As far as the soldiers knew, I'd died along with the soldiers, right? Did that mean I was finally clear? Maybe? But I still shouldn't take things for granted. I mean, I've lost my shield and my only ranged weapon. Going up the cliff to retrieve the bow would be dumb, so I better get going before the reinforcements find me here.
Yet, even if I say I should continue, I still have no idea where to go. I assume downhill is a good idea for now, so I will continue walking downhill for a long time during the freezing conditions of winter. The snowstorm ahead looks menacing, but I choose to continue forward without many options, bracing for the freezing temperatures ahead.
Not much happened during the first day of descent from the mountain range until nighttime approached, and I began to panic about where I would spend the night so I wouldn't die. There were no caves or animals from which I could steal some heat, and trees were also lacking.
"I'm just going to have to keep moving," I said aloud while walking forward the entire night during the harsh blizzard weather that slowly began to freeze parts of my face and hands. I was probably developing frostbite, but I couldn't take off any of my clothes to verify, at least not now, since that would only worsen things.
The night comes and goes, and I see the soldier's torches in the distance, searching for something, although I can't make out more details as the blizzard conditions block my enhanced vision with cold, cold air and snow. My feet swell slowly around this time, but I keep walking forward.
"I'm going to be the master of the world one day. This is just the road I have to endure before greatness; I wouldn't be the first one to go through something harsh like this before achieving glory, so time to quit bitching about it and move forward!"
Hours or days later, I try to convince myself with a little speech as the strenght from my body starts fading after the sun rises again, making it around a day of non-stop walking with still no town in sight and with some of my limbs almost frozen solid thanks to the extreme cold.
The second day also went as expected without much drama, just gentle falling snow followed by icy winds, without a town in sight. I did begin to lose hope. {Fox Laughing} {More disturbing wild noises} I was starting to look like fresh food to these bastards, wasn't I? Damn things!
I didn't pay much attention to the signs of life until night arose again. This time, however, a ray of hope was visible during the shadow of the dark. A small light from afar meant it could be a town or maybe just one house. Still, it was good news. I didn't have many days left, so that was great.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Even better was that the imperial lights behind me stopped approaching me and seemed to have lost track of me because I saw them going in the opposite direction I was currently heading. I promise I will never forget you, Buster, Thomas. Thank you for your selfless acts of kindness toward a complete stranger.
The more time I spent in the freezing cold temperatures of the hills, the more I began to hallucinate. This time, I could swear I saw Buster walking before me occasionally, but he disappeared every time, leaving nothing more than a massive hole in my heart whenever I snapped out of it.
Sometimes, I also saw Thomas eating some of that rancid fish he was so fond of before I tried to touch him, making him vanish into thin air, only making me more desperate to reach for help or heat. "I will be right behind you!" I remembered Buster's last words as I began to feel emotional by the third day of decent, or was it the fourth? I lost count.
I hadn't slept this entire time, so keeping track of time was becoming an ever more impossible task, not to mention that the pain in my left hand had suddenly vanished, which couldn't mean anything good. At least when the pain was there, I had hoped it still worked well, but without it, I couldn't tell.
As time passed, the small town of around forty homes became an ever more achievable goal I could intercept in a day or two more. Still, with so much hunger and fading strenght, I almost gave up on the spot until I began to talk myself into it, slowly walking forward until I heard a weird noise after one of my steps below the snow, followed by something quickly snapping at my right foot.
"AHHHHHHHHHHGGGG!! AHHHHHHHH!!" My scream of pain was louder than I had ever screamed, and the pain was even worse than when I let the soldier cut my legs off. I guess because I was high on adrenaline and this trap took me by surprise, but whatever the case, I was now more lucid than before as I saw the trap claw up my knee.
No tears came out of my eyes even though I wanted to cry, which could only mean I was also dehydrated or my tear glans were frozen. Either thing wouldn't be good, not with a giant bear trap wrapped around my leg, and now I've also alerted everyone in the town of my presence and possibly even some animal of prey, fuck!
I tried to remove the bear trap from my leg for the next two hours without luck, and while dragging a huge metal claw around wouldn't be pleasant, I soon bit the bullet and started moving forward, slowly dragging my body across the snow with a big bear trap on my leg.
The springs from the trap were too powerful for my decaying body, so I had no other option; it was either to keep moving and pray to reach safety or die trying to remove the trap, so I had to keep going even if each step felt like it could be my last. The pain from it all almost sent me into shock every step of the way until I finally saw the town within reach just some hours later.
I don't remember by what day I finally made it into the small wooden town I saw days before. All I knew was I had made it and simply collapsed at its entrance, entirely out of strength and stamina. I couldn't keep going much further, so I believed somebody would help.
The decision to let myself collapse on the floor in the middle of a small town was risky, but I had no strenght left at all, so I had to place my bet.
I was dead if nobody helped me, but I was also dead if I kept going, and to my good fortune, for once, someone came to my aid as I heard people mumbling around me.