Frozen Past

Chapter 2 - Part 15

#FrozenPastff

Current song playing: https://youtu.be/HqGybo3Is6Y

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Narrator's P.O.V.

Iduna was nearly by the birth cave. She knew she was born here because her mother told her and brought her often here.
These spirits might listen to her.
But when she was there, she never felt such emptiness ever in her life.
She came a lot of times to this place, after her mother was gone. Just like her mother, when she was a child, Iduna also came here to talk with the spirits and she was sure that they're listening to her.
But now, it was as if they were dead. She felt no protection around it. It was so dark and creepy.

"Hello?" Iduna asked carefully.
She put her hand onto the black stone and skimmed it. She was afraid of going inside because the aura already scared her. The material of the stone appeared even darker as before, although it has always been black. Black – like dried lava from a volcano.
But then she thought about her grandma and all the other people that she wants to save and so she stepped in. no lights. Usually some glow-worms are flying around here and lighten up your way, but this time it was just nothing. Iduna has only been once here – except for when she was born, but she can't remember that of course.
She didn't know how far the corridor was so she was very careful. She did remember that it had a hole at the top above the water, but tonight no moon was shining and it was also very cloudy.

Iduna gasped.
She found the water hole, but without the water.
"The water..." she said but her voice cracked. "It never dried before..."
Iduna covered her mouth with her hand, to not scream. Her breath was going harder and her heart began to race fast.
What should she do now? If the heart of the island dried out, was there any hope now?
This couldn't be happening. Iduna wouldn't want to believe it. Was it a dream? She hoped.
Where were the trolls by the way? Shouldn't they protect the island? Or had they turned their backs against them too?
Iduna had so many questions but she was also angry. Angry at everything that happened, starting with the fact that her parents left without her. She never knew that she was angry about it; she always thought she'd understand. Well, she did, but she also thought that the trip would maybe take one or two years but not five.
She led out a loud cry of anger, disappointment and hopeless. Then she fell down on her knees, lying on the edge of the water hole. She put her hand into the hole and could reach the ground, which was still a bit wet.
So it dried only some time ago. Maybe yesterday or even today. But, what was trigger?
Iduna tried to think about it and find a solution but she was too tired so she just lay there and cried.

While she was lying there and her hands got wetter, she began to hear a voice. But she ignored it because she thought it were her own thoughts.
When she almost fell asleep, electricity went from her hand through her whole body and when it reached her heart, she was pushed away and thrown onto the wall behind her. There was no time to act because that happened during less than five seconds.
Iduna crashed with her head first against the wall so she passed out right away.

A few time later

Agnarr decided to look for Iduna as the ship was ready to sail but he just wanted to make sure she's okay. The fire almost stopped but that also meant that the wood was burnt down and there was nothing more left than bad air and darkness.

Finally he found her on the bridge. He called her but when she wasn't answering, he quickly ran to her. He crouched down and noticed that she was unconscious. It must've been because of the smoke, he thought.
He carefully took her on his hands and was carrying her to the ship. On his way back he didn't meet anyone. Either they all found shelter or... he didn't even want to think about it. But when he looked at Iduna, that peacefully sleeping girl, his heart warmed a bit up and he wasn't so afraid anymore.

On the ship, he put her down and gave her water. His parents were downstairs in their bedroom so they didn't notice he went back for her and taking her with. But that didn't matter now. The most important thing for him was that he knew that Iduna was fine.
When the ship was out of reach of the smoke and everyone had clear air to breath, Iduna woke up.
"Grandma!" was the first thing she shouted, just like at the time when she was running away with Agnarr but then heard her grandma coughing behind the fire.
She ran to the edge of the ship, realizing that she wasn't at the island anymore and that they were all moving away from her home more and more. The island was getting smaller and smaller. She couldn't stop her tears.
"Why did you bring me on this ship?" Iduna asked when Agnarr came beside her.
"When I found you, you were lying on the cold ground and nearly couldn't breathe anymore. Should I have left you there?" Agnarr asked ironically.
"Lying on the ground?" Iduna asked questionably. "No. I was just about to help grandma. She gave me this scarf and then... then..." Iduna lost her words and every time she tried to think about it, something blocked her mind and her voice cracked.
"You don't remember? We were both running away then but you suddenly got an idea how to save the island and ran into the other direction. I wasn't brave enough to help you because I wanted to survive. We parted. Some time later I found you on that bridge." Agnarr explained.
"Are you sure? Did I tell you what my idea was? Whatever it was, it should have worked. I can feel it."
"No, you haven't. But maybe it did help. In fact, the fire stopped when I went looking for you." He thought.
"I hope it did. I wish I could remember." She said and sighed.

Agnarr and Iduna stayed a little longer at the border and looked around the sea. There was only water, nothing more and nothing less.
But the water wasn't calm at all. There were huge waves and Iduna pictured how the ocean was a monster, which could've eaten the whole boat in one piece.

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