Lost in a Snow Town

If you look closely, the sun still shines behind that fortress of clouds, the storm that never sleeps.

Snow falls every night and every morning, the cracks in the statues at Monument Square have long since frozen over, trails of ice cascading down and into the floor around like roots of an oak. I've almost forgotten the colour of grass and the feel of it beneath my feet, the autumn leaves crunching beneath my toes. It's been a long winter, my son breathed life for the first time in this winter, and died too; the cold took him, the cold and the night. My wife died soon after that, doc says it was the frost tar, but me and my daughter know it was of a broken heart.

This town has long since been abandoned by the majority of people that lived here, strangers and family alike. The walls that once kept us safe have crumbled over time, and the old halls that once shone with laughter and love, now lay quiet, the shields on the walls never stir. The harbour used to invite al kinds from this island, all across the land they'd come from to bargain and trade and celebrate, now the ships never stir, they creak in the wind as it howls through our town. Still we become targeted by invaders from the south and west, they seek what the few of us know lies here, a secret forge left by our ancestors, and when this winter passes and the town life blooms again we will craft our mighty arms, our spears, axes, and oak-wood shields. We will rebuild for the next winter, the long winter, the long cold.

I wander through this town, the taverns, the houses, the halls and the walls; a maze it has created. Snow and ice are all we know in this town, this eastern town, snow, ice, cold and death. I long for sun, my eyes have grown sensitive to light and my skin has hardened, like a bear I hunt and track along the once-be rivers that travelled through our land. As my daughter still tells me, the sun, like the storm, it never sleeps and it is coming back. We can feel it.

The Grave

Following a trail footsteps over the glass blades of grass, under each step I hear them shatter,

The icy air glides over the stones, clawing at my skin as it passes.

A legion of oaks guard the road up and surround the field, a wall of entwined branches,

Hundreds of headstones never cease to protect their fallen, proudly standing like statues, watching.

Adventure

The howling wind soared through the caves and out down the side of the mountain, gigantic, steep and icy. I hooked my claw and dug in deep as I started my ascent, I reached a ledge that spiraled around the giant landmark, jagged rocks and tumbling snow lined my passageway and as I ventured on I thought to myself "what manner of titan created such a place?". A few more days is all I would need to reach the summit, I dug in and created a fortress against the harsh winds, stabbing at my face and ruffling my coat. I sat, leaning against chiseled stone; perfected over decades of a natural force.

As I finished my soup I added another drawing to the collection of my journey and named it 'Titans Path', I smiled as I looked back through the collection of parchment, ink sketches telling a tale of the many places I had wandered; the sunlight lake with singing trees, the painted canyon embedded with prints of a thousand animals, the ancient ruins of churches, statues and castle, so many locations, so many stories. Pebbles and rocks slid and fell over my head, rolling down the sound of the giant, I heard a thud and the soft patter of paws, as I looked up my eyes met hers; beautiful, proud and powerful. The wolf howled, then to my surprise it lowered it's head as though to beckon me so I left the warmth of my den and followed the majestic creature, the shards of ice brushing it's shaggy fur before slicing at my cheeks. My ears were met with another howl and glowing eyes emerged from the mist around us, the predators moved in closer and stuck to our tail as we ascended to Moon's Ridge; a beautiful clearing of smooth stone and untouched snow, the wolves went ahead; their paws dotting the clean undisturbed floor and I followed the trail of their claws into a cave where they sat, looking at me, and then inwards as one towards the center of the cave at the remains of a fire, the embers glowing and smoldering, the smoke dancing through the frosty air. A slumber swept over me.

I awoke to a ray of light glimmering around the cave, I followed it to the entrance of the cave where I was greeted by an incredible sight; oceans as tall as cloud-piercing buildings was clutching at the mountain and all it's daunting glory, coloured mysterious blues, and taunting reds, I was grabbed by an owl and we soared, dipped and dived over desert's covered in snow, and mountains draped in ash. I was on an adventure.

Broken Glass.

Glass cracked and stolen, light dancing through the splinters,

A weeping curtain falls quietly, begging of unsung music.

Dust collects and the fireplace yearns for the flames, and laughter,

Cobwebs map the corners, a million strings looking for a traveler.

Broken mirrors and dirty paintings, hung from long halls waiting to be seen,

Overgrown cobbled paths, leading to a house forgotten in the moonlight.

Candle wax dotted across the table, a harsh wind flowing through the glasses windows,

Beckoning for a dance in the lonely night.

Air whistles through the halls and up the staircase, the oak creaking in unspoken languages,

Moths flutter and fall, dive and soar over the frayed sheets towards the lantern.

Broken glass collects it's song, scattered over the floor,

Shattered and screaming, broken glass tells a tale.

On the River Bank

The river sleeps, the roads shout,
Birds sing and soar, dive and glide.
Creating a journey, the people, the places,
Step by step, observing, photographing.

The River Bank merges with the icy water,
Gritty dirt swirls in the torrent as the mud is pushed forward.
The River Bank like a cliff face, study, battered by the swarm of water,
On the River Bank a child plays.

Wind whistles through the reeds,
dancing over the painted lake.
Twisting and turning the leaves fall, red, gold and brown,
Their landing echoed in ripples that bound across the water.

The River Bank, a landscape of colour, even in the winter rain,
On the River Bank a child plays, tumbling through mud and leaves.
Logs placed to be shelter for the mice that peep in on the playground,
Wondering, what it's like on the River Bank.

What's it like on the other-side?

What's it like on the other-side?

Air from a poisoned breath, flowing through a stream,

Falling into memory, carved from the hollow laughs.

A child in the mist, dancing around statues,

Weaving around candles.

A kiss, a dance, the moonlit shores,

A pebble skips across the bay, the ripples run and curve away.

Laying before my dreams catch me from my fall,

A glimpse of the other-side, other worlds of mine.

Gliding over skies and sailing through seas,

A kiss, a dance, the moonlit shores.

What's it like on the other-side?

Sacrifice.

She was there, on a table her body was contorted and her stomach was cut open, several tubes were attached to her arms, thighs and neck. The lights in the lab flickered, casting an ominous glow onto the group and Xavier dropped to the floor in despair his hands on the table in front of him, his fingers wrapped around the leather pads. The warning alarms still were ringing and the red light bounced around the room, the ceiling and walls shook a little and several bottles fell off the shelves around them shattering on the floor and sending pieces of glass across the room. Lucy leaned down and pulled Xavier towards her who fell into her and wrapped his arms around her as he started to cry, she spoke to him with as calm a voice as she could muster,
   "Xavier... I... I'm so sorry. Xavier, we have to go."
   "I'm not... I can't leave her here... Not here... Not like this, not like that." He mumbled to her through the tears.

Lucy and Tom picked him up as he started to shout and hit out at them, Noah joined them and suppressed him,
   "I have no fucking idea what you are going through, nothing, none and I'm not gonna pretend that I do but if we don't get a move on now then all of us, all of us are going to die here, like that!"
  "Okay... Okay..." Xavier mumbled, although he had no personal desire of leaving the bunker. They got to their feet and ran for the door and into the corridor, Noah pointed to a vent which he and Emily had spotted on their exploration the last night, 
   "There! Now!"
The group hurdled into the vent and just as they started to make their way through, to the adjacent corridor a group of men, and a woman, The Mad Queen, walked past armed with axes, bats and knives.
   "Where'd they go? 'ey were just 'ere, I can smell 'em... Delicious." A rather foul looking man named Matheius, almost certainly a cannibal and murderer whose appearance could much more closely be linked to a troll than a man.
   "They must be heading to the Surface Door! Head them off!" Aria shouted over the sirens, the men tore off into another door while Aria walked back into her chambers holding Bethany's caved-in head in her arms.

Tom, Lucy, Emily, Xavier, August and Noah froze for a moment but quickly made their way through the vent and into the next corridor where they were faced with the Surface Door, the group hurdled towards it with extreme pace but they were met with a thumb scanner. 
   "Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Lucy yelled, sinking to her knees while hammering on the door.
   "You're not going to die in here!" Xavier yelled, "stay here!" he shouted as he sprinted towards the kitchens they had passed earlier. Sure enough two cultists walked by on patrol visiting the kitchens to steal from the fridges, Xavier turned off the lights and approached one of them and in the confusion managed to cut off one of their thumbs and slice the other's throat. He ran back towards the group and scanned the thumb just as the group of men seen earlier from the vent ran around the corner behind them, just as the door started to open Matheius shouted out to them,
   "'Ere they are! Get em!" and they started to run down the corridor towards Xavier and the group.
  "Lets go!" Noah shouted, and just as he ran with the others into the tunnel to the surface he shut the door, Xavier tripped Noah as they ran through and swiped the knife from his pocket as the door shut, the hiss of air rattled in Xavier's ears.
   "NO! What are you doing?" Noah slammed his hands on the door window, looking in at Xavier, "No, why! We can all make it together!".
   "Go. I have this sacrifice to make, for Bethany, and my sister, and so that you guys can live!" As the doors sealed and the air vent locked Xavier turned back to face the group of thugs as they drew nearer, their hollow laughs echoed around the now silent corridor. They slowed and walked towards him, their apparel putrid, bloody and discoloured. Xavier could see their scarred, burnt faces and their voices punctured through his ears like swords through a brittle sheet of ice, he felt a bead of sweat drop from his hair and another run down the side of his arm, he clenched his fists and raised the knife up. He ran towards the group of men, dodging an intended blow to the head and slicing away at the thugs at any skin he could see, Matheius however caught the blade in his hand and ripped it from Xavier, he grabbed Xavier and threw him against the wall, as Xavier looked up he saw a boot flying down towards his face.

Xavier awoke in the cold, icy outdoors. He wasn't alone, three masked men were with him and as he awoke and tried to stand they set upon him. He felt his bone splinter and his teeth grind against each other as the knuckles impacted on his jaw, then he felt a rib crack and a searing pain shot up his right side and down his arm. He could taste the copper, and feel the fragments of his own teeth amidst the blood and grains of dirt in his mouth. His eyes flooded with tears that flowed over the cuts and burns in his cheeks and splashed into the snow as he fell to his knees, they kicked the water from his reach and laughed as he spat blood and shards of his teeth onto the icy, frosty floor. The snow under his fingers burned to the touch but Xavier didn't care, he could only think about the body, his sister's body, on that table like an animal. One of the men took off his mask to reveal, Matheius, the thug that the group had seen by the shrine earlier that day and the man that had eaten Bethany's organs in front of them. He grabbed Xavier by the scruff of his shirt and picked him up, it tore but not so fast that the man couldn't land a series of punches with his spiked knucles to Xavier's battered, bloodied face and he felt his nose break as warm blood poured over his lips, over his chin and down his neck. Xavier was thrown into the snow that swallowed his hands and arms whole and Matheius turned around, kneeling in front of a bag while the others looked down at Xavier and sneered. Matheius turned to reveal an axe and a saw, 
   "Take hold of his legs!" he growled to the other two, and as they did so he stamped on Xavier's hand, breaking a finger and he snorted, derranged.
   "You, boy, you are going to tell me where the others went." He flexed the axe in his hand. Xavier looked up through bloody, glazed eyes and then looked down to Matheius' boots, polished and steel capped, with a knife attached to the ankle. Xavier quickly grabbed the knife and pierced it into Matheius' calf who let out a deafening howl of pain but just as fast removed the knife and kicked Xavier back into the snow.
   "That's the way this is, is it? Don't value your fingers much do you? Neither did your little sis. Poor little sis. Crying, begging, as she was violated, set upon by twenty men." He started to sneer and laugh over Xavier's muffled shouts and struggles.
Matheius knelt down next to Xavier and whispered in his ear,
   "You 'ave until the count of three to tell me, and my merry men where your tasty group are headin'... One... Two... Three..."
Matheius slammed the axe down on Xavier's right knuckles.
The pain was excruciating as Xavier looked up to see his hand, he raised it to his eyes and squinted... Only thumb and finger attached, and he screamed.