Of Ice, Death & Monsters

The mission was once in a blue moon, as the top brass of Epithet were currently working on some super secret project that they had to keep whatever it was they were working on under so many wraps that even Choir's intel couldn't really account for. It also involved a lot of personnel and even security by their side, leaving their remaining resources wide open.

The plan was simple: get in and get out. They were going to sneak in, head to the top floor via the stairs, locate the machine, disassemble it, place it in the bags, and leave as fast as possible.

They had all the tools, the getaway vehicle, and even the schedule and timing. Her heart raced with excitement; it was finally going to be their big win! After all this time, they would finally be able to get one over that rotten corporation.

The first step was getting there in the first place. They had a parking spot rented out a few days before, so they left a van there with one of their drivers, Lucas, to hide out there for the time being.

Meanwhile, Jane and a few others began to sneak into the main building, wearing dark clothes to blend in with the shadows while masking their faces. There weren't many guards, considering most of them were with the Magi in whatever experiment they were conducting.

"It's like... Half a dozen of these guys left? What are they doing here?" Jane muttered as she pressed herself against the wall.

"Beats me. But we shouldn't look a gift dragon in the mouth now, should we?" As the other Choir member spoke, she held up a small rectangular box that was littered with buttons. She pressed a few of them and threw them up into the air before they released an electromagnetic pulse as a wave to all the nearby CCTVs.

"Go go go! Before they notice or come back."

They climbed up the stairs, spotting a guard patrolling the area, before Jane quickly knocked him out with a kick to the back of the head.

When they made it to the floor with the machines, little words to describe how ecstatic they were when they saw that practically nobody was there. With haste, they got into one of the rooms, disassembling one of the machines before stuffing it into their bags.

“Hurry! We must make it back down before anyone sees!” Jane signed with growing worry in her eyes.

“What are you so worried about? Those bastards are having their meeting.”

“For now, that is, come on, let’s continue.”

Once they were filled up, they ran as fast as they could down the stairs, Jane leading the way as she quickly guided them down one of the exits and towards their truck, but it was already too late.

Several black cars stationed themselves around the van, turning on their headlights as they spotted the group. Jane gritted her teeth and tried to guide the others down a nearby alleyway, maybe this time-

No. It was always the same. She met face-to-face with Charlie, who held up a rifle to her chest, aiming directly at her. “On the ground, now, all of you, hands up!”

One of her friends tried to book it in the opposite direction, but Charlie aimed at his leg, fired a few rounds. He then tumbled across the ground, groaning in pain as his leg bled.

“On the ground, hands up now!” She yelled again, and the ones around Jane complied, kneeling on the ground with their hands in the air.

“No… no, no, no! Why does this keep happening? Why does it always end like this!”

She raised her fist against the wind, expecting it to say something back, but it simply passed, becoming much harsher, so harsh in fact that she began to see snow fall from above.

“What the -? Huh?!” It was all she could muster as she held onto the wall while the alley was suddenly caved in by an avalanche of snow that hit her as hard and unexpectedly as a shark tornado.

Jane was almost buried by the unexpected deluge of snow, struggling to get up as she trudged through the patches of ice around her, rubbing her eyes as she tried to understand what had just happened, but what she saw next simply left her with more questions than answers.

The lamp posts became trees, towering over the street, and the buildings became mountains, massive stone landscapes that dwarfed even the trees. The concrete streets themselves became jagged valleys of rocks that carved through the earth.

She was back in Galfania.

Like instinct, her body started to heat up, and flames rippled off her hands as she stood her ground through the snow. She looked around, trying to make sense of it all… but she only heard those strange footsteps yet again, echoing through the darkness.

“Ugh! What is that? Who’s out there?!”

And for the first time in a while, someone actually responded.

“Tch, I’m surrounded. I need to find elevation… cover, what even are those things!” She sounded exasperated, crazed, confused, and most of all desperate and familiar.

“Wait… is that Sammy?” Jane’s heart raced with excitement upon hearing an old friend’s voice. She raced towards where she heard the voice from.

It’s been so long since they last saw each other, all thanks to Epithet ensuring that they won’t ever try to connect and ever make a plan. Jane knew that other Choir members were on this journey; she just hoped that they found each other before it was too late.

It didn’t take too much that long for Jane to find the origin of the voice, as after some hiking, she found a familiar tall figure stumbling through the woods. She had short brown hair and was noticeably bleeding out of her torn clothes.

Jane then remembered what Sammy yelled out, something about being surrounded, so she looked around the forest, trying to see what was trying to get her friend.

Then, she heard the crunching of snow and the snapping of twigs. By the trees, Jane could make out a horde of figures shambling their way into the darkness of the forest. They didn’t screech, moan, or wail; they merely moved as if they were mindless beings who were attracted to something, or in this case, someone.

She dashed towards the figures. Her fire ready in hand, leaping up to meet them- yet before she could engage, her eyes opened up and she awoke in a cold sweat on her makeshift bed

“What the- huh? No, that can’t just be a dream!” Jane stood up, patting herself down as if she were checking herself.

“Correct, you were given a warning.” Koschei’s voice caused Jane to yelp and blast a ball of fire in his direction. He stood perfectly still as it passed him by, looking generally amused.

“H-how long were you there- were you watching me?!” She covered her body as if in the presence of a perverted man, yet Koschei merely waved his hand.

“That does not matter at the moment.”

“I think it does-“

“What does matter at this moment is that your warning is of the present, so we have to act now.” Koschei walked ahead towards the tunnel that led to the entrance as Jane quickly tailed him.

“Alright, disregarding the creepiness factor, how did you know that was a warning?”

“Because I received it as well, which means it is nearby!” He raised his arms upwards and placed his ivory mask over his face before pulling his hood up.

“What’s with the mask and robe? Do they help with the cold?”

“They do indeed, but also it marks me as simply one of many. A Descendent who brings justice for their ancestors. However, even without the mask and robes, I do not freeze so easily.” Jane could feel a grin under his face grow as he moved ahead. It still unnerved her even more than any monster she had seen so far.

Koschei drew a mark on the boulder, the same one he had done before. In an instant, it glowed and moved away, revealing a very shocked, ragged-looking woman who stared, gobsmacked, at the moving boulder before her eyes landed on Jane.

“J-Jay?! What the - who is- never mind, can you help out?” She pointed in the distance where the shambling figures Jane saw in her dreams approached.

“Of course, just get behind me. Koschei, make sure she’s safe. I’ll deal with whatever these are.”

Koschei bowed. “As you command it.” He gently ushered Sammy away as Jane cracked her knuckles and approached the figures in the forest.

“Alright then, let’s see if I can try anything new here…” She crossed her arms and tapped her finger on her shoulder absentmindedly as she got closer before raising her hand up to create a flame for light.

“You guys are certainly more quiet than anything so far, no groans, no screams? What exactly-” Jane stopped in her tracks as her flame illuminated and revealed the horrors in front of her:

Shambling towards her are corpses, mangled, broken, and yet fresh corpses, each one with different wounds on their bodies. One had hand marks around their neck, another was bisected, a few had missing arms, and even some had missing heads.

Yet, Jane’s stomach churned because she saw their outfits: shirts, jeans, jackets. All of them seemed to be from the survivors of the war expedition; yet here they’re all zombified in some way.

“Ghouls. Or as the natives would call them, Mobile Nawie.”

She remembered Peter talking about them once. The dead that can come back to life to try and ‘fix’ themselves, whatever that means.

Her stomach churned at the very sight of them. It was deplorable and disgusting; each and every one of them was another person who could have lived a happy life, who could have gotten home to their families, watched a movie, or played a game with their friends.

But because of Epithet, they had no place else to go to but to them… and now here they are… dead, rotting, thousands of miles away from home. What were they thinking about bringing them here?

Jane sighed to herself as the ghouls shambled towards her, taking a deep breath as she readied herself. “Rest in peace. All of you.” Shedding a tear for them all, she rushed in to ensure that they would finally find peace.

A whirlwind of flames danced around her body. The flame emanated from her hand, striking down at the ghouls like a whip. Each one hit was sliced cleanly in half, their remains sent scattering across the forest before burning away. She channeled her anger, her rage, and her desire for vengeance. Each time she struck another ghoul down, her flame only grew brighter to match her desire.

A few managed to lunge and grab her arm to restrain and hold it down. She felt one rip it out of its socket with a sick crack, causing her to double over and kneel in pain, but she channeled her anger through her dislocated arm; within an instant, a burst of flames erupted from her shoulder all the way to the palm of her hand. The ghouls holding onto her caught on fire; no screams escaped their mouths, yet Jane could feel as if they sighed in relief.

She smiled, but a moment of hesitation in battle was enough to get you killed, as several ghouls managed to tackle her down to the snowy ground, grabbing at her hands, fingers, feet, thighs, and so much more that they could try and get a hold on. A few even began to rip off the flesh from her stomach, sinking their fingers into her sides, drawing blood as she screamed in pain.

Of course, those who tried it with her arms were sent ablaze, but she could feel and see them trying to rip off her legs, barely able to kick them off.

“Gah, get… off of me!” She yelled out, her hair flaring red as she raised her arm that was not dislocated towards them. A hum in the air was heard before a massive fiery laser shot out of her palm, completely enveloping every single ghoul she saw, disintegrating their bodies in a display of pure power and even going further beyond that, crashing into the trees as it made holes in them, burning off the wood. It even made a hole through the side of the mountain, turning the stone into lava.

Jane slowly sat up, staring at her hand as she took in a deep breath, clutching her wounded sides as she turned to Koschei and Sammy in the distance, yelling out.

“Are you both alright?