Cipher Code {complete}

Chapter Fifty Four: Ice And Vapour.

"You must hate me." Dawn spat out bitterly as she stumbled behind Hezekiah, envying the ease at which he moved through the knee-deep snow that had blocked their path, his hair coated with the white flakes that fell from the sky.

It wasn't supposed to snowing yet. It was not supposed to be snowing at all. The shields around the entire nation must have been down by this point for this to have happened, a snowstorm.

Auro, the golden city, was the capital for a reason. The skies above it were programmed to stay in summer, forever blessed with warmth and tranquility. And yet here it was, both the scene of unspeakable tragedy and a frozen wasteland simultaneously.

Dawn scowled as the cold bit at her flesh. She shivered as she forced herself to preserve and push past the thick snow.

They were completely defenseless now, anything could attack them. Asteroids could decimate the planet. Foreign viruses from space could invade.

The professor frowned in worry. It would take years to rebuild it all.

Shoving her hand under her armpits to keep them warm, Dawn looked up to the sky. The impressive shimmer of millions of shields overlapping each other had long faded, and now she could not even see the sun.

At least there's no fog. She let out a disgruntled sigh and realized that, again, Hezekiah had not said a thing to her. His eyes were vacant, drawn to something far ahead of them.

Passing her tongue over her parched lips, the professor followed his gaze, curiosity burning deep within her. Just what is he looking at?

Now she wished she hadn't asked, for what she saw before her was enough to make her forget her current discomfort. It was enough to make her pause and question all her actions since the first signs of fog were discovered.

When did it get to this point? Her fingers dug into her side as she hugged herself tighter, making her gasp in pain as her nails scratched her sore skin. When did we lose so bad?

The enormity of what had been happening hadn't hit her until now. Half a population, it had just been many zeros on her paper. Of course, she had felt anger and hatred, regret even. But she had never imagined what they had been through.

Picturing millions of people just vanishing into thin air had been easier, too easy in fact. It was different from seeing severed limbs and bloody guts scattered along a field of snow. It was easier to just imagine humans of flesh and blood disappearing mysteriously.

It was easier than seeing monsters rip them apart and eat them alive. But now she didn't have to imagine or guess, it was right in front of her.

Corey can't know about this, Dawn's hands shifted to her stomach, he'll be devastated.

She felt like throwing up.

The golden gate that signalled the beginning of the long road to the capital seemed just a stretch away. It looked splendid, brushed with the white of snow. Something out of a fairytale ending—the path to heaven, some called it.

But that wasn't what knocked the breath out of her. Because the sight of the magnificent entrance did not fill her with the usual awe, instead dread started to creep up her chest until it was swiftly replaced by pure, unadulterated terror.

"Dear Code," she took a step back, unable to drag her gaze away from the giant monstrosity that rested on the gate, using the structure to prop itself up as though it was a stool.

Still holding down her inexistent dinner, Dawn turned from the gore-speckled snow to Hezekiah. "What the hell is that thing?"

It appeared humanoid but its skin was covered in a light coating of coarse fur. It was a malnourished thing with gnarly limbs and a massive trunk. Its head was so up in the clouds that Dawn couldn't be sure, but she could tell that it was almost featureless. Nothing that resembled eyes or ears on the beast.