Icebound

Chapter 9

Thank you so much to everyone who read, voted, and commented! It makes me smile and really motivates me to write more. I'd love to hear your opinions and feedback on the story so please keep commenting!

I know some of the names are unusual so here's how I've been pronouncing them:

Anyu= ahn (rhymes with lawn)-you

Kano= kah (rhymes with saw)- no

Enjoy!

XXX

The sky was the deep blue of a stormy sea, the sun a molten orange, and the stars were just beginning to appear around the edges. The twilight was undoubtedly beautiful, but short-lived. Judging by the angle of the sun, they would only have five more minutes of daylight at the most.

"How close is this friend of yours?" Anyu asked. She hated that she was forced to depend on Kano's answers for everything, but he was never very forthcoming with his information.

"Very close," He replied casually. "Only thirty more minutes."

Anyu scowled. Compared to the hours they had spent walking all day, thirty minutes was indeed short, but she still didn't fancy walking for any length of time in this tundra at night. "How do you expect to navigate in the dark?"

Kano rolled his eyes, as if she had asked a question with an impossibly simple and obvious answer. "I can navigate in the dark," He said. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it." Anyu bit her tongue to keep herself from retorting with a scathing insult. She was really getting tired of his condescending bravado. 

"Why don't we talk about something more interesting than where we're going and how long it'll take to get there?" He suggested, giving her a onceover. "For instance, is that getup really the current fashion in the human world?"

Anyu quickly glanced down at her clothing. She was wearing typical winter clothes. Soft seal skin boots insulated with fur, layers of warm deer hide for pants, and a thick, bearskin parka with a fuzzy, fur hood. Anyu had to admit that it wasn't the most attractive of garments, but fashion wasn't exactly a luxury that her tribe could afford. It was all designed for maximum warmth, to retain as much body heat as possible. Fashion seemed like a silly, childish concept only sought after by the vain and shallow. She would trade in a pretty jewel for her bearskin coat any day.

"There is no 'fashion'," She replied defensively. "Only survival." The only decoration of any sort on her outfit was the tamga she wore around her neck. Thinking of it made her instinctively reach up with her right hand and hold it.

Kano tilted his head curiously. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

He smiled and grabbed at his collarbone, mimicking Anyu's action. She frowned and dropped her hand. "Habit," She said shortly.

Kano looked about to say something more on the topic, but he was cut off. If it had been anything else, Anyu would have been grateful for the interruption, but not this time. An earsplitting howl splintered the night, chilling her to the bone. Anyu recognized the noise; it was the one she'd heard right before stumbling upon Kano's prison. Only this time it sounded much, much closer.

Anyu looked at Kano and was surprised to see genuine panic and fear marring his normally cheerful features. Anyu's heartbeat began to quicken, as if it wanted to run away from whatever had made that noise. Anyu couldn't have agreed more.

Without another word, they were running as fast as they could across the frozen ground, kicking up snow and ice behind them. In the back of her mind, Anyu knew that they should be clearing their footprints so that it wouldn't be able to track them, but there was no time. The noise sounded again, a horrible growling scream that made Anyu's skin prickle. Was it just her imagination or did it sound even closer this time? Their only hope would be to outrun it.

Shesh quickly outpaced Kano, who didn't seem to be a very fast runner even by human standards and couldn't hold a candle to Shesh's speed. As they passed him, Anyu held out her hand to him. He seemed reluctant to ride Shesh, probably afraid- and rightly so- that the reindeer would try and buck him off. But Anyu could see in his eyes the moment when his fear of the thing that was chasing them overrode whatever reservations he had towards reindeer, and he grasped Anyu's hand, allowing her to pull him up.

Anyu squinted, trying to keep the floating snowflakes from getting in her eyes. She allowed herself a moment to wish for her snow goggles, but of course she had left them at home. She made a mental note to carve herself a new pair if she lived to get the chance.

"Over there!" Kano shouted over the wind, pointing a little ways ahead and to the left. There was a large snowdrift of fresh powder leaning against a boulder, probably formed from the blizzard winds last night. Anyu understood and directed Shesh towards it.

Anyu and Kano jumped off of Shesh's back as soon as they were close enough and ran for the small hill of snow. If they could dig a big enough hole in it where it met the rock, they would have a well-concealed hiding place.

The snow was light and easy to move, but even so Anyu forced her muscles to dig faster, the sound of the screaming growls resounding in her ears. The hole wasn't big enough, but Anyu swore that she could hear pounding footsteps in the distance, drawing nearer at an incredible speed. She shoved Shesh in first, then went in herself, pulling Kano in after her.

The space was uncomfortably tight, and bits of snow from the ceiling fell into Anyu's hair. She prayed that it wouldn't cave in on them. Shesh was about to complain with a neigh, but Anyu rubbed his nose soothingly, trying to convey with her eyes that he mustn't make a sound. He seemed to understand her, or perhaps he sensed the imminent danger of their pursuer as well, but whatever the reason he remained silent.

Anyu glanced at Kano. He was still catching his breath from their frantic race to dig out the snow, his breath forming small puffs of steam with every exhalation. With an effort, he managed to calm his breathing. He put a finger to his lips, motioning for Anyu to be silent, as if she didn't know that already. She was too afraid to even feel angry.

Anyu couldn't tell how much time went by. It was probably only minutes, but it felt like hours. She was already shivering, the wet snow seeping through her warm furs. Anyu wondered how long it would be before they could go back outside. It would probably only take a couple more hours before frostbite would start to set in, and a couple more hours after that for hypothermia.

She strained to hear anything outside, but the wall of snow and the rushing wind muffled any sounds. Kano, seeming to notice her anxiety, tried to give her a reassuring smile, but the fear was so plain on his face that it looked more pitiful than anything else. Someone had to go outside and see if the coast was clear. It was no use escaping from a monster if winter's icy claws killed you anyway.

Anyu started to signal to Kano that she would go see if it was safe. Before she had even raised her hand, an arm punched through the wall of snow and dragged Kano outside.