There were more than two dozen messengers crammed into Sun's base of operations by the time the guard returned with news.

Being the group of fighters closest to the Wall made everyone assume that Sun would know what had happened. 

The guard gulped in deep breaths of air before he finally was able to explain, "They lost power. It's the same as what happened in the south." Sun nodded to himself. It seemed logical that the loss of power was connected to the Risen. "What is happening at the Wall? How did you even find out," Sun asked. The guard shook his head, "I couldn't find anyone by the elevator shaft. It seems the Wall went into lockdown. As I was leaving the tunnel I heard shouting. I walked up to the outside of the wall and gathered from the gunners that they were trapped inside."

Sun glanced at the messengers who had been quietly listening. They all looked terrified. "You have what you need, now go report to your respective commanders. I will be sending a small force to the Wall on a rescue mission. "Sir," one of the messengers raised a hand, "Will that jeopardize our battle plan?" "No," Sun didn't have time for silly questions. "Now deliver your messages."

The room grew immediately quieter as twenty-seven men shuffled out of the building. "Vas," Sun began as he turned to Vas and Miiche, "You two go see if you can get in through the shaft and open some doors. See if you can bring reinforcements back with you." Vas thought it was doubtful they could bring anyone back down the elevator shaft, even if they did manage to get up it. Most people would probably prefer to stay in or behind the walls. "Would it be better to try and escape behind the Wall and reinforce there," Vas said instead. Sun shook his head. "If those bastards had let us do that a week ago, sure. Now? Even if the elevators were working we wouldn't have enough time to get our defensive line through in time. Not to mention all the lines we'd be leaving to die. Go, do your best to find some reinforcements." Vas nodded, put on snowshoes, and walked out the door.

It was dark, very dark. The ash was covering the sky in a way that made the darkness seem endless. Suffocating. Vas had good eyesight, but not even enough to see the Wall. Luckily, he knew the way based on the buildings. He turned to his right and started marching. Miiche walked at his side, "I had no idea we'd get to go on a midnight stroll. How romantic of you." Vas glanced at her. He couldn't see any expression in particular. 

Maybe if it was a few degrees warmer. A little less dark. If there weren't Risen killing good people at this very moment. If their one hope of refuge hadn't just shut down. If ash wasn't raining from the sky. Maybe it could have been romantic. 

They walked silently, side by side. "You're such a pessimist, Vas." Vas coughed. No chance he could refute that. "You want to blame the Risen for everything. Blame the situation for everything. Don't you get it yet? You said it yourself: we were always going to die. The Risen didn't change that. Nothing changed that. You've known since you were a child that you would die. You just didn't know how or when." She stretched and spun around. She made it look surprisingly easy. "You're saying I am blowing things out of proportion?" Vas kept walking. Miiche flicked his arm, "You're letting them win. You have to enjoy this moment, and the next and every single one after it with all you've got. This might be the end, Vas."

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Miiche hugged his arm and walked next to him for a time. "How do you know where we're going? I feel like we could walk in circles out here forever." "It's noisy behind us," Vas explained, "and we also just passed a marker. There are markers for navigation during blizzards." "Why don't I know that?" Vas stared at Miiche. He could barely even see her. "You probably should know that, Miiche," Vas said gravely. "Oh shut up."

Eventually they found the entrance to the tunnel. It was hard to tell if they'd gone straight there or gone in a roundabout way, as it was also hard to tell how much time had passed. 

When they reached the elevator, Vas and Miiche used nearby tools to pry the doors open. The shaft was completely dark, and Vas could not see how far up or down it went. He felt around for handholds and found nothing. "We need light. We can wait until morning," Vas said. "Will the sun even reach into the shaft?" Vas ignored the question. It simply had to. "Even if there are no footholds along the sides, there should be a cable running vertically through the middle of the shaft. We'll use that to climb up to the cart, then we'll climb onto it somehow. For now, let's rest--" Before Vas finished speaking, he heard the clank of Miiche's blade as she unclasped the sheath and jumped into the deep blackness. Vas gaped as she completely disappeared from view. 

There was a strange sound, which Vas hoped came from the cable he had said might be there. "Miiche? Miiche!"

Vas waited for a few moments. Nothing.

Actually, there had been nothing. He'd have heard if she'd hit something other than the cable. A suspicion grew in Vas's mind. "I know you're there. Now move so I can jump to the cable." 

Vas heard Miiche sniff. "Not fair, you needed to be more worried. You're not as cute when you decide to be smart," she said. Vas heard her scuffle up the cable for a few moments.

"Okay, go for it. The cable's harder than you would think, so be careful."

Vas set his sword in its sheath gently on the ground. He jumped into the darkness and slammed headfirst into the cable. He cursed and barely got a hold. "Told you," Miiche teased.

They shuffled up the line for a few minutes until Vas reached a hand up and hit something much squishier than the cable.

"That sort of thing will have to wait, I'm afraid," said Miiche from just above. "I'm feeling along the bottom of the elevator car or cart or whatever they're called. Ahh."

Vas felt Miiche move out of his grasp and move to a side of the shaft. "Got it," Vas climbed after her, and together they climbed around and over the cart. When they got on top of it, they worked together to find a lever that opened the top. Opening the elevator doors was more difficult this time, since Vas hadn't had the foresight to bring one of the tools from below with him. 

Eventually they pried the doors open with a groan. Vas took a step forward and pulled back. It was sticky. A sort of sticky he had encountered many times before. He could smell it now, the smell of blood. He felt Miiche tense up next to him. 

This was bad. Very bad. There would not be survivors for much longer. Vas heard a cranking sound and then something that sounded like a huge door sliding open. Then screams.

Vas waited until the screaming stopped to grab Miiche. "We need to go," he whispered. "No," Miiche said, "The Wall went into lockdown. The guard spoke to people who were trapped. It sounds like the Risen in here are unlocking room by room and killing the occupants. We can save them." 

With that, Vas felt Miiche step forward. Vas knew he couldn't change her mind. This was a bad idea. He couldn't even see. He took a deep breath.

"Can we at least climb down and get our weapons?"

Miiche handed Vas a small knife. "I have one of these, too. Stay close to me, we don't want to kill each other on accident."