Heat, Stress, Burns, and Cuts Ch. 09

The shimmering lights of the city beneath twinkled a majestic depiction for only me to see. The jet felt empty without my friends and lovers to accompany me, though I knew that they wouldn't be safe on this newly embarked journey. It was a one man journey into a land that Freyja knew best. The clock struck 02:07AM as we touched down in Fairbanks. The game was afoot.

I departed from the plane and went directly to the Chevrolet Tahoe that was waiting for me on the tarmac. With a wave from the pilots you heard the planes thrusters firing backup to travel to their final destination of Anchorage.

The Chevy was a warm and welcoming contrast to the frigid Alaskan air that gusted outside. I threw the SUV into drive and began to navigate the snow covered roads that led to my cabin. The roads boundaries were barely legible as the snow was danced about across the windshield, and the wind continuing to scream its wispy soprano.

I came to an impasse, and quickly found that the roads I once thought to be bad were only the main roads. I turned off to one of the side roads and was instantly grateful for the ride height and knobby tires on the Tahoe. The snow wasn't terrible, but the inability to find roads was the real issue. Thankfully Vitur was here to navigate me through, showing my boundaries through my HUD. After a stressful forty five minutes we reached the driveway to the cabin. I crawled down the twisty drive with the Tahoe in 4Low. I grabbed my duffle from the back of the SUV and made my way inside, thankful for impromptu purchase of snow pants and waterproof boots before boarding the jet from Houston.

The cabin was musty with age but elegantly furnished. Just outside the backdoor sat my snowmobile and toboggan, which will be taking me on this journey. I flicked on the lights to the cabin and walked into the kitchen. I opened the fridge and saw that whoever dropped off my sled was kind enough to drop a steak into the fridge too. I couldn't let it go to waste so I picked one of the well oiled cast iron pans off the rack above the stove and cooked some dinner. While the steak was resting I hunted for some whiskey to no avail. I settled for a couple of swiggs from the gallon of water that was in the fridge. The other gallons have been kept in the heated toboggan compartment. I headed into the living room with the steak on my plate and sat at the single chair that inhabited the room. All of my gear was laid out. I had my rifle, meals, water, blankets, changes of clothes, and first aid kit. I also had my starstone bracelet keeping my left wrist safe.

I munched down the steak and realized that it was time to man up and get on my way. I got dressed in the warmest gear I had and headed out to the sled to load up. Everything was loaded in less than a half hour. I headed out due north. The plan was to average 150 miles, if not more per day. The only reason I would need to stop is to warm myself up in the heated toboggan. By the time I had left, the sun had started to rise. Thankfully there is nobody for miles out this way. My meeting point with Freyja was 400 miles away. I figured that I could be there within two and a half days. The bitter winds bit at my face as I traversed the unkind terrain. Blistering cold barraged me as I continued to skulk. I started out making great time due to the agility, power, and length of the sled. It was nearing dusk before anything eventful happened. I thought it was going almost too well, covering over 200 miles the first day with little to no trouble. However, I was soon informed by Vitur of impending danger ahead.

'Sir, we've got an armed convoy approaching from the east, about a mile out. They seem to be a part of the League of Assassins.'

'Well guess who sold us out,' I vented to myself before my train of thought was interrupted.

'No need to guess, Daniel.' Freyja spoke in my head 'I did. Think of it as a challenge of sorts. Get rid of them in anyway you would like. As far as I see it, this is a two fold advantage for you, you get to assess your adversaries and fight with the audience of the Gods, who are surely watching this one. I'm gonna grab the popcorn, ta ta.'

I flicked the rocker switch on the snowmobile that enabled cloaking mode and found a crest that would serve as my vantage point. I tasked Vitur with learning about long range sharpshooting and had Saga dig for information from my past ancestors. I hopped off the snowmobile and grabbed my rifle off the toboggan. The 6.5 Creedmoor rifle I was armed with had a usable shooting distance of out to 1000yds. So with any luck then enemy won't see me until it is too late.

Vitur provided the information he retrieved and told me that I had around three minutes until they would be within accurate range of the rifle. I made it a point to remain hidden. I realized that my muzzle flash, or the discharge of fire that comes out the end of a rifle after you shoot a round will give away my position. I improvised and grabbed my starstone bracelet and morphed it into a flash hider. I screwed it onto the end of the rifle, only two minutes until they came. I loaded up three magazines full of ammunition.

One minute. They were starting to come into sight. The had two hummers with tank-like tracks on them to deal with the deep, powdery snow. The hummers were surrounded by two snowmobiles in the front, and two in the back, each with two riders on them. They were sporting .223 bolt action rifles, which had a closer effective range then my 6.5 Creedmoor. At this moment, I have the tactical advantage.

'Vitur, scan their vehicles and see what materials they are made of. Can the heal themselves?'

'Hold.' Vitur said, thirty seconds passed 'No sir, they are only metal. Non self repairing.'

My plan was solidified. I grasped the turrets of the high powered scope of my rifle and approximated their distance and the windage. I clicked the dials of the scope to zero in on my targets. My first target was the hood of their hummers. It was a large enough target where I felt comfortable taking the first few shots with minimal accuracy. I took deep slow breath as Vitur's information dictated. At the bottom of my breath, when my lungs were empty, I used the natural momentary pause of breath as my shooting point, in efforts to keep my body as still as possible.

The squeeze of the trigger resulted in a small amount of recoil as my shot rang true to its target, as it hit dead center in the middle of the hummer, throwing the 6.5 Creedmoor bullet directly into the middle of the engine block. For a couple seconds the hummer didn't stop, until I saw a great ploom of smoke and heard the distant coughing and sputtering of the hummers engine. I pulled the bolt of the rifle back and chambered another round. Another accurate shot resulted in the second hummer being immobilized, as well.

I immediately saw the snowmobiles in the front turn around and race to cover, frequently looking behind them trying to find where the shot came from. The latter set of snowmobiles joined their compatriots in retreating for cover. This wasn't good enough, I needed to immobilized those snowmobiles too. The snowmobiles raced back to cover within a rocky ridge up a small incline from where the hummers sit dead. The passengers within the hummer stayed put, I assume on orders of the mobile team who are most likely hiding their snowmobiles to go and retrieve their associates.

I hopped onto my snowmobile and decided to find a better vantage point. I drove up to the second peak of the hill, it was over further with a partial view to the ridge where they hid. I reached into the bag on the toboggan where the binoculars were located. I looked in and saw that they had parked their snowmobiles inside of a small wooded area, any gunshots would have a high probability of being ricocheted and missing its target. I decided to wait a little while and observe their movements.

I sat looking through the scope of my rifle trying to find out more about these people. They are well trained, intelligent, and cunning. Yet they are unskilled in offensive attacks, they are impatient, and brash. They also seemed to panic under pressure. This was seen in how they didn't maneuver their hummers into a more tactical location with the limited time they had left after my bullets made contact. This wasn't the same caliber of people who chased me in Paris. These people were the B-Team, at best. I didn't know what it meant, but I knew it was notable.

I decided it was time to eat as I hadn't done that in over twelve hours. I pulled an MRE from the compartment within the toboggan as well as a gallon of lukewarm water. As I ate my meal I longed for a fire and a warm cup of something in my hand. Suddenly, I heard the spits and pops of a crackling fire only a couple feet in front of me. I looked up from my meal and saw a fire, as well as a person. I instantly knew him, he was the Jarl, one of my past souls that live within me. Half of his face was tattooed with Nordic Tribal print and he wore his hair long and in a ponytail. His rugged outside and big build made him look menacing. He held a cup of coffee in his hand, gazing down upon the plain we were situated above.

"Don't worry," He spoke, sipping his drink in between talking "the fire isn't real, your position isn't compromised."

"..." I was speechless. Up until now I had only had visions my past souls memories, not talking or seeing them directly. I sweeped my hand into the fire only to feel the powdery snow entrap my gloved hand.

"We were waiting until you had adapted more to our presence within your body." He sipped his coffee, "It must be odd to see someone here who is not actually here. I am Herald, and I was sacrificed for the glory of Odin." He said extending his hand above the fire to meet mine.

"Daniel," I said shaking his hand, which actually gave feedback unlike the temperature of the nonexistent fire, "Glad to finally be able to speak with you and not just see tidbits of your life lived."

"Ah, and the same to you. We have been introduced to the life you live and I speak for the four of us when I say that you have our admiration." He gazed down to the ridge where they had began constructing a tent. "They are your enemies, you see them, and yet you don't attack them. Why?" He said looking perplexed.

"When you fought, there were battle horns and drums to keep the rhythm of battle, correct?" He nodded his head, "In my time, we don't have that, we fight like Loki, our wars in the shadows. We need to take our time and plan very carefully. It isn't as straightforward as your time. Part of me wishes I could rush them right now, but I need to wait. I wish to only immobilize their vehicles and not kill them."

"But they are your enemies, you must rid them from the world!" Herald said confidently.

"They are not my true enemies. They were hired by someone as a test to my strength. They do not know me. Their leaders know me, but these individuals don't harbor any hatred towards me. I cannot kill them for that reason. If they provoke me, I will kill them, but I will not act first, for they do not know who they are going up against."

"I understand now. It is as if you are surveying a new land that you are unsure of, treading carefully." He said smiling.

"Exactly. Now I need to find a way to immobilize the remainder of their vehicles, they are the machines parked over there." I said gesturing to the trees on the ridge where sat the snowmobiles.

"Simple," he said as if everybody around him knew what to do, nonchalantly sipping his coffee. He saw the look of confusion on my face "Oh, you traverse that ridge," he said pointing to the crest of the opposing mountain "and drop down into that wooded area, immobilize, and then scale back up to the crest. Simple."

I took a moment to take in the entirety of his idea. It was a simple and overlooked plan. I had rope that I could easily scale down the side of the mountain with. The trek over to the crest wouldn't be terrible either, I could do it with relative ease. I soon came to realize the resource I now had access to with these souls.

"That should work," I said taking the last bite of my MRE, "Stick around and you can help with the climb, and maybe see my demise if you're lucky." I said chuckling.

He chuckled in response and raised his seemingly bottomless coffee cup "To Valhalla, my friend."

I packed up my stuff onto the snowmobile and started to head over to the pre-designated climbing point. The shrieks of frigid gusty winds masked the minimal sounds made by my silent snowmobile on the mountain.

I found a large pine tree up in the climbing location and Herald showed me the best knot to use for it. I went to go and check for enemies around the location. It seemed as though a few of them were patrolling a perimeter as the rest of them were huddled around a fire near camp. The camp was roughly 500yds away and elevated from the snowmobile sight. I grabbed the starstone off the end of the rifle and formed it into a bracelet again. I strapped into the rope with a carabiner and started my descent. Herald floated effortlessly next to me just watching my descent.

"Slow," He coached "your relying on the wind noise to cover your moments. Thor will only grant you so much favor. Go slower and focus on minimizing noise." I headed his instruction and continued at a slower rate.

The snowmobiles were now visible, I tasked Vitur with keeping an eye on the patrolmen as I came down. He setup a map on my HUD and updated me with live tracking. I unhooked and dropped off the rope 200 yds from my targets. I instantly dove into a prone position and began to crawl my way over to the sight. Herald was standing and sauntering as I shuffled over on my belly. I saw on my HUD that an enemy was about to come around a corner. I stopped dead and grabbed my bracelet, ready to transform it to a weapon if need be.

The guard came around the corner, glanced behind him, and in front of him then unzipped his fly to take a piss. After he finished, he started to whistle and walk in the opposite direction, glancing only slightly at the snowmobiles.

I made it over to the snowmobiles, and had my Leatherman out, I cut the fuel lines out completely to avoid quick fixes. As well, I cut the throttle linkages, and pulled the fuel pump fuses. As I turned to leave I noticed a guard that Vitur didn't pick up off the side of my left shoulder, thankfully my body was shielded from him by the sled. He continued to walk toward me.

"Looks like the fun is about to begin." Herald said uninterested while throwing a pistachio in the air and catching it in his mouth.

He continued to walk toward, eying the sleds. I transformed my bracelet into a dagger and got ready. He continued walking until he was right beside me, his head was on a swivel until it set eyes onto me. My moves were quick, the dagger went fast and effortlessly through his flesh. I eased his descent to the ground and ended him as quickly as possible.

"Soon you two will be brothers in Valhalla, no need to fret, my friend." Herald said comfortingly.

I continued to trek back to the rope and climbed up the trail I descended only a half hour ago. I got everything packed up and I got onto my snowmobile and went riding toward my destination again, with no threats to worry about. It would be at least three days until they would get equipment or exfil from the location. I had Vitur schedule a letter to be sent to local authorities if they were still there after two days. I've already killed one, I don't want the others on my conscious as well.

The journey was continued, putting 175 miles on the clock in just under 12 hours. I was closing in on Freyja's meeting point with only 25 miles left to go. Shinobi's report came up as no surprises to be found on Freyja's part. I think I've already seen her surprise. I came upon the summit of the tallest peak yet and I was able to see the meeting point clear as day. It was a small wooden cabin. There was smoke coming from the chimney, I assume Freyja had already arrived.

It was a straight shot to the cabin from here, it took around three hours still, due to the small amount of forestry to deal with. I pulled up and dismounted my snowmobile. I walked up to the porch, I remembered why I was here and what had happened the night I had met her; Hiro. I put my emotions aside and approached this meeting from a stoic angle. I walked inside.

There stood the deep emerald eyes and vibrant auburn haired beauty herself, short and feisty, you could just tell.

"Hello Freyja," I said waking into the cabin, taking off my coat and snow pants, fixing myself a drink and sitting on the couch.

"By all means, make yourself comfortable." She said sarcastically.

"Done." I said pointing to the whiskey in my hand and gesturing to my removed garments.

"Damn," she started "You really have some balls on you, huh?" she said giggling and sitting on the couch opposite me.

"I've been well endowed hereditarily. Now, are we are here only to talk of the size and contents of my testicles, or is there something else?"

"Well, my thoughts were that this was to be a roundtable discussion. I answer questions, and you see about accepting my offer of immortality."

"Ah. Sounds fun. What do you know of Hiro's death?" I said curtly.

"We're still on that old man? Come on Daniel. Think larger, use that enhanced brain of yours and guess what I know." I bored a hole through her emerald eyes with mine, she gave in. "Okay, I knew that something was going to happen, however I never know how or when it will happen. My intuition told me that the killing would happen at this outing because Hiro only left his building on small occasion. Happy?" she asked. I nodded cautiously.

"So. You are a Norse goddess," she nodded in acknowledgement "so the Norse gods are real, how much power do you have, are you all knowing or do your knowledge limits have bounds as you description of the event of Hiro assume?"

"Well you seem to have answered your own question. The only one who is all knowing is the all father, Odin... Well, there is another person; Ambrose. But that is... Debatable to say the least. I digress, Odin: You haven't met him - yet. After the events today, he has taken a liking to you. That is no small feat, give yourself a pat on the back for that one." she said, as I felt rather happy with that news "we don't know everything, but we know enough. More than you or other humans, less than the all father. Hopefully that makes sense."

"Yes, somewhat. So why are you offering me immortality and why do I feel as if you are trying to sell me on the concept?" I asked.

"Well, because I've been told to for starters. As we just discussed, I don't know all. Though I can take a guess: I assume that it is due to your level head, competence in most fields, and the position in which you hold. That is all I know. To answer your second question, I am trying to sell you. People think that immortality would be a great gift. Well, it is for the first couple centuries, then it is a steady slope to depression. This is why he has have allowed companions to come with you if you decide to take the offer. No one should be immortal by themselves. You will see everyone around you die, slowly, one by one." she said as her eyes showed a look of deep despair. "But if you accept my offer, you'll have me to keep you company" she purred, and sat next to me. "and five others of your choosing and our vetting." she finished, tracing her hand up my thigh.

"Folkvangr is your home, correct?" I asked, she nodded, "and Folkvangr is where the dead go, right?"

"Some, not all." she said.

"Then why don't you go home and see some of those who are there?"

"Because Odin does not will it." She sighed. "I only go home when it is ordered, the same goes for coming back to earth, or other planets."