My Beloved Mikasa | Book Two

Chapter Eleven

The mountains are so much colder than the flat land.

I swear that this will all be for nothing; what the hell would she do in the mountains?

There is no harm in looking, however. I would much rather not finding her up here than her being up here and me not even knowing about it.

A huge gust of freezing wind pushes me backwards, and I have to regain my balance. I don't think it's much further that I have to go, now. I hope not.

I look up to realise that in fact, there is quite a lot to go. I sigh and push forward.

The gale keeps on swaying me about, and I just hope that I don't fall down a steep side.

* * *

Moments pass, then I need to take a break. I'm so grateful to find a good sized crevice in the icy walls.
I stick my arm in and next, my leg. I comfortably slip inside.
I can't feel a lot of wind from inside here, and it's much better than out there.

When I exhale, I see the condensation dissolve in to the air before me. It's so goddamn cold.
She better be up here.
I feel a shiver go up me. Not from the coldness, but from motivation. What am I doing sitting here when I should be looking for Mikasa?

I shuffle through the crevice, and out of it; I am greeted by harsh winds, and it makes me squint.

Once I start walking again, I notice that I need to turn another corner. I'm ascending.

I make the turn and my heart pounces when I see a mountain lion.

Oh, crap!

It glares at me intensively, and I dare not move a single step. What am I gonna do?

The lion bares it's teeth, and I see red string zigzagged across its fangs?

Red string? It can't be... It can't be!

I step back and my heel hits against a rock. It's big, and I think it's my only saviour now.
I turn around slowly, not taking my eyes off of the growling beast.
I lift the rock from its place and still stare. It charges towards me, mouth wide open. I dash the rock towards it and I hear the rock smash against its face. It's sickening.

The rock drops and the mountain lion now has a bleeding gash down it's face; it's right eye has been affected by it too, badly. I think that it might be blind, now.

After a short stare-off, the lion retreats away. I wish that I hadn't have done that to the animal, but then I remember the red thread across it's teeth. With that memory, my guilt disappears.
I clench my fists and walk onwards, then transitioning in to a run.

* * *

My legs begin to ache as I run up the mountain.
I'm so relieved that I have not yet encountered any other mountain lions. I would fear for Mikasa more than I would for me.
I am almost at the top of the mountain, I am almost there.

I inhale a huge dose of oxygen before stepping on to the very top of the mountain.
I scan the area, I look around everywhere.

She's not here. Of course she isn't.
So... The string on the lion's teeth wasn't Mikasa' scarf? No?

I slap my hands over my eyes, and cry. I have not cried this much in my life. I'm a guy, I shouldn't cry, but I just can't stop myself.

Where is she? The only thing I want is her, the only thing!

I shouldn't have said those things to her; if I didn't say anything she would be safe, this wouldn't have happened.

I'm so stupid, so, so stupid!

This can't be it. I look around again and search so hard. I run to the end of the mountain top and look everywhere the eye can see.

I feel impact on my neck and then everything turns black.

* * *

My vision is blurred when I first open my eyes.

I have to blink repeatedly to re-focus them. Where am I?

I'm in some sort of hut or shack, it's poorly lit.
How did I get here?
What happened, exactly?
My memory is fuzzy.
Did I walk here, or?

Then I see a man sitting on a chair, sharpening some sort of dagger. I cannot see much of his body, as he is well covered.

As I move a little, I then acknowledge that my legs are tied together. Shit.

"Who are you?" I ask.

His eyes are drawn to mine and he stops sharpening the weapon.

"It doesn't really matter who I am. You just need to know that you trespassed." He replied to me, cunningly.

"I trespassed? You own the mountains?"

"Oh yeah." he says, continuing to sharpen.

"You could've just told me, rather than knocking me out!"

"Well, that would be no fun then, would it?" He speaks with a mysterious edge to his voice. "Besides, if I did that I wouldn't be able to blackmail you."

Crap, he wants something from me.

"What do you want?" I say, as I feel anger boil inside of me.

"It's so simple. All you need to do is join my association."

"Or?"

"Or you die."

I hate this. "Wouldn't killing me just be a waste?" I ask.

He comes close to me very quickly, and kneels beside me. His face is dead close to mine; I feel his breaths.

"Do you want to die?" He asks. "We've killed many outsiders before. You obviously don't know about going up to the mountains, do you?"

He continues. "There was a particular girl that came by recently. She had such a pretty face as well. It was a shame it had to go to waste. It looked like she had been in a fight before hand, and by now, she has probably been put out of her misery."

He laughs. "The blood matches her scarf."