The Cave

The rains had come early this year. And they were abnormally heavy. They pushed Ki Ku further south, but it was getting considerably colder for a midsummer day. Frozen pellets began hitting him and he became somewhat frantic. He should have made it to his village already. He had passed the huge triple trunk tree that marked the last field before the treeline closed around the first building of his village. That building never appeared and Ki Ku was now running through the second field of barren soil.

As he dodged another set of stationary trees, Ki Ku found himself staring into the face of a boiling sky, the sparse few trees whipping in the wind, the wind itself was mother nature's angry yell and then a serenely peaceful pond. The pond was unresponsive to the power of the wind and calmly mirrored the roaring sky in near perfection. A few meters from the peaceful shore stood a natural cave formed out of giant rocks.

A few steps into the clearing and the sky breathed in, held for the longest second of Ki Ku's 26 summers and then released a high pitch roar, which coincided with larger frozen droplets falling from the sky. The first few were not that bad, but when the wind pulled the warmth from his body, the continued onslaught of mini icicles started to take its toll. Ki Ku ran towards the cave. His new temporary shelter was deeper than it appeared and provided a natural warmth unlike anything he had experienced.

There was no need for a fire, regardless of the near freezing hell scape outside. Ki ku settled in as far back as he could and watched the storm rage. His knees were in front of his face, his arms wrapped around them and he eventually fell asleep with his head leaning on them. His sleep was marred by terrible dreams.

Ki Ku was running through trees. The limbs seemed to instinctively reach for him. His body soon became numb from all of the whipping. Blood started trickling from his opening wounds. He was terrified something was going to get him, but he didn't know what it was that was chasing him. His fear subsided when he hit a familiar clearing. There was a frozen pond and a small structure a few meters behind it.

The sleeping man watched as a weirdly covered woman walked out onto the frozen water. He watched as an evenly weird covered man approached the building. The scene seemed to skip as Ki Ku stood and watched. He stared as the scene unfolded in slow motion. The girl started yelling, but Ki Ku could not hear a word. The young woman fell to her knees and began pounding on the ice. The young man soon joined her.

The images in front of Ki Ku skipped again. Now standing behind the futuristic couple was a young girl. An evil giggle echoed over the cold, harsh, winds and the frozen pond opened under the two people. They plunged into the water and it immediately froze over. The young girl faded, but the giggle still pierced Ki Ku's ears.

Ki Ku awoke with a start. Despite the comfortable temperature in his space, he was covered in sweat. His heart was beating in his ears. And there were tears running down his cheeks. He looked around his small shelter. He feared he would see that evil little girl.

When he finished his small search, and found nothing new, he stood and walked to the opening. The frozen precipitation was a steady onslaught. Ki Ku couldn't see more than a few feet out into the storm. He then turned around and walked to the back of the cave. He laid down in the corner and tried to fall back asleep. Sleep, however, eluded him. While laying there, he day dreamed about his vivid nightmare.

The odd couple flashed in his mind. Their strange clothing confused him. He had never seen clothing like that before. They were bright and covered most of their bodies. Then they plunged into a frozen pond. Ki Ku shot up into a sitting position. He then slowly turned his head towards the opening to the cave. There was barely any light before, but it somehow had gotten even darker. Just as Ki Ku turned towards the slit, lightning flashed, and there stood the little girl. The lightning flashed again and she was gone.

This truly scared Ki Ku and forced him to run past where the little girl just stood. The snow was thicker now, and it pelted his face and body as he ran. He kept looking back towards the cave. He was so terrified of the little girl he didn't notice that he was now running on the frozen water. What caught his attention were the cracks that yelled over the screaming wind.

Ki Ku stopped. His bare feet were frozen and a chill ran down his spine. He looked around for the little girl, but still couldn't see very far in the heavy snow. His heart jumped into his throat when a giggle started ringing in his ears. As the giggle grew so did the snapping of the ice below him. Without moving a muscle the ice broke and he plunged into the frozen water.