Valkyrie Hunter
Chapter 11

Ella stepped across the room to the terminal and turned it on. A holo appeared above it showing a top down image of the fissure room. Several armoured figures were gathered around the fissure. Their armour was plain without any identifying features. I could see all the armoured figures were female with the height and bulk to ID them as Valkyrie. There was no sound from the holo but it was plain to see an argument was going on. One of the figures held a box in her hand and was gesturing to the fissure another was waving her hands at the box holder. I guessed that the box was some sort of radiation detector. Suddenly a third pulled something out of the harness she wore and dropped it down the fissure. There was a sudden flash of light. I assumed she had dropped a grenade down the hole. The grenade thrower made a cutting gesture at the box holder. The box holder put her box away and drew a knife. In one swift motion she cut the rope. Grenade thrower made another gesture and the others started to edge around the fissure probing the wall as they went.

I was aware that Miranda was standing behind me. “Damn!” she uttered. “I was hoping they wouldn’t do that.” She sighed. “Well that’s gone out the window faster than I had anticipated.” She picked up her pack looking at me. “We’ll have to continue our discussion later. We have to go.”

I put my boots back on a laced them up. I picked up my pack and settled it on my shoulders. I glanced at the holo seeing our pursuers had found the door behind the holo projection. “Let’s go!” I said.

Ella nodded. “I’ll take the rear and hopefully slow them down.”

“Be careful?” Miranda warned her.

“I will,” she replied.

With some reluctance on my part we left the comparative safety of the way station for claustrophobic setting of the tunnels. We trudged onwards in silence I was glad we had abandoned the torches and were wearing the image intensifier goggles. I followed Miranda my ears straining for the sounds of pursuit or that Ella was returning. After I don’t know how much time had passed Miranda halted we had reached the end of the tunnel a dead end lay ahead. Just as I was about to voice a complaint Ella returned. She exchanged a silent with Miranda who touched a innocuous looking rock high up on the wall of the tunnel. The last place anyone would be looking for a switch. Her hand passed through the rock and part of the wall slid open to reveal a jagged cavern. We passed quickly into the cavern edging our way past jagged rocks. This seemed to be more natural than the tunnels we worked our way through. Once we were clear of the entrance Miranda turned to Ella.

“Bring it down Cinders. I can rebuild afterward.” She sounded resigned.

“Yes ma’am!” Ella replied pulling a remote control box for the pocket of her thermals.

One thing I was glad about these thermals was they cooled as well as warmed. Otherwise I would have melted in the tunnels they hadn’t exactly been cold.

Ella pressed a button and I felt a rumble that shook through me.

“It’s done,” Ella said simply.

“Good let’s go we’ve a lot of ground to cover.”

The cavern got narrower and the roof got lower. What unease I had before was getting stronger with every step I took. Finally it became a crawl space. My mouth went dry and my heart threatened to burst from my chest. I was sweating and trembling at the same time. I hesitated, fear wracking my body I couldn’t take a step further.

“I can’t do this!” I cried tear trickling down my face. “I can’t!”

Miranda looked at me concerned.

Ella who was behind me spoke before she could. “Gwen?” she said quietly.

I turned to her what I didn’t expect was her to hit me. It panned out in slow motion. I saw her fist travelling toward me I stood there like some fool when it hit and then blackness.

I woke to an aching jaw in the midst of a snowdrift as flakes of snow fell on me. Miranda kneeled over me a hypo in her hand and watching me closely was Ella.

“Sorry about that!” she apologised.

As Miranda asked. “Are you going to be ok?”

I ignored her question fixing Ella with a glare. “Warn me next time?”

“Hopefully there won’t be a next time,” she replied in typical Valkyrie fashion.

“I’ve numbed the pain,” Miranda said. She glanced at Ella her lips tight.

Clearly she disapproved of Ella’s actions. But I knew from past experience it was the Valkyrie way. The first medic I’d encountered used her fist to knock me out. I sat up someone had to foresight to turn up the temperature of the thermal regulator on my suit. Miranda helped me up and dusted the snow off me.

“So what happens now?” I asked her.

“We get out of these mountains.” She handed me a pair of thick mittens. “I want to get out of the snowline before it gets dark. The temperature drops rapidly after dark.”

“Ok,” I replied Miranda’s words made sense. With the sky overcast and snow laden we needed to get out of here. I wasn’t certain of the time with the weather this bad it could only get worse.

Miranda gave a nod to Ella. “Cinders you know what to do?”

“Do what?” I interrupted them.

“Cause an avalanche.” She gestured towards the side rather than straight down which seemed the easier path to me. “We go this way.”

“I thought the idea was to get off the mountain?”

“This way will be quicker. Besides I don’t think you want to be in the vicinity of an avalanche.”

“No,” I replied quickly, that would be as bad as being trapped underground.

“Come along Gwen,” Miranda said with wave of her hand.

Miranda strode confidently through the deep snow while I floundered behind her. Ella had dropped back and was fiddling around with something from her pack. All our movements were leaving a distinct trail in the snow.

“We’re certainly showing where we are.” I said to her.

“Which the avalanche will obscure,” she said as Ella joined us. “Ready?” she asked Ella.

“Just say the word and I’ll set the timer.”

Miranda merely nodded and walked on me following behind.

I felt the cold on my face and with each step I was becoming more weary. Finally we halted be behind a rocky outcrop. I was glad of the rest even if it was only a temporary rest. The wind blew picking up snow as it went.

“Why live in such a dreary place?” I questioned Miranda. It didn’t make sense she lived somewhere this remote.

“Because we have to. I really don’t mind besides the geology of this place is fascinating.”

By the way she said ‘we’ she meant more then just her and Ella. I thought back to her off the peg phrase about ‘waking up the neighbours’ she had meant it literately.

“We?”

“There are other ‘Old Ones’ living in these mountains. Most have less mobility than I have.”

“And have a large staff to care for them,” Ella added.

“But why here?” I insisted.

“It’s always been that way,” Miranda stated sadly.

“Best get going the explosives are on a timer,” Ella reminded us.

That got me moving.

We marched on going down the mountain at a diagonal the pace difficult in the snow. Suddenly Miranda halted her eyes sweeping the horizon around her. As I was about to ask why she had stopped I heard a loud roar in the distance.

“Your timing was a tad out Cinders?” Miranda remarked to the sound.

“Close enough,” she replied with a grin.

Finally the snow lessened and stumpy trees started to appear. I wasn’t sure how long of how far we walked but my legs were being to ache and other needs came to the fore. We reached what seemed to be a stumpy tree lined saddle on the mountain. I looked back the snow had cleared giving me a view of the mountain. When I said mountain I’d meant mountains they surrounded us the snow cover tips reaching into the clouds. Miranda gesture and we followed her I notice she had started to flag and the sky was darkening rapidly. If we didn’t find shelter soon we would freeze to death. I’d already done that I wasn’t about to do it again.

“We need to find shelter,” I said to her.

“We’re nearly there,” she replied pointing to what seemed a pile of rocks with stubby trees sticking out of it. “The way station.” She led us towards the rock pile.

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