Chapter 6

Winter's Blessings

"Bosch, can you hear me? Are you all right?"

Bosch could barely hear Sargo's voice over the howl of the wind and the cold. The cold…oh god, it was so cold! He swore. Never had he felt it so, and truthfully, he had no clue whether he could actually continue. His fingers and toes no longer had any feeling in them, and Bosch was worried that he would soon suffer from frostbite or maybe even Gangrene.

"Bosch!" Sargo repeated again, giving Bosch a gentle push to get his attention. Looking over to his left, he nodded at Sargo and spoke in broken breaths and gasps.

"I'm all right…Keep going!"

That was all Sargo needed to hear. He increased the speed a bit, pulling Bosch along as much as he could. The snow kept slowing them down, holding onto Bosch's shoes, sapping his energy with each step. The conditions were almost unbearable…correction, they were unbearable, and Bosch didn't know how much longer he could go.

Looking up, all he could see was the rope for a few feet before it disappeared into the thick fog. Gibson and Venson were at the other end of the rope, and still moving, judging from its tautness and the pressure on it, they were probably holding back for Bosch.

Trying to futilely focus his mind from the cold, Bosch continued to walk through the snow. Looking down, he studied the footprints of the other two men in front of him. Their footprints made large impressions in the snow, which had to be nearly a foot in depth. Yet, considering how long this creation must have hung in space, alone and uncared for, Bosch was surprised that it wasn't deeper.

Bosch did not know how long he continued like that, simply staring down at the ground and taking it one step at a time. The steps and the seconds started to stretch out slowly, each seeming like infinity to him; an infinity in which he could only experience the pain that punished him. It attacked him from every angle, with ferocity equal to - if not greater - Bosch's own will to get through it.

Although his mind pressed on, his body started to falter. Already diseased from the trauma of the trip down, and weakened from a lack of food, it did not have the strength to afford such a venture. His vision started getting blurry, and strangely, the wind was beginning to get softer and softer. But yet, he pressed on. He couldn't stop here..not when he was so close!

But then, Bosch felt it...he didn't know exactly what it was, but there was something in the back of his mind, urging him...compelling him to move on. Safety would be there, and things would get better soon...he was almost at the end of a journey. Bosch tried to focus on that little piece in his mind, but as soon as he did, it was gone. Frowning, Bosch continued struggling through. His imagination was starting to get the better of him. Either that or the cold. From the way he felt, Bosch suspected the latter.

It was only then he noticed that his senses were starting to fade. For some reason, he wasn't feeling as cold anymore, and the wind's howl was no longer ringing through his ears. It was then he heard Sargo's voice. Unlike before, this when Sargo shouted, it wasn't blocked out by the wind and the cold, and instead came through loud and clear - perhaps a little too loud.

"We're almost there Bosch!" Realizing he was shouting when it wasn't required, Sargo lowered his voice before continuing. "Just a few more feet and we'll be out of this damn fog!"

With that, Sargo pulled him onwards, suddenly surging forwards with a renewed fevere. Glancing up, Bosch tried to struggle onwards to catch up as he was half-dragged, half-pulled by Sargo's forward rush. One thing he noticed in particular though - the rope was slack. The others must have stopped, meaning they were their. Before he could think any further though, both he and Sargo emerged out of the fog, and into the dim sunlight.

Bosch's head snapped up, and then his arm followed suit as it rose to cover his eyes from the sun's glare. The fog that had enveloped them throughout his journey was now directly behind him, revealing the small sun just above the top of the canyon wall, its rays providing a warmth that drove back the cold's icy touch from his skin. After traveling through the fog and the cold, it's warm rays were a welcome relief for Bosch. Even though the source was small and distant, it was still effective in lighting up the canyon and bringing some warmth in.

Getting used to the sunlight, Bosch looked straight up and could see the edge of one of the outer arms of the central structure. It was less than a kilometer away - mere walking distance if he so chose it. Only gravity and the vacuum of space would prevent them from doing such a thing in this case.

"We're here!" Sargo proclaimed triumphantly from his side. Bosch looked down and to Sargo, who was looking towards something ahead of them. Bosch followed Sargo's gaze, and finally saw it.

All the memories of the cold, the pain and the suffering faded away as he simply stared in disbelief at the structure that stood in front of them. One thing that struck him the most was it's striking resemblance to an Inca temple; the outer edges of it's structures resembled that of a pyramid in some sense. However, there were a few crucial differences.

The structure was wide, it's base occupying the entire canyon from wall to wall. There was no way to climb to it's rear from there, as part of the base merged with the canyon wall about 8-10 meters up. It wasn't a true pyramid per se, as it appeared to have a flat back separated from back wall of the Canyon. At around 20 stories high, the structure was divided into a separate 'floor' every 5 stories, bringing the tally to the 5 floors total (including the base). The edges of the floor were raised upwards for a height of 3 feet, probably to prevent people from falling off. The walk able distance on the floor was only 2-3 meters at most before the base for the next floor took up the remaining space. The most notable feature however was a central pylon of sorts, that protruded out from just above the top floor (from that angle, it was rather hard to see where exactly it came from), and then went down across the entire structure, dividing it neatly into half. This pylon then buried itself into the ground just in front of the base. Running up the length of the structure from the first floor onwards and on either side of the pylon was a series of stairs leading to the very top floor. There was a long ramp from the ground, leading upto the base and then the first floor. The sides of each floor ended at what appeared to be a doorway to each side, leading further into the structure itself. This was visible for only the first 3 floors. The fourth floor simply had a small balcony and what appeared to be some places to sit strewed about on either side, while the contents of the top floor were not visible from the current angle. The structure's material was highly reflective, giving it a spit-polish shine that belied it's true age and the wear-and-tear it should actually be showing.

In this particular case, the shine reflected the sun's rays directly at the travelers, creating a rather impressive sight.

Bosch was simply awestruck. When Sargo had told him about a temple, he had a few thoughts on what it might have looked like...but this? This was completely and totally different. After studying the ruins on Altair and in the Deneb system, Bosch was familiar with the Ancient's technology and the sophistication of their construction, and this did share many commonalities with the ruins there. However, to actually see those ruins intact, and more so in absolutely working condition? It was little wonder that Venson had wanted to explore a bit first before returning to the ship, and from the looks of it, it would be a while before Bosch would return as well.

Finally, after nearly a minute, Bosch was able to tear his eyes away from the structure, and instead looked to Sargo, whom was still standing at his side, his face having a grin from ear to ear. Bosch gave a small smile as well. This was truly a terrific find, and both Sargo and Venson had to be commended for finding it.

Bosch was the first to speak up, smiling almost. "When I finally do get the chance after all this, Sargo, I swear to God that I will somehow see that you're promoted to Admiral."

He looked back at the others before nodding and walking forward, his step filled with a new-found energy and vigor. There was going to be a lot of climbing to do.