Forged Destiny [Book 2: Ch. 8]

"We know where they're headed. If we make out way up the mountain, we increase the chances of finding one another."

[...]

The tremors increased in frequency once we got outside. They weren't overly noticeable at first, almost like tiny vibrations in the snow, but after a good thirty minutes of trekking through the snow, they started to become bigger and bigger. I couldn't help but be thankful I'd woken up when I did, otherwise we would have been buried beneath the ice by now.

"Is this the work of the magical currents, again?" I asked, pulling my cloak against my chest. The back of it flapped out violently in the wind, exposing my lower body to the chill air.

"If so, then it's getting worse." Blake struggled as I did, her black hair flapping wildly, head lowered so that her face was concealed against the snow the wind kicked up. Each step was becoming difficult, our progress grinding to a near halt. "Jaune… we need to find shelter. This wind… it's getting worse."

"I know," I had to shout now to make myself heard. "We'll find a cave, shelter, something. Just… keep pushing on."

If Blake said anything, I didn't hear it – the noise swallowed by the howling gale. It didn't seem possible; the weather had been calm with but the smallest breeze earlier, and now the wind was powerful enough to drag up huge tracts of white and dash it in our faces. It changed direction on a whim too, tugging my cloak to the left one moment, then dragging me back the next.

It wasn't natural, that much was clear.

It only got worse as time went on, too. The wind continued to howl, dragging snow with it from further up the mountain, until – without warning – the very sky itself seemed to be blotted out. All that could be heard was the whirring noise of it, the constant hum of the storm. It bit into my skin. The breath that escaped me froze on my lips, even as the very blood than ran through my body felt like it did the same. Every step was dogged, each one a challenge to remain standing.

Words had long since failed us, and the effort felt too much now. Snow crunched underfoot, but the footprints we made were washed away almost immediately. It was hard to see for the blurred wall of white before me.

We need shelter, I thought, body shaking. If we don't find a way out of this wind, we'll die here. I felt I should be more afraid of that, but it was like the cold sapped away at my thoughts, taking the fear aside too. Lay down, it seemed to suggest, lay down and rest. I wasn't so far gone that I didn't know how that would end.

A new blast of wind struck, knocking me back a step. I growled at it and forced my eyes open, one arm held before my face to try and shield them. There was something ahead, in the snow… a dark shape.

Please don't be a Grimm. We can't handle that right now.

The shape didn't move, however, and as the wind blasted back up, it was almost concealed from view. It couldn't be a tree… there hadn't been a forest for a while, and it was far too small. If it were a Grimm, it would have surely attacked us too.

"There's something ahead…" I yelled. "It might be shelter!"

The Assassin mumbled something. It was too low to hear, if I'd even been meant to. She trudged a few steps behind, hands clenched against her chest. Our fur cloaks, a gift for the cold weather, did so little now.

It took another minute or two for the object to be revealed once more and closer now – the overall shape of it became clearer. It was squat and dark, with a sloped surface. A building… had we found a sign of human life up on the mountain?

It didn't matter. We'd found shelter – and that was all that mattered.

"Blake! We did it." I whooped as new energy flooded my limbs. I expected similar from her, or at least some words of approval. I received nothing. It was enough to make me worry and turn around. "Blake…?" I asked.

There was no one standing behind me – but a little further back, a dark shape lay in the snow.

My heart stopped. It started again an instant later, but that wasn't enough to stop the visceral fear rush through me. I stumbled back, half a run, half a case of falling across the snow as I crashed down beside her. The blizzard had already begun to cover her, removing all evidence my friend had ever existed, but my hands crunched down into it and turned her over. Blake's face was so pale, her lips parted and eyes closed.

"No," I whispered. "No, no, not now – not like this." She felt so cold in my hands, and although I could still see her breath in the air, it was faltering and weak. "Wake up," I hissed, shaking her. She didn't open her eyes.

The blizzard tugged at me, still, dragging me down, but I forced myself to stand, Blake cradled before me. She wasn't heavy, not in the conventional sense, but with my energy as it was, she might as well have weighed a thousand pounds or more. Every step was a torturous affair, and it felt like the wind might send me rolling back down the mountain at the slightest provocation. It wasn't even that steep; it was just that the storm was so strong.

"I won't give up," I promised, pushing ever-forward, one step after the next – one crunch of snow before another. Her raven tresses flapped up into my face, but those too went ignored. I just had to reach that building. I just had to… get her inside, get help. The building revealed itself as a wooden thing, with a sloped roof already covered in a later of white. A chimney peeked over the top, with a slanted cover above it, but no smoke came from within. The windows were iced over completely. I sagged against the door, slamming on it with one hand. "Help," I cried. "Let us in – we need shelter."

There was no response.

Frustration pooled within me, but a quick look down at Blake's pale face more than made up my mind. Taking a step back, Blake still in my arms, I delivered a fierce kick at the door latch. It cracked and splintered, the door remaining in one piece, but the lock – no doubt rusted and old – snapping in two.

—Forged Destiny [Book 2: Ch. 8]