The cold set in on the meadow of snow as the sun was beginning to lose it's shine through the thick, stormy snow clouds. The Trudgers stood together in a cluster behind their captive, and the one currently in charge of them was beside, slightly in front of him.
"Only fifteen minutes remaining, Steve. You better pray that girl of yours is a fast runner; for her sake as well as yours." Raethe said from beside him as she scanned the horizon impatiently. Steve watched with worried eyes, scared for his own life, but simultaneously hoping she had run as far away as possible. He knew the Trudgers alone were never true to their word, so he just hoped that Raethe herself was trusting enough to keep her promises.
As the time had ticked on, the cold finally reached the young man through his thick coat, and his teeth chattered wildly with no control over his own shivering. It didn't help that he was stuck on snow drenched knees which only brought the cold further into his system. Not to mention he had nearly frozen earlier-. Memories of waking up rescued returned, and a small tear crystalized while rolling down his cheek. A sudden fear that he would never see Lyla again, either one way or another, chilled his heart even more than the creeping snow.
"Wait. I think I see movement." One of the Trudgers pointed out, beyond the nearest snowdrifts. Steve held his breath as he looked too. His eyes tho wider when he saw the recognizable figure quickly hobbling over the small amounts of snow forming. It was Lyal! She ran as quickly as she could through the beating snow and roughening terrain. She finally arrived, panting heavily and utterly tired, mixed expressions on her face. She then looked Steve directly in the eyes when she came to a stop, hands on her knees to take a breath. To him alone, she mouthed, 'I remember now.' A little smile rising on her face. Steve's own lit up, but then sunk once again when the current head of his captors spoke.
"Ah. And with only seven minutes to spare. I was beginning to wonder if you had tripped and died on your way." Raethe scoffed. Lyla frowned once making eye contact with her.
"I have the amulet. It's right here." Lyla spoke grudgingly, revealing the bright blue object in her palm. She stood only about ten or so away from the rest, keeping her distance. Raethe noticed, and the atmosphere around the two changed a little.
"Good. Now just give it to me, and I'll let your friend here go." She spoke like a sick serpent, sticking her armored hand out to retrieve the item, a crooked smile on her face.
"You already have the upper hand, so it only makes sense for you to hand Stece over FIRST." Lyla insisted, sure-footed in her demand.
"...-Fair enough. We no longer need him anyways. DO WE, gentlemen?" Raethe turned to the Trudgers behind her, who looked a little bummed that they wouldn't be getting the revenge they wanted. Reluctantly, one of the Trudgers lifted Steve by the back of his shirt and thrust him forward into the powdery snow. Lyla quickly rushed to him to make sure he was okay.
"I'm fine." Steve mumbled as he was helped by Lyla to stand to his feet. Once up, he brushed himself and shook off the helpless feeling within moments, instead scowling at the one who had tossed him.
"Now." Raethe brought her hand once again. "The amulet-thing." Lyla hesitated a short moment, making Raethe frown, but then she looked over to Steve, who's face didn't show any protest, so she carefully walked over the thickening snow, and carefully handed the amulet over to the young woman. Raethe brought the trinkets into her full view, smiling, pleased with the transaction. "Thanks. It really does mean a lot to me and my family." She smiled, that stench of evil slowly fading.
To both Lyla and Steve's actual surprise, the tension faded almost instantly as the pleased young woman walked past both, signaling for the Trudgers to follow. The armor coated warriors glared at the two through their helmets, but followed nonetheless. Once far enough away, Lyla and Steve both sighed so abruptly it seemed as if they had been holding their breaths.
"Ohh.. That was honestly.. quite terrifying." Steve panted in relief. Lyla had to put both her hands on her head, and breathed in the cold wind just as deeply.
"That was insane." She agreed. The two chuckled a little, finally catching one another's eye contact; and stayed, staring into one another's eyes for quite some time. Not feeling awkward at all, the two smiled simultaneously, and Lyla jumped to Steve for a big hug. They both smiled even bigger once in the other's arms, still recovering from both the mental and physical strain of the past events.
They were alive.
They were okay.
They were so close..
They were together.
"...Let's get going. I am tired of all this snow." Steve spoke after probably a solid minute long hug.
"Heh, maybe it's a good thing we are going to the Nether?" Lyla said, beginning to walk in the direction they had been heading all those hours ago. Though Steve smiled, there was a teeny, tiny, hint of something that confused Lyla when she glanced at his face after saying that. Was it sorrow?. Was it worry?. Was it regret? She couldn't tell. The two walked against the wind for another while, which eventually began slowing down until the howling of the valley had completely vaded, and all that was left were a few harmless flurries swirling in the light breeze.
"Soo, Lyla, do you really remember.. when we first met?" Steve asked after a while of silence, kicking at some snow.
"Yeah." Lyla grinned, slapping him on the back. "Best friends forever, right?!"
"Yeah.. yeah.. of course..." A weak smile in return.
"Yeah.. You know.. the strangest thing happened on the way to the amulet and back! I am not sure whether it was just me, or some sort of magic.. but..." Lyla then proceeded in telling the entire story front to back to her friend. Now, feeling a lot more open to talking, but also brushing past anything too personal to her. Steve listened like any old friend, occasional interjection with questions, and just overall having a hard time believing what she was saying was at all true. "And then it all just ended when I ran away, ignoring their calling. Aaaand, that's it." Lyla finally finished.
"Wow, that is on a whole new level of strange!" Steve said, not having any idea what else to say to that.
"I know, right?!" Lyla giggled. Then, a painful silence slipped between the two. There was something off. Both of them knew it, but neither could pinpoint the problem.
"..Hey, Lyla, I think-" Steve began.
"HALT" A muffled voice verberated towards the two travelers from behind. Steve and Lyla quickly spun around, eyes widening when they saw who had called for them. The Trudgers were back. Not all of them, only three, including the really big one. The three ran with ease along the snow under their boots, pulling out the weapon of their liking as they ran. "Don't think we would be dumb enough to miss a chance like this to finally get revenge on you!" The same one as before shouted, firing a projectile of some kind flew from a mechanism Lyla had never seen before. It acted like a bow, but looked more like a small, dark grey leaver or something. But, that didn't matter. What mattered was the glowing blue projectile that shot towards Steve. Though it looked nothing like an arrow, Lyla guessed it behaved like one, and she tackled her friend to the ground just before it could reach him. Steve and her quickly got up and ready to dodge more. At least it looked like only the leader of the three had one of those shooty-things. "Honestly, Steve. Rather idiotic of you to think we would actually let you go." The Trudger continued, quickly stepping forwards. "Afterall.. rule number five states:..." He let it hang for Steve to answer on his own.
"Hhh, I know. I know... No witnesses." The young man rolled his eyes.
"Exactly! And there is absolutely NO way you can stop us no-" He was saying, until a snowball hit him square in the helmet. Quickly, everyone turned, looking to Steve and Lyla's far right. To their right, was a gathering of ladies, all wearing thick coats and equipped with heavy-duty hiking gear. None of the faces looked welcoming towards the three Trudgers. "Wh- what are so many people doing out here all of a sudden?!" The Trudger snapped, their voice revealing immediate concern. One of the others tapped their the one ahead on the shoulder, and the other was backing up, looking pretty antsy.
"We can't let more know about our existence.." The one who taped the other's shoulder whispered. "Th- they are far away enough to not see us in much detail. I suggest we leave now!" They spoke with rising anxiety.
"No.. we need our revenge!" The first growled.
"Forget it! I have a wife and kids back at home, and I don't want them finding out how I make a living!" The third backed off, pulling on the first for him to just oblige already. The first said nothing, he just quickly jerked his head up a little, likely finding reason for his own identity to stay hidden, and ran off with the other two. Before Steve and Lyla could recover from that jump scare, the ladies who had saved them ran up to the two, full of questions.
"Who were those jerks?!" The one who had thrown the snowball piped up. Looking over the gathering of women, Lyla estimated there were maybe twenty- or even thirty of them.
"Just some local trouble-makers. Thanks for helping us out." Steve spoke up, shaking the woman's hand thankfully. The expressions on the ladies began changing as they looked at Lyla and Steve. "So, what are you all doing up here in the mountains?" Steve asked.
"Oh, w- we are part of the Women's Fitness Association." Unnecessary information, but okay. "We all decided to go hiking in the mountains a couple days ago, since it would be snowing soon, and we didn't want to have to wait until after the snow had melted next year. Heh, looks like the weather jinxed us, and we were all caught off guard. We were snowed-in. Trapped in a cave nearly the entire time. We were SO glad, however, when an avalanche saved our skins, shaking off enough snow for us to dig out!" The lady kindly explained.
"Wait.. so YOU were the ladies we heard about from the store-man in the nearby village?!" Lyla remembered just before the explainer could continue talking.
"Y- yhES! Exactly!.. D- do you mind pointing us back in the direction of that village?" The lady sprung up. All eyes in the group filled with excitement.
"Um. Sure.. It's just down that way." Steve answered for his friend. "Just keep going straight along a thin trail. Shouldn't miss it. The ashy ground will let you know you are close." He said with complete normality in the way he spoke. All the women waved a thanks, then began walking as one back the direction they had been pointed in.
"...-Wait, did that man just say 'ashy ground?"
"Wasn't that Steve?" Several shrugs came from the large group, but, they were on their way. As if no real event had even occurred, Steve tapped Lyla's head to get her to look at him, where she saw he was already walking away, smirking over his shoulder at her. Lyla smiled back, and chased after him. Once she was beside and passing him, she shouted in a playful mood,
"Race ya!!" And, just like that, the two ran off to where the snow-covered pass finally ended, where they would finally come to finish the mission they had started.