Coming of the Cold

The clouds have seemed to be getting darker lately, that’s when I even have the chance to even see them. Even just looking through a window makes me feel unsafe. Overshadowed by the ominous, thick clouds of the sky, was our small, dark town. I took a tiny glance through the rotting, wooden planks that coated my windows, it was still very dark. It was always dark, our only source of light emitting, faintly from the center of the town. The beacon, a dark fortress standing proudly above every other building. It was very tall in proportion, it was triangular in form, ending in a luminant sphere at the top and below it a small window. It was the only thing that the town vowed to never touch, the source for our town’s light, the source for our sight even. Amidst that I noticed it’s light fade ever so slightly, it was subtle at first, but overtime it dimmed ever so darker, it’s once radiant light decaying.

“Hey!” I heard a voice yell out, my eyes shifted from the beacon to the forefront of my house. “I know you’re in there, open the damn door or else!” the man shouted, getting progressively agitated by the second.

“Crap! I completely forgot that the tint on this window peeled.” I predicted this would happen eventually though; I knew how our town was. Lately robberies have been at an all-time high. Nothing to worry about though, it was almost a daily occurrence. They were known as the Vultures, scavenging and stealing from us citizens. Our supreme leader was a man of ignorance, our pleading voices hushed by his chuckles of wealth. I walked to the bookshelf, pulled a secret green book on the bottom-most shelf. As I extended the book, a familiar click echoed through the damp timber of the room. Suddenly, the bookshelf shifted back, reversing as it creaked with intensity. It stopped, as it descended into the very floor. I walked over the top of the bookshelf, the odor of mold and rust invading my lungs. Down the narrow path of stairs into the underground corridors as the door behind me rose up, closing me in, as I walked down, leading to my secret basement. It was a pretty miniscule place, only enough to fit a bed and a small kitchen. Despite this, I would often frequent here with how common the robberies were getting.

I have been getting kind of uneasy recently, as the Vultures have been actively trying to pursue us and actually find where we were hiding. Luckily, they don’t appreciate the art of reading or even books itself. I laid down on the bed, grabbing a ball to play with as I threw it up and down.

When suddenly a small rumble shook the walls of my basement. Causing the ball to crash into my face, I sat up, confused at the situation. My hands reached out, embracing the wall to feel for any shaking. That’s when I felt it, my hand and the wall shook with tremendous intensity. Dust fell off the wall, whilst cracks started forming at the edges of the walls. Realizing the severity of the situation, I immediately stood up, pacing at the equipment to salvage around the room. But of immediate instinct and reflex, I grab the gun, a simple revolver and also reach out for my gas mask. Gas masks were something of a treasure in our town, as the Vultures continue to raid and raid many more houses, they resort to dirty tactics involving gas. The streets now lay barren, an atmosphere of fog clouds any sort of vision. The weather was always so cloudy, it was freezing cold. Sub-zero temperatures were a norm at our town, masses of snow littering the streets in a pale labyrinth.

I hastily ran up the stairs, smashing the silver button on the wall with brute force. The sounds of caving walls rang my ears with distress as the cold snow invaded the basement, the air once a putrid, rotting smell, now a chilling, bitter stench.

“Come on! Can this stupid thing work!?” I exclaimed under the cover of my gas mask as I continuously spammed the button until finally a familiar click sounds echoed. My head turned behind me as the snow began to rise, its bitter touch embracing my feet while the door began to lower. The numb and bitter touch invaded my ankles now, as the door reached midway. My nails clawed at the door, pleading for it to lower faster. As the door neared the floor, I attempted to shift my feet out of the snow, but to no avail. In pure desperation I pulled my gun out, as a piercing gunshot sound reverberated the room. I shot the snow next to my foot inuring a bit of skin in the process, in hopes to graze its bitter embrace. It worked ever so slightly, melting just enough snow as I vigorously wiggled my foot out. I leaped, into the hard timber floor, as the door behind me remained frozen stuck. I threw my gas mask off, gasping for air.

“Well, hello there” A voice spoke. I craned my neck up, still paralyzed by the snow’s touch. I recognized the man, tall in stature, thick, black clothing and a deep commanding voice

“Thought we wouldn’t find out about your little hiding spot?” he spoke.

“Alban… Please” I begged the familiar voice.

“You know, begging isn’t a good look on you. You know, you could join us- “He requested, a sly grin on his face as he spoke.

“Never!” I firmly exclaimed, fists clenched as I regained the strength to push my chest off the ground, before my back was stomped down.

“Well, I did give you a chance. Did I? Oh well. You know, this is a pretty good home, sheltered from the cold, it would be such a shame if it went…” he paused, looked at me and said “Kaboom” mimicking an explosion with his hands as he chuckled.

“Don’t do this Alban, don’t listen to them, the Vultures are nothing but cold and bitter” I begged in desperation, laying on my back, the cold slowly thawing off my legs.

“Cold?... Bitter?” he chuckled “We rule the cold and bitter, while you and your peasant friends freeze in the cold, we frolic in the warmth and sweet.” He explained. He was right, the Vultures ruled the land, ruling the very cold itself. Using the cold as a tool to scavenge through the homes of the innocent.

“One day, your rule of the cold will expire, it will end your cruel reign over it, sick of being used as a tool for harm. It will reciprocate your rule over it, bitterness avenging the lives lost to its misused harm” I argued.

“That’s it…” he yelled, clapping his gloves together as two masked, heavily clothed men rushed in. “Vultures, send him to the Freezer.” He commanded, a strict tone of order in his voice. I watched as the Vultures dragged me by my arms, dragging me on the soaked, jagged timber of the floor. The tight clench of their hands numbing my arm.

They dragged me out the door, shoving me into the back of the snowmobile, forcing a blindfold over my eyes and chains around my wrists, as we accelerated. For what seemed like ages, we halted to a stop. Footsteps and numerous other voices filling the air. I was dragged, down somewhere, the whispers of the cold wind fading into stillness. 2 men threw me into a cell, removing my blindfold and chains as they exited the room, slamming the door.

“Where am I?” I whispered softly. “The freezer…” a mechanical voice spoke. “You’ll see why…” another voice spoke. I looked around, the eerie grey hues of the wall were mixed with thawing ice and snow. Suddenly, sounds of rushing air and gas filled the room, as if a pipe burst out of pressure. As the cold air fell upon me, goosebumps filled my body with an awkward feeling. I was use to the cold, yet these temperatures were something else, not just cold or bitter, but hewing. Carving all emotion out of my soul, the cold air invading my lungs as my blood went cold.

“H-help” I managed to blurt out, as the heavy air strained my lungs. In a matter of seconds, my skin faded blue. The bitter coldness robbing me of my very soul and thought. The atmosphere’s weight fell upon me, as if I was trapped under piles of snow, yet I wasn’t. My limbs grew weak, unable to move, stiff and paralyzed in frost. My breath grew frozen, every exhale condensing into frost. My teeth jittered with immense force, grinding as my body fought the cold. All the moisture from my mouth froze, my body completely numb. My vision fluttered, blinking as my eyes began to shut. I fell to the floor. Body still, cold and empty.

…

Suddenly, a faint alarm sound rang my ears in urgency. My eyes fluttered open before I assessed the situation. Before me was pitch black, except through a glass window where a strange maroon light flashed over and over in a rhythmic pattern. I slowly stood up, still shivering yet now the bitter cold was gone. I knew I had to get out, that’s when I realized I still had my gun. I grabbed my gun and shot the glass window, shattering it in a frenzy of chaos. I limped towards the broken window, crawling through the sharp shards of glass, grazing bits of skin in the process. My feet staggered as I stumbled down the hallway, eventually finding a narrow set of stairs leading up. I went up slowly, legs still numb and teeth still jittering, the loud alarms still ringing through the darkness. I neared the end of the stairs towards a door, through the square window of the door I saw the outside.

That’s when I saw it, the fury of the cold. A raging, perilous blizzard wreaked havoc on the Vultures Palace. Bitter winds with immense speeds, unleashing the pure wrath of the cold. Just through the fragments of snow and debris, I could see the Vultures. Chaos ensuing outside, as they frantically attempted to contain the blizzard. Their fire launchers and fiery canons struck the blizzard, only aggravating the blizzard even more. On the pale ground were more Vultures, yet frozen, paralyzed by the bitter curse of the cold. As the storm raged on, I could only watch as the cold dominated the Vultures. Yet even through the immense fury of the blizzard, I could see a faint white light, gleaming ever so proudly. As the blizzard began to fade, I opened the door, pushing with tremendous force against the heavy snow, dead bodies and debris. I walked through the field, wearing nothing less than a simple robe and sandals. I walked towards the gleaming light, still puzzled by its nature.

That’s when I recognized it, it was the Beacon. It’s once dim light, shining ever so gloriously over our town. The once dark, ominous skies, that were filled with the shadowing clouds now spread the light of the Beacon as the cloud began to disperse. Revealing a new light, a light far greater than our beacon. A light said to have only existed in ancient legends, scriptures saying of a sky light, one that shone eternal, the Sun.

Village people crowded the streets, for some leaving their homes for the first time in years. We all looked up at the hole of light that shone over our town. My eyes strained hard, staring as everyone began to frolic around in the warmth of the Sun. Bathing in its chromatic glory.

Weeks passed as the snow began to melt, and the warmth of the sun melted the cold ice into water. Pools of water were created, people swimming and enjoying the new blessing brought upon them. It was time for a new era, an era of warmth. Yet as the Beacons’ now redundant light shone upon the city, through the faint upper window of the Beacons’ tower I saw something. Rather, someone… Grabbing my binoculars, I saw him, our Supreme Leader. Watching over us, a stern look over his face. Only for his eyes to move somewhere else, over to me… his arm raised as if presenting something in his hand. Twisting the lens, I zoomed in closer. That’s when I saw it, a tiny remote with many buttons, his other hand rose, pointing out his index finger as it approached a button. His finger embraced the button as a faint white light emitted from the button. I was confused to say the least until something struck me.

I looked up as the clouds began to gather in a dark mass, shielding us from the warmth of the sun. The atmosphere grew thick and that’s when I felt it, a familiar strong, cold and bitter breeze brushing my skin.

“Well, hello there…” A voice spoke…