Young Writers Society

Daniel

"We were heading South," I sighed, speech coming easier now that my lips had thawed.

"That's where we're going. You should come with us," the woman who had talked about her husband urged, looking at me with her intense, green eyes.

"We were going to get married," I said. For a moment there was silence. They didn't seem to have a response to that but then I sighed and looked down at Annie with a fond smile before forcing myself to release her. I shuffled back a little, away from the support of the tree and away from her stiff, lifeless corpse. Even in death I was fixated with her. Unable to take my eyes from her. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself.

"Come on," one of the women urged and I was aided in stumbling to my feet. Someone handed the small rucksack to me and mechanically I swung it over one shoulder. That seemed to be the matter settled. They set off, hiking through the snow but I lingered, looking back at Annie. She looked peaceful, curled beneath the branches of the tree with my jacket snug around her shoulders and a blanket of snow over that. She looked like she was sleeping. How could I leave her? How could I walk away?

Serra glared at Ash's back as they walked. 'We could've packed snow over the body that would've kept anything from getting at it.' She thought, Danial walked along next to her as Callista talked to Ash, he was obviously upset about leaving the girl behind and Serra didn't blame him. She tried to think of something that would get his mind off of her and ease his mind a little but nothing came to mind. Only time could heal his pain. She had figured that out the hard way with her own family.

"Are you cold?" She asked looking ahead keeping her walking past with his.

"I'll be fine." He muttered, Serra wanted to comfort him but she didn't want to put any hurt on him either. It was starting to get dark and she looked around.

"We need to build a shelter of some sort and get a fire started. There look to be branches or somethign over there. Some people need to get wood and others need to try and craft a shelter." She said, it could be dangerous telling them what was needed but no one else seemed to try to and she didn't like being in the dark with out a fire and shelter, at least a fire if that was all she could get together. After being on her own she had always picked when seh was stopping and starting again. And to keep this group alive and healthy they would need to stop before night and have a fire. The fire would have to be a little bit away from the shelter if it was made from snow though. "We could always use some sticks and pack snow on top to keep it incolated but we need shelter of some sort."

Daniel

"You're right," the man agreed and the group came to a reluctant halt. Most knew better than to allow themselves to sit down in the snow. Instead they hovered awkwardly, stepping from one foot to the other in an attempt to reserve body heat.

"So who's doing what?" the woman I had met first prompted after an awkward silence.

"Well, Ash and I usually find a town or village and spend the night in an abandoned building," the blond woman admitted, looking at the snowy landscape with distaste.

"Nowhere like that near here," the woman who had lost her husband replied, pulling a map out from a backpack that also contained a small boy. She had a son. No wonder she was still striving to survive.

"Then we'll have to make do with what we have," Ash decided. "Serra, --the girl I had met first-- you and Breckin --the mother-- can get the wood. Callista --the blonde-- and I will start work on the shelter. Daniel --me?-- find some dry leaves, something to get the fire started and clear an area for it." I nodded numbly as the group began to disperse and when I found myself alone in our designated resting place, I bent and began to shift the snow. The action was familiar. How many nights had I done it for Annie and myself? In fact, my pockets were already full of dry leaves, bits of grass and even some decent moss that I had collected along the journey.

Hey, mind if I join?

Name: Aaron
Age: 23
Appearance: Black hair which is too long and falls in his eys which are bright blue.
Bio: Was sailing to the Antarctic but his ship got caught in a storm and he was knocked off course. He is English and keeps two guns always at hand.

**
The man was staring at th snow as if he didn't know what to do with it. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out some dried leaves.

Arron watched him with interest as he suddenly shook and for a moment Arron thought he was going to collapse. Then he realised, he was crying.

"Hey! Um, are you alright?" He shouted. The man looked up.

~SishBee~
x

Daniel

I looked up. Making his way through the snow was a dark haired man, a gun in each hand, and warm clothes on his back.

"Are you alright?" he repeated. I shook my head and deposited the grass and dried leaves in a pile before wiping my eyes on my shirt sleeve.

"You alone out here?" he asked.

"No," I said, "the others will be back soon." He nodded.

"Can I help with that, Mr..."

"Briars. Daniel Briars," I said. As if a name mattered.

"I'm Arron," he responded, kneeling and helping me build the initial pyramid of dried grass and small twigs. Not a simple feat with the chilling wind blowing at our backs and every stick placed brought Annie to mind. How her fingers would brush against my own, how she would giggle when the sticks fell and fall back on me and kiss me and snuggle against my chest. Back when I had no need for any flame but her. I was glad Aaron didn't attempt to talk much.

Serra came back with her arms pilled high. The mother followed behind with the the little boy, both had their arms piled with some sticks too. She stacked them next to the two men and looked the new comer over. She tossed a fire starter down at their hands and turned back towards the woods.

"I'm cold mommy." The little boy cried grabbing his mom's leg.

"Stay here, when the fire gets warm you two warm up. I'll get more wood." She said walking back to the small patch of trees they had found. She would rig a little sled together and stack wood on it. She had some shoe stings in her pocket from her tenishoes that she had had to get rid of a while back. SHe had only her hiking boots now and that suited her fine. She quickly found thick sticks and tied a rig together. She only had a few more fire starters in her pocket but she or someone else would be able to start one with out them. It was just to windy to do it easily tonight and they needed that fire, bad. She stacked wood for what seemed like forever. Breaking small dead trees and pulling off branches after all the ones on the ground were gathered. Her hands were cold and she stuck them under her jacket to warm them up again. She wasn't going to stop until she got as much wood as possible.

Breckin sat in the snow with her two year old son on her lap. Isaiah was a little weary of the people around him, as he normally was with new people. But he didn't have much choice and sitting with his mother was good enough for him.

Bre reached into the bag she had brought with them and pulled out a bottle with some pre-mixed formula in it. Of course, Isaiah had been off the bottle for quite some time but it was the only way Bre could bring something good for him without it spilling and going to waste. Same with the formula, he was be no means still on it, but it had much more nutritious value than say juice, and he still had some left over so she brought that.

The bottle and it's contents, of course, were frozen. She unzipped her jacket and placed the bottle beneath her underclothes, directly against her skin and zipped herself back up. A sure fire way she had found to dethaw it. It was weird, but it didn't matter to her--you do what you can to survive.

Daniel

The fire took some time but it gave me something to do and I patiently blew gently on the grass and twigs until they took. Then I began to add the driest wood that would burn most easily until at last the fire was strong enough to exist on its own. I stood and withdrew from the flames but then my skin which had thawed and become used to the warmth objected. Still, I did not want to crowd the fire so I edged a little closer, sat in the snow and left it at that. I took the rucksack from my bag and hugged it to my chest. It smelled of her. Still that perfume lingered, teasing me, taunting me.

"Does anyone have food?" Arron asked. "Only I've just got these biscuits and they're a bit hard. I was on a ship, see." I passed the bag towards him and he smiled gratefully before looking inside.

"Wow. How did you get your hands on all this?" he wondered.

"Annie was the manager of a store. When the first case was discovered, we took as much as we could and left town. We've... I've been traveling ever since..." This time no tears came but I looked away, towards the rising moon. This would be a good place to sleep. To sleep and never wake.

Aaron guessed that this was a tender subject so he took a small pack of nuts and handed the bag back.

He turned his attention towards the others.

"Hey, I'm Aaron, you are?"

The boy looked up at him but didn't say anything. Aaron blinked, he wasn't that scary was he?

"I know someone who would like to meet you."

The boy blinked back at him but he was still interested.

Aaron reached into his backpack and into the sheeps-wool lined bag. He pulled out a ferret who ran up his arm and wrapped itself around his neck. Aaron laughed.

The boy looked intrigued. Then he reached over and stroaked the ferret gently on the head.

"Wow, I think you're the first person he has ever taken to like that." said the mother.

Aaron laughed again. "He hasn't taken to me, just Spark. I found him abandonned in someone's house. He and I haven't left each others company since."

"Breckin. This is Isaiah." She indicated the boy who was still captivated by Spark.

"Aaron." He reached forwards and shook her hand, it was freezing.

~SishBee~
x

Callista surveyed the village below her from the top of a house. her traveling group was below her and Ash stood beside her.

"Well," she stated hesitantly, "lots of new people."

Ash scoffed, he knew she didn't like larger groups, "Stay focused, we need a place without any wind and we need some snow for insulation."

Callista sighed, she wanted her board back, it would have been so much easier for her to scout. She took out a needle and some heavy plastic thread, "Can I fix my board quickly? Then I can get scouting done twice as fast."

Ash nodded, "I'll start to look. Hurry." He turned and descended down the ladder they came up.

Callista stooped down to pick up her board and started to work. She strung her needle and started to repair the torn solar pad. After a few minutes she succeeded in making a snug repair that would last for a long time. She cut and tied the thread and put it along with her needle back into her pocket.

She put her board down, expecting it just to clunk and not work. She grinned as it stood a few inches above the ground. She stood on it and took off, searching for a spot to settle down.

Serra pulled the wood back to the others and sat infront of the fire warming her hands off. She looked at the ferret that was on the arm of a new person. She looked around for the guy and girl that had been together. Probably a couple thought Serra wasn't sure if htey were or not. She added wood to the fire and blew on her hands. Where were those two, they needed a shelter and soon.

"Where did you find all that wood?" The new guy asked. Aaron was his name.

"There were some trees over there. I just broke off dead branches and such." She said sticking her hands back under her jacket.


*srry couldn't think of any more*

Daniel

"I'm going to sleep," I announced, more for my own benefit than that of the others. I placed my head upon a mound of snow and curled up, shivering as my flesh pressed against the cold flakes.

"You can't sleep here," Serra protested. "Besides, they'll be back soon and I bet they've built a fine shelter."

"Doesn't matter," I replied. "I'd rather sleep here."

"You'll freeze to death," Aaron commented. I didn't respond. In fact, I nestled deeper within the snow. At first I shivered but then, you sort of get used to the cold. My body went numb and that familiar feeling came over me. I just wished that my heart could follow the same path. How could it still beat and pound against my chest? The traitor.

Aaron

The man nestled deeper into the snow. Aaron had a idea, he spotted the two figures a little way away and he stood up.

'I'll be back in a minute.'

He ran quickly navigating his way through the streets until he came to the house they were stood on top of.

'Hey!'

A man looked down at him. 'What?'

'Hows that shelter coming along?'

'Fine, we have built it at the back of this house.'

Aaron ran around the back, it was quite a good shelter but he had remembered his old army training when it had got cold.

'How deep is this snow?'

'Deep.' replied the man 'Maybe six foot over there.'

'Perfect.'

'For what?'

Aaron grinned, 'A Snow-shelter.'

The man smiled in agreement and Aaron picked up a piece of wood and started digging.

~SishBee~
x

Daniel

I opened half an eye to watch Aaron dart away and then closed it again and drifted into a motionless silence. I think it was perhaps an hour later, maybe less or maybe more, when I opened my eyes to see Breckin feeding her son from a thawed bottle of milk. I turned my stiff neck an inch and realised that almost everyone was now crowded around the fire, passing food and drink back and forth.

"You hungry?" Serra asked me.

"No," I whispered, my voice barely more than a warm breath of air.

"Then have something to drink, that will make you feel better," Aaron suggested. I conceded to that small task. I levered myself back up, snow falling from my body or melting against my flesh. The water tasted wrong. Melted snow most likely and after a sip or two I gave it back.

"Let's move to the shelters now," Ash decided with a pointed glance at me as if to suggest we should move before I got settled again.

_____________
Not too good but I like this one so I thought I'd try and revive it...