Chapter 7

The Angel of Ice

Cold.

It was so very cold.

Jude’s teeth chattered and his body shivered as if he was carrying a block of ice. And indeed, were it not for the suppleness of the girl’s skin against his body, he would have half believed it.

Jude half-ran and half-walked down the stairs and brought the shivering girl to a sports store he passed by before. Warily he put her in a corner. He then quickly searched every nook and crannies, making sure no enemies were hiding in wait. After that he closed the doors leading into the store. He then pushed cupboards and tables to block them shut.

When he was finished, he gathered blankets from the discount bin and throw them over her in panic.

“Shit, I really don’t know what I’m doing!”

“...uhh...”

“You’re awake? How do you feel?”

“C-cold…really cold…!” she said weakly. Frost had formed on her brows and a strange white mark bled out from her right eye. “Jude…am I going to die?”

“No. No. Of course not,” he tried to calm her down. I could build a fire, but making one in this closed off store is not a great idea. “Look, I’ll try and look for some more blankets.”

“D-don’t go…!” Aleksandra grabbed onto Jude’s right arm desperately. Her blue eyes filled with fear. Then suddenly, she jerked back and let out a scream of pain. “AAAHH!! My back!! It hurts!”

She clutched at his arm for dear life. She had never felt such pain. A cold that burned deep into the marrow. A cold that was so painful it felt like fire. She felt like her nerves were being doused in gasoline and put aflame.

“Don’t close your mouth!” Jude said as he jammed his forefinger into her mouth to stop her from biting her tongue. “Bite down and try to focus on me. Not on the pain!”

“NNGGRRHHH!!” She bit down onto his finger so hard, blood seeped out from her gums.

After what felt like ages, Aleksandra’s shallow breathing began to relax and she fell limp onto the floor. Worried, Jude held out a finger under her nose. When he felt a breath coming out of her, he sighed with a relief. Once he did so, all tension fell out of him and he could feel the adrenaline that had been keeping him from falling finally ran out and he fell onto his butt.

With what was remaining of his strength, Jude piled the blankets on her until only her nose and eyes could be seen. “I’m sorry. This is all I can do with all those monsters outside. Let me take off that scarf so you can breathe easier.”

“N-n...no...” her hand stopped him from undoing the scarf. There was no power in it. He took her hand in his and placed it back under the blankets.

“Alright. Just...rest.”

With that done, like a robot running out of juice, Jude collapsed onto the cold floor. The loud thumps of his heart slowed to a steady beat. His sights blurred until there were only colorful dots, and finally, he gave in to sleep.

When Jude woke up the next day he was confused, or is it still the same day? He couldn’t tell until he saw the clock in his phone. It had been five hours since he closed his eyes. He waited until the grogginess went away and rose from his uncomfortable position. He shrugged off a blanket that wasn’t there when he slept. He briefly wondered who covered him.

“Aleksandra?”

The first thing he saw was the pile of blankets that were abandoned like an empty cocoon, the content of which had vanished.

Aleksandra was sitting on top of a table by the glass window. Hugging one leg while the other dangled in the air. Her soft cheek was resting on a knee while her eyes were fixed at her phone. Fingers tapping relentlessly at it.

Jude was taken aback by her appearance. The girl’s brown eyes had turned scarlet and her skin was so pale it could be mistaken for a fine porcelain. A pair of wings made out of ice, transparent like crystals sprouted from her back. There was also a soft silver glow coming from her skin. Framed by the rubbles and gloom that made the background, her existence was like a candle in the midst of the moonless night. Untouchable and alluring.

Jude coughed a few times, not sure how to proceed. “A-aleksandra?”

“…yes?”

When Jude heard the sound of her voice, it felt like a thunderstrike.

Jude steadied himself, unsure on how to proceed. However, one thing he was sure of, was that she had changed. Not just physically, but something deeper than that. He could not explain, as he had not known her for more than a day. But something within him said so.

“Are you…okay?”

“I don’t know. I feel very fine. In fact, I feel absolutely…marvelous. However, my body does feel rather…odd,” she exhaled. Her breath created fern patterns on the window. “Yes, very odd. Like I’m flying. It feels very...liberating,” she continued, almost hypnotically. Her wings flapped gently, creating a cool breeze which caressed Jude’s body, waking him up from his grogginess. “Like I am awake for the first time in my life.”

She then looked at Jude’s right arm and smiled. “You too have changed, I see.”

He glanced awkwardly at his arm and spoke. “Well, I’m glad you are fine. But now I’m worried about the others. Do you happen to know where Makoto and Sam is?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know...” suddenly, her floaty expressions turned into that of horror and she crouched on the floor with both hands covering her head. “No! I don’t know!”

Jude was bewildered by this arbitrary change of emotion and asked again. His friends’ lives were at stake. “Please remember. This is important! Did you see them?!”

“NO!” She screamed. “I don’t want to remember! That pool of bodies! The screams! The blood!” her head shook violently as if she was trying to dislodge the horrible image from her head. “I...I don’t want to return to that place,” she hugged both her knees, averting her eyes from Jude as if ashamed for her weakness.

The sudden outburst made Jude swallow his questions. Silence reigned between them until his lips parted. This time he was saying it softly and gently. “I’m sorry. But they are important to me. If you know anything, I’d like to know.”

“I’m really sorry. It’s just...everything...!” She stared at him, feeling lost.

Jude took hold of her hands and tried to calm her down.

“Yes, yes, you’re right. Something mysterious is happening to us. Please! Tell me, what happened to me – “ She glanced at Jude’s arm again and reframed the question. “ - to us?”

He told them what happened after the girl fainted. After hearing that, she asked him."So are we supposed to be this...Demonspawn thing? Are we no longer human?"

"Honestly? Your guess is as good as mine. But whatever we are, it can wait until we get out of this godforsaken place."

"...you're right. We shouldn't dwell on something we can't control," she then eyed Jude's right arm and asked him. "I heard you said that that monster called it The Gauntlet of the Impure King, correct? Can you take it off?”

Jude tried to remove the gauntlet. But it was useless. The gauntlet seemed to have fused into his arm. Small tendrils dug into his arm like veins.

“It’s not going anywhere.”

There was a clatter. Outside, a ghoul crawled on all fours with its head bent on an angle.

Aleksandra stepped to the front door. Jude saw that her lips were trembling in anger. “I saw them. Those things. After the earthquake, the power went out. I heard people screaming, cursing. Then those screams, they turned to cries for help. I was so scared I hid behind a storefront. And I saw one of them eating someone I know. A girl who has been lending me her Geography notes. She – she looked at me. Her eyes condemning me. Why aren’t you helping me? Why are you safe?!”

Tears welled up in her eyes. Her shoulder hunched up as she hugged herself in guilt.

Jude grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Snap out of it!” He commanded. “Look. You are scared. That’s normal. No one is blaming you.”

“W-will we turn into them?” her eyes were watery. She was afraid. Not just because of what she had experienced. But also because of what was happening with her body. A normal person would not be calm when such great change was happening to their bodies.

“I don’t know,” the image of the creature wearing a Cleaning Service uniform flashed in his mind. He shook his head. Nothing makes sense anymore! My arm or Aleksandra’s change, that headless knight who called himself Hollow. So many questions without answers.

“But one thing I know is that now,” he slid the blade out with a muscle that he did not even know he had, “We have a chance of fighting back. We have a chance of surviving. We find Makoto and Sam and get the hell out of this place. Sound like a plan?”

She nodded.

KRRR...

“That was...”

“Sorry, I haven’t eaten anything since that ice cream,” Jude explained sheepishly. “I’m still a growing, I guess.”

“I have a bar of chocolate in my bag.”

He received the chocolate and thanked her.

KRRR...

“That was...”

“Sorry. That was me.”

“Haha! Let’s share the chocolate,” Jude said, breaking off the chocolate into two.

Once they finished eating, Jude removed the blockades and checked the area for anything dangerous. “The power is still not on.”

“When the main power is cut off, the emergency power will switch on. It would last for twelve hours before the generator is out of fuel,” Aleksandra exclaimed. “I think we should follow the lights.”

“How do you know that?”

“I read it in the employee’s handbook. My family is not exactly fond of leisure readings, except for my mom’s books. And it is a long ride from my house to school.”

“Not even comics? Must be a very boring childhood, Can’t imagine living without Anchorman. Best thing ever aside from Jazz,” he said, grabbing a baseball bat that was on sale from the bargain bin and giving it a practice swing.

No. Doesn’t feel right. He thought in passing. “Do you do self defense?”

“No, I don’t. I do know Kyudo, though.”

“What’s Kyudo?”

“It’s a type of Japanese style archery. It’s good for meditation and self actualization.”

“Mmm…I don’t really care for those type of things,” Jude asked carefully. “What kind of bows do you use?”

“A Yumi. It’s a longbow.”

“I don’t think it’s going to be any good in cramped spaces like this.”

“I can also use Recurve bows. I learned it as a hobby”

“Ah, that one I know. Should be easy to find one. We are in the sport goods section after all,” he said. “There are no enemies here at the moment, you should go to the archery section and see if you can find anything. I’ll be looking for things we can use. We meet again here in fifteen minutes.”

Fifteen minutes later, the two returned to the promised place. Jude saw that Aleksandra had brought with her a sturdy recurve bow that was smaller than the standard size. But he also noticed that Aleksandra had changed her clothes into a blue “Victrix” sport jacket with white blouse and a blue skirt. And over that she still wore the scarf. A quiver of arrows hung from her right thigh.

“You changed clothes? Why?”

“Those might as well be rags after my wings ripped through them. And I can’t be walking around in such immodest fashion, right? And these are Victrix, a product of our company! They are tough but easy to move in! I had to cut a few holes for my wings, though. The bases are stuck onto my back and I can't move them. If I'm supposed to have wings, I at least want a pair of pure white wings like those of angel's,” she laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

Jude raised his hands in surrender and nodded. “Well, we had to get used the them at the very least."

"By the way, I found a good bush knife and two flashlights. Here, one for you and one for me.”

The boy showed her the knife before sheathing it on his side with one smooth motion.

“Now, before we go out. I want to make a few things sure. First, I want you to follow my lead, are you okay with that?” Jude saw the nod and continued. “Second, we will try to move as cautiously as possible. If we don’t have to, we don’t enter combat. And third, from what I saw last time, those things can move even with only half their bodies. They are strong, but not very heavy. Just make sure you hit the vital parts. The head or the chest.”

Aleksandra raised her eyebrows ins surprise. “Pardonnez moi, did you say, last time? You fought them before?”

“I killed one.”

“You did?”

Jude raised one eyebrow as if she was asking if he was wearing an underwear. “That’s a fact. That ghoul - that’s what that knight called them - caught me off guard the first time. Not again. I’ll be sure to protect you.”

Aleksandra was skeptic with his unconvincing words. In her heart, she decided to do what needed to be done. He must be lying to make sure I’m not worried. He doesn’t look that strong either.

“Just, before we go. Can you call me Sasha instead? Aleksandra is too long. It’ll make it hard to communicate when in emergencies.”

“Sasha? Sasha, Sasha...” Jude rolled the words in his mouth. “It sounds nice. Let’s get a move on. Remember, stay close.”

Jude placed his hand onto the knife on his side as he walked out of the store. For some reason, the thought of having to use the knife made him feel…

Excellent.