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August 2001 - June 2017

The School Survival Forums are permanently retired. If you need help with quitting school, unsupportive parents or anything else, there is a list of resources on the Help Page.

If you want to write about your experiences in school, you can write on our blog.

To everyone who joined these forums at some point, and got discouraged by the negativity and left after a while (or even got literally scared off): I'm sorry.

I wasn't good enough at encouraging people to be kinder, and removing people who refuse to be kind. Encouraging people is hard, and removing people creates conflict, and I hate conflict... so that's why I wasn't better at it.

I was a very, very sensitive teen. The atmosphere of this forum as it is now, if it had existed in 1996, would probably have upset me far more than it would have helped.

I can handle quite a lot of negativity and even abuse now, but that isn't the point. I want to help people. I want to help the people who need it the most, and I want to help people like the 1996 version of me.

I'm still figuring out the best way to do that, but as it is now, these forums are doing more harm than good, and I can't keep running them.

Thank you to the few people who have tried to understand my point of view so far. I really, really appreciate you guys. You are beautiful people.

Everyone else: If after everything I've said so far, you still don't understand my motivations, I think it's unlikely that you will. We're just too different. Maybe someday in the future it might make sense, but until then, there's no point in arguing about it. I don't have the time or the energy for arguing anymore. I will focus my time and energy on people who support me, and those who need help.

-SoulRiser

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The Amazon Line
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Rebelnerd Offline
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Post: #31
 

thanks! Cool
BTW, the last chapter should be done this weekend. i've just been really tired after school and didn't feel like writing, so sorry for the wait.

I think Buenaventura Durruti is a pretty cool guy. eh kills fascists and doesnt afraid of ruins.
The quickest way to kill a revolution is to wait for it.
01-14-2007 10:09 AM
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Demonic Pyro Offline
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Post: #32
 

It's no problem
Take your time. Thumbsup
Notworthy


Laugh Jester

:-P
That is all.
01-14-2007 10:11 AM
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Rebelnerd Offline
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Post: #33
 

High Priority Order #P-498
Manaus Air Traffic Control Unit TO FSD @ Department of Military Affairs AND DOJO Sector 12
DATE 11/18/W72 1900h 04m

URGENT EMERGENCY ALERT CODE 35-
11/18/W72 1800h 14m-Med. Ex Patrol #87 (Shrike 5) reports sighting of non-priority Freelander vessel. DOJO high priority order overrules. Med Ex. Patrol continues on route to Manaus.
11/18/W72 1800h 28m-Med. Ex Patrol reports Class 6 offensive fire from Freelander vessel. Priority reconfigured due to self-defense statute of W66. Med. Ex Patrol assumes attack position and evasive maneuvers.
11/18/W72 1800h 45m-Med. Ex Patrol reports structural integrity breach. Manaus ATC Long Distance Radar(LDR) reports decrease in altitude.
11/18/W72 1800h 47m-High-Priority Distress signal received. Med. Ex Patrol no longer on LDR. LDR Diagnostic officers assume 95% possible destruction rate.
11/18/W72 1800h 56m-Med. Ex Patrol confirmed destroyed. No contact with crew, assumed dead.

Crew Roster-Presumed Deceased
T. Endez-Captain, Class 7
V. Ferguson-Pilot
N. Francis-Infantry, Class 2
L. Ricardo-Infantry, Class 2
G. Harrison-Infantry, Class 2 and Technical Officer

<As this was a military vessel re-routed due to a High-Priority Order, Manaus ATC has sent this in hopes that if your radars were unable to pick up the incident, you personnel will be able to complete any necessary duties to respond, as well as specialized protocols due to the confidentiality of this situation. We guarantee that this has in no way compromised the incident's security. We would like to offer our sympathies for the deaths of your officers.>

END TRANSMISSION
High Priority Order
Department of Military Affairs HQ TO DOJO FSD Sector 12
DATE 11/18/W72 1900h 54m

<High-Priority Report intercepted from Manaus ATC @ 1800h 56m. Med. Ex Patrol #87 (Shrike 5) reported downed, crew presumed dead. Code 3 information not recovered. Operation Snow Fox in jeopardy. Command invoke Officer Succession Clause R19, Captain Thomas Endez to be succeeded by next of kin, Lt. R Endez of Sector 11. Appointment overseen by DOMA Command and is non-negotiable. Endez to command Operation Snow Fox personally 11/20/W72.>

END TRANSMISSION


+++++++

The wind blew through the narrow space between the canopy and the armored railing, and stung Jordan in the face. He winced and reached up to lower his hood, but found it full of sharp pieces of wood and metal that poked his scalp, so he left it down and accepted the cold. Staggering to his feet while holding one of the cabin support beams and pulling him self up, he managed to look over the rail.
Usually, there was about seven feet from the railing to the ground but now it had been reduced to three. When the Atalanta had collided with the mountain, it had dislodged a huge amount of snow that had slid down around them, and gathered at the base The entire bottom and front halves of the ship were completely buried. The fallen snow was icy and packed, probably hard enough to walk on, which was what he intended to do. But first he had to get Xiang up on his feet.
Squatting down, he leaned over the captain, and nudged him with a hand. A terrifying moment passed with Jordan holding his breath, then with a sigh of relief he saw the man’s eyes flutter open. Xiang looked around slowly, taking in the tattered canopy and piles of snow, then cringed as he tried to speak.
“What…what happened...?”
Jordan hurriedly looked back over the rail, then turned to Xiang.
“We crashed into a mountain. The ship’s half buried, but we got the plane. They’re dead.”
Xiang was weak and in a massive amount of pain, but he managed an unmistakable smile. Jordan was unable to do the same.
“Look, we’ve gotta get out of here now. There’s still a snowmobile coming, they’ve got guns and they want to kill us. Come on, you’ve gotta get up…”
There was a faint whirring sound in the distance, and he knew the snowmobile was getting closer. He had to do this fast. But Xiang didn’t even try to get to his feet, he just shook his blood-streaked head anxiously.
“No…just leave me here. I’ll be no good to you like this, go fight with the others…”
Jordan felt tears growing in his eyes, and he began trembling.
“No! No, you can’t die, you can’t…”
Xiang gave him an alarmed look.
“What do you mean, die? Just go fight with the others and then come back and get me!”
Jordan nodded furiously and jumped back to his feet. He could hear the sound of the engines growing louder, but he could hear something else, something like voices. He realized it mush be Annie and Devi farther up on the hill. He started towards the rail, then remembered the machinegun. He would probably need it, he thought, and felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. But he bent down anyway, and, straining against the unexpected weight, heaved the weapon into his arms. It was heavier than he expected, and he guessed that even after he finished firing it wouldn’t make much of a difference. As he pulled it away, he heard the coolant hoses snap and saw water flow out of the tube, splashing over the deck where it froze almost instantly, still in the wild shapes of the splash. He would have no need for coolant out there.
Jordan carefully bent down and grabbed a handful of shells from the crate and dropped them into his pocket. He didn’t know if he’d get a chance to reload, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He put one hand on the rail, and pushed up.
“Wait…” Xiang said quietly. Jordan looked back in alarm, and saw the captain raising his head slightly off the deck.
“Kid…just in case I do, you know, die…” He took a deep breath, “take care of ship for me. Okay?”
Jordan he expected something a little more profound from someone in Xiang’s situation, but he nodded resolutely and the captain seemed comforted. Then, with a grunt, he pushed himself over the railing of the ship and out onto the snow.
It was much deeper than he’d expected, at least a foot and a half of dense, fluffy powder than flowed around his body and bogged down his legs as he tried to walk. It was nearly impossible at first, with the snow, the steep incline, and the weight of the machinegun all working against him at once. It he wasn’t so scared, he would have been swearing constantly all the way up. But right now all he could think about was putting one foot in front of the other and gradually making his way up the hill. There was one thing working in his favor though; the powerful wind that had driven them into the cliff was still going strong, pushing at his back as if trying to help him climb. Also, the wind carried with it the low roar of the snowmobile engine getting closer by the second, which added to his motivation considerably.
Finally, after what seemed like an hour of climbing but was really just five minutes, he thrust his free hand foreword once again but instead of hitting more ice, it groped around in space for a moment until he fell foreward. It could only mean one thing: he’d reached the top. He gratefully rested on his stomach for several seconds catching his breath, and then took a look around.
The ice hill they had hit was about fifty feet tall, but it was really more of a plateau. There was a wide flat top to it about thirty feet wide, dotted with ice boulders and mounds that made it look like the surface of the moon. But what drew his attention the most was the massive crevice running down the center. It was at least ten feet wide in some places, going all the way down to the ground. The ice making up the sheer, smooth cliffs inside was shielded from the snow, and he could see that it was a light, pale blue. Still, it was dark and full of shadows and made him feel strangely uneasy. But he didn’t have time to think about it now.
“Jordan! Hey, over here! You all right?”
He turned, and saw Annie making her way across the plateau with Devi beside her. They seemed to be physically okay, except for a few bruises and cuts. They still had the guns, but he noticed that Devi had discarded the rocket launcher. He guessed that she had had no time to reload, rendering it useless. But they seemed all right otherwise, and he was glad they were on his side of the crevice.
They slow got over to where he was, near the edge of the slope. Annie grabbed his hand and helped him up the rest of the way, and once he had gotten to his feet she looked at him with fear.
“Where’s Xiang? What happened to him?”
Jordan wondered how he should say this.
“He’s back in the ship. He got shot but he says he’ll be okay, he told me to help you fight and then go get him.”
Annie was silent for a moment, trying to process this. Jordan felt worried; as bad as he felt for her not knowing her husband’s fate, he was also worried about the snowmobile that would reach them any second and was anxious to get ready. But after a few seconds she seemed to make up her mind, and swung the musket off her shoulder. She grabbed the thin metal handle on the side and cranked it once, giving off a rough scrape accompanied by a series of mechanical clicks from inside the mechanism of the weapon. Once it was loaded, she held it at her side and looked grimly at the two of them.
“You ready for this?”
Jordan could not possibly have been less ready, but he nodded anyway. Annie smiled a little, then turned back to him.
“Jordan, I need to know. What did you get banished for? Anything that might help us, like fighting or possessing weapons?”
Jordan paused, but she was gazing at him expectantly and he knew he had to answer.
“I was bored in class so I drew a picture of the Executive Council with chimp’s bodies.”
There was a silence that seemed to last an eternity, and Jordan felt his face warm despite the bitter cold. Then a faint smile began playing over Annie’s face, and suddenly she dissolved into laughter. To his surprise, even Devi smiled a little. Annie was practically gasping for breath, but she managed to regain control.
“That’s great, that’s just fucking great…Ok kid I can see you’re more than ready for a battle. Let’s get ready, they’ll be here any moment.”

+++++++

The noise was getting much, much louder now. Back on the ship it had been mostly drowned out by the wind, the plane, and the gunshots. But here with nothing but the faint whistle of the wind swirling through the bizarre, twisted labyrinth of ice hills and crevices, it had become a deafening, vibrating buzz. Jordan could feel his teeth chattering and he wondered whether it was because of the cold, the fear, the noise, or a combination of all three. The vehicle was getting much closer, and any minute now it would be in view.
He was lying flat on his stomach, the indentation in the snow forming a sort of low wall around his body that, while pointless against bullets, offered excellent concealment as long as he stayed still. He was right near the edge of the hill, so close that the muzzle of the machinegun was sticking out over the side into space. He was between Annie and Devi, who were each about ten feet away on either side. All their guns were loaded; when the snowmobile was in range they would all open fire at once and that would be the end of it.
The wind was now working against them, blowing thick clouds of snowflakes in their direction. Even though the day was relatively clear, their visibility in that direction was reduced to a mere hundred yards. But Annie still believed it would be enough, and he had no choice but to trust her. God, he was scared though. SO far their battle plans had never worked flawlessly, and he could only imagine what might go wrong now. And even it went perfectly, he still hated battles. And the tension that had come before each of them in the past was even worse than the fight itself. Just waiting while the enemy came closer and closer, it was more than any sane person could bear.
“Shhh, it’s just about here…get ready to fire on my mark…”
He heard Annie’s whisper and took a deep breath. The engine was crisp and clear now, he could make out the individual put put put noises of the six-cylinder engine through the wind. It couldn’t be more than ten yards beyond their zone of visibility now, any second now…
Then it broke through, a great black shape hurtling towards them across the glacier, spewing clouds of frothy snow out the sides like a rabid animal. The droning engine sounded like berserk scream now, and Jordan felt his whole body tense up in voluntarily and he tightened his grip on the handle. He could see the unmistakable shape of a person sitting on the seat looking up at them, staring straight into his eyes. And then, finally, he heard Annie’s scream.
“NOW!”
He squeezed the trigger, and the once again he felt the gun bounce around in his hands. But there was no coolant pump to soften the recoil now, and it was like someone was taking a hammer to his shoulder over and over. The long, heavy weapon rattled up and down, the barrel skidding and jumping on the icy ledge where he had it perched. The blinding yellow strobe light was back at the tip of the barrel, flashing and spitting flame as the line of bright yellow streaks sprayed into the snow. Little golden twinkles appeared in the corner of his eye as the little ejected shell casings were flicked out of the breech and thrown out onto the ice around him. His vision blurred with vibration, and he began to lose feeling in his right arm.
Then he heard something else, two deep, reverberating blasts that shook his eardrums and unsettled the loose snow around him. Two puffs of thick gray smoke blew up from either side of him, along with flashes of sparks and fire that left a glowing afterimage in his eyes. It took him a second to realize that it must have been the other shooting their giant weapons, but he couldn’t think very much with the gun firing in front of him.
The powder around the snowmobile splashed up around it as at least 80% of Jordan’s wild shots hit the ground harmlessly. But even 20% can do a lot, especially when reinforced by two 30mm lead slugs. Gaping holes burst open in the machine’s skin, and blood sprayed out of the driver’s body in several different places as the snowmobile was peppered with bullets. Smoke started blowing out of the engine in long black streams, and the machine began to slow down. It took at least a minute, but about twenty yards away from the hill it had ground to a halt, completely destroyed.
Jordan lay there panting for a full minute. Then dropped his head into the snow in front of him. He was sweating heavily and his face was red; the coldness of the ground felt wonderful. He was shaking and scared, but at the same time felt exhilarated, as if he’d just gotten off some incredible roller coaster ride. He flopped over onto his side, and saw Annie sitting up, covered with a dusting of light powdery snow. She was gasping for breath too, but also look full of adrenaline.
She got to her feet, and stomped through the snow over to Jordan. After helping him up once again, she waited until Devi had made it over. Putting her hand on his shoulder, she beamed.
“Good work everyone, damn good work! Check weapons, then we’ll go and get Xiang and get the hell out of here.”
She cranked the handle of her musket again, and Devi did the same. Jordan nodded in complete agreement, and dropped the machinegun into the snow. It made a large gun-shaped hole, like a cartoon character that just fell off a cliff, and he had to fish around with his hands for a while before he could find it. He squatted down and reloaded, pouring the shells that he had stored in his pocket carefully into the magazine. His hands were still shaking, but he was able to get them all in without dropping a single one. Once he was done, he painfully stood up clutching the heavy weapon, and followed Annie and Devi back in the direction of the hill. They reached the edge and began to carefully make their way down.
Suddenly, there was a burst of harsh popping sounds from behind them, and the snow flew up all around their edge of the slope. Jordan whirled around, then threw himself to the tilted ground of the hill. He saw the others do the same thing, and once they were all low enough that they could not see over the edge onto the plateau, he turned to Annie in shock. She looked pale and confused, but the look on her face told him that she knew exactly what was going on.
“I don’t believe it, they snuck up from behind on foot! The snowmobile was a decoy; they must have just used the body from the other one!”
Jordan felt the panic again, but he stayed low. He couldn’t believe this was happening, right when he’d been so happy, when he’d finally won a victory that was worth celebrating. But he should have known this was coming. The Frontier Squad was not stupid, they had training and experience too. All those lectures and speeches back at home, all the posters extolling the glory and bravery of the FS, and yet he’d never imagined they’d come up with something like this. They were pinned down, and it would take hours to dig the Atalanta out. They only way to get out of here alive was to make sure the men coming up from behind were dead. Another volley of gunfire battered the ice just above their heads, and Annie hunched down to give instructions.
“Okay, here’s what we’ve gotta do. I’ll stay here and distract them, you two go down the hill and sneak through the crevice. Come up behind them and take em’ out with the machinegun. Got it?”
Jordan was horrified.
“What? But, how the hell do you expect me to be able to-“
“Jordan, it’s that or die! Both of you are too inexperienced to stay here and hold them off alone, and it’s going to take more than one gun to fight them in back. I’m not fucking around, now GO!”
He tried to protest, but Devi grabbed the hood of his coat and pulled him down with her. He lost his footing and felt a horrible wave of vertigo, then fell on his ass and began to slide down the hill. He yelled in alarm, but it was drowned out by another blast from Annie’s musket. He flew past the stern of the Atalanta sticking out of the hillside, but barely had enough time to wonder if Xiang was okay before he hit the bottom with a jolt. He staggered to his feet, and saw Devi racing towards the dark entrance of the crevice. He ran hard to keep up, but with the machinegun weighing him down there was no way he could go as fast. By the time he reached the shadowy passage, she had already disappeared inside.
“Damn it…”
He cautiously stepped inside, and it was like the lights had been dimmed everywhere. It had been bright and white outside, but in here it everything was a dull, faint blue and gray. The sides of the cliff were not as smooth as they had appeared from the top, on the contrary, they were so rugged and pockmarked that he would have most likely been able to climb up rather easily. They too were that same pale blue, as if the whole place had been carved out of a jewel. If he had not been so scared he would have thought it was beautiful, but right now all he could concentrate on was any possible signs of people. It was terrifying, walking through this dark narrow space alone. Every few seconds there would be anther exchange of gunfire from up overhead, and he winced as the shots reverberated dully around the interior of the crevice. Everything looked like an enemy, every shadow looked like a man with a gun about to jump out and attack. He felt a feeling of intense anger at Devi for running off and leaving him here, but he still tried desperately to find her.
Then he saw something, a shadow moving farther up ahead. He felt a jolt of adrenaline and raised the gun, but when he stepped forward he saw that it was Devi, pressed up against the wall. She was looking at him blankly, but when he saw her he gritted his teeth.
“What the hell are you doing?!? We’re supposed to be doing this together, and you just run off cause’ you don’t like me, what the fuck-”
But he trailed off, because he had just seen something else. Two other black shadows creeping out of the darkness from up ahead. Devi had her back to them and couldn’t see, but Jordan instantly realized that they were the two men from the decoy snowmobile.
“BEHIND YOU! GET DOWN!” He screamed, and as Devi spun around and raised her musket Jordan pulled the trigger, and the darkness of the crevice vanished in an explosion of light and noise.
The men were no longer shadows, they were now completely lit up and he could see them clearly, from the light blue of their Frontier Squad uniforms to the dark reflective glass of their full-face helmets. Each one of them had an N-87 automatic rifle, and they were pointed at Jordan. But he beat them to it.
They were merely twenty feet away, and at that range the difficulty of controlling the machinegun didn’t matter. The bullets tore into them, flickering down the narrow passage and jerking the lead man’s body back and forth, like he was being punched by many people from all sides. Blood sprayed out, and the blue ice around them was soon covered with a fine spray of red. He fell to the ground, and when his arms flopped out to the sides and hid rifle clattered onto the ice, Jordan knew he was dead.
But the other man was now exposed, his firing zone now clear with the first man’s death. Jordan held the trigger down, preparing himself to see the man blown away like the first. But nothing happened. Without taking his eyes off the man, he pulled the trigger again. And again. Nothing but clicks. He was out of ammunition, and had not brought any more from the ship.
The man, who had frozen in fear when the machinegun had turned towards him, now began to move again. He raised the rifle to his shoulder, and although his face was obscured by the mask, Jordan guessed correctly that he was smiling.
BOOOOM!
He flinched, but the shot had not come from the man. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Devi standing with the musket at her shoulder, a cloud of thick gray smoke rising up from the tip of the barrel. It had been so loud and echoing in the confines of the crevice that tiny shards of ice had been shaken loose from the walls, but the shot had done its work. There was a hole in the man’s chest, as wide around as a dinner plate, so deep that it let light through from behind. His ribs were turned out, gleaming in the meager glow of sunlight coming down from overhead. Blood was everywhere, all over his uniform, the ground at his feet, the ice on the walls, even on the tip of Devi’s gun. He fell over, collapsing backwards onto the ice. Jordan lowered the machinegun. There was no possible way he could be alive.
He stood frozen for a moment, and then he turned to Devi, with no idea what he should say. He knew he should feel just as bad as he did after witnessing the execution back at the zeppelin, but somehow he didn’t. He tried to tell himself that it was okay, that it had been a battle, a completely different scenario, and that it would have been him or me. But he still couldn’t shake the feeling that he was getting used to killing, and he didn’t like it.
“You okay?” he asked her, and she nodded silently. But he could see she was shaken. They stood there a moment more, then he gestured back down the crevice, the way they had come.
“We should go back, get Xiang. Annie will be wondering if we’re okay, and-”
“AAAGGHHHHHHHH!”
He heard a scream from overhead, but barely had time to look up before a growing dark shape filled his field of vision, blocking out the long ribbon of sky running the length of the crevice. Then something hit him on the head, so hard that his knees buckled and it knocked him to the ground. He felt the world blur, and for a second everything was black and he wondered it he’d passed out. He felt a crushing, smothering weight on his chest, but a moment later it had lifted and he got a clear view of what was happening.
It was impossible, but somehow there was a third man in the crevice, with a Frontier Squad uniform and a rifle. Jordan couldn’t possible imagine how this could have happened, but then, in horror, he understood. It was the gunner from the first snowmobile, the one he had shot from the back of the Atalanta. The others must have gone back and picked him up, then returned to fight them from behind. It was his fault, he realized. He had stopped shooting, he had let the man live. And now it might cost them their lives.
The man must have known there was no ammo left in Jordan’s machinegun, because he got up off of Jordan’s chest and had headed for Devi. She swung the musket around, but by the time the long barrel was pointed his direction he was already too close, and had simply slapped it aside. She reached for her belt where her pistol must me, but the man viciously punched her across the face and she fell over backward, some blood from her mouth splattering onto the ice nearby. Before she could even try to get back up, he had gotten down with his knee on her chest, and was raising the rifle to his shoulder. She was panicking now, trying to shove him off, but he was too heavy and strong. In a matter of seconds, he had the muzzle of the rifle pressed into her forehead. He pulled the trigger, and for a moment the scene seemed to freeze.
And instantly, Jordan understood. His rifle was out of ammo too.
There was an audible curse from beneath the helmet, and he threw the temporarily useless gun aside into the bloody snow. He didn’t bother to reload, it would have taken too long. Instead, he reached for a long leather pouch on his belt, and pulled out a long, serrated combat knife. He held it aloft for a moment, and it gleamed silver in the light. Devi’s eyes widened, and she once again tried to push him off. But her movements were out of desperation now, and still had no effect. He grabbed her throat with one hand, and with the other he raised the knife over his head. His arm tensed up in preparation and Devi instinctively raised her arms up in front of her face. But she knew it would do no good.
All of the sudden, there was another BANG, not as loud as the one from the musket but still deafening in the crevice. Devi froze, and so did the man with the knife. He held his position for a few seconds more, kneeling on her chest with the weapon in the air, then the shining blade drew an arc in the air as his arm dropped to his side and the knife stuck harmlessly into the snow. He slumped, and fell over to the left until he was lying on his back. Devi jerked upright, panting, and looked first at the man, blood slowly oozing from behind him, then up at Jordan, standing there with his smoking pistol in his hand.
He rushed over and knelt down beside her, looking into her eyes with a mixture of shock and worry.
“Are you, are you okay?”
She stared at him as though she couldn’t believe it, then slowly nodded.
“You saved my life, why did you do that?”
“Well what was I supposed to do, he was going to kill you.”
She looked like she didn’t quite understand this, but then she nodded again as if she had just fully understood some concept that she had been struggling with for a very long time. Jordan held out a hand to help her up, and to his surprise she took it. They stood there catching their breath for a moment, then Jordan awkwardly looked away.
“We’d better go get Annie and Xiang, c’mon…”
But the had just started back through the crevice when there was a strange sound. It was a like a rough sort of groan, and he realized with a start that it had come from the body of the man. Jordan quickly squatted down beside him and pulled the helmet off of the man’s limp form.
He was older than Jordan had expected, he would have guessed about fifty. He had short gray hair and a small trimmed beard the same color. There was an ugly scar running from his forehead down to his left ear, that look like it had been made long ago. There was a small trickle of blood running down from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were half shut. But they opened slowly, and focused on Jordan. Despite all that had happened, Jordan’s first instinct was to help him
“Are you alright, can you move?”
The man did not answer; instead he spat at Jordan’s face. The spit that was mixed with blood landed on his chest, and froze to his coat quickly.
“You…you won’t…” His voice was barely a whisper, and Jordan and Devi had to lean in close to hear him.
“You won’t…live. There’s nowhere…”
Jordan frowned in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
The man broke in to a weak smile, and more blood flowed from his mouth.
“There’s…nowhere you can go…We’re getting…stronger…we’ll always find you…we’ll always kill…there’s nowhere we can’t…take…”
He paused, and drew a long rattling breath.
“You savages…we’ll beat you. We beat nature and we’ll beat you…there’s nowhere you can go
Then he laughed, a tiny muffled laugh that soon faded away. He let out one last breath of air, and his head fell back into the snow. Jordan knew without checking that he was dead.
There was silence for a moment; Jordan and Devi just looked at the man’s corpse. What he had said could easily be passed over as a desperate man trying to instill fear into his enemies one last time, but to Jordan it was more than that. It had chilled him to the bone more than any cold wind or snow ever could, but at the same time he felt stronger. Devi put a hand on his shoulder.
“Come on, we’d better go…”
He took one last look at the man, lying in the blood-spattered snow, then tore his eyes away and followed her out.
But they had just made it out of the crevice and back into the light of day that now seemed blinding, when he saw something that disturbed him even more. Annie was standing on the hill, the musket slung over her shoulder. At first he was relieved to see her alive, but then he saw the look on her face and stopped dead in his tracks. She looked at them, and her voice was shaking.
“Xiang’s dead.”
Jordan couldn’t react at first, it didn’t seem possible. Xiang was fine, he had been smiling and reassuring them just half an hour earlier.
“What? What do you mean?”
“He bled to death. I saw him. He’s dead.”
He understood it then, and it hit him like a punch to the gut. Xiang had known he was doomed. He had known but sent Jordan out anyway, so that he could help the others fight. Jordan felt himself grow numb, this could not be happening. Xiang was the captain, he was supposed to give orders and come up with clever battle plans, not lie helpless in the back of a ship while the blood slowly drained from his body. That was not how people like him were supposed to die.
A tear began to form in Annie’s eye, but she wiped it away before it could freeze. Her lip was quivering, and she was paler than he’d ever seen. He and Devi ran over, and for at least a minute they all stood there in each other’s arms, in the middle of the ruined bloody hill holding Annie as she cried again and again. Jordan did not cry, but he felt so empty and hollow that he doubted he could do something as trivial as crying. Xiang was the man who had decided to pick him up instead of leave him to die out on the glacier, he was the man who had given him food, clothes, and a place to stay when the rest of the world had cast him out, he had been the who had held them all together as a makeshift family in such an insane world. And now he was gone, and would never come back.
Annie broke away, and wiped the rest of the tears away with her sleeve. She was trying to regain control of herself, and she knew that with Xiang gone it was her job to take over as captain. It was a responsibility she didn’t want, but had no choice but to accept.
“Devi, go back into the crevice and collect weapons and ammo. Jordan, come with me. There’ some shovels in the cabin, we’ll dig the ship out. And when you’re done with the weapons Devi, help us fix the mast; it probably broke when we crashed. I want us moving by sundown!”
“Where are we going?” Jordan asked. Annie gave him a cold look he had never, ever seen on her before.
“We’re going the same place we were before. I don’t know if Ghost City’s been taken of it it’s even real, but as long as there’s even the faintest possibility that it is, then we’re going to go there and help the other Freelanders defend what’s ours.”
“What if it has been taken?” Devi asked hesitantly.
Annie cranked her musket once again.
“Then we fight them on our own. But one way or another we are not going to just spend out lives scraping what we can out of the ice and running from out enemies. This is our home, we’re going to take it back.”
And without another word, she turned and headed towards the ship.

+++++++

Five hours later they had dug the Atalanta out of the snowbank, and had fixed the mast as best they could with the limited supplies that were available. There was still much left to repair, but Annie had insisted that they do it on the move; she wanted to travel as soon as possible.
The sun had gone down, with only a few faint fingers of light radiating from the horizon off to the left. The skies were darkened now, and Jordan could see the magnificent stars just beginning to come out. He thought about his family back at home, and knew that they would probably never see this, or any of the things he had seen over the last few days. He accepted now that he would never go back, but the thought didn’t scare him like it used to. This was his family now, the Freelands were his home. And now they were going to fight for the right to live here.
He looked out over the bow at the faint outline of the mountains in the distance, then at the hulking ice cliffs towering around them, then back at the remnants of the sun disappearing in the West. As dangerous and primitive as the landscape was, it looked more beautiful than anything he could have possibly imagine and it would be an honor to fight for it. He remembered what Xiang had said that first day in the cabin, and he knew that he had made his choice, for better or for worse. His battle had just begun.

THE END

I think Buenaventura Durruti is a pretty cool guy. eh kills fascists and doesnt afraid of ruins.
The quickest way to kill a revolution is to wait for it.
01-16-2007 06:41 AM
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SoulRiser Offline
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awesomeness Biggrin


... part 2? ... *cough*

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01-16-2007 08:56 AM
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habla Offline
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tooooo much tooo readddd. eyes hurt

I don't suffer from insanity I enjoy every minute of it.
01-16-2007 09:35 AM
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i'll probably end up doing a part 2, yeah. but i'm taking a break first. a nice, long break.

BTW, how were the pictures?

I think Buenaventura Durruti is a pretty cool guy. eh kills fascists and doesnt afraid of ruins.
The quickest way to kill a revolution is to wait for it.
01-16-2007 11:13 AM
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0bliiVioN Offline
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What pictures??Where?!?

"Want evidence of how deeply we've allowed the media to define our beauty? Look in the mirror. How many of you honestly believe in your own essential beauty? Isn't it wrong that we have let the bastards define human beauty for us, instead of encouraging us to look within each other for it?"
01-16-2007 09:38 PM
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Rebelnerd Offline
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the page right before this one.

I think Buenaventura Durruti is a pretty cool guy. eh kills fascists and doesnt afraid of ruins.
The quickest way to kill a revolution is to wait for it.
01-16-2007 09:54 PM
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0bliiVioN Offline
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Zeppelin and Shrike 5 plane are mad.

"Want evidence of how deeply we've allowed the media to define our beauty? Look in the mirror. How many of you honestly believe in your own essential beauty? Isn't it wrong that we have let the bastards define human beauty for us, instead of encouraging us to look within each other for it?"
01-16-2007 10:15 PM
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Demonic Pyro Offline
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Ok I'll read this durring Silent reading....
It'll take the afternoon but w/e, I don't do anything anyway.
Evil
Btw Rebelnerd: I sweat talked a teacher so I get credit for reading this stuff Mwahaha

:-P
That is all.
01-17-2007 03:18 AM
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Wow.
Can't wait for part 2.

:-P
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01-17-2007 05:06 AM
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Demonic Pyro Wrote:Btw Rebelnerd: I sweat talked a teacher so I get credit for reading this stuff Mwahaha

wow, that's pretty impressive seeing as the teacher doesn't know what it is! nice...

I think Buenaventura Durruti is a pretty cool guy. eh kills fascists and doesnt afraid of ruins.
The quickest way to kill a revolution is to wait for it.
01-17-2007 06:42 AM
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habla Offline
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THOSE PICTURES ARE AWESOME!

I don't suffer from insanity I enjoy every minute of it.
01-17-2007 07:32 AM
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thanks...i learned how to draw by doodling in the margins of school notebooks during middle school Biggrin

I think Buenaventura Durruti is a pretty cool guy. eh kills fascists and doesnt afraid of ruins.
The quickest way to kill a revolution is to wait for it.
01-17-2007 08:28 AM
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Demonic Pyro Offline
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Rebelnerd Wrote:
Demonic Pyro Wrote:Btw Rebelnerd: I sweat talked a teacher so I get credit for reading this stuff Mwahaha

wow, that's pretty impressive seeing as the teacher doesn't know what it is! nice...

yeap. that's the best part
Mwahaha

:-P
That is all.
01-17-2007 10:27 AM
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