Grounded ~Book Four of Winged~

Cold

I come to a half-frozen river and pause at it, looking up and down stream for a thinner or shallower place to cross at. I look down at my boots and at the water again. The water is deeper than how high my boots go up. I look around for something I could use to cross. Maybe I could dig up some logs or something. I start to wonder around in the snow, using my feet to search for a fallen tree or branches. I hear a splash behind me and it startles me, causing me to turn. The guy is standing in the middle of river. He doesn't look at me and stares downstream.

"Follow the river, don't cross." His mouth doesn't move, but his voice speaks in my head. Suddenly he is gone again. I walk back to the river and start to follow it down stream. I follow it for what seems like forever before I come across a small stone bridge crossing over the river. He told me not to cross so I walk past it. I continue walking until I come to a giant lake. In the middle of the lake, laying on an eight-foot-long rectangular block of ice that is level with the water of the strangely unfrozen lake is the familiar guy. He is laying on his back with his hands clasped on his stomach, like how I found Eli. I stare across the water at him. How am I going to get all the way over there?

I ask my question out loud, hoping for an answer, "How am I going to get to you?" I question loudly, looking around at the edge of the lake. A figure appears right next to me and I don't even look, knowing it's the guy in the middle of the lake.

"I can't help... I cannot approach any closer than this. You have to figure it out yourself." I turn and glimpse him before he is gone. He has long black hair that goes past his shoulders, dark eyes, olive skin, and is wearing dark robed clothing. I look back at him on the ice alter. He looks like he has black tight-fitting pants, no shirt, and long hair like I just saw. Okay... How can I get to him? A boat, but where would I find that? I start to walk along the edge of the lake, searching for a way to get to him. After I make two full circles around the lake, I can't think of a way to get to the middle. I'll have to swim. The water is going to be so cold. This guy will know the way out through the caves and I doubt he would just let me walk away now. I clench my fists once before pulling the gloves off roughly and then starting to unzip my first coat.

"What are you doing?" I can hear the guy behind me. I turn and look at him. He is staring at me from three feet away. I pull the coat off and drop it on the floor. He narrows his eyes at me. "You can't swim it. Too cold for you." His lips do not move and he watches me unzip and take off my other coat. I pull the scarf off and drop it in the pile of clothes too. "You'll freeze to death." The guy tries to step forward, but he can't get any closer for some reason.

"I need to get to you though and there is no other way. You brought me here and you are my only way of getting out of this tundra land." I pull the hat off my head and then pull my shirt off. The cold is bitter against my skin. I pull down my pants and face the water.

"Don't." I ignore him and take a deep breath, trying to prepare myself for this cold swim. I close my eyes and take another deep breath. I dive in. It's way worse than I thought it was going to be. The cold freezes me up. My muscles stiffen. It takes several long seconds for me to surface. I breathe in sharply and it's like inhaling razor blades. I begin to swim toward the ice alter and its extremely difficult. It feels like I'm being pulled into sleep and I fight it as I swim closer. I swim slow. My fingers graze the ice as I swim and I can barely keep myself from going under. I get closer and grip the edge of the ice, pulling me up against it. I struggle to pull myself up even an inch. My muscles are not cooperating and are extremely stiff. I collapse into the water and dip under for a second. I try to pull myself up again. I can't pull myself up at all. With my one hand gripped tightly on the edge of the ice and reach up and grab the guys arm, trying to pull myself up. I feel like I just ran into a wall and any energy is immediately sucked away and I go limp, the hand holding onto the ice slips off and I claw into the guys arm to try to keep myself from sinking. My head goes under the water and I can't stop it as darkness surrounds my vision. A warm hand grabs my arm suddenly and pulls me up sharply. I come out of the water and another hand grabs under my armpit and pulls me out of the water all the way. The guy stares down at me with a smile and I feel the last ounce of energy leave me.

It's warm. I open my heavy eyelids and find I am laying on top of one of the coats I was wearing while I am wearing the other one, although it is unzipped. I hear crackling behind me. I face a stone wall. I slowly sit up and look around. I'm in a cave and there is a fire crackling beside me.

"I apologize. When you touched me, I absorbed the little energy you had so I could awaken from my sleep and then plus some after you were unconscious." I turn and look at the mouth of the cave where the guy stands, back to me and looking out at the blizzard outside. He turns and looks down at me. He comes closer to me, but stops four feet away. He has an immense power seeping off of him.

"Shall we go?" He questions and helps me to my feet.

"Sure, but I have a question." He waves his hand over the fire and it immediately sizzles out.

"Go ahead." He says and we start to walk deeper into the cave.

"How were you able to communicate and control this... world... so much? How did you get me here?" I question and he stares ahead, not blinking.

"I have been here a very long time and I have whittled away at its boundaries. Plus with the war raging up above, it was shaken the foundation of The Pits and Hell itself, creating fissures so I could slip my subconscious through them. You are actually not here though. It's your subconscious I pulled out of your body. Your body is exactly where you left it... At least until we step foot through the portal then your subconscious and body will be forced back together at the Temple of the Lost Souls." He replies calmly and we make it to the crystal blue pool of water.

"You're extremely powerful aren't you...?" I question quietly and look at him. He walks up to the wall and begins doing what Eli did when we were in the Pits.

"It took God and a dozen Archangels to take me down." My breathing catches. I stare at the back of his head. Who did I just rescue?