Desert Tundra Chapter 1

I've learned to win,
I've learned to lose.
Turn my face against the wind...

The music engulfed the small room I had known as the staff office. I stared at the pale ceiling as I lay on my back. Soft winds blew outside.

"Huh… It must be snowing," I said as I pulled a bullet out of my pocket and held it between my thumb and forefinger. I held it out in front of my face and examined it. I shook it softly and the gunpowder inside shifted.

"Carson!" A voice suddenly yelled, causing me to spring upright.

"Christ Matt, don't scare me like that," I said as I put my hand over my furiously beating heart. He stood at the doorway in his snow gear and AK slung around his shoulder.
"Sorry. So you ready to go yet?" He asked.

"Oh. Uh, just gimme a second, I forgot," I said as I jumped to my feet.

"I just told you a minute ago," he said, looking at me in disbelief.

"I got halfway through dressing!" I said, pointing at my legs covered by my snow pants.
"I'll be ready in a second, don't worry!" I said, quickly putting on my jacket. The shells in the pockets of my jacket clinked together as I quickly moved around the room, grabbing my gear. I put on my goggles and facemask and frantically looked for my rifle.
"Where's my damn rifle?" I asked myself, quickly looking around. To my relief, it was just where I left it, next to the doorway. I grabbed it as I walked out of the staff office and snugly slung it on my shoulder. I pulled up my goggles to my forehead and met Matt by the door.

"You ready now?" he asked, his hand on the door handle.

"Yeah, I'm ready," I said as I lowered my goggles back down again, masking everything in a dull orange glow. I quickly looked around the ward room and realized it was empty.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked as Matt began to turn the handle.

"Oh, they went to get some more weapons and ammo. They'll be back in an hour or two," he said as he opened the door. Cold air rushed into the room, immediately causing me to shiver slightly. We quickly went through the doorway out into the frozen school grounds. The sky was covered with dark clouds, making it difficult to see with the snow goggles on. Snow softly drifted along the ground, merging with the massive amounts that already lay there.

"Hurry up Carson! You know how quickly this weather can turn into a blizzard!" He yelled across from where there used to be a road now concealed under ice and snow. I quickly ran over to him, leaving footprints in the fresh powder.

"So, where are we going and why?" I asked as I caught up to Matt.

"Well," he started as we began to walk down the long corridor, "We're going to go and get some extra materials from the school office roof," he explained.

"Why are we going now when there's a blizzard coming?" I asked, wanting a good reason.

"Because the others don't understand why we need the materials," he said as we passed classrooms we use to go to almost daily.

"And why do we need the materials?" I asked, since I didn't know either.

"To repair things and create stuff! How is that not obvious?" Matt said, frustrated.

"That's it?" I said as I looked over at him.

"I thought you had some kind of complicated plan!"  We both laughed, our voices traveling through the empty school.  A few wise jokes later, we made it to the abandoned school office. Its windows were cracked and broken. Deadly icicles hung menacingly off the side of the roof, ready to fall at the slightest vibration.

"Did you bring your bayonet?" He asked, as he pulled up his goggles. I did the same and was reminded that snow wasn't dull orange.

"Uh... No," I said, as I patted my jacket to make sure the bayonet was there. Matt sighed, his breath covering his face from view.

"Well, could you try and knock them down with your rifle?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Sure," I said as I aimed my rifle over the roof of the office. The gunshot echoed throughout the school, knocking off most of the icicles. But I also scared Matt half to death in the process.

"Holy shit!" he said, putting his hand over his furiously beating heart. I let out a small chuckle as he looked around frantically.

"Well, I did knock them off," I said, grinning under my face mask.

"Yeah... That's true," he said as he started walking towards the office. "You just stay down here and keep watch," he said as he climbed up the one story building. The wind started to pick up slightly and my exposed face burned from the cold. I quickly pulled down my goggles, making everything dull again. I took the rifle off of my shoulder and pointed it at the ground. I started to walk around, keeping an eye out like he wanted me to. As I looked from building to building, memories started coming back to me. Even though some were bad, I still relished them. It was when things were green and warm. Well...burning, not warm.

"Carson we're going back, now," Matt said climbing down from the roof.

"Wow that was quick," I said as I walked over to him.

"Yeah, I know. There's a blizzard coming, just like I thought," Matt said. I noticed that the snowflakes had become bigger than earlier and were coming down heavier than when we first left the ROTC building.

"Well then, I guess we should go back," I said to Matt as he looked into the destroyed office.

"Matt?  Matt!" I yelled, trying to get his attention.

"Something doesn't feel right," Matt said, starting to walk away from the office, still looking through the windows at an unseen enemy.

"Like what?" I asked, running up to him although he was just a couple of paces ahead.

"It feels like we're being watched," he said, finally looking at me. I looked behind me into the office as we went around the corner of the 600 building.  "I'm serious, something's watching us," he said, still looking around. Suddenly he stopped and started to rub his ears. I quickly turned around.

"What's wrong?" I said, becoming more and more paranoid by the second. He stopped rubbing them and looked at his gloved hands for a moment.

"I'm fine.  My ears started ringing, that's all," he said as he continued walking. I frantically looked around me, pulling my rifle close to my chest. He was right. We were being watched by someone...or something. After what seemed like an hour, we finally made it back to the Main ROTC building.

"Matt, I'm paranoid now thanks to you!" I yelled over the approaching blizzard. I quickly looked behind my shoulder and nearly had a heart attack.  As I looked at the corridor we had just walked down, something dashed across the open space. It ran on four legs, and was much bigger than any animal I had ever seen. I stopped and turned around, slowly walking backwards.

"Carson, what's wrong?" Matt asked, his hand on the door handle, anxious to get out of the blizzard. I turned back around and jogged up to him.

"Nothing, it's probably just me being paranoid. Mind tricks, you know?" I said, trying to reassure myself as well as him.

"Alright, let's just get inside," he said, opening the door. I quickly followed him inside, the warmth quickly clearing my mind of all the racing thoughts. I closed the door behind us and started taking off my jacket.

"So anyway, what did you find up there?" I asked as I took off my goggles, the vibrant colors making my eyes water slightly. I sat down at the table and pulled off my gloves and exercised my fingers.

"Just some wiring from an air conditioner and a camera," he said as he took off his backpack and laid it on the table. I pulled my face mask off my numbed face, poking it with my bare finger.

"Are you sure what you saw was just your imagination?" he said, his face showing pure fear.

"I am one-hundred percent sure it was my imagination. I mean, what I saw was like a gorilla type thing," I said grinning, realizing how ridiculous it was to be scared of it. Matt relaxed and closed his eyes.

"Good thing gorillas don't live in below freezing weather," he said as he put his hands behind his head. "Yeah," I said as I reached for my journal.

Two months now since the poles shifted.  Today had been a frightening day. With all the mind-tricks and hallucinations, we almost believed it all. But I can't help to think it's all real. I'm sure as soon as everyone gets back that feeling will go away. I can only hope so.