A World Covered In Snow

"Sister...are we going to die?"
Elisha looked at her younger companion in pure surprise; never before had she been asked that question, by her sister at least. She couldn’t say the same for her friends and strangers that the two travelers meet. Lilia looked up at Elisha; her sparkling green eyes closed slightly, her curly ginger hair tangled around her oval face and was greasy. There was some dirt on her skin, which was slightly dark even though the sun had not been out in weeks, no, in months. She wore a large, fur coat, fur pants and fur shoes along with a hat and a scarf that covered her neck and some of her face, all of the clothing being a shade of white or grey to hide them better and all of it being a bit big on her. For a moment, Elisha was speechless, trying to figure out why Lilia would even think that; they had survived this far, hadn't they? Why would they die now? Then again, people seemed to think morbidly in a time of crisis.
"Of course not, Lilia. We’ll survive." she finally answered, hiding the small amount of nervousness and worry in her voice and smiling softly at the young girl who, in turn, smiled back at her.
Elisha looked around at the frozen terrain, the empty buildings and the broken glass that laid upon the snow, the frost that covered it sparkling; but most of all, she looked at the corpses that were hidden in the shadows, their figures unrecognizable due to being covered in ice and snow. If you were to have melted off the ice though, you could have recognized them; preserved in the ice forever. She had hoped that Lilia had not seen the dead bodies, seeing as how they were so far back in the dark corners of the homes, but apparently; she did not get that simple, small wish. Reaching down, she grabbed her little sister’s gloved hand, trying to calm her down by giving it a light squeeze, smiling softly. Lilia seemed to ease up a little, squeezing her hand slightly back before starting to walk again. Side by side, they went through the town, Elisha looking in each and every building for anything useful that they could use that had been left behind by past inhabitants, while Lilia stayed outside to look for anyone coming (and to also stay away from the bodies.)
When they finished looking around the small, silent town, Elisha had found three cans of corn, some frozen bottled water and a pocket knife, the blade frozen shut; she would have to thaw it out later on during the day. Carrying the goods, both of the girls started to walk back from the way they had come, sometimes ducking behind bushes or trees when they thought that they heard something, or perhaps, someone. Though, usually the something was much more dangerous than someone. It had just become that way, fearing the animals over the humans.
Finally though, they both reached a small shack, slightly hidden by the snow that surrounded it, a hidden fort if you will. Walking inside, Elisha quickly made sure that no one had decided that the place was abandoned and made it their home before allowing Lilia to step foot inside. Safety first, she always told Lilia when the young girl got frustrated or annoyed at the constant checking. They sat down on the several different colored, matted blankets that covered the hard, cold floor, laying down what they had found in the dead town. Elisha took out the pocket knife, putting it in her light grey, fur trimmed boots; it would thaw out in there, though she would have to ignore the feeling of the water once he did. She then got up, grabbing one of the cans of corn and walking over to a small circle of rocks, the middle of it covered in small, burned logs and ashes, a small tin pan sitting on a the pile of logs. The pan had been left at the shed, along with some plates, silverware, and cups, all of which had cracks and chips through them. The person that had lived there before the two had had to have thought that they would never use the stuff and it would be a waste of space; Elisha wondered if that person regretted not bring it with them now. Or better yet, if that person was even still alive. She found herself thinking these thoughts everytime the two girls found a new shelter, but she realized she just couldn't help it. Had the person found death or had they found a place where they belonged, where they could be happy? Elisha liked to imagine that they had found a happy ending. Though, this always made her depressed as she though about it more; they found a happy ending, whilst Lilia and her were still struggling to survive in the wilderness.
"Hungry, Lilia?" She asked her little sister, looking down over at her.
"A little." she replied, looking up at Elisha, her face slightly red from the wind and cold. "Can we have just a bit?"
"Of course."
Before Elisha started to cook, she pulled off her white cloak, welcomed by the chilly air that curled around her and struck like pins and needles into her skin, through her blood. She did her best to ignore this as she threw the cloak gently over Lilia’s shivering body frame, smiling at hr younger sibling softly.
"Thank you...but please, don't be stubborn and freeze."
"Just be thankful I'm even giving you my cloak for the moment!" Elisha snapped playfully at her, getting a strict look before the two laughed, the strict look replaced with one of happiness.
She then turned away, pulling out a different knife, one that she always kept with her and opening the can of corn, pouring the contents out into the tin pan. Before she continued, she let out a deep breath, seeing her frosty breath in front of her, the little cloud of pale white swirling around in the air and then disappearing. She pulled out some matches and spared one to light the fire, even if they only had a few left in the small, pale red box. Then, sitting beside Lilia, she waited for it to cook, sometimes leaning up to stir the contents, cuddling close to her sister for heat when she wasn't doing that. Of course, it wasn't going to be as good as it used to be, back when electricity was available, back when everything was normal, but it would be edible and that was all they needed, food. After it was finished, she used a spoon to scoop it out, splitting it out evenly onto two small, cracked plates, one white and one a pale blue, handing one to Lilia and keeping the other for herself. Eating, the two girls cracked jokes, chattering softly about dreams or ideas that they had had, about things that they had seen today that the other did not. It was simple things like that that kept the two from letting the insanity of the situation they were in get to them. After finishing their food though, Elisha could tell that Lilia was desperately tired from so much walking today, even though she was fighting to stay awake; she obviously didn't want to fall asleep tonight, probably in fear of having nightmares of the corpses that they had seen earlier that day. But this couldn't be helped, everyone needed sleep, even when sleep threatened dreams of terror.
"Rest, dear." she whispered softly, making Lilia curl up beneath the covers. "Tomorrow will be a long day for us; we need to hunt tomorrow and try to find new shelter. This one is getting too old for us and it is time for us to move on to some place else."
Not objecting or putting up any argument, though giving a few thoughtful glances, Lilia closed her eyes after pulling the blankets close, shivering softly even under the blankets. Within a few minutes though, she was fast asleep, her breathing slow and steady, her face showing no emotion while she slept, lips turned down in a small frown. Elisha grabbed her cloak, which had been thrown across the room during the process of putting Lilia to bed, and pulled it back over her, tying the black ribbon around her neck that held it around her shoulders and snuggling close into it, glad to be a bit warmer now. She sat leaned up against the wall beside the doorway, watching Lilia sleep, letting her mind wander through her many thoughts that rushed through her head.
"She's so peaceful...so calm..." Elisha thought silently to herself after a moment.
She sighed, remembering the fact that Lilia had had to grow up so fast, that she had to mature quickly when the accident occurred, even though she was just a small child. And really, it wasn't fair to her, but it couldn't be helped.
"Yes..." Elisha thought suddenly, frowning when she remembered. "The accident..."

A year or so back, something had went terribly wrong, some kind of nuclear test that was meant to help save the world from global warming, which has increased dramatically. A capsule was shot up into the atmosphere, containing some kind of icy liquid; Elisha was a bit fuzzy on the details as to what the liquid was, as to what it was even called; she had never paid much attention to the project, until it changed everything. Once the liquid was up in the atmosphere, it had exploded, causing the substance to fall down onto Earth; this was done everywhere, in large groups and at the same time. At first the project had worked just as perfectly; temperatures were going down slightly though nothing to worry about, the polar ice capsules were starting to freeze and the Antarctic was starting to become secure again. The animal life was increasing and everything was starting to look good for Earth's future.
Then it happened.
Just one day, everyone woke up and BAM! There were feet upon feet of snow, breaking records and, in fact, it was still snowing. Everyone thought nothing of it at first; that it would all just melt sooner or later, then flow into the ocean. But it didn't happen like that; it kept snowing until entire houses and stores were covered, trapping people inside their homes. This caused the death of millions, most from the cold and sickness though some from starvation or from even committing suicide to escape a slow and freezing death. Crops and animals started to die quickly, food started to sell out faster in those few super markets you could get to; gangs were everywhere, beating and even killing people over food, clothing and money (Though money was not their main goal anymore.)
It was no longer safe.
And where was the government? Where was the president when all this chaos was occurring?
Save and sound in a bunker full of food, water and clothing, while the citizens were dying or committing murder. The world just broke. It shut down. Everything froze and along with it, the compassion, trust, and honesty of humans.

Elisha sighed, not wanting to think about how Lilia had been seven when it happened and when they lost their parents; the parents who were trying to get food for them, trying to make the best out of the worst situation. Trying to survive.
"No." she muttered in her head, shaking it slightly, and a fierce look in her eyes. "I won't think of that; not tonight, and hopefully not ever again. Besides, we have survived this long without our parents; this just shows that we can be strong."
Elisha looked at Lilia once more before standing up and creeping out of the house, silently closing the door behind her; she wanted to take a small walk to clear her overactive mind, just around in the forest. The moon provided enough light to guide her and the snow crunched under her feet as she walked, though she was not very worried about scaring off any animals and if there were any humans around that attacked her, she had two knifes; the one in her boot, which had defrosted and another one that was hidden by the waist of her pants. Elisha reached down and touched the knife, reassuring herself that she could protect herself whenever there was trouble. She reached a lake, the water being completely ice all the way through; there was no way it wasn't. Looking down at it, she was slightly confused for a moment by the shapes in it, though she smiled softly when she realized that the dark silhouettes where fish swimming, frozen in time. Other than that, the moonlight lit up the lake to where she could see her own reflection.
Elisha’s pale skin looked transparent, her sleek, black hair going to about her waist and her brown eyes glinting from the light. Underneath the cloak, she wore a grey and white wool shirt and pants, which was also lined with animal fur; it didn't keep out the freezing air, Lilia had the type of clothing for that, but it was warm enough for Elisha. She sacrificed anything that would keep Lilia safe, giving it up to her sibling. Besides, she was one of those few people who had adjusted to the temperatures; it didn't bother her anymore, just as being poor would have had at this time; no one used money anymore, they just took what they wanted. She frowned softly, a sudden image of her parents entering her mind. While Lilia looked a lot like their mom, Elisha looked more like their dad; her personality was like his also. Cool, collected, smart, fast to figure out things, strong willed... she was almost exactly like him, which she had to admit, she was proud of. She remembered how her dad had forced her into hunting, saying that she would be grateful for it one day and that it would come in handy.
"Never did I think it would come in handy with this." she muttered jokingly under her breath, a small cloud coming out.
After standing there for a few more moments, just looking around, she realized that it was getting late. So, not even glancing back at the lake, Elisha walked back to the shack that Lilia and her grudgingly called 'home'. When she reached it, she did the same thing she always did when coming back from a walk; she circled the area, checking to make sure no one was there, and then went inside, slowly and silently. Seeing that Lilia was still there and asleep and that all the supplies were where it usually was or where they had thrown it down, Lithic sat down, leaning up against the wall again. She watched Lilia for a few more minutes before finally sighing and closing her eyes, welcomed by the darkness that surrounded her. Her body started to become limp as she faded into sleep. Even though she was asleep, if anyone were to even snap a twig or hit against the house lightly, she would be able to be up quickly and be fully awake, ready for a fight to defend Lilia, herself and their supplies. On this night though, none of that sort of thing happened; it was just a quiet, snowy night as the girls sleep peacefully, shivering softly in their dreams. Just the two girls who didn't know how much it meant to the world and how many sacrifices they would commit to save it.