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Thump. Thump. Thump.
Bare fists hit packed ice with all their might. The girl whom the fists belonged to was crying out with each punch. The act didn't seem to be doing anything but put her into a state of exhaustion.
"7." A voice said to her.
She pulled out her trusty bola, which had helped her in many situations. She spun it above her head and hurled it at the wall of ice.
A muffled thump was heard.
She swung again. And again. And again. And again.
The surface was barely dented.
"7!"
She was panting hard. Small clouds of steam expelled from her lips with each breath. Her cheeks were red from the cold, which was a big contrast from her pearly white skin, and the fire in her eyes the second time her name was called could have melted an iceberg.
She pulled her raven hair away from her face before turning to the old man she'd been trying to ignore for the last ten minutes, sitting calmly on a nearby rock in front of a small lantern. His voice was grating as he spoke to her.
"You're not doing any good with that."
He had his shoulders and arms wrapped tightly with a red garment he kept hanging on his back at all times by a large red gem. You could just barely see the bottom of a "1" imprinted on the back of his canvas jump suit. His unrelenting scowl deepened when the female met him with fiery green eyes.
"I don't see you coming up with any ideas!" She shot back at him, her own breath visible in the chilly air.
"What's the point? That barricade is at least 8 feet thick. It's the middle of the night, there's a snowstorm going on outside, and no one even knows we're out here. It's better to save our energy."
7 had already stopped listening to 1 and had returned to the wall of snow, trying to use her hands to shovel her way out.
"Well, 1," She grunted with determination as she spoke. "Not that I don't appreciate the enthusiasm, but I'm not going to give up that easi-OW!"
7 quickly pulled her hands away and looked down at them. The frigid snow had cut her hands. She hadn't noticed because of the numbing ice, but now the cold only accentuated the throbbing pain. Infuriated, but not wanting to touch anything, she let out a cry of frustration and leaned her forehead against the thick barrier in defeat.
She thought back and wondered how her day had gone so wrong.
It had been just like any other day of the past week. It was the group's first winter, and everyone was still getting used to the climate change. 2 had sewn them all extra layers of clothing, and 5 had invented special shoes to be able to walk on the snow without sinking.
While 7 was remembering, she decided to sit next to 1 on the rock to rest her legs. She always thought better when she was sitting down.
By the third night, it was getting too cold for everyone to sleep alone, so they all gathered in the throne room and made a controlled fire in the center. (1 still slept in his throne, of course. No amount of cold could keep him from his seat of authority.)
That was when she first heard it.
A scraping—No, more like dragging—just outside. 7 quietly got out of her bedding and walked to the stained-glass window. Just outside the gates, there was a beast. Not a very big one, but one that could pose as a big threat to the group if not taken care of quickly. And she decided it would be better now than later to do so.
She quietly grabbed her gear, lit one of the lanterns 2 had made, and tiptoed out of the room.
"He must have seen me leave." she thought. "But why would he come after me alone?"
Before she had time to reflect on this further, 7 felt her right hand being picked up.
"Hey, What are you-?!" She exclaimed at 1, who loosely gripped her wrist with his other hand when she tried to pull away.
"It's alright. I'm just examining it." He said this coldly, but you could also hear a feeling of reassurance in it. She stopped trying to pull her hand away, but instinct didn't allow her to fully relax it either.
1 gingerly looked over the scrapes and scratches on her raw hand which were now beginning to bleed, and moved on to the left one. His hands felt surprisingly warm and gentle on hers. The red on her cheeks deepened, but not enough to be noticed.
1 then tore at the bottom of his cape, and started wrapping the cloth pieces around each hand, leaving 7 staring bewilderingly at him. This was the first time she saw 1 showing compassion for another human being. It was strange.
After he tied both knots, he got up, grabbed the lantern in the middle of the floor, and turned to face the unknown side of the cave.
"Where are you going?" 1 steadied his hat and clasp with his free hand as he answered.
"I'm going to see where this cave leads. You stay here."
"What? Why?"
"Because it doubles our chances of survival. If I get lost in there, you'll still be here in the off chance that someone will come here looking for us."
He did have a point. Maybe it was the cold, or how tired she was, but she didn't feel like arguing. She just gave a sigh, and rested her chin on her bandaged palms.
"Fine. Just don't cause another landslide in the process."
"Very well. Don't injure any other of your extremities while I'm gone." 1 sardonically said back.
"Walked right into that one…"
1's figure got smaller and smaller until it turned into a silhouette, and eventually disappeared, leaving 7 in total darkness.
She suddenly felt an overwhelming feeling of fatigue come over her. It was the middle of the night, after all. Her eyelids felt extremely heavy, and since it looked the same with her eyes being open or closed anyway, she felt it was alright to shut them for now, at least until she could see five inches in front of her.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
While 7 was asleep, her mind went back to where her memories had left off. She had injured the beast and was following an oil trail it was making through the quickly increasing snow level. Even with the lantern, it was getting harder and harder to track. Suddenly the beast jumped out at her from the left, knocking the lantern out of her hand and putting it out.
She was pinned to the ground, her spear held skew under its claws as it tried to bite at her neck with its jagged metal teeth. She quickly used the spear to shove the beast off of her and get up on her feet as it began to charge once more. Keeping her stance until the last possible moment, she jumped in the air and managed to land on its back, trying to get at the wires connecting its neck to its body. It shook and clawed at her, and eventually managed to throw her off, landing on the soft snow. The beast then charged her again at full force. She only had enough time for one thing. She quickly raised her spear at the right angle, and the beast impaled itself through the neck.
7 panted hard and stared at it, adrenaline still rushing through her whole body. Then she heard a voice. It was impossible to hear while she was fighting the beast, but now it was audible to her. It was calling her name.
"7...!"
She turned to the direction of the voice, and could see some sort of light—another lantern?—through the blistering snowfall. She moved closer and could see a figure with a question mark-shaped object in one hand.
"7, where are you?! Come back to the cathedral this instant!"
As she got even closer, she saw him standing at the opening of a cave. He was still shouting for her, and oblivious to him, a large heap of snow above him was about to fall.
7 didn't have time to think. She ran towards him and pushed him into the cave along with her just as it was blocked with snow, the gear of 1's staff just sticking out of the mound.
When she opened her eyes, she was staring at 1's knees.
"Sleeping on the job, I see."
7 gave a quick yawn and groggily lifted her head up to see his face. Even when she did, it was hard to make out his expression with the glare the lantern gave. Even then, she knew he wasn't smiling. She ignored his comment and spoke back in a tired and somewhat dispassionate voice.
"Did you find anything?"
1 sat down and confirmed the answer she already knew.
"Nothing." He stated plainly as he set the lantern back on the ground. "Every path leads to a dead end. How are your hands?"
She had nearly forgotten about her hands. She looked down and examined them. The knots were as tight as when he first tied them, and the rags didn't seem to be bleeding through, which was a good sign. She tried making a fist, and winced a little as a dulled feeling of pain went through it.
"Doesn't hurt as much as it did before." She stated, and took a pause before she spoke.
"...Thanks, by the way."
1 tried not to look as surprised as he was upon hearing the most defiant member of the group showing gratitude towards him. He cleared his throat thoughtfully before he replied.
"Well, uh, it was nothing really. I wouldn't have done anything if you knew how to do it yourself. I could easily teach you to make knots like that."
"Like that's ever going to happen. We can't stand being in the same room together."
"Don't sell yourself short." 1 spoke in a little more of a playful tone. "We've been in here for hours and you haven't killed me yet."
"Kill you? At a time like this?" 7 yawned again and, to 1's surprise, started to lean against his shoulder.
"Of course not." She continued. "I'm saving you for emergency food rations."
As puzzled as 1 was at that moment, he couldn't help but give a little smirk at this.
"Of all the times to make a joke…" He thought.
She was always the unpredictable one. You never quite knew what she was going to do or say next. That's what made him both aggravated and fascinated by her at the same time. She had already given him plenty of surprises that day alone. First running off without warning, almost getting herself killed, pushing him out of the way…
She had saved his life, and he had yet to thank her.
"Well, then," She nuzzled up on his side, and her eyes started to close. "When we get out of here, I might just take you up on that offer."
1 didn't respond. He knew how low the chances of survival were, but he didn't have the heart to tell her. And even if he did, he knew it wouldn't be any use. She was just as stubborn as he was. Besides, He would rather have his last moments being at peace with her than arguing.
He turned his head as much as he could without disturbing her, and looked at her unconscious face. Her soft hair fell perfectly on her cheeks, and her expression was one of complete bliss. She looked almost angelic. And as he thought about it more, he realized he couldn't imagine another person he'd rather spend his last hours with. So he rested his head on hers, and said four words before falling asleep along with her.
"Thank you too, 7."
As 1 shut his eyes for the night, a small smile formed on 7's lips.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
This time it was 1's turn to open his eyes. The light from the lantern was almost out, and the flame was making a flickering sound as it was drawing its last breaths. 1 shut his eyes and tried to go back to sleep, when he realized he heard another noise. A sort of scratching or scraping noise. It was coming from the outside.
1 quickly nudged 7 with his shoulder, trying to wake her.
"7." She didn't move. He nudged harder.
"7! Wake up!"
7 opened her eyes and blinked a few times.
"Listen." 1 said as he began to stand up.
7 heard it too and silently got up after him. They both walked over and put their ears to the blocked entrance. It sounded like digging.
7's eyes lit up almost instantly.
"They've found us!" She said with almost a laugh in her voice. And in a spurt of joy, she grabbed 1 and gave him a tight hug. After that, she looked back to the blocked entrance.
"We're in here!! Guys!!! We're in here!!"
As 7 kept shouting for their fellow comrades, 1 was in a trance. He couldn't explain what he was feeling. He looked at 7 for a moment. Everything about her seemed …happy. Then he realized he felt the same. He wasn't going to die. Not then, anyway. He still had a chance…
7 stopped her shouting when a muffled voice came from the other side. It called something back, and the digging got louder and faster.
"It's either now, or never." 1 thought.
"7…Before we get out of here, there's…something I have to tell you."
But before either of them could say anything more, the top of the opening was knocked out and a sliver of daylight shone into the dark cavern. The muffled voice became clear now. It was 9.
"1!? 7!? We saw the beast and 1's staff half buried in this pile of snow! Are you two alright in there?"
7 had never felt happier to be alive, and she was even more excited by the sound of 9's voice.
"Yeah, 9!" 7 began, and took a few seconds to look back at 1. As they gazed into each other's eyes, they knew they shared the same feeling. She then gave him a soft smile, and said something she never thought she would say about the two of them.
"I think we're okay."