Chapter 11: The Game
"Usually the places he makes me go are a lot, creepier." Rilou muttered through chattering teeth. Apparently, Cerin hid the first thing in the fucking mountains. The Himalayan Mountains, to be more accurate. Rilou was irritated at his prickness, while Logan was just full blown pissed off in general. The guy was as cocky as he was annoying. And the damn bastard knew it! "I bit my tongue." Rilou mumbled out, getting Logan's attention. He was used to cold weather like this, so it didn't affect him much. He forgot Rilou was in a nightgown. He picked her up and just carried her through the snow. It was sunny out, thank God, so they could see where they were going. It was also really clear outside, so no blizzards for the time being. Time. They had four hours to find this item. To save it, as Cerin accidentally, yet purposely, slipped out of his big mouth. Yet they had no idea what they were looking for besides the 'clue' the Nightmare Man had given them. 'It can do what you're walking on' he had said. Some help he is.
"Any ideas? You're the puzzle lover." Logan grunted, hopping off a ledge and landing about ten feet down.
"Shut up. It would be easier if I knew what we were looking for. He never makes any sense. All the time 'Let's play!' or some other form of riddle me this crap! And what was with the Guardian thing? Why'd he call you that? He's such a useless prick! I never get why I had to be handed the job of dealing with that useless piece of trash! I wish I could just pound his empty skull in!" She was grumbling to herself now, basically ignoring the cold and the man carrying her.
"Well, it's something to do with snow, right? Or ice?" Logan tried getting her to focus, as much as he wanted to curse the dark loving bastard too, they were running out of time. Four hours was not long, no matter how you looked at it.
"I guess. Or a mountain but that would be too obvious. It can do what we're walking on. I have no clue." She looked around them for anything out of place. Nothing. Just a bright, sunshine filled, snowy mountain day. A herd of mountain goats were hopping around the steeper part of the mountain around them, using their hooves to hold themselves high on the incredibly steep incline. "I miss Carrot." Rilou moaned, burying her head in Logan's shoulder.
"His fur would be helpful for you with all this fucking cold, bub." He mumbled, still watching the goats. There were multiple goats. Maybe fifteen or so. Most of them were white with a small hint of sandy color fur. But five of them were…black. The black ones were bigger, and they were scattered randomly through the herd. But what made him most uneasy was that they weren't climbing the steep incline, or eating whatever the other goats were. They were staring at the mutant duo. With beady glowing white eyes that matched the snow they were walking on. It appeared as though they were statues they were so damn still. Like vultures watching a dying calf, waiting for it to die.
"Logan!" Rilou yelled out. Logan swiveled his head down to glare at the tiny thing that yelled in his ear.
"What the fuck?"
"I called your name like twenty freakin times Fur-Face!" She hissed, hopping out of his arms and into the snow. It came up to her knees due to her size. "I think I got it." She didn't seem happy about it, which wasn't a good sign to the clawed one.
"Something tells me I ain't gonna like this." She gave a snort.
"No you're not. Especially if I'm right. We have exactly three hours and twelve minutes to go."
"Where the fuck did that hour go!" He hissed. "We had four just a moment ago."
"Time flies when you're playing games. Especially Cerin's games." Rilou shrugged. "Nightmare bastard." She added venomously.
"Fucking perfect." Logan groaned. His head hurt from all this information and thinking. "Did you figure it out or not, kid?" He ground out. The dream girl gave him a sympathetic look.
"Well, I was thinking." Rilou started, walking through the snow as she spoke, Logan right next to her. Her albino hair matched the pure white snow, camouflaging perfectly. "Cerin said we should play the game to 'save' the things we have to find, right?" Logan nodded. "He also mentioned that if we weren't to play the game, he would dispose of these things to save him the trouble of putting them back where they belong. And he wanted to play so bad he also mentioned we wouldn't want to skip out on finding these things."
"So that would imply that whatever the fuck these are, they must mean something to the both of us, right." Logan looked down at Rilou for confirmation on his thought. She nodded. Rilou noticed a few rocks a little ways ahead of them. Not covered in snow, yet it was inclined higher than they were. And she was knee deep in it. That was weird.
"Exactly Fur-Face." She said, still walking towards the snow free rocks. "We know that it has to be an item that means something to not only you or me, but the both of us. Now as for his hint, it can do what you're walking on, I think the mountain is too obvious."
"The snow." Logan hummed. Rilou nodded again.
"Simple, plain, yet difficult. If we're wrong about this one detail, we're screwed." She said plainly. They reached the rocks, and the girl touched one. "It's warm."
"Bullshit." Logan said, reaching out and pressing his hand to it as well. It was warm. Too warm. "A volcano?"
"In the Himalayan Mountains? I don't think so." She shook her head, looking at the rocks. Light steam was coming from them. It rose above the rocks, then the steam froze in the air and fell to the rocks again. It did this over and over. "It's a clue Cerin left us."
"How nice of him." Logan spat.
"It's not snow exactly. It's…ICE! Oh my God! I got it!" Rilou went into a panic state. Running in circles, babbling a language Logan didn't understand. After a minute or two of calling her name to deaf ears, he grabbed the collar of her pale pink nightgown, yanking her up so she was dangling in front of his face eye to eye.
"Oi! Take a breath kid!" He snapped. She took a long, loud breath, puffing out her cheeks, then blew it all out.
"We've gotta save Bobby!