Bear-ing The Cold

Wearing an all-white winter camouflage outfit with a white backpack of supplies and yellow polarized goggles, Diana was in Silent Glaciers on behalf of a client who lived in Magnolia Town. His sister had come out to Silent Glaciers in search of polar bears to photgraph for her personal photo album and had gone missing. He had not heard from her in over a week, so he hired Diana to bring his sister back dead or alive. Diana accepted the job because it had been awhile since she had conducted a search-and-rescue job.

Diana felt the cold wind blow on what little skin was exposed as she walked through the snow on her search for the missing woman. She was glad that she had invested in this outfit because her normal "office lady" attire was ill-suited for colder climates. She could only hope that the client's sister had dressed sensibly for this climate because it would be awhile before the mage found the photographer. Maybe the missing woman had taken refuge in a cave, a possibility which presented its own set of problems because bears liked to live in caves. Diana would have to search every cave she came across to rule out the possibility that the missing woman had ducked into one and never came out.

On the lookout for caves, Diana walked along with only the sound of crunching snow for company until she spied a cave positioned across a lake that was fed by a delta. The mouth of the delta was clear of ice and water flowed freely into the crystal-clear lake. Diana carefully walked up to the edge of the water and peered down into it to make sure that the missing woman had not fallen in and drowned. She did not see a human body in it, but she walked along the edge towards the mouth of the delta to make sure that a body had not floated to its mouth and gotten caught in it.

Diana reached the mouth of the delta and peered down into the clear water. She only saw the bottom of the lake, which meant that no one had died under the water. Diana then focused on finding a way to cross the frigid water without falling in and getting soaked. The slow speed of the current made a crossing possible, but now the problem was determining how deep the water was. She did not want to step in it only to end deeper than she had anticipated; soaked clothing and the cold wind was a lethal combination.

The blonde looked around and found a long stick next to a frozen rock. She grabbed it and used it to probe the depth of the potential crossing point... she lowered the stick until it reached the bottom and was rewarded with a wet right glove for her trouble. By her estimate the water was six feet deep, which meant that crossing on foot would be very dangerous. She dropped the stick at the water's edge and began to look for a safer crossing point.

Diana put her right glove under her left armpit in an attempt to dry the wet hand covering and shield her hand from the biting cold. She could not afford to catch hypothermia so far away from medical attention and she could not afford to lose a hand. The blonde decided to walk around the edge of the delta to look for a narrower crossing point because she wanted to take the easier route to the cave on the other side. Bracing herself against the cold, Diana weathered a gust of cold air to the face and began to walk along the water that fed into the lake.

The crunching of snow beneath her boots filled the air as the mage looked for a crossing point and tried to warm her right hand despite the wind's best efforts to give her hypothermia. Mindful of the circumstances under which the client's sister had disappeared, Diana also listened out for polar bears looking for a quick meal. She had not heard any signs of the ursine predators, so she turned her attention to the clear and cold water flowing just beside her feet and looked for water that was not too deep to walk across. Maybe Diana should have just walked around the lake, but she wanted to try this approach before turning back and walking around the lake.

[Word Count: 750]
[Total Word Count: 750/3,500]

Diana had walked along the edge of the water until she came across a point just narrow enough for her to step across if she was careful. The water was still approximately six feet deep, but the crossing was narrow enough that she could pass without undue difficulty. The ice and snow on the opposite side were stable, so all she needed to do now was step across. Diana braced herself and planted her left foot on the other side, then lifted her right foot and pulled it and herself across the flowing water without a hitch.

Diana then quickly trotted away from the edge in case it wanted to give way with her on it. Once she was across it was easy going from there. Now she was on the side of the lake where the cave sat and she did not have to trudge all the way around the lake to get to it. The mage was glad that she took a little bit of time to find a safer way to cross instead of trying to jump the gap and risk getting her clothes wet in a cold and windy environment. Patience was a virtue that any good hunter possessed.

Diana slowly walked towards the cave she had spotted earlier and looked for signs of the missing woman; her first priority was to find footprints, but she would settle for any other signs such as a trail of personal belongings, a trail of food, even a trail of blood. The blonde brought out her Suppressed Assault Rifle and cautiously approached the cave. A polar bear could be inside and she did not want to be surprised.

The mage approached the cave and kept her weapon aimed at the entrance. She briefly glanced down and saw shoeprints leading from the entrance to the terrain farther to the left. Diana spared another glance to look for possessions the woman might have left behind but did not find any. Diana was not willing to go inside and risk awakening a sleeping bear, so the blonde sidestepped with her weapon pointed at the mouth until she was well clear of it, then put the weapon away and walked a short distance away from the shoeprints to avoid spoiling the trail.

-Further into the tundra-

Diana paused inside a shallow cave located in some steep hills to get out of the cold for a moment. The shoeprints had led her here and she decided to take a look around before walking in the cold again. She rubbed her gloved hands together for warmth and looked behind her to be certain that a polar bear was not lurking nearby. Diana did not see any bears hiding in the back of the cave, so she relaxed and looked on the cold and rocky floor for anything the woman might have left behind. Soon the mage located a clear plastic film container and picked it up.

It was an old-fashioned plastic film container used to hold a roll of film. Diana did not know that people still used the old-fashioned cameras that required film. Several months ago technology experts had predicted that the rise of iLacs and other digital media devices capable of taking pictures would make cameras obsolete, but a few steadfast defenders of the old devices remained. The defenders asserted that the old film-using camera took pictures of higher quality than the new digital devices could, but Diana was not educated in the nuances of photography to support or disprove that claim. As it stood the mage had the first piece of evidence that someone had been here.

Diana pocketed the roll of film and heard a loud huffing sound from close by. Soon she spotted a black nose at the end of a bloodstained muzzle attached to a bulky white body. The nose sniffed the air and a pair of black eyes settled on the mage standing in the cave. The creature facing her down was none other than a polar bear!

The startled blonde brought out her Suppressed Assault Rifle and the bear stood on its hind legs and roared. Diana was no conservationist, but she did not want to kill the animal if she could avoid it. Instead Diana put away the rifle and used a free hand to cast a Stun Burst that struck the bear's chest and made its legs wobble. It collapsed to the snow and Diana rushed by it while it was unable to chase her.

She would give it this one chance to live. If the bear claimed the cave and did not chase her, Diana would let that be the end of it. If it decided to chase her with the hope of getting another meal, she would kill it.

[Word Count: 800]
[Total Word Count: 1,550/3,500]

-Further in the tundra-

After the surprise encounter with the polar bear a short while ago, Diana wanted to find the missing woman and get out of this place. The longer she stayed her the higher her chances of running into the ursine predator from earlier were. She doubted that the Stun Blast would be enough to deter it from pursuing her out of revenge or out of hunger. She would just have to be careful during her trip through the frozen wilderness. The trail left by the person was still fresh and unspoiled, so finding them should be easy enough if the mage just kept following the shoeprints.

Diana did just that as she tromped through the snow and past a fallen tree that had large scratch marks on the sides of the trunk. She paused in place and examined the scratches. They did not look big enough to belong to a bear... maybe the claws that made the marks belonged to the local predatory wild cats. No matter what species of animal made them she did not want to hang around and find out what animal claimed this territory, so she moved on and kept following the trail. Hopefully the missing person was still alive.

The blonde shivered in the cold and kept walking until she arrived at an area with a cave that featured a hollow log outside of it. Diana looked down and saw the shoeprints lead into the cave and stop altogether just inside. It looked like she would be going inside to find the person she was after... or would she?

Diana brought out her Suppressed Assault Rifle and peered inside, using her Night Vision mode to get a better look at what was lurking in the darkness. She did not see anything inside, but that did not mean that there was no danger inside. She edged closer and was rewarded when she heard female screaming echoing from deeper in the cave. The mage would be going inside after all. She paused for a moment before hurrying inside to try and find the source of the screaming.

-Inside the cave-

Diana entered the cave and was greeted with the ominous sight of bones scattered liberally across the floor and near the walls. She walked past the animal bones, which included a reindeer skull lying on its side near the right wall. Diana then heard another round of screaming, which motivated her to quicken her pace before it was too late. She carefully stepped over a loose pile of bones to avoid alerting any bears and kept moving until she reached a short and narrow corridor that would only permit a group to pass if they traveled single-file. Diana put her weapon in front of her and squeezed through the narrow passage, then stopped and peered into the room that opened up in front of her.

In front of her was a large circular cavern with even more bones strewn everywhere... and a few human bones, including a cracked skull that grinned at her from the floor. Near that particular skull was a skeletal arm still gripping a plain steel sword and a torso wearing a cuirass of steel plate armor. Those measures were clearly not enough to save the life of the hunter from his intended prey, but she would not have time to contemplate the nature of hunting. She heard rapid footsteps and a woman scream followed by the unmistakable roar of a bear.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" A young woman with short blonde hair screamed as she ran up to Diana, who raised her weapon and aimed it at the charging bear. Diana flipped the fire selector switch to full auto and opened fire, making the bear roar in pain as the first few rounds grazed its neck and shoulders before the next few hit it in the head and made it stagger back. She held down the trigger and kept firing until the bear fell to the ground. She then flipped the selector switch to semi-auto and fired a shot to the head that punched through the skull and killed it.

"I hate that it had to be killed, but it couldn't be helped." The young woman commented with a slight twinge of regret on her voice. She turned away from the dead bear and turned towards her rescuer in all-white camouflage. Diana dispelled the weapon and spoke to the young woman who she had just saved from becoming a mid-day snack.

"Thanks for the rescue. I'm Eliza." The young woman introduced herself. She wore a sleeveless white tank top and olive cargo capris. A camera dangled from around a lanyard on her neck. Eliza's hair style was odd because it curled around her head, but her choice of clothing was stranger still. Who would willingly wear a tank top and capris to a place like this?

"I am Diana." Diana introduced herself to the intrepid photographer. Eliza extended a hand and shook Diana's right hand. At last the missing woman had been found.

Eliza:

[Word Count: 850]
[Total Word Count: 2,400/3,500]

"I'm glad that you came out here to rescue me because I think I got in a bit too deep. I don't know my way around this place at all and I didn't bring anything with me other than my camera. I don't even have a jacket!" Eliza complained to her rescuer. Diana could have told her that wearing a tank top and capris in this climate was a very bad idea, but the mage was too polite to ever say that. Instead the mage wordlessly took off her backpack and brought out a spare coat for Eliza to wear until they got to a warmer climate. It was camouflage and far from the height of fashion, but it would keep the photographer alive.

"Thanks!" Eliza exclaimed as she gratefully took the coat and slipped it on, then zipped it up. She smiled as she felt warm, possibly for the first time since arriving in Silent Glaciers. She then spoke to her rescuer again.

"I've had enough of this place for one day. It's way too cold and those polar bears are everywhere. Let's go back to Magnolia Town!" She made a strong suggestion to Diana. Diana nodded in agreement. She too had had enough of Silent Glaciers for one job and wanted to take Eliza home so that the mage could get warm and get paid.

"I will take the lead. Follow me." Diana said to the young woman before walking towards the narrow passage that had led her to Eliza. Eliza quickly got behind the mage and followed her through the passage. The pair emerged on the other side and passed through the cave entrance, stepping out into the breathtaking cold.

-Outside the cave, in the tundra-

The pair of blondes shivered in the cold as Diana began to lead them to civilization. It was a simple matter of retracing her steps and avoiding any more polar bears until they got to the border of Silent Glaciers. As Eliza walked beside her Diana kept a watch out for any polar bears or other arctic predators.

"I'm glad you came along when you did. I should have known better than to go in a cave with a sleeping bear and put my camera right in its face, but I needed to get just the right shot, ya know what I mean?" Eliza asked her. Diana had a pretty good idea of what she meant. The key difference was that Diana worked with firearms instead of cameras, but the principle was the same. Sometimes one had to take a risk to get the best shot on the target.

"I understand what you mean, Eliza." Diana replied without elaboration. Eliza remained cheerfully oblivious to the mage's true meaning, which was just fine with the huntress. As far as the world knew, she was a mage who specialized in risky search-and-rescue jobs and also moonlighted as a bounty hunter who brought in particularly tough bounties on serial killers. No one needed to know what she really did for a living.

"Great! Anyway, next time I won't get so close to a bear before snapping its picture. It was a really dumb move, but sometimes you've gotta put it on the line for art!" Eliza rationalized away the questionable decision to invade a sleeping polar bear's space for a picture. Diana refrained from passing judgment and focused on keeping the young woman alive so that she could complete the job and get paid. It would be a long walk back to Magnolia Town, but the payoff would be worth all the trouble she went to to get it.

"I suppose you are right. Still, I would suggest being careful next time. Next time you get into trouble there might not be a timely rescue." Diana suggested to Eliza. Eliza nodded.

"I'll be careful. I promise." Eliza pledged to the mage. Diana would have to be satisfied with that pledge. It was not her business how the photographer behaved, but the blonde mage did not want to have to one day take Eliza's body back to her family.

[Word Count: 700]
[Total Word Count: 3,100/3,500]

-Magnolia Town, eight hours later-

After a lengthy walk and a lot of rest stops the pair of blondes had finally made it to Magnolia Town and to safety. They paused in front of a house in a row of modern houses in a nicer part of the town. It had a brown door with a glowing orange doorbell button off to the side.

"We made it! Thank you so much!" Eliza exclaimed as she took off the winter camouflage coat and handed it back to Diana, who folded it, took off her backpack, and put it back inside the pack. Diana unzipped her own camouflage coat to reveal a black long-sleeved t-shirt on underneath the coat. She also took off her goggles and put them inside the pack, then put it onto her back again.

"I am glad that I could help." Diana said to Eliza. Eliza took the camera from around her neck and checked it for damage. The camera had not been harmed in any way during the adventure. Eliza smiled and looked toward Diana.

"You're a life saver, Diana. I know you're a busy mage, so I won't hold you up. I've gotta get back to my home and develop these pictures. I'm sure my older sister's waiting for me!" Eliza said to Diana before opening the door and coming face-to-face with an older woman who looked to be in her early thirties.

"Oh hi Monica! I just got back from Silent Glaciers thanks to Diana!" The blonde exclaimed to a brown-haired young woman. The brunette must have been the older sister Eliza spoke of. The brunette was dressed in a green long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans with white tennis shoes.

"I see that. Why didn't you answer my calls?" Monica asked. Eliza looked towards the ground and awkwardly kicked at the doorstep.

"I... I didn't take my iLac. I left it on Vibrate mode in my room. I didn't want to lug it out into the wilderness and have its ringing ruin a shot." Eliza gave her response. Monica frowned for a moment, then hugged her younger sister.

"I know you're always looking for the perfect shot, but I was worried about you. Next time take it with you, OK?" Monica asked her sister. Eliza cheered up and hugged her older sister back.

"I'll take it next time. I promise." Eliza promised her older sister. Diana watched the proceedings in silence and let the sisters talk it out. Monica looked up and saw Diana standing by. The brunette produced a bag of Jewels and threw it to the mage.

"Thanks for rescuing my younger sister. Sometimes she acts without thinking, but she's dedicated to photography and won't settle for anything less than perfection." Monica expressed her gratitude to the blonde mage. Diana put the Jewels away.

"It is no problem. I had better get going." Diana excused herself. The sisters turned to her and waved goodbye as she began to walk away. Diana waved back and began to walk for the exit to Magnolia Town. She had just completed another job and wanted to go home to look for the next job that promised good money.

[Word Count: 550]
[Total Word Count: 3,650/3,500]