Nothing Left but Ash and Brass

Nothing left but Ash and Brass

You’ll always wonder why it happened here, to you…

-11:58pm. February 21st, 3000 C.E., Norway.-

Helga watched as the helicarrier took the most important thing in her world away from her. As the distance grew, she felt the rumbling deep beneath her feet.

He had awakened.

Closing her eyes and clutching her necklace in her fist, Helga prayed for strength. The time had come but she took the small consolation that her daughter was safe.

When the rumbling grew stronger, she could feel the warehouse roof upon which she stood begin to shake violently. Tilting her head to the sky, it was clear the mountain was about to explode.

Helga braced her feet into the gravel roof and prepared herself.

CRACK!

A massive sound wave knocked her back as the mountain split open and He burst forth, all heat and clouds of ash. Reaching His full height, a roar of storm clouds swirled and cracked behind Him.

Helga screamed into the fierce winds to call His attention and drew her sword. Once last squeeze of her necklace helped to brace her for how this will inevitably end. The most important thing was that Liv was being taken away, to others who can help her.

He saw her and with a flash of light, all the fire and ash and smoke came barreling down the mountain towards her and the town at the base of the mountain.

Calling on the ice, Helga ran forward and leaped off the roof to meet him.

-4:00am. February 22nd, 3000 C.E.. Iceland-

Ow. My head hurts.

These were first few thoughts that went through my head as I awoke, ears ringing and head pounding. After fluttering my eyes open, I found that I was in some sort of lab.

Where the hell am I? How did I get here? … Mom!

My body screamed at me as I sat up abruptly but I didn’t care, all I could think about was my mom. I needed to find her.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” A stern female voice called out from behind me and I snapped my head around. Sitting at a computer was a woman who looked older but well aged, dressed in a lab coat and typing diligently.

“Is that a threat?” I hissed and ground my teeth as I swung my legs over to sit on the edge of the cot I was on.

The woman chuckled but didn’t look away from her computer and kept typing as she spoke again.

“No. It’s a medical recommendation. We had to sedate you to get you on the helicarrier. You’ll be uncoordinated for a while and may hurt yourself if you rush this.” The corner of the supposed doctor woman twitched. She finished her typing and swiveled her chair to face me. Pulling her stethoscope from around her neck, she slid her chair towards me.

Oh hell no.

There was no way that I was letting some doctor I don’t know touch me. I tried to scramble away from her but my arms just flailed and I toppled face first onto the cot.

“Told you. Matejs, can you help her up please?” The unimpressed doctor shook her head and slid closer to me.

A larger man that I hadn’t noticed came from the direction to the door and much to my displeasure, hoisted me by my armpits to place me in a sitting position.

“Get off me!” I screamed. “Who the hell are you? Why am I here? Where is my mother? Tell your goon to stop manhandling me!”

“That’s a lot of ingratitude from someone who was saved by this ‘goon’.” Matejs’ gruff voice spoke from behind me.

“Yeah, I feel very safe. Apparently I’ve been sedated by a doctor I don’t know, woke up in a place I’ve never been to and have been grabbed some big man I’ve never met. And no one is telling me where my mother is. So excuse me if I’m not falling to kiss your feet in gratitude.” I screamed in his face, spit flying from my lips and landing on his cheek.

“Geez, your mother said you were unruly but she said nothing of this troll.” The doctor’s dry voice caused my fury to evaporate and I turned back to face her.

“My mother? You know her?” I asked softly, feeling like a small child lost in a market desperate for her mom.

“Who do you think asked us to save you.” Matejs grumbled, coming to stand next to the doctor.

“Save me? From what?” I was beyond confused. “Where is she? Can I see her?”

My request was met with both the doctor and Matejs looking solemnly at each other then at the floor. After a long, heavy pause, I couldn’t breathe.

“AGHHH” I screamed, my chest felt like it was shattering into a million pieces. The room around me began to blur behind my tears but I was still too weak to move. I clutched the cot so tightly my knuckles turned white.

It was the doctor who spoke first.

“She wanted to give us time to get you to safety. No one else could…” She trailed off and turned to look at Matejs, uncertain of how to explain.

I shook my head, not able to process what I was being told. When the room began to spin, I slumped onto my side on the cot and the doctor slowly approached me but I simply stared into the distance. Whatever she checked or did went unnoticed by me, I was too deep in thought.

Deep down I knew why my mother wasn’t with me. If she asked them to save me, then it was because there was no other way. That was who she was. I always knew this day would come. Mother had been telling me for as long as I could remember. She used to sing to me a strangely, melancholy lullaby every night before I went to sleep.

Fire comes to rain from the sky,

that is when Liv will cry.

At day’s end the frost will come,

she will make his wrath undone.

My mother was always so mysterious when I asked her about it. Her response was always some different metaphor I couldn’t understand. But as I got older, I began to realize it was some sort of warning, a prophecy.

She was preparing me for something. That had become evident to me not long after my 10th birthday, when mother began training me. What exactly she was training me for, I wasn’t told; Still, for 11 years, my days were filled with every form of battle training imaginable.

“Liv.”

My name brought me back out of my thoughts.

“Huh?” I looked up. The doctor was looking down at me expectantly.

“How are you feeling?” She asked me once more.

“Um… fine I guess.” I said, wiggling my fingers and toes.

“Good. It’s been an hour and we need to get started. By the way, my name’s Dr. Huginn. In case you wanted to stop referring to me as the ‘the doctor’.” Dr. Huginn rolled her eyes.

Wait, what?

Before I could say anything, Dr. Huginn chuckled dryly.

“Don’t worry, you’ll catch on. You’re not the only one who’s special.” With that, she turned on her heel and marched out the room.

Still shocked, I turned to find Matejs waiting for me. Despite feeling like my blood had been replaced with cement, I could actually move and managed to sit myself up. Sliding to the floor, I felt Matejs shift in my direction as if ready to catch me.

Hands off, buddy.

Once I was steady on my feet, I walked to the door and peered into the hallway. We were in what appeared to be some sort of underground, concrete bunker. Mom had run some exercises with me in a similar place but I never took it seriously.

Matejs coughed behind me and I let him lead me down the dimly lit hall. After a few turns, he stopped in front of a large metal door.

When I entered the large room, I didn’t know what to expect but it wasn’t the vast, ancient hall with stone columns.

Near the door was a long wooden table with a group of people seated around it, including Dr. Huginn. They looked up when we walked in, expecting us.

A large bearded man stood at the head at the table. He gestured for me to sit to his right.

I slowly walked around to sit on the bench where I was told. Matejs sat next to me. Always too close for my liking.

“He’s your protector. He has to be close so just deal with it.” Dr. Huginn scolded me, tired.

Just as I opened my mouth to retort, the large bearded man cleared his throat.

“So, Liv. You’re up. Good. Now that we’re all together, it’s time to discuss why. My name is Eric.” He smiled down at me. “I know this is all happening fast, but I’m afraid we don’t have time for niceties. Your mother did her best to prepare you and the time has come to put your skills to good use.”

Eric looked up and gestured to the rest of the group.

“We are your army and you are going to need us. I thought it was your mother who would lead us but she made it clear when you were born that it was you. Now, we have 12 hours to regroup and move out to Norway. He’s getting bigger with every hour and we only have a small window before the world is consumed permanently.”

“Consumed permanently?” I asked but I was shushed.

“So, we need to be ready. You all have your order and Liv and Matejs will be with me.” Eric turned to me. “You will bring the frost Liv and we need to keep you alive long enough to do it.”

Murmurs broke out across the long table at Eric’s proclamation. Even though it seemed like everyone knew why we were here, they seemed unconvinced of my role. They weren’t alone. I was still confused at what brought me here. There were only two reasons I wasn’t demanding to be let out.

One, we were in a bunker. That meant there must be some serious shit going on outside and I wasn’t sure how I would deal with that.

Two, my mother meant for me to be here. I just wasn’t sure why or how I was supposed to help them.

Why was this happening? Why me?

“Enough. I know for a fact that when you all were her age, nobody was sure of your abilities either.” Eric boomed over the group, silencing them. “Like I said, you all have your orders. Training starts in 30 mins, find your colour and report to your captains. Move out.”

Everyone stood and rushed around me, apart from Eric, Matejs, and Dr. Huginn.

“I think it’s time you see what exactly we’re dealing with.” Eric held out his hand for me.

After a few beats, I tentatively put my smaller hand in his. Eric led me by the hand out of the room and towards a door down the hall to the left that opened into a narrow stairwell. The three of them waited for me to ascend.

At the top of the stairs, I found another heavy metal door. When they came up behind me, Eric nodded to me. It took me a moment to turn the large handle on the door but it finally swung open to the roof.

I took a few steps onto the ash covered roof that only stood a few meters off the ground.

The sky was red and grey, as if it was on fire. Storms raged in the distance and the winds were raging. It looked like the world was ending.

“It is ending.” Dr. Huginn remarked, coming to stand next to me.

“The earth goes through a cycle. It resets at the end of each one and it’s up to people like us to make sure the balance is kept.” Eric put a hand on my shoulder as he explained, also looking up at the sky. “The forces that reset the earth also need to be in check or it really will end. We keep the balance and help rebuild.”

“It sounds like you’ve done this before. How long is a cycle?” I turned to look at Eric more closely.

“Longer than any human lifetime. But then again, are any of us here completely human?” Eric turned to give me a bemused smile. To that I chuckled and he continued. “I’ve lived through two cycles. My father before me another two. His grandfather used to tell me that he was there during Ragnarok but I think he had inhaled a bit too much ash by then.”

“So that’s your ability? Long life?” I recall he mentioned that everyone had abilities of some kind. I wondered what Matejs’s was.

“It’s healing.” Of course, Dr. Huginn to the rescue with the answer to my every thought. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

“Okay, fire and brimstone then you stop it and rebuild. I still don’t understand how I fit into all this.” I pursed my lips and stared at the sky once more.

“She doesn’t know?” Matejs murmured in disbelief. I snapped my head towards him, my earlier rage had reignited.

“Look, Matejs, or whoever the hell you are. It’s been a really weird day for me and I’m pretty sure my mother died trying to get me here. So kindly shut your face before I do it for you. That I do know how to do.” My voice had dropped half and octave and the ground at his feet began to crystallize with frost.

“Liv. He’s the least of your problems. Save your strength. And you.” Eric turned to Matejs and moved to stand before him. “I expected more from you. Her mother elected not to tell her, I chose differently and told you of the cycle. Respect that.”

Oh, Matejs is Eric’s son.

Now that I saw the two of them facing one another, the resemblance was clear as day. Dark hair and skin, long eyelashes, luminous green eyes, strong nose… Dr. Huginn cleared her throat.

Ugh, this is getting old. Can’t you turn it off?

“No.” She replied dryly.

“So Liv. Your mother told me that your power was just starting to grow. I see that your emotion is tied to it. How far have you gotten?” Eric came back to stand in front of me, eyes soft.

“Um. I froze the pond behind my house.”

Matejs let out a pained noise and Eric shot him a dark look.

“Oh, come on. Can we stop pretending!? She’s supposed to save us and she can barely lower the temperature of a shallow pool of water!” Matejs shouted at his father, clearly fed up with whatever it was that was going on. “When her mother told us to sedate her, that was one thing. But no one was prepared for her to be able to do nothing!”

“Enough!” Eric shouted and his eyes literally shone green as energy radiated off of him. Matejs didn’t shrink back but closed his mouth once more and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “We’ve wasted enough time. Liv, your mother fought alongside myself and my father during the last few cycles. After she had you she said her strength had weakened and that you would take her place. With her gone, we don’t have much time. She gave us a day and we must make the most of it. Now, we start training.”

-12am. February 22nd, 3000 C.E., Norway.-

“You’re not trying hard enough! Again!” Matejs yelled for what seemed like the millionth time in the last 8 hours.

“I’m tired. Let me rest.” I slumped forward, arms dangling.

We had been practicing a battle sequence with my unit for the last few hours that culminated with me freezing a target. So far, I’d only managed to form large icicles on it.

“Let her rest, son.” Eric called out from across the large training hall.

I stumbled to the nearest bench and collapsed onto it. Everything felt sore and I was so sleepy. If I could just lay down for a few minutes.

“You should. Magic like yours takes a toll.” Dr. Huginn came to sit next to you to check your pulse.

Sighing, I let myself slide sideways to lie along the bench. It felt so good to rest. Although I was sedated, it left me cloudy and restless. Now it felt like I was floating off into the sky…

“Wake up. It’s been 30 mins. We need to get back to it. Wheels are up in two hours.” I felt Matejs shake me.

Ugh. I wish I could freeze him solid.

After my nap and another hour of training, I’d managed to create a small iceberg over the target. Pleased with myself, I was even more thrilled when Eric said I could go clean up and rest some more before we moved out.

Matejs led me down to the sleeping quarter of the bunker and showed me to a small but clean room that had a bathroom attached. He sat in the chair in the corner of the room and made himself comfortable.

“Um, a little privacy please?” I stood in the center of the room, waiting for him to take the hint and leave.

“What part of ‘I’m your protector’, do you not understand?” Matejs lifted his piercing green eyes to meet mine.

Ugh, he’d actually be cute if he wasn’t so god damn annoying.

“Protect me from what? Spiders? We’re in a bunker.” I rolled my eyes and grabbed the towel and clothes that had been laid out on the bed before storming into the bathroom. Making sure to slam the door for good measure, I turned on the shower and got in.

Despite cold being at the core of my abilities, I’d always loved the heat. My muscles relaxed for the first time all day and I closed my eyes to soak in the few moments of bliss. It wasn’t long before the tears rolled down my cheeks.

I wish you were here, mom.

I reached up to clutch the small brass locket around my neck. There wasn’t anything inside it but my mother had given it to me on that fateful 10th birthday. She had shown me the matching locket around her own neck and it became a symbol of our relationship. Whenever I was scared or sad, she told me to squeeze it tight and think of her. Everything felt better when I held it in my hand and I knew to the very core of my being that she’d held hers before plunging into battle.

The hot water ran out after a few minutes and I towelled myself off. Getting dressed quickly, I brushed my teeth and combed my hair before re-entering the room to find my protector sharpening a knife.

“Compensating for something?” I smirked as I sat on the bed.

“No need sweetheart, I’m well equipped. Just making sure I can do my job.” He retorted in his low baritone, not looking up from his task.

My eyes were going to roll out of my skull from being around this man. With his focus elsewhere, I took the opportunity to study him more closely.

Eric’s comment about my age earlier made sense. Matejs was clearly the youngest of the whole group and he was my senior by at least 10 years. Although, I suspected he was even older than that if his father had lived through two earth cycles and barley looked over 40.

“See something you liked?” Matejs still didn’t look up but a smirk danced across his lips. It was the first time I had seen him smile and it suited him.

“You’re not my type.” I spat back, flustered at him catching me staring. Quickly laying down on the bed, I made sure to turn my back to him. I just had to trust that he was my protector. Suddenly, the bed dipped next to me.

“Really, so what is your type?” He resumed his sharpening but this time he was perched on the edge of my bed.

“Not that it’s any of your business but definitely not the stoic manly man type. Did your dad never teach you about personal space?” I hissed at him, trying to ignore him behind me.

“Ah so you like girls. And personal space doesn’t really exist in this place, so no. ” He chuckled a low, rumbling sound in his chest.

I flushed and tried to hide it from him. Well, he wasn’t entirely wrong, I didn’t discriminate based on gender but something he said stuck with me. Too curious to help myself, I turned to face him.

“Wait, did you grow up here?” I couldn’t stop the question from spilling past my lips.

He paused his movements and looked down at me. His eyes were sad and for the first time since meeting him, I felt something other than hate. I felt bad for him. My mother had always pushed me hard but it was clear that she’d wanted me to grow up away from all of this. Growing up in a dark bunker with the weight of the end of the world on your shoulders seemed bleak and lonely.

“So what. At least I can actually use my powers.” He raised an eyebrow, as if daring me to keep feeling sorry for him. The sadness in his eyes left as quickly as it had come.

“And what exactly is that?” I was genuinely curious what it was.

It was his turn to roll his eyes. When Matejs reached for my hand, I flinched but he grabbed it anyways.

“Calm down, I’m doing the opposite of trying to hurt you.” His rough, calloused fingers grazed the inside of my wrist and his eyebrows pinched together as he concentrated.

Slowly, I began to feel this feeling of relaxation like honey dripping down my body. I slumped back against the pillow as he kept hold of my wrist.

“How do you feel?” He asked lowly.

I was entirely consumed by this warm, fuzzy feeling and my eyelids were getting heavy with sleep.

“Mmm good. Sleepy.” I mumbled, already falling into a deep sleep.

“Good. Rest, Liv.”

-1:20pm. February 22nd, 3000 C.E., Norway.-

When I finally awoke, I found that Matejs was still sitting on the bed next to me. He had a different knife in his hands that he was sharpening.

“Good, you’re awake. Get ready, we head to the carrier in 5.” Matejs stood and moved to lean next to the doorframe, still not looking up from his knife.

Stretching and feeling deliciously rested, I stood and rushed to freshen up before we left. I made sure to rush as I had no doubt that my so-called protector wouldn’t hesitate to burst into the bathroom and drag me out if I didn’t take a satisfactory amount of time.

Once I was ready, Matejs stopped quickly at his room to freshen up as well. Grabbing some items from his room, he tried to keep me from seeing his space but I caught a peek of it. It was clean and covered with drawings of birds.

So the confined man likes things that can fly away.

We made our way to the carrier and boarded with the rest of the group. Our number seemed larger than I’d thought when we had first been at the long table. I sat and buckled myself into my seat. Predictably, Matejs took the seat on my right.

“Where are we going, anyway?” I asked Dr. Huginn, who was on my left.

“Well, there are several supervolcanoes that will erupt if we don’t stop him. But he will be in the mountain, the one that you grew up next to in Norway.” Her tired voice barely carried to my ears in flight.

“Really?” I asked, shocked that I had grown up so close to the entity that could possibly destroy the world.

“Your mother wanted to keep an eye on you and him.” Dr. Huginn answered simply.

Okay then.

“Everyone loaded in?” Eric’s voice boomed over the thrum of the helicarrier as he boarded last. After pulling on each person’s seatbelt quickly, the leader took his empty seat with us at the front of the carrier next to the pilot.

I squeeze my eyes shut as we took off. Flying was something I’d only done a handful of times and it was safe to say I preferred my feet firmly on the ground. Matejs snorted next to me and muttered something to himself, no doubt continuing to be unimpressed with me.

“Open your eyes, you’re not a four year old who’s afraid of the dark. We’re going into the battle and you can’t even watch as the helicarrier takes off.” Matejs mocked me.

“Laugh it up, Bunker Boy, because you won’t be laughing when I throw up on your combat boots. Try fighting this thing smelling like puke.” I waited to hear his reply but he must have realized I was serious and he remained silent. “That’s what I thought.”

My eyes stayed closed but I was listening intently. Once the plane had taken off, the team captains started going over the plan with their group around them.

Eric, who was only one seat to my left on the other side of Dr. Huginn, leaned over her and started coordinating with Matejs and I. We went over the plan several times and I began to feel more at home. Mom used to grill me on battle strategy before my test simulations. It was always something that helped me get in the right mentality. Instead of thinking about how worried I was that no frost would come when I called, I focused on Eric’s words.

“Liv, when I give the signal, Matejs will drop you on the glacier and you start to call on the ice.” Eric’s green eyes held mine as I snapped out of my focus.

Glacier? Wait, the glacier opposite the mountain? Did he mention that before?

“We assumed your mother covered that part. Are you telling me she never took you to the glacier?” Dr. Huginns piped up and for the first time since I met her, she had an expression other than disinterest. She looked horrified and her head snapped to look at Eric in alarm. “No one else could teach her that. How are we supposed to show her if she doesn’t already know?”

“Do you mean the glacier opposite the mountain right?” I tried to ignore her outburst and looked to Eric as calmly as possible.

“Yes. That is where you call the frost from. Not even your mother could create that much ice by herself so she and her ancestors used the ancient glacier.” Eric remained unphased at my questions and the doctor’s panic. His deep voice continued to explain to me evenly. “Legend has it that it is a piece that came to earth from the Norse ice world of Niflheim. Regardless, it’s one of the deepest ice reserves on the planet.”

Against my brain’s wishes, my jaw dropped open. Then, slowly, a small smile creeped over my face. Finally something to boost my confidence. While Dr. Huginns was trying to piece together my thoughts and Matejs was studying me stonily, Eric saw the glimmer in my eyes. The leader smiled back at me and put a large, calloused hand over mine. His dark skin was warm against my always cold hands.

“You really didn’t think we expected you to pull all that ice out of nowhere did you?” Eric spoke sincerely. “This is something I know that your mother prepared you for. So I am not worried. And neither should anybody else be.” At this, he shot a pointed look at his son.

Dr. Huginns finally found what she was looking for in my jumbled thoughts and sighed, a peek of a smile tugging at her thin mouth. Memories of mother bringing me to the glacier since I could walk. Playing on the ice, meditating to connect with the ancient space, practicing combinations on the peak. I may not know many things about the end of the world or my role in it, but I knew that glacier. I’d grown up on it. It was my true home.

For the first time since the day started, the air around the ground was humming with hope.

“I’m sorry.” Matejs’ voice took me by surprise and I whipped my head to the right. He met my eyes, his gaze intense and apologetic.

“What was that?” I teased, inclining my ear towards him dramatically. His apology made me feel even better but I just wanted him to work for this after all the flack he’d given me.

“I said I’m sorry. Okay?” His voice dripped with a mix of frustration and seriousness. I could see his eyebrows pinched together over his bright eyes and in that moment I forgave him.

“Thank you. Next time, have a little faith.” I smirked at him and his serious expression wavered as he tried not to smile.

Despite both of our best efforts, I think we were starting to like each other. That was important when going into battle. Comradery could mean the difference between life and death. I was glad things were starting to come together.

With the matter now more well in hand, I let my head fall back against the headrest and let my mind empty as we travelled at high speed towards the end of the world.

- 8pm. February 22nd, 3000 C.E., Norway.-

Practicing for battle and actually being in one - as I soon discovered - were two very different things.

For over a decade, my mother had done everything in her power to prepare me for this battle. Yet, now that I was here, it felt as if not even a lifetime of training could prepare me for the intensity of being in it.

We had landed a fair distance away from the mountain as there was cooled pools of lava that had run down the hillside. Eric showed me the fire walkers that had emerged near the peak of the mountain and were making their way down. Clearly this large of a group was to make sure I got to the glacier opposite the mountain without issue.

“Fire walkers?” I repeated back to Eric in disbelief. No one said anything about fighting monsters made of fire. My training had only been designed for human soldiers.

How does one fight fire?

“Well, it’s not with more fire. I’ll tell you that. You have to cut through their heads with an ice sword.” Dr. Huginns supplied me with the answer. She held up a translucent blade that was as long as my arm. I didn’t even bother to ask how someone acquires one of those. “We all have one. Except for Matejs, he has two.” She rolled her eyes.

“And me? What do I get?” I looked between the three expectantly.

“You get to run to the glacier while we clear a path. We can’t risk you wasting energy on anyone other than Him.” Eric told me firmly. I sighed.

“Well, I hope you’re as good as you are annoying.” I looked at Matejs bitterly. He merely smirked and winked at me.

Ugh, I’m so dead.

After we had all prepared, Eric ordered us to march forward. My heart had dropped into my stomach as we made our way up over the hill and towards the glacier.

Both peaks loomed over us as we kept up a fast pace. It wasn’t long before the fire walkers heard our approach and descended towards us.

I tried to keep calm and focus at the sight of hundreds of monsters coming down towards me and Matejs put a hand on my shoulder to pull me behind him.

Loud noises rang out around me and my ears started ringing. All I could do was follow the back of Matejs’ head as we kept a steady pace towards our destination. We were about halfway when it was time to start clearing a path.

All I could do was watch as Matejs cut down one fire walkers after another with his two ice swords. Panic bubbled in my chest as I had no weapon that would allow me to help him. Instead, I concentrated on how the muscles of Matejs’ shoulder work as he swung his swords.

-10pm. February 22nd, 3000 C.E., Norway.-

It wasn’t until we got halfway up the glacier that we stopped to rest. The hike was steep and despite walking this trail everyday since I could remember, the mere act of staying clam amidst the battle had spent all my energy.

I looked up and saw that we were only an hour from the top. It was unclear which feeling flooded my chest at the sight, relief or dread. All I knew was that the end was near, mine and the rest of the world or His. Either way, the battle and the day would be over soon.

Curling into a ball, I sat on a rocky out crop and tried to calm my breathing. Eric and Dr. Huginns kept watch as I rested. Matejs sat down next to me.

To my surprise, Matejs wrapped a warm arm around me. It was only then that I realized I was shaking.

“How are you doing?” Matejs’ deep, warm voice washed over me. His earlier impact was replaced with concern. His endless green eyes were filled with concern and knowing.

My mouth open and shut but no sound came out. I just stared ahead of me, breathing deeply. The fact that we were fighting fire monsters made seeing both sides get killed any easier to witness.

Eric walked over and gave his son water to give me. Matejs brought the canteen to my lips and I drank. When I was done, he wiped the moisture from the corner of my lips without thinking.

We quickly looked at Eric and Dr. Huginns but they were up a half a mile away scouting our next move. A beat later, his hand came up to cup my face. The haze of adrenaline clouded my thoughts and all I could think about was how warm he was. How strong he was. How safe.

I felt his lips meet mine in an urgent kiss. Grabbing at each other, it was impossible to get closer as we tried to find security and release. It wasn’t until we pulled apart to catch our breath that it dawned on me what just happened.

Oh my god. Ew!

I hated him. Right? He was unimpressed with me. Right? I need to focus! Thankfully, Eric came bounding back towards us.

“We should be clear until the top of the peak. The rest of the team is drawing the firewalkers away for us.” Eric came to a stop and noticed the sudden awkwardness. His eyes narrowed at his son. “What’s…”

“Sir! The fire is spreading more quickly than expected?” Dr. Huginns called to the leader before he could accuse anyone of anything.

“Oh no. We need to go. Now! Liv?” Eric held out his hand to me, still looking at me pointedly. I slid my hand in his and he hoisted me up with Matejs following up behind us.

Eric was right, the rest of the way to the peak of the glacier was clear. This allowed me to clam down a bit and regain my focus. The tips of my fingers became covered with frost the closer we got the summit. It was like coming home.

We reached the peak and looked down over the field between the two peaks. The mountain was smoking and rumbling, no doubt a sign that He was coming soon.

“You remember what you need to do, right?” Matejs grasped my shoulder. “When I give the signal, you call upon the ice and hit the target. This time, it's the mountain peak.” I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

As the other three prepared themselves around me, I closed my eyes and tried to connect as deeply as I could with the cold below my feet. Eric had been right, now that I was looking I could see just how vast the reserve of ice was. I began to dig deeper, harder.

-11:15pm. February 22nd, 3000 C.E., Norway.-

The ground began to rumble and I heard the boom of the mountain. He must be here. I heard my comrades launch into action around me but I continued to dig deep as I waited for the signal. My hand made its way to the heart shaped locket at my throat, squeezing it. In that moment, I felt connected to my mom, the ice, and myself.

“Now!”

At the signal, my eyes flew open and I pulled the energy of the ice up with me as I made a mad dash towards the edge of the glacier. My feet left the ground at I threw myself over the edge, throwing everything I had at towering wall of fire in front of me. My mind barely registered that the fire was in the shape of an enormous being before the heat hit my face and everything went black.

-1:47am. February 23rd, 3000 C.E., Norway.-

Ow.

I felt something lightly brush against my face and my eyes fluttered open.

Ash was falling above me, all around me. When I tried to sit up, I found that I was covered in ash.

Well, I’m not dead. So that must be a good sign.

Looking around me, I saw no signs of fire or movement. Everything was still, peaceful. I looked up to the sky to see the grey clouds swirling in the air and the light breeze blowing on my face. Then I noticed high walls of some kind of rock encircling me.

A voice called out to me in the grey mist surrounding me.

Mother?

I blinked and saw a figure coming towards me. Matejs. I stood as quickly as I could and scrambled towards him. He scooped me up into his strong arms when I reached him, both of us just glad to feel the embrace of another person we knew. When I pulled away, I saw that his face was caked in ash but there were streaks down his cheeks.

“Where’s…” I looked behind him, then back up to his eyes. Matejs’ luminous green eyes - his father’s eyes - were filled with sorrow and instantly I knew he felt what I was feeling the entire day previous. “I’m sorry.” I pulled him into another hug and this time, he pulled me even closer to him.

After a few minutes of hugging, we awkwardly decided to make our way back to the transport pick up area from earlier to see who else had survived. When we got to the bottom of the mountain a few hours later, there was a small group outside the helicarrier still parked in the same spot. To my relief, Dr. Huginns was waiting by the open cargo doors to usher us in for medical attention.

Everything passed in a blur.

I wasn’t sure how I got into my seat in the helicarrier nor did I know how I ended up back under the covers of my bed back in the bunker.

-9:00am. February 23rd, 3000 C.E., Norway.-

There was only a small amount of light in the room when my eyes finally flustered open.

“Hey, sleepyhead. How are you feeling?” A deep, warm voice spoke to my left.

I sat up and whipped my head to see Matejs sitting in the same chair as yesterday in my small concrete room.

“Like I just froze a mountain.” I tried to joke, rubbing my forehead. Using my magic always drained me and that was the most I’d ever attempted to use.

“Well… you didn’t just freeze the mountain. You froze everything around and the lava ducts underneath it.” Matejs looked up from sharpening yet another knife to meet my gaze. “At least you didn’t freeze the centre of the earth. Then we’d all be in trouble.” His serious face had the hint of a smile pulling at his eyes and mouth.

“And how are you?” I asked him, turning to face him fully and reaching over to place a hand on his knee.

“Um…” He looked down at the knife in his hands, collecting himself for a moment. “We did what needed to be done and now it’s my turn to start preparing for the next cycle. The soldiers that we lost need to be replaced and the rest of the super volcanoes need to be checked for any remaining signs of him…”

I didn’t push him. Clearly he wasn’t ready to face what happened and honestly, neither was I. All I knew was that we were now in this together and I would help him with everything I had.

After all that’s why I’m here. That’s what I’m meant for…