Abject in the Dust

Chapter 19 - Infallible

The winds howled as the small party of three made their slow progress through the snowy forested mountains. The foliage which should have provided welcome relief from the ravages of the winter winds had long since retreated because of the nematodes. The most ancient of the trees now stood in some form of suspended animation, as if frozen in time by the winter winds, confident that they would outlast the parasite and bud again. But the nematodes were ever present and snow which should have formed a thick canopy held on branches bowing heavily under the weight of the blanket of white, found no safe perch between the sky and the earth below and instead carpeted the ground in piles which captured every footfall up to the knee.

"This is ridiculous." Lykke muttered angrily as small clouds of smoke formed in the night air; giving away her comments even if the words were whispered. "And why are we having to travel at night? She still hasn't explained." Lykke shot an angry look at Sam's form; only a few paces ahead, but near invisible without the aid of the night vision goggles – a luxury which was denied to Lykke who stumbled awkwardly in the darkness. Not that Sam or Rize fared much better even with the benefit of being able to see in the dark.

"I don't know." Rize replied through the scrubber. Even though the altitude was not that great, he struggled to cope without the breathing aid; the air seemingly held less oxygen the further away from water and the benefit of plant life which the nematodes could not touch. "But she will have her reasons."

"Reasons! What possible reasons could there be? She has been even more cagey than normal. I thought there was finally some hope after the ... well, the incident ..."

"You mean when you almost blew her head off?" Rize interrupted with a small chuckle.

"It was an accident." Lykke responded angrily. "You know it was. And it was as much her fault as it was mine."

The lines around Rize's eyes gave away the fact that he continued to grin behind the cover of his mask.

"Anyway, she seemed to have got over it as the days passed. She was even smiling until we reached that small settlement a couple of days ago."

"You know that Sam is not at ease in the presence of others. She is always wary around new settlements."

"Yes, but this is different. She wasn't just wary going in. It's the way she's been since we left."

Rize nodded thoughtfully in reply.

"She just brushed away our questions about what she found out talking to the people in the settlement."

"That is hardly anything new." Rize replied. "Sam has a knack for ignoring the things she does not want to confront."

"Yes, but the way she acts since we left. She is more serious than ever and this ..." Lykke stumbled and fell into the deep snow despite Rize's attempt to halt her fall with an outstretched hand. "Why are we walking in these sorts of conditions and at night. We aren't following any sort of trail and even I could follow the path we're leaving behind. It makes no sense!" Lykke hit the ground angrily and her fist became enveloped in the deep snow.

"She will have her reasons." Rize replied as he crouched down to get a better purchase in the unstable conditions and pulled his friend back up to a standing position. "She carries a heavy burden. Do not judge her too harshly."

"Have you two quiet finished!" Sam hissed angrily. "I said no noise."

"Will you please just tell us why we are out here in the middle of the night." Lykke hissed back just as angrily.

Sam removed the night vision goggles and for a moment Lykke wished that she hadn't – or perhaps wished that she had not asked the question – as she fell under Sam's glare.