Seth prayed that they would get away before those bastards caught them, but he would have to act fast. Just ahead was a low lying rock formation. Seth scrambled as fast as his legs would carry him, as his hand went over his face to protect it from the blazing cold air. Just as they made it under cover, the Night Owls came outside. Seth stood completely still, praying that they had not been spotted.
 
God bless us everyone

were a broken people living under loaded gun

And we cant be outfought we cant be outdone

we cant be outmatched and we cant be outrun. -no

-L.P


Afgh-Wardak-snow-patrol.jpg


It didnt take long for the Night Owls to send for rapid back up.



"Sir, should we send the men out any further?" A lower Night Owl asked the Sargent

He stood there a second, watching his men look like drunk bee's trying to find the bastard who had kicked their nest down.

"..Sir?" The foot soldier pressed, they had only been out around 15 minutes or so, and not even in the eye of the storm abyss, and they were all chap lipped, and frozen.

The Sargent gritted his teeth "If they make it to that haven for runners.. we are out of luck do you hear me private?"

The sergant finally said threw his exagerrated breaths, which were visible in the frigid weather. The private understood his orders, he sighed and saluted before begining to walk off, the sergant pulled him back by his gear

"if we dont find them by nightfall, send the men home..but in the morning I want the Soldiers trained for this type of mission and weather out here. We have lost too many men over this god damned haven.. If we can capture even just one.. I could get that one to talk and tell me where the rest might be.. those kids will be lucky if they make it their before nightfall.. a blizzards comming.. and its gonna be a shit storm in their worst nightmare. I tried to warn those stupid kids and all I got was a big fuck you...if they dont make it to the haven before nightfall.. we'll see whos fucking who.."

********************




It seemed so much worst then before.

The snow immidiatley brought Helena and Seth back to stage one. A more bitter stage one.

Bitter sweet maybe Since they were together, but bitter nonetheless.

How did it come down to this once again?

It made the night before seem like an absolute dream.

And this was cold reality.


They found refuge farther than they expected from the point from which they came.

It didnt seem far against the winds and the snow, but they had actually made it about a mile out.

Helena immidiatley buried herself into Seth's chest in tears... tears long over due.

This life wasn't meant for them.. these bad hands they were dealt.

Now they were worst off than before.. because now they had no blankets, no anything. everything that would make any

significant difference was at the hotel which would surely be searched.

She gripped his shirt tightly with her hands in between sniffles

"I dont want to die running" She concluded with herself out loud.

She thought to herself a moment, about all the grief they were being caused and for what? A label?

her sadness suddenly turned to anger, but she couldn't scream out, for fear of being found out, and also the sound wouldn't come.

She was choked for words..all she felt now were emotions.. she wiped her tears away and looked at Seth with hate filled eyes

"we should kill them"

It was a bold statement but she meant every word. If they found that refugee camp and there was some kind of movement going on

Woman or not she felt the erg to join it.

These people were slowly taking away her sanity.

With the dignity of being treated equal they had already taken, that was the only thing she had left.


Like Memories In Cold Decay

Transmissions Echoing Away..

Far From The World Of You And I

Where Oceans Bleed Into The sky..

-L.P

 
The icy winds howled like banshees as dry snow battered the faces of the two Runners. Footstep after frozen, sunken footstep, they pushed on. The memory of how they had deliciously explored each others bodies only an hour before was all but gone, frozen in the air just like the breath from their shivering mouths.

Two bites. Two fucking bites.

The words kept repeating themselves through Seth's head, as if on a constant loop or a skipping record. He only had a chance to get some broth and a small amount of noodles out of those two bites, but he savored the memory of the deliciously hot pho nonetheless. His anger, although mostly replaced with cold at this point, burned in his chest and, as always, his hatred for the system and the Night Owls it employed was great. He wanted at that moment to inflict great bodily pain upon each and every one of them, Helena's words 'we should kill them' mirrored his feelings so perfectly, all he could do was wrap his arms around her even tighter. He would have vocally agreed, but his lips were nearly frozen shut.

They got to a point where further exploration seemed useless. Seth could no longer feel his body. He felt like a head attached to a giant ice cube. His arms and legs had ached before, now they felt like…nothing. In fact he couldn't even tell if he was walking anymore. He looked around and realized that he had, in fact, stopped walking. Helena was laying by his side, and Seth was on his back. He was looking up at the sky which was shrouded in gray and white flocks of fog and cloud, a truly endless winter. Seth almost smiled at one thing, despite how close they both were to dying: The night Owl's would never catch them now. With his last bit of strength Seth reached out and tried to find Helena's hand. He grasped it and interlocked his cold fingers with hers.

The realization struck home, like a serrated knife cutting to the bone.

They were going to die.


memory fades as a gray blanket enveloped everything around them.

A voice

"Hey, look.'

A sensation, being pulled and thrust into a vehicle.

"Are they alive?"

"Hell if I know, we'd better get them back to HQ."

Blackness and blurred visions of a not unfriendly face.

"You're gonna be ok, we are runners too."
 
Helena opened her eyes slowly...

Was this heaven?

or hell?


She was catholic so it must be heaven.

Then again, she was a runner.. so maybe hell?


Exhausted with guessing, she finally sat up slowly, analyzing at her surroundings.

Ah, Earth.

Hell it is.

Her fingers were no longer blue how she remembered them turning when her and Seth had cuddled together

and accepted their fate.

Seth.

She looked around the room worriedly, she didnt see him, however she did see a small group of people huddled up in a corner looking at a map

The room was humongous, if a room is what you would call it.. it looked more like a database. There were computers, not many maybe 3 or 4.

people scrambled around, some looking lost, some alert. Weapons, Gear that looked as if stolen from Night Owls..

The room was darkened, with lights that shined only in specific places where needed, like restroom areas, computer area and the map area apparently.


"Shes awake" She heard a voice from behind her say. Suddenly, all the men huddled up under the light, dispersed and surrounded her, asking her too many questions.


-Where did you and the boy come from?

-How long have you been running?

-Did the Night freaks say anything about knowing where our location is?


She was barely listening, everything seemed in a blur,

and they were spreading that blur.

She didnt answer one question until they answered her own.

"Where is Seth?"

She said desperately, She found herself slowly sliding off of the place mat-bed that looked like it was designed for hurt people,

and began calling his name but not before they all surrounded her again and in hushed voices told her no over and over

Helping her on the bed once more. She had to admit, she felt weak.. but she had to see Seth.

She had to know he was okay too.

"He is sleeping" One of the boy finally answered her. "He is fine.. "

Helena took a deep breath as a wave of relaxation came over her body..

as long as Seth was okay she was okay..


-What is she doing?

-Go get her some more blankets..


-She is going back to sleep..


Hibernation.
 
Dreams. Dreams plagued Seth's mind as he drifted in and out of consciousness. Although they would be better described as nightmares, because he was running. Running from masked killers with guns and razor sharp, metal teeth. Sweat poured from his face, neck and chest. It was cold, but he was running so fast that he barley noticed. Finally he came to a cliff, it was a sheer 100 foot drop to the fog laced ground below, he turned around and was surrounded.

"Who am I? Where am I going?"

The nightmarish Night Owls of his dreams closed in on him.

Then his eyes opened. He was in a room, and god it was cold. There was a blanket over his body, but it did little good against the harsh elements. He sat up and looked around. There were people, lots of them and to Seth;s delight they were all runners. Was this it? Was this the secret HQ of the runners? It must be, and then Seth took a deep breath as he looked over and saw Helena. She was safe.

He stood up, his head pounding as blood rushed to it, and walked towards her. He collapsed next to her, hugging her tightly.

"I'm so glad your safe."

One of the Runners interrupted their reunion. In his hand were two steaming cups of what appeared to be coffee.

"Here." he said in a gruff voice "This will warm you up."

Seth put the hot beverage to his lips and took a sip. He nearly choked, realizing it was brandy mixed with coffee.

"Thank you, sir." Said Seth, between chattering teeth.

The man with the gruff voice laughed. It was a deep belly laugh that made Seth feel good. Although they were all facing utter doom, it was possible for someone to laugh like that.

"No need to call me sir! I am a runner, same as you. Now, if you two want to get some warmer clothes there is a room down the hall." He pointed down the hall to the left

"You can sleep a little more if you want too, come find me when you are ready to talk."
 
Helena immidiatley opened her eyes to Seth's voice, and hugged him back as tightly as he had hugged her

"I missed you.." She said in a weak voice, even though it seemed they had just been together in the snow

they had obviously been detached once rescued.

She took the cup of coffee and brandy gratefully, taking small sips at a time.. and rubbing Seth's back when he began to choke

she couldn't help but smile at the mans laugh as well

It warmed the place. Gave empty hope when there was none.

Better empty than none at all.

She slowly arose from the table and began to make her way with Seth to the back where there was a change of clothes


Not too soon either, she was happy to get out of the clothes she was in, since the snow had melted

into now nothing but a thick coat of wetness.

She immidiatley began to strip behind the curtain, she didnt care about Seth seeing anything

it was nothing he hadn't seen

But this place was crowded.

She took her size off the rack and out on the warm sweater and sweatpants that basically everyone had on.

It didnt feel weird though. It felt right.

It felt like a family.

She then turned to Seth smiling and with her hands tightly folded to her chest

"We made it."

She said picking up her drink and drinking it gradually, learning from Seth's mistake
 
The best word Seth could find in his vocabulary to describe this place was 'Bunker'. He first thought of compound, but the runners underground HQ was nothing close to that dignified. It appeared to be the ruins of a fall out shelter or something of the sort, with a few modern day enhancements and added fortification. Cement cinder blocks made up the bulk of the walls, while large pieces of 4x8 foot ply wood separated the 'rooms'. It was definitely a basic set-up, but at the same time provided the runners with everything they needed for a successful operation.

Seth reached for a hooded sweat shirt and pair of padded, black cargo pants. It was so cold he nearly bit his tongue off while changing. Goose bumps stood out on his skin, coarse and prominent, as he zipped the hood up and shivered next to Helena as she spoke.

"We made it."

"We did, I hope we can stay here at least until the Night Owls stop looking for us."

A sudden draft hit Seth's skin, his teeth chattered uncontrollably.


"My god…..It's cold….I hope it warms up soon."

There was the voice of the man from down the hall, it seemed he had been listening.

"Over your head. There is a vent, open it."

Seth looked up and saw large ducts, covered in what looked like foil. He recognized them immediately as heating ducts, just like the ones he had seen last summer when scavenging through burned out old apartments. He pulled the vent, and almost cried when a jet of warm, soothing air shot out.

He smiled, large and excitedly at Helena. They were warm and safe, at least for the time being.

" I don't know what our next move should be. Maybe, after we warm up a bit, we can find out if there is any where else in the world that is safe for us…other than here that is."

Seth did not see himself living in this bunker for the rest of his life. He took the last sip of coffee, cringed at the brandy, then sat down on the mattress in the middle of the room, directly under the heated vent.
 
Helena found herself drifting near Seth under the heat,

She snuggled against him

it wasnt just the heat though

it was Seth

she felt she had to be near him

after all they were in this together

and they were...

together?


Soon, A muscularly built guy with half his face that seemed burnt, in an army suit came over

you could tell that in a past life, or before whatever happened, he was handsome.


He leaned down near the two of them with a clip board

"Are you two up for talking yet? or would you like to rest some?"

Helena stared at the man blankly, to be honest she was tired... her eyes were lazy and every

blink got slower and slower

"If Seth wants to, but if no one minds ill rest" She said as she layed her head on Seths shoulder

the man nodded understandingly, but he seemed anxious to know

"what about you tough guy? you up for some questions?"
 
Seth wrapped his arms around Helena the best he could. The make shift cot/bed they were sitting on wasn't much more than a steel frame with some chicken wire laid across it and a blankets messily draped over the top. It was uncomfortable, and a rouge strand of wire was poking uncomfortably into Seth's back, however despite all this, with Helena in his arms, there was no where on earth he would have rather been. He almost cured aloud when the burly man with the clip board approached.

"How about you, tough guy? You up for some questions?" He slapped Seth's arm, the metal one.

"Ah, a Cyborg, I see." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously "What the hell is a girl doing with a borg round here?"

"Partial Borg, I have a brain and heart." Seth felt oddly like the Tin woodsman from the wizard of oz, no unpleasantly, and almost smiled at the visual of the tin warrior running from an army of night owls, his tin hat bouncing on his head and an ax in his hand.

" I was in an accident and…" He was interrupted.

"Not, important. You're human with implants, nothing new there. Just checking cause we've had a lot of spy lately, but you too hardly come off as the type who would give up anything to the night owls, given the fact that when we found you you were damn near frozen." He scratched his head with the pen while the clip board tapped against the tile wall to his right.

"Lets see, lets see. Well, I guess all I really need to know is if you guys plan to stay with us, or…" He cocked a thumb back towards the exit of the bunker

"Go out there on your own."

"Why the hell would we ever go back out there, to freeze to death?" Seth was a little pissed that he would even ask.

The burly man lowered his eyes, then flashed a look at Seth that told him everything he needed to know. Whatever it was, it was life or death.

"We are attacking Andropolis tomorrow. Then after that, unless we are all killed…" He shuttered, but Seth could;t tell if it was from fear or the sudden draft that swept through the room "If not, we will take it over and it will become our new HQ. I was asking if you were going to leave, because word around camp is that we are gong to be heavily outnumbered"

"You're going to take over Andropolis? The whole thing? Shit, man." Seth nearly laughed out loud at this; What a kick ass group pf runners these guys were. He would love to see them kill the Night Owls at Andropolis then take it over. However, he remained stern as the grave man spoke again.

"Yeah, shit is right. We're gonna be in it deep if we don't win. The life of a runner, am I right?"

Seth nodded.

Seth squeezed Helena tight as the man left. He was exhausted too, but sleep wouldn't come for him. He laid in the makeshift cot staring up at the metal layered roof over his head and thought about what they should do. He would, no doubt, discuss it with Helena before then, unless he fell asleep.
 
Helena thought she would be able to sleep

But not after what the man had shared with Seth.

She was tired as well but the mans words seared into her brain

Taking over andropolis? The whole thing? They were outnumbered

100 to 1..

"Seth.. I know there has to be more runners out there.. they can't

Expect just us to for out there and.."

and die.

She wanted to keep hope in herself and the rest of them.

But things at this point seemed unclear


She could do nothing but keep herself snuggled against Seth and think.

She had seen and almost been to death with him..

But how was she supposed to respond to this?

In her mind.. it wana a suicide mission
 
Time passed. Outside the small compound snow and wind battered the door. The heaters kept the place pretty warm, but once in a while Seth would catch a draft that would send a vicious chill down his spine. He spent the next few hours holding Helena in his arms, if not for the body warmth alone, because he wanted to be close to her. He wanted to be intimate with her again, but realized that would have to wait. It was brutal, because all he wanted to do with be with her again.

The compound, Seth realized, functioned just like a military out post. There were guards standing at the ready, diligently guarding each entrance, a definite chain of command and rank, and last but not least there was a mess hall, with an awful smell coming from the kitchen. These were all tell tale sings of a structured organization. Seth wondered if they would be able to invade and capture Andropolis. More than that, he wondered if they should stick around to find out? There was no doubt in his mind that the Night Owls would slaughter everyone of these people, if they won the battle. Runners were one thing, but an attack on Andropolis? That would warrant death.

Seth turned to Helena, still holding her tightly.

"If we go with them tomorrow, we might get killed, but our only other option is trying to survive in this snow, alone." He sighed, watching as a sudden gust of wind blew some stray snow into the compound. "I feel responsible for bringing you here. I'm sorry."
 
Helena didnt know how to feel about the situation..

She snuggled even closer -if that was possible against Seth

and kissed his cheek softly "Its not your fault so dont say sorry... it was either this

or stay out in the cold... if it wasnt for you I would probably be dead right now...

thank you" She whispered, still letting the heater above them consume her

it felt so good... to be warm.

Especially to be warm with Seth.


"...So... are we going to fight or run?"

Running she was used to, and she felt no sense of dignity loss

this wasnt like running from a fight -it was running to save her life.

"Whatever your down for.. Im with you" She concluded.

A promise. One she didnt intend to break


Though she was fed up like everyone else with running it almost felt like a suicide mission...

They were outnumbered and didnt have the arms that the Night Owls carried

If they really wanted to take out the Night Owls they would have no choice but a surprise attack.

This wasnt a war they could declare.
 
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