Chapter One

The wind howled furiously in the night as white flakes of snow danced uncontrollably in the air as a ferocious gust of wind blew through the planet Aboma. Two men sat wrapped in many layers inside a snowmobile that spurted the snow away from their path, and yet they still felt surrounded by it; even consumed by the snow storm. They weren't sure if this storm was the same throughout the planet, but they were pretty sure it probably was. It had been the same for nearly two years, a snow storm that never stopped.

As they watched the white swirling storm in front of them that obscured their path their thoughts went back to the Aboma they once remembered. The Aboma they remembered had been had been a lush and vibrant world. It was known throughout the universe as the planet that never sets, with its two suns it was very illuminated with only a short period of night for the planet. The entire planet shone, but now it was nothing but dead.

Two years ago, what was known as the White Plague rained down on them. They had of course seen changes in the weather but nothing so drastic as this. Within an hour, the planet was near consumed by snow, which many ignored and merely enjoyed; it would be gone soon and tranquillity would continue. However, it didn't and the snow continued to fall. Within a month the entire planet was covered in snow and the people of the world now faced a ecological upset on a global scale. Civilizations were cut off from each other from the sheer hieght of the snow, cutting off food routes and also freezing water access, the storms keeping them trapped in their tiny little worlds slowly killing them as they either starved to death or merely died from cold.

Children and the elderly were the first to go, Bran couldn't count how many children or elderly he had buried within the past year. Perhaps, it was better that way, every time he thought about the people they had lost he was met with a tremendous wieght of sadness in the pit of his stomach that would persist in niggling and prodding at him, He had seen many die from that, the Depression they called it, and it had taken many of his friends and family. He refused to let it happen to him. Even as he looked out into the sea of snow and seeing the blackness masked in white specks he refused to think of them. He refused to think of the people he'd lost.

It was the survival of the fittest now.

The planet had betrayed them and they it was now up to them and them alone to survive. This mentality was the same all over, with a divide being very apparent in the different countries of the planet; even the different towns. There was no time for charity any more. There was just them and them alone, anyone from outside their groups or towns was looked on with suspicion and fear. Anyone they didn't know was seen as spies or theives after their resources and would be dealt with accordingly.

This was a world in danger and a world filled with danger as many different elements fought against their survival. Food was very light, meaning that teams were elected to go out and find food, which was dangerous in itself as the snowy wastelands were rife with Snow Raiders. The Snow Raiders, were groups of theives whom stole from different townspeople who journeyed out into 'their' territory, they were murderous villains who's only mission was to survive and would steal and kill from all to ensure that.

It was what made these trips treacherous, not just the gale force wind you were subjected to, that very often would either disorientate the driver and cause travellers to get lost.

Bran sat breathing hot air into his hands as he tried to warm them up returning them back into his extra thick gloves that were wearing a bit thin from over use. He looked down at his hands to see the gloves frayed in places and having patches sewn on with mix-match materials such as dish towels and bits of cloth, anything really he could find. He didn't really need to warm his hands up but it had become habit these days. He looked out through the windscreen on the snowmobile at the dancing snowflakes splatting against the screen, as if like tiny bullets trying penetrate bullet proof glass to get its target.

"Storms getting worse," Bran noted to his partner Avril who was driving the snow machine. A surly man, Avril was not known for his large vocabulary and tended to lead his excurtions in silence which made things very uncomfortable. Not that many people blamed him, Avril had lost more than anyone in the past few years. Once a very profitable farmer, upon the white plague coming, his business when downhill and he had no idea how to farm in such circumstances, which meant he was unable to feed his family who died of the cold. This deeply affected Avril, taking it upon himself to do whatever he can to help the town survive, yet staying clear from getting close to anyone. In truth, this was the closest anyone ever got to old Avril; trapped in a tin can as a storm threatened to knock them from their path or else freeze them to death. Bran looked at Avril for a response, "maybe we should stop and make camp for the night?"

"No," Avril grunted as he pushed forth through the snowy turrain, breaking through the walls of white powder blowing it to one side and continuing on. "We carry on."

Avril and Bran suddenly flew forward as the snowmobile with a thud came to a stop, if not for the seat belts they would have been thrown through the window. They fell back into the seats dishevelled and wondering what they had hit, with the snow being so thick it was always a possibilities that something would be hit.

"What the hell was that?" Bran asked in shock and anger as he leant forward to see what was going on.

"Stay here," Avril grunted as he threw his seatbelt off, kicking the door of the snowmobile open. The storm exploded into the mobile as Avril made his way out, a tirade of snow hitting Bran as he tried to protect his face from the cold. The door slammed shut and Bran was left alone. He held his arms rubbing them as he felt the cold return to him. It was much more prominent after the door being opened, perhaps the surprise of the sudden explosion of cold had been the cause of it. He sat trying to keep the cold out as he waited for Avril to retun.

Avril crashed down into the snow his knees falling deep inside the mounds of snow. He grumbled as he pushed hard to slam the door of the snowmobile as the force of the wind fought against him. He flicked his torch and moved towards the front of the mobile. He shone his light on it and looked closely.

Nothing. He looked on confused as he could see nothing to suggest they had hit anything. What had caused this? And then it happened. Avril felt a chill. It shot up his spine so hard he felt frozen to the spot. He knew it wasn't the cold. It was like something was behind him. Something creeping behind him.

Bran felt his entire body prickling as cold filled him, no matter how much he rubbed himself to warm himself, he couldn't gain any warmth. He gasped as he felt his the sudden coldness fill him and consume his body. He went rigid holding the hand brake for support as he felt every bone his body go stiff with a cold chill.

He looked down at the root of his coldness to see flecks of snow creeping up his body connecting together to become ice. It slithered up his body holding him in the spot. He couldn't run. He felt his arms freezing over. He was surrounded as the ice began to freeze over. He couldn't scream as his lungs began to freeze over. He tried as he looked out of the windscreen to see the thing stalking Avril. He tried to scream but couldn't as he the ice snaked up his neck.

"AVRIL!" He gasped in a haughty raspy yell that escaped his throat out of sheer force before finally being frozen.

Avril turned as he heard the scream to see Bran's last gasp of air as he fell dead against the seat of the snowmobile. He gasped in horror turning quickly as he too had heard something behind him coming towards him. His eyes bulged and he felt a cold stab of fear hit his entire body as he saw the creature before him. A hulking, ape like snow creature stood towering over him, its body coming out from the snow beneath him. Its lifeless eyes looked down at Avril, letting out a monstrous roar as it leapt in to attack and in the end all Avril could do was scream in terror. The howling winds of the storm masking his last words and leaving them to their fates. No one would know what had become of them until morning, by then it would be too late.