Drea

Chapter 1: Day 1

My eyes scan the forest as I shuffle through the thick snow. 'Trees, trees, and more trees' I think hopelessly. That is if you don't count the endless expanse of snow expanding as far as the eye can see. An icy breeze touches my exposed face and makes me sneeze and shiver for about the hundredth time that day. My feet ache and my toes feel like they're about to snap off at the joints. I inwardly groan as I twine my glove clad fingers together. I close my eyes, only keeping them open the tiniest bit so I can still see where I'm going. I pray to whichever god is listening at that moment. Firstly, I pray for the sun to shine brighter and hotter and to melt away all the snow. I include it in my prayers even though I know that wish is impossible at this time of year. On a more serious note, I pray for the coming winter to go fast and for spring to come quickly, but what I pray for most of all is that a big, fat deer will come prancing through the trees in the next few minutes. I can just picture it in my mind now. A giant stag with a coat of fur ready for the coming winter will emerge from the white fog in the distance. It's humongous antlers framing its head like a crown. I shake the perfect image from my head trying to stay focused. I gather my wits and mentally send all my prayers toward the sky, where I hope the gods are listening.

I always wondered why there are so much religions with so many different gods? I also wondered which religions were real and which were fake, or if they're all real, or all fake? I asked myself these questions and others like it so many times, but no matter how hard I tried or who else I asked, I could never find an answer that had proof to it.
After that day I decided not to believe in any one religion but to believe in all of them. So when I do pray,( not that often, I have to admit) I don't pray to anyone in particular, just to whoever's listening.

I let these thoughts about gods and prayers linger in my mind until I hear my name being said in a fierce, excited whisper. "Drea!"
I turn towards the sound of my name. My brother's bright green eyes and wide smile stare back at me. I almost cringe at the look of happiness on his face. "You look like you just saw the first flower of spring." I mumble, furrowing my brow. "Even better!" He points to his right. I take a couple of steps back when I realise we're standing next to a very steep hill/cliff thing. "Holy shit." My voice echoes over the valley of snow at the bottom of the cliff. A thin, frozen stream zig zags up the middle of the valley. As I follow the streams twists and turns with my eyes I finally see what Cyan is marvelling at. A giant, dark brown moose tentatively steps onto the thin sheet of ice layering the stream. A spiderweb of cracks flare outward from where his hoof steps on the ice and he quickly backs back onto the safety of the solid snow. 'That's just as good as a deer.' I think in awe. I snap out of my trance when I feel Cyan tap the rifle strap that hangs on my shoulder. "Load the damn gun Drea! Hurry!" I fumble with the gun and bullets until it's locked and loaded. I don't even bother asking Cyan if he wants to shoot. We both know who's the better shooter and it's not him. I lie on my stomach and brace the rifle on my shoulder. It's weight comforting and familiar. The cold snow against my belly makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The air between Cyan and I is tense. I can't miss this shot! We need this meat! I close one eye and take aim at the moose's skull, right in the temple. I unlock the safety and fire. The echoing bang on the rifles shot rings out over the valley. "Holy shit Drea, that was a perfect shot!" He exclaims as the moose drops dead onto the snow. "I know." I say with a cocky smirk. He snorts as he walks over to a tree teetering on the edge of the cliff and ties one end of a rope around its trunk. "What're you doing?" He pulls on the rope until the knot is tight and stable. "If we go down this way it will save us hours instead of having to go around the cliff and down to the valley." I walk over to where he's standing and consider his plan. "Is this thing stable?" I say, shaking the trunk with both hands. "Enough." He says, sounding certain. He gestures toward the rope, "Ladies first." I stand in the snow for a few seconds considering our options before grabbing the rope and tying it around my waist. "Drea, my daring little sister." He says laughing. I roll my eyes before inching down the side of the cliff. It wasn't quite as steep as a cliff, but it wasn't something you could just walk down either. Rocks and snow tumbled to the ground wherever my feet touched the cliff face. Adrenaline courses through my veins and my hands are red from rope burn by the time I reach the bottom. Cyan hauls the rope back up and I silently curse myself for forgetting to put my gloves back on before going down that cliff. Cyan shuffles his way over the side of the cliff as I survey my surroundings. Not much to see really..... Just a big field of snow. I turn around just in time to see the tree uprooted from Cyan's weight. My heart rate spikes and icy fear claws at my stomach. Cyan hits the snow to my left and the tree misses him by mere inches. I take one step towards him before hearing a shrilling cry of pure agony pierce the freezing, Alaskan air.