Ice Cold - Part One: The Dark Zone

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"What am I doing?"

The day wore on and night came with the warm, soothing breeze of the zephyrs from the west. Alex struggled to drift off to sleep on his ragged, dirty mattress covered by a single thin sheet. The Citadel had gone quiet and all Alex could hear was the soft chirping of crickets in the distance. This was the most peace he had felt in the past thirty hours, yet it seemed like an eternity.

He still had no idea what sort of fate lay in store for him here, but bigger questions remained on his mind. Though he couldn't sleep, Alex closed his eyes and allowed his mind to wander. He did not know what to think of these people. No one had given him an actual explanation of their seemingly dire situation, but Alex could see just from looking around how devastating an effect it was having on them. He remembered his first encounter with Matheus; an expert swordsman swooping down from the trees and laying waste to several adversaries at once. He hardly showed them any respect.

Though Matheus seemed to lighten up toward Alex significantly, there was Malachai on the other end of the spectrum. It did not take much observation to understand that Malachai absolutely despised Alex. He had never done anything to wrong him, and therefore nothing to warrant such hatred. It only made Alex question the nature of their enemies even more - these "Domineers." Who were they? Where did they come from? Why were they here?

Balancing the views of both Malachai and Matheus toward Alex, Delmar appeared to show no real concern for him. It was Alex's understanding that Delmar was the leader of these people. However, it was obvious that the title went far deeper than a simple position of authority. In all his life, he had never seen people as loyal and dedicated to a leading figure than this man. Sure it was true that Delmar was prepared to put anything and everything second to protecting the people who looked to him for leadership. That would earn him a great deal of respect from Alex.

Rowan was different. Alex did not know what it was, but she had been the one to look at him differently than anyone else he had met here so far. While some looked at him with interest and curiosity, others would stare him down with looks of hate and suspicion. It was almost as if these people were split in their views of him by those of Malachai and Matheus; those who were fascinated by him, and those who would probably like to see him dead.

Yet then there was Rowan. Neither the endpoint of either perception of Alex nor the fulcrum balancing the two, Rowan seemed to have something else on her mind entirely. When she looked at him, it was as if she was looking past him; like she was peering into his soul. Not in an intimidating or threatening manner, but rather like she was searching for something within him, but what did she see?

She was the younger sister of Delmar; fourteen-years-old, just like Alex. An instant compare and contrast had hit him: he had a younger sister of his own, but the difference was that Delmar showed unending desire to keep his sister safe from harm in their darkest hour, and Alex realized how much he had spent practically neglecting his only sister. Above all, that was something he desperately wanted to change, if he ever got out of here at all.

He was so deep in sleep now, having strange dreams flashing through his mind about the ancestors of Rowan's people. He never registered the soft sound of the tent's cloth flap moving away, nor did he hear the light footsteps approaching his side. His subconscious mind began to warn him that someone was near, but before he could react any further, he felt a hand cover his mouth and he froze.

"shhhhh." a soft voice quietly urged him to remain silent and calm. The hand was slowly removed from over his mouth. As his eyes began to adjust to the darkness he was eventually able to make out the outline of a female figure kneeling next to him.