New chapter! Updates will continue be roughly every 1-2 months for now, though hopefully closer to every month if I can pull it off, but it's not easy with work. I'd still love to finish this by the end of the year, but if that doesn't happen we should have a complete story by early 2021 :D In case anyone's wondering, my knee is almost completely healed lol Hope everyone's having a great Labor Day weekend! I myself will be checking out some online sales after posting this XD
Thank you to Guest for your review! Always appreciated :) "It Snows in Hell" by Lordi is the chapter song. Enjoy!
I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.
Mei Mei couldn't remember a quieter breakfast.
She, Madoka, Gingka, and Chao Xin all sat at the same table, barely eating. For the rest of the students around them, it seemed like any other day. For the four of them, it already felt like death with despair not even bothering to creep in anymore. Despair was here and the feeling was all too real. Madoka had insisted they all go down to breakfast and take advantage of their last real opportunity for food, but it was proving easier said than done.
"Meet up back here as soon as the bell rings," Madoka instructed. She held an apple in her hands, playing with it nervously.
Based off that, Mei Mei realized, they had less than twenty minutes. She forced herself to finish the pancakes she had picked out. They felt heavy as they congealed in her stomach. She needed as much time as possible to go back to the room, grab her things, and do a quick sweep of the room to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything important.
Gingka looked over at the table he normally shared with his friends, only to find it was empty.
"I've got to go find them now," he said, jumping up. "I'll be back in time, don't worry." Before anyone had a chance to respond, he'd already run out of the dining hall.
Madoka's eyes chased after him. Despite his comment, she did look worried.
Madoka stood up, encouraging Chao Xin and Mei Mei to do the same. Sighing, she dumped out the remaining contents on her tray.
"We should do the same. Twenty minutes will go by faster than we'd like."
Mei Mei followed her friend out, her throat tight. Madoka seemed tense, and it didn't take much to figure out why. Mei Mei prayed everything would work out, for her friend and for the rest of them.
Madoka slung her backpack over her shoulder as soon as they were back in their dorm, barely paying the room any attention as she walked back out.
Knowing her time was limited, Mei Mei went marginally slower, taking in everything one last time. This time, they couldn't come back if they failed to get away. There was no back-up plan waiting for them if they returned to the castle. It'd all come down to this one final chance.
"C'mon, Mei Mei," Madoka urged gently. "It's time for us to go."
One last glimpse at the beds, Mei Mei was reminded of a simpler time, earlier in the year when the four girls all sat on them, giggling and doing homework or painting their nails. Mei Mei shut the door behind her, locking inside the remainder of her belongings that would have to be left behind and the memories with them.
They made it back to the dining hall with two minutes to spare. Chao Xin arrived at roughly the same time, while Gingka sped in just as the bell chimed.
"Sorry," he gasped, catching his breath. "I've been looking all over. I couldn't find Kyoya and the others. They must have already gone to class."
Mei Mei didn't dare look at Madoka. If Gingka's friends weren't joining them, it only meant one thing.
When Mei Mei finally did glance over, she saw Gingka holding Madoka's hands in his. A shadow had eclipsed Madoka's face.
"I have to stay here," he began softly. "If we can, we'll try to get away, too. I can't leave without the others; as soon as I find them, we'll do our best to catch up with you."
"I know," Madoka said quietly. "Good luck."
He kissed Madoka quickly before running down the hall and vanishing out of sight.
Mei Mei's heart closed around her throat. Her heart broke for Madoka, knowing that if Gingka didn't leave with them now, there was really no chance of him making it out alive. Every minute counted.
Madoka wiped her eyes hastily. "Okay, listen up! It's just the three of us, and as a small group it'll probably take a while before Celestia realizes we're gone. She's probably distracted with whatever she's had planned for today, so we'll count on that to keep her out of our way, at least long enough to get away. We can't waste any more time if we want to escape, we have to do it now. We need as much time as possible to get as far away as possible if we want to have any hope of finding help on the outside."
Getting outside didn't prove to be difficult at all. With classes in full swing, the halls were mostly empty, except for an errant student here and there who paid them little attention, busy rushing to their own destination.
Chao Xin pushed open the large, engraved double-door entryway made of ancient wood and a blast of cold air immediately greeted them.
Mei Mei shivered, wrapping her scarf around her tightly. For the time being, the snow had stopped, so they had that going for them.
Madoka frowned at the snow on the ground. "There's a couple paths shoveled out around here, but once we get into the woods it's going to be completely different. I hope these boots can hold out."
Chao Xin nodded his agreement. "We should stay on the paths for now. If they find our footprints here, it might clue them in that something's up and they might get suspicious."
"Right," Mei Mei balled her hands into fists. "It's best to draw as little attention as possible. We'll have to follow the path as far as we can before going into the woods."
"We'll have to stay as far away from that lake as we can, too," Madoka added grimly. "If that's where it's all going down, they may already be making preparations there now."
Chao Xin led the way, scoping out the path furthest from the lake. It didn't take very long for the path to curve off away from the woods, forcing them to step off it. Mei Mei and Madoka carefully stepped in Chao Xin's larger footsteps, making it appear as though only one person was slipping away into the forest.
Most of the trees had long since lost their leaves, but while still in sight of the school they did their best to stay closest to the evergreens, using the foliage to cloak their escape. Mei Mei and Madoka now flanked Chao Xin, their boots sinking into the deep snow.
Mei Mei thought back to the map of the school, and the number of miles they'd be walking today. She gritted her teeth.
No one had ever said getting away was going to be easy, but at least they were doing it. Even with the snow and the potential for the forest being difficult to navigate, the night before they had estimated they would be able to make it at least fifteen miles, if they could keep a steady pace with minimal stops. It'd be exhausting, but it wasn't as though they had any other options.
Mei Mei wished they could have walked along the road, but that idea had already been ruled out. If they did come across someone driving on it, there was always the chance they could be in league with Celestia. It was far, far too risky, especially without knowing if Celestia had people coming in to help with what she was up to.
Not to mention the woods hid them nicely. In the event someone was out there with them, hunting them down or not, they'd be able to use the trees to their advantage. Mei Mei was glad she'd been provided a black blazer in addition to a gold one, because there was no doubt in her mind she would have stuck out like a sore thumb in gold. Madoka was luckier in that she already had a darker uniform. The purple color was much less obvious, even if it didn't perfectly blend in with their surroundings.
Mei Mei had layered the blazer on top of a sweater and still she felt the bite of the cold. She could only hope walking would help warm her up. Her teeth chattered and her breath was visible in the frigid air.
Every so often she would hear a noise, like a branch snapping or someone else walking alongside them in the snow, but they never saw anyone. One time the footsteps they heard turned out to be nothing more than a squirrel.
Although she understood her distress was simply paranoia, it didn't help. The others were silent, trying to conserve as much energy as possible.
Hours passed, or at least it felt like hours. Mei Mei didn't really know how long they'd been walking. There was no way to tell time, except by the position of the sun in the sky, and she wasn't exactly skilled at that. The trees obscured the sun every now and again too, only letting bits of light trickle in here and there. All she knew was the school had fallen out of sight quite early on in their journey and that everything she passed was completely unfamiliar. Maybe they should've found a way to mark the trees in case they accidentally took a wrong turn and backtracked the way they'd came, so they'd at least know where they'd been before. Too late for that now. Mei Mei trusted Madoka and Chao Xin had a good enough sense of direction that it wouldn't even be a concern.
She wondered if anyone had noticed they'd left. Teachers, definitely. Mei Mei and Madoka had skipped plenty of classes in the last few weeks, though, and it wasn't as though that was a cause for concern. They hadn't gotten in trouble for it previously, so it shouldn't matter now either. Most would likely draw the conclusion they were stressed about upcoming exams and were cutting class to get extra studying in. Mei Mei thought about Gingka, and whether or not he and his friends had gotten away. It was obvious the same thing was clearly on Madoka's mind. Mei Mei couldn't imagine how Madoka must have felt having to say good-bye to Gingka, knowing the odds were she would never see him again. Mei Mei suspected the closer they got to Celestia's end game, the harder it would be to flee the castle. Mei Mei wouldn't put it past Celestia to have put in extra security measures once classes started to keep tabs on everyone. Even if Gingka and friends had managed to leave later on, and that was a big maybe, it would be cutting it close. They would only be able to get so far before it got dark.
The unwelcome thought of darkness crept uninvited into her mind. What were they going to do when it got dark? It wasn't like they had anywhere they could stay, plus the temperatures would fast drop at an alarming rate. Madoka had expressed concern about it when she'd first laid out the plan as their last resort, but in the end, everyone had agreed that it was in their best interests to get out and resolve that particular detail when the time came. Letting that hold them back simply wasn't an option. With any luck, they would be able to get away before they even had to entertain the thought.
Now that they were out, Mei Mei was no longer convinced that had been a great idea. It had to be close to noontime by now, judging by the way her stomach had started growling, and it would only be a few more hours before the light began to fade. Assuming the sun had reached it peak in the sky, it wasn't even that warm. If things didn't go in their favor, they'd be in a completely different kind of danger all too soon.
As she walked, she began keeping an eye out for anything that may work as a potential shelter to shield them from the elements. She hoped there might be a cave nearby, or maybe some sort of rock formation that would do the trick, but so far it had only been flat, even ground around them.
Madoka stopped, breathing heavy. "Let's take a quick break," she decided. "We can eat and then get going again."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Chao Xin questioned, glancing in every direction.
"We have to keep our strength up," Mei Mei reminded him. She kicked some snow around, uncovering a rock that was just large enough to sit on. She welcomed the chance to relax, if for a moment. It was damp from the snow, but it wasn't like she could be picky about seating.
Mei Mei dug through her bag, quickly locating the egg sandwich she had snatched at breakfast. It wasn't much, but the meal would do for now. It was imperative they ration what little they had for as long as possible. Mei Mei took a bite of the cold sandwich. The tinfoil she had wrapped it in had done little to preserve its warmth after being out in the cold for so long.
Hardly any time had passed before they were on their way again, and this time Madoka took the lead, strengthened by a new fervor that had Chao Xin and Mei Mei pushing aside branch after barren branch to keep up with her.
It was hard to tell if they were going in the right direction. The only thing they had going for them was that Madoka, for whatever reason, had initially packed a compass in her bag back in September before leaving for the train. She'd shown it to Mei Mei after Mei Mei had voiced whether or not they should start marking the trees. Mei Mei hadn't even realized Madoka was carrying it with her the whole time. The compass kept them from walking in a giant circle the entire time, and ending up back at Starlight Academy. All they knew was the way to freedom was to the east, so they followed the compass, trusting its accuracy.
The first time she saw the mark in the snow, Mei Mei brushed it off. She had to have been imagining things. It'd probably been smudged into that shape by wildlife. The second time, she wasn't so sure. By the time, she'd seen another, her stomach had already sunk low. The egg sandwich wasn't sitting as well as it had a minute ago.
"Guys?" She pointed. "Look at this."
The mark was unmistakable, clearly a footprint based on the tread the boot left behind that stood out bright as day in the white snow. Several others appeared up ahead.
Chao Xin tried to shake it off. "Maybe we screwed up. It's probably one of ours from earlier."
Mei Mei made her own print next to the one in the snow. Her footprint was slightly larger. Madoka did the same. Hers was closer, but it still didn't match up.
"Someone's out here with us," Mei Mei realized nervously. Based on the size, it likely belonged to a woman…
Chao Xin drew in a sharp breath. "It could be anyone. It doesn't necessarily mean it's someone from school. There could be hunters in the area."
"Right," Madoka tried to add reassuringly. "It might not even be that fresh. There's no way anyone could have realized we're really gone so quickly. They would have had to have seen us leave the school, and… Well, they would have had to leave at the same time as us to keep up. I'm sure we would have known if we were being followed. Everything echoes out here."
"Right," Mei Mei tried to laugh to ease her nerves, but it came out broken. "Sorry, I'm just a little paranoid."
Her throat tight, she stopped talking, letting the others lead the way again. Every footprint worried her more and more.
As they came across more prints, she should have felt relieved. Because they were practically everywhere she looked, it made it more and more likely they weren't from someone at the school, like Madoka had said. Someone had been here for a while.
Her heart should've been soaring; instead, she felt sick. Seeing evidence of another person made their chance of rescue realistic, proof there were others and they were creeping closer to civilization. The footprints only made her feel surrounded, like Celestia had sent an army after them hell-bent on getting them back.
Madoka opened her mouth to say something, but shut it abruptly. Mei Mei assumed she had been going to attempt to help everyone relax a little. Unfortunately, the only thing any of them could do to soothe their nerves was get out of the woods and as far away as possible. Until then, the nightmare of what they were leaving behind would continue to haunt them.
Mei Mei focused on keeping her eyes directly ahead of her as she pushed tree branches aside. She needed to keep her mind off the footprints as much as she could.
"Do you think we're getting close to the end, near the main road?" Mei Mei asked hopefully. She already knew the answer.
Chao Xin offered her a slight smile. Both of them were fully aware there were miles and miles to go. The fifteen miles they were hoping to walk wouldn't even get them close. Mei Mei pondered if they should start to move closer to the back roads they'd come in on if getting to the main road was nothing more than a pipe dream. Sure, they really couldn't trust anyone coming in, but staying deep in the forest wasn't exactly the best method to help them either.
Her thoughts turned back toward the footprints. She had to think positively. So what if there were others out there? If they were lucky, they would belong to someone friendly, who didn't ask any questions, and immediately offered them a place to stay and some warm, homemade soup.
Yeah, right. That was definitely too optimistic. More than likely, anyone they found would be just as crazy as Celestia, but without the immortality part. With their luck, they'd be running from some maniac with a gun who preferred living on the fringes of society. Mei Mei shut her eyes, and promptly walked straight into a tree. When she opened her eyes, she saw her friends had stopped and were staring at her. Madoka was trying, and failing, to hide a tiny smile. Mei Mei had to giggle.
Walking was really starting to take a toll on her, Mei Mei realized as she took a deep breath. Her legs began to feel heavy and her blazer wasn't nearly as warm as it had felt only twenty minutes ago. She didn't dare take her hands out of her pockets, desperately wishing she had more than the gloves she wore.
Her stomach briefly started to rumble again. After eating like royalty for weeks in the castle, a single, cold egg sandwich wasn't going to cut it. As much as she wanted to dig in her bag for one of the small snacks she had taken, she really needed to ration her food as much as possible. There was no way to tell how long they'd be out there. Having to beg someone else to share their food later because she'd already chowed down hers would be embarrassing.
Chao Xin stopped, peering in the distance at something. Following his lead and peeking through the trees, Mei Mei thought she could see a vague outline, but not clear enough to be able determine what it was.
"Do you see that up ahead?" Chao Xin squinted. "It looks like-"
Chao Xin suddenly plummeted through the ground.
Mei Mei screamed. She instantly registered what was going on, even as her mind whirled frantically. Chao Xin splashed desperately, trying to get out of the water.
They'd stepped right into a pond! Even with the constant cold, it somehow hadn't completely frozen over enough for them to walk across it. Mei Mei wanted to cry. She couldn't tell how deep the water was, though it was clearly deep enough that Chao Xin couldn't touch the bottom as he floundered, or how far they'd made it from the shore. The snow piled up on the ice craftily concealed all the answers.
Mei Mei had felt especially helpless before, particularly over the last few days, but nothing compared to this. Overwhelming panic was causing her to waste time staring at the scene before her while Chao Xin cried out for help.
"Your scarf!" Madoka shouted.
Mei Mei unraveled it numbly, unable to think as she tossed it to the other girl. Madoka threw it into the water. Chao Xin splashed about, and finally grabbed it.
"Help me!" Madoka yelled. "I can't pull him in on my own!"
Regaining her composure, Mei Mei quickly jumped into action. She wrapped her arms tightly around Madoka's midsection, and together the two of them pulled as hard as they could. Where they stood, the snow was packed tight enough that they didn't slip on the ice.
Chao Xin tried to catch the edge of the ice to pull himself out of the frigid water as he held the scarf in one hand, but kept sliding back. The distinct sound of fabric ripping echoed, horrifying all of them.
"It's not going to work!" Mei Mei shrieked. "The scarf's about to tear apart!"
Madoka looked back at her in terror. "There's one more thing we can do! C'mon!"
Madoka lay down on her belly, rapidly slithering toward where Chao Xin flailed wildly, though careful not to let herself get dragged into the water. He let go of the useless, torn scarf, clasping Madoka's hand. She gasped at how cold his hand had become in such a short time.
"Grab my feet!" Madoka cried.
Mei Mei immediately did as she was instructed, and tried pulling the two of them back.
Tears sprang to her eyes. As hard as she pulled, this wasn't working either. There was no way she alone could pull the two of them back. Panic and exhaustion were working against her no matter how hard she tried. She heaved again, desperate. Chao Xin's life was in her hands.
Chao Xin's life was in her hands.
Everything came to her then, every memory, every sweet moment they'd shared. The times they'd spent nights together in each other's dorms. He'd done so much for her. It was time for her to return the favor.
Gritting her teeth, Mei Mei stepped backwards, pulling as hard as she could. They had not come this far, escaping Celestia's clutches, only to lose one of them here to an icy grave.
Mei Mei tugged, doing her best to keep Madoka's boots from sliding off, going so far as to dig her nails in hoping it wasn't hurting the other girl.
Strong, solid arms wrapped around her waist. Rather than ripping her away from her friends and bringing instant death upon her, they helped her pull the others. Finally, she could start to see some progress.
Mei Mei didn't dare look behind her. She hoped it was Gingka, that somehow he and his friends had magically caught up with them.
Any alternatives were too disturbing to consider. Celestia's cronies could be helping them save Chao Xin, only to kill them in the end.
Mei Mei pushed the horrifying thought from her mind. Focus! She screamed internally.
Slowly, they pulled Chao Xin from the freezing watery depths.
His body shook furiously as he took short, chattering breaths. His normally tanned skin had a bluish tinge to it.
"He's going into shock!" Madoka had sat up and was fast wriggling out of her blazer. "We have to get him warm!"
"That won't work."
Mei Mei froze, not daring to turn around in the direction of the gruff voice. In all the excitement of finally getting him out of the water, she'd briefly forgotten the help they'd been given, the only thing that had allowed them do so.
"There's a cabin about a two minutes walk from here with a fire going. We need to get him there as fast as possible."
Mei Mei's heart beat faster. There was no way. It just couldn't be him.
Madoka had a similarly stricken look on her face. Unlike Mei Mei, whose back was still turned, she was facing the person who had helped them and her jaw had dropped.
Mei Mei hadn't heard the voice too many times before, but she still recognized it even if it had been quite a while. However, she was positive the person it belonged to was supposed to be dead.