Chapter 5 - The Truth About Me

A deep haze covered Elsa as she stood in the snow, in the body of her eleven-year-old self. She gasped, wondering what was happening. Last thing she remembered, she was resting in bed, trying to get some sleep.

She walked through a blizzard, seeing that she was in a small town in the wastes. She vaguely recognised it, but her assumptions were confirmed as she saw the dozens of bodies lining the streets.

She screamed, rushing to one of the bodies, finding the face of her mother, various slashes to the chest and blood dripping from her lip.

"Mama!" Elsa shouted, asking her mother's lifeless form, pleading in the of a child. "Please don't leave me!"

Elsa's mother smiled. "You will... do me proud." She closed her eyes and went limp.

Elsa panicked, hyperventilating. None of this was real, none of this should be happening again. She looked to her side, seeing a group of men wearing strange clothes, dragging a little girl away from her.

"Elsa!" the girl screamed. "Elsa, save me!"

Elsa reached out with her hand, before everything went white.

xXx

"Annaaaa!" Elsa cried out, lurching herself forward. As her nightmare faded away, she looked around, seeing herself in a small tent. Rubbing her eyes, she sighed. "God... it was just a dream."

At that moment, Elsa's companion, the woman only known as Snowflake awoke beside her. "Elsa... what's wrong?" She inquired, rubbing dust from her eyes.

Elsa looked at her friend, shaking her head. "Nothing was wrong, Snowflake. I just... had a bad dream, that's all."

She and Snowflake, along with Kristoff, had agreed to leave Snomar, the three of them knowing that as long as they were there, the town could be in danger of whatever group of soldiers had attacked them the day before. Now they were at the camp of Kristoff's friend, Pocahontas, planning out their next move.

Elsa unzipped the side of the tent they were in, looking out. The sun was slowly arising on the horizon, morning almost there.

The blonde courier sighed, before zipping back up the tent and laying her head back on her pillow. She groaned, feeling her whole body ache from the torture that had been the past few days.

Snowflake rolled over, looking at Elsa's eyes through the streaks of white on her fringe. "You sure you are okay?"

"I'm fine," Elsa insisted, wanting to get back to sleep. "Just... I don't know. A lot has happened."

Snowflake raised an eyebrow. "What was the name you screamed just then?" she then asked. "Who's... Anna?"

"No one you need to be concerned with," Elsa replied, rolling onto her side away from her friend. "Just go back to sleep, Snowflake... we have a big day ahead."

"We don't even know what we should be doing, let alone where we're going," Snowflake put in. "Maybe we should just lay low here for a while."

"No, wherever you are, those soldiers will probably find you," Elsa said. "We need to start moving today, to get you somewhere safe."

"You shouldn't be doing all this for me. You saw me out there yesterday... god, I didn't know I had that strength in me."

Elsa looked at Snowflake, seeing her face turned down into a very sombre frown. "Snowflake... whatever is wrong with you, these people clearly want to hurt you and like it or not, I'm keeping your blue ass safe, no matter what."

"What is your stake in all this?" Snowflake then wondered. "I mean, I'm just a random girl who ended up in the same inn as you."

"I guess... I'm just trying to make up for something I lost," Elsa stated. "Just let it go, Snowflake. We've got better things to worry about."

Snowflake sighed. "I know… but I just feel like I'm starting to be a burden to you."

"No, you're not," Elsa told her, before giving her a brief hug. "You're my friend... the first friend I've made in years, and I'm not letting anyone hurt you or get hurt because of you."

Snowflake gave Elsa a small smile. "You mean that?"

"Yeah, I do," Elsa admitted, hardly believing it herself. "Anyway... let's get some rest."

"Okay," Snowflake agreed, before lying back onto her pillow. "Oh and Elsa?"

"Yes?"

Snowflake smiled. "Thank you... for being here for me."

xXx

After a few more hours of sleep, Elsa pulled on her jacket and stepped out of the tent, taking in the cold morning air. The wastes were covered in the usual snow, but there was no wind blowing, but Elsa could still see a large group of clouds on the horizon.

She walked around, seeing the tent in which Pocahontas lived and the large military vehicle She, Snowflake and Kristoff had commandeered from the soldiers.

Kristoff had insisted on working on the tank for the whole night, hoping to have it be their new transport in the times ahead.

Elsa headed into the back of the open vehicle, seeing Kristoff underneath the driver's console, fiddling with wires. "Good morning!" She greeted him, cheerfully.

Kristoff looked at her. "Good- OW!" He grunted in pain as he hit his head on the bottom of the console. "Ah... morning."

Elsa chuckled, finding Kristoff's pain rather amusing. She walked into the Tank and sat down on a passenger seat. "So... how goes the modifications?"

"Very slowly," Kristoff admitted, sitting up. "Considering I don't know even how half this tech is supposed to work."

"Kristoff..." Elsa stated. "You don't need to be here you know? I mean, this is just for me and Snowflake. You can just go back to Snomar."

"What's the point?" Kristoff responded, going back to his tinkering. "Considering Feisty-Pants and I blew my livelihood up while saving you, I haven't got much to back to. Besides, you two could use an extra pair of hands around."

"I guess you have a point," Elsa admitted. She then looked a few of the computer monitors, seeing they were turned on. They were displaying various sets data and seemed to be connected some sort of wireless network, all very advanced. "Did you figure out anything from these?"

"Not a clue," Kristoff said. "These computers are very encrypted, and considering they're the first computers I've ever seen, I doubt I'll be able to crack them."

"Then junk them," Elsa instructed. "We can't risk those soldiers using this tank to lead them to us and whoever we end up with."

"Hey, who died and made you queen?" Kristoff wondered. "They might be useful for trading later on."

"Look, you blew up my snowcat," Elsa reminded him. "You kinda owe me for that."

Kristoff sighed. "Fine, you got me there, but it's still gonna take some time. It's not like this damn box on wheels has a manual lying around."

"And when we do get this thing working," Elsa stated. "Where exactly are we gonna go?"

Kristoff thought for a moment. "Well, we'd need to get Snowflake someplace safe first, somewhere we can all set up a new life for ourselves."

"You have a place in mind?"

"Well... it's a long shot, but a few travellers that came to my inn a while back talked about a place called Ground Zero. Said it was kinda like a big city out in the wastes. Apparently, there's good work up there, might be a place where we can get info on whoever took Snowflake and attacked us."

"Do you know where it is?"

"Haven't a fucking clue," Kristoff admitted. "But there's no shame in just driving in one direction and hoping for the best, right?"

Elsa sighed. "I just hope we make it without those thugs finding us again. "

At that moment, the two of them were interrupted by a kindly voice calling to them. "Kristoff! Elsa! Breakfast is ready!"

"On our way!" Kristoff called back. "You go get Snowflake, I'll meet you at Poca's tent."

Elsa nodded and the two walked out of the vehicle, Elsa heading towards hers and Snowflake's tent. The tent was clearly something the crew of their stole vehicle would use when it became too uncomfortable to sleep inside. It only had room for two, so Kristoff volunteered to spend the night outside.

She then arrived and opened up the zip door on the side of the tent. "Rise and shine, Snowflake."

Snowflake's eyes opened weakly. "Elsa... Can I sleep a little longer?" She groaned, her head still heavy. "It's bad enough you woke me up once this morning."

"Sorry," Elsa apologised. "But you need to eat too, you know?"

The white-haired girl sighed, crawling out from her sleeping bag and putting on her clothes. "Fine... As long as it's not that herbal tea again."

Elsa chuckled. "I promise. Pocahontas won't be making that mistake again."

After Snowflake was dressed the two headed into the tent, where Pocahontas had prepared a meaty meal for the three weary travellers. "Breakfast is served."

"Thank you, Poca," Snowflake said gratefully, sitting down to enjoy her meal. "Mmmm, smells good."

"It was cooked on my fire this morning," Pocahontas explained, smilingly kindly at them. "I didn't have much food left, but Kristoff had managed to scavenge some supplies before you left Snomar."

"Well, for that we are thankful," Snowflake admitted, biting into a piece of meat. "Mmmm, good stuff."

Kristoff looked over at Snowflake, raising an eyebrow. "Are you feeling okay, Snowflake?" He asked her. "You seem to have a few more white streaks in your hair?"

Snowflake stroked her braid, seeing the streaks. "Huh? How did these get there?"

Elsa felt Snowflake's head, cold as the ice outside. "It might be your infection. It could be spreading more."

"How long before I'll need those packets again?" Snowflake asked Elsa.

"Well, by my best guess," Kristoff said. "At least a few more hours."

"Don't worry, Snowflake," Elsa told her. "I can inject that goop into you again, no problem."

"It's not that I'm worried about," Snowflake expressed. "What if this... infection becomes resistant to that vaccine and it just keeps getting worse?"

"Then... I'm not sure what else to do," Elsa admitted.

"I... might be able to make some herbal remedies for Snowflake," Pocahontas informed them. "Nothing in my people's history has ever covered something like this, but I know of a few recipes that might help keep you warm."

"No... I'll manage," Snowflake replied. "By the way, have we all decided where we're going?"

"Kristoff told me there's a place you could be safe from those soldiers," Elsa told her. "Somewhere called Ground Zero."

"I don't think I've heard of that place," Pocahontas stated. "Nevertheless, I hope you are able to make it there safely."

"Wait, Kristoff is coming with us?" Snowflake then wondered. "I thought he would be going back to Snomar after we left in the tank."

"I'm not," Kristoff confirmed. "I'm of better use being with you than trying to eek a living for myself in what's left of my Inn."

"Oh..." Snowflake looked down, feeling rather guilty of herself. "I wish I hadn't sent the snowcat into your place, Kristoff."

"It was a difficult situation, Feisty-pants," Kristoff responded. "Besides, the place was kinda crappy anyway."

Elsa then took a big swig of herbal tea before she spoke again. "Okay, here's the plan. Once we've eaten, Kristoff will go and fix up the Tank. Once he's done there, we can all start heading towards where we think Ground Zero might be."

"Sounds like a plan," Kristoff agreed.

Snowflake looked at Elsa with a smile. "Ditto."

xXx

Within a few hours, Kristoff had finally gotten the tank fixed up and ready to go, dismantling all of the onboard computer systems and searching the vehicle multiple times to make absolutely sure there was no way that its original owners could track them down.

Eventually, it was time for them to get going. After packing their supplies into the back, Elsa went up to Pocahontas, bowing respectfully. "Thank you for your hospitality, my friend."

Pocahontas smiled, giving Elsa a warm hug. "Safe journey, Elsa. I hope you and your friends find the peace you are searching for."

Elsa nodded. "You and me both, Poca. You and me both."

She then walked into the back of the Tank, seeing Kristoff at the controls and Snowflake spinning on a chair nearby. "Ready to roll?" She asked.

Elsa smiled. "Kristoff, start us up."

"Aye, Aye," Kristoff replied, firing up the tank's main engine.

The engine fired into life, the massive vehicle gently moving forward on it's eight massive wheels. Soon, it cruised out of Pocahontas's camp, driving out on the open wastes.

Elsa sat down on a chair opposite Snowflake. "I must say, Kristoff... you did a bang up job fixing this thing up."

"Thanks... considering I knew little to nothing about this tech a few hours ago," Kristoff replied. He then pointed to a small touch pad on the desk in front of him. "By the way, I found this little navigation gizmo. Surprisingly, it still works."

"Were you able to find that Ground Zero place on it?" Snowflake inquired.

"Yup. Turns out these guys have been all over the wastes... but the bad news is that Ground Zero is quite a long drive away, at least eight days."

"Don't worry, Kristoff," Elsa replied. "We'll just take it one mile at a time."

The massive tank kept cruising for several hours after that, driving across the wastes at high speed. However, night soon began to fall and eventually, they ended up in a forest covered with snow, much more vegetation than out on the plains.

Snowflake yawned. "Man... I'm starving... has anyone got anything to eat?"

"You took a break ten minutes ago," Elsa reminded her, resting her head back on the chair, as she tried to take a nap.

"Yeah, but I'm still hungry,"Snowflake insisted.

"Look, girls, I know we've had a long day," Kristoff reminded them. "But I think we should just stop here for the night."

"Sounds good to me," Elsa agreed. She then picked up one of the laser rifles. "You want something to eat Snowflake? Well out here, you have to go and catch it."

Snowflake got to her feet. "Can I come with you?"

"Yeah, you saw her with that gun in Snomar," Kristoff said. "She'll definitely be able to catch us dinner."

Snowflake frowned at him, still not too proud of her berserker state.

"Oh..." Kristoff realised what he had said. "Sorry, Snowflake."

Snowflake sighed. "It's alright, Kristoff."

"Come on," Elsa said, opening the rear hatch. "Let's see what we can catch out here." She then cocked the rifle. "Put the fire on, will you Kristoff?"

"You got it... I'll even have a look for those marshmallows I packed," he grinned. "I've been saving them for just such an occasion."

"Yummy!" Snowflake chirped. "I've always wanted to have marshmallows!"

Elsa chuckled. "You'll get your chance later."

The two walked out into the cold forest, the light from the moon and the light on the end of Elsa's rifle illuminating the scene. The woods were dark and the only noise that Elsa and Snowflake could hear was the sounds of crickets chirping. It was like a scene from a horror story.

"Woah..." Snowflake admitted. "Pretty freaky out here, huh."

"Not really," Elsa told her. "Trust me, there's no such thing as ghosts, Snowflake."

Starting to walk through the icy forest, only the sounds of crickets to hear, Snowflake found herself in amazement. She then felt her tummy rumble and hoped they would find something soon.

"So... what sort of animals live here?" She wondered.

"Deers, Raccoons, Rabbits," Elsa informed her. "Beavers."

Snowflake then saw a large claw mark on the side of a tree trunk, her eyes widened. "Woah... and bears."

Elsa stroked the side of the mark, growing concerned. "This was fresh. Clearly, there's a bear nearby, so be careful."

Snowflake gulped. "O-okay." She twitched, her feet wiggling as she followed Elsa into the woods. She knew she had to change the topic, to try and distract them both. "So... You even been hunting before? In woods like these?"

Elsa looked back at her. "What?"

"I mean, you seem super confident about this, so maybe you've done this before."

"Well, as a matter of fact, I have," Elsa stated, letting her happier memories flow. "When I was younger, with my dad. We'd come to woods like this and catch whatever we could for dinner."

"Oh..." Snowflake looked away. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have brought that up. You don't like talking about your past do you?"

"It's not important," Elsa replied. "The past is in the past; there's nothing I can do to change it."

"Right, right," Snowflake agreed, trying her best to not tread on that mine. "By the way... are you okay with what happened back in Snomar? Kristoff told me that you... killed someone."

"It was in self-defence," Elsa excused. "And I did it to protect you."

"I get that, but you must feel some regret about it?" Snowflake wondered. "I mean... not everyone can just flat out kill a guy without emotion... right?"

"I can," Elsa said. "Because a long time ago, I had to learn not to give a shit about my own feelings."

"But you've given a shit about me," Snowflake reminded her. "I mean, I wouldn't have lasted a day without you, Elsa."

Suddenly, Elsa put a finger over Snowflake's face. "Shhh." She looked around, and the two heard a soft growling in the distance. "There's something out there."

Snowflake gulped. "Is it a bear?"

Elsa listening again, hearing that very same growling, growing more and more close to their location. "Yes, it's stalking us... and it could pounce at any moment."

"I'm scared."

"Don't be," Elsa replied. "When I give the signal, you run for it and I'll hold it off."

"I can't leave you!" Snowflake replied vehemently.

"We don't have time to discuss this!" Elsa shouted quietly.

They then heard a loud roar and the crushing of twigs under a large paw. The beast was stalking them, ready to pounce and tear them to shreds with its claws.

Elsa's eyes widened. "RUN NOW!"

Out from the trees, a large brown bear leapt out towards them, tackling Elsa to the ground with its large paw, knocking the gun from her hand.

"Elsa!" Snowflake cried as the bear started to maul Elsa.

Elsa felt her clothes tear from the beast's claws, it's breath pouring onto her face as she used her hands to push it's wet jaw away from her.

Snowflake stood there in the snow, watching helplessly as her friend was being attacked by the ravenous beast. She knew she had to do something, but...what could she do?

Elsa grunted, pushing her revolver into the creature's mouth, trying to choke it. "Snowflake!" She screamed. "Get going! I can't hold this thing off forever!"

Snowflake felt helpless, shaking in fear.

"Snowflake! Go! Now!"

Suddenly, a sense of rage came over Snowflake, her eyes flaring with seething anger. She quickly grabbed the rifle from the floor and pointed it at the bear. "EAT LASER!"

She squeezed the trigger, firing a volley of shots into the beast.

The bear reared back, roaring in pain, but Snowflake kept firing the shots into its stomach, before the beast finally gave up, falling dead.

Elsa gasped, clutching the wounds on her face and chest, breathing softly. "Snowflake... you saved me."

Snowflake just stood stock still, breathing heavily, the rifle still pointed at the bear's carcass.

Elsa got up, holding Snowflake. "Snowflake... you can put the gun down now," she tried to comfort her.

"I... didn't think again," Snowflake confessed, shaking. "I just saw you in danger... and I just grabbed the gun."

"It's okay, It's okay," Elsa replied, pushing Snowflake's gun down. "I'm safe now."

Snowflake sighed, her nerves easing. "I know, I know." She looked at her. "At least I got us dinner, right?"

Elsa nodded, patting Anna's shoulder. "Yeah," she said with a smile. "I guess you did."

xXx

Sometime later, back at their little camp, Elsa and Snowflake had brought the remains of the vicious killing machine back to Kristoff, who was currently cutting it up into meaty chunks.

"Well, I guess we're gonna be the first people around here to ever have barbeque bear," He joked. "Seriously, couldn't you have shot something smaller?"

"It was Snowflake who shot the bear, Kristoff," Elsa reminded him.

"And I only did it to help Elsa," Snowflake added.

"Whatever." Kristoff rolled his eyes. "How are you girls finding the marshmallows?"

Elsa held up her cooked marshmallow on a stick, taking a bite from it. "Not too bad... very chewy."

Snowflake then looked at Elsa's torso, which had been bandaged up from the wounds she had sustained from the bear attack. "Elsa... are your wounds okay?"

"Just a little sore," Elsa admitted. "I think you saved me in the nick of time, Snowflake... thank you."

Snowflake looked up at Elsa. "Elsa... can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Would you... tell me about your past?" she asked. "I know you said the past is in the past, but there's a part of me that wants to understand you a little more... I don't know what, but I want to be here for you, Elsa."

Elsa sighed. She knew she had tried to put her tragic past behind her, but she was on her way to start a new life now. Maybe confessing it all to Snowflake would help her move on. "Okay... what do you want to know?"

"As much as you can tell me," Snowflake replied.

"Well... if must know," Elsa took a deep breath before beginning her story. "I grew up in the wastes, in a small settlement called Arendelle. We were a rather peaceful community, most of us all having grown up from families that huddled together after the Big Freeze. I was the oldest child of my parents, who were farmers. That's why I knew how to hunt."

"You also said you had a sister," Snowflake mentioned.

"Yes, I did," Elsa replied. "Her name was Anna, and for most of my life, she and I were the best of friends. We did everything together, as kids tend to do. Our favourite thing was building snowmen together. One day... when I was eleven years old, our village got attacked by a group of raiders."

"Did you... make it out okay?" Kristoff asked. "Not many people survive a raider attack."

Elsa nodded. "I did... but I watched as my little sister Anna was dragged away before my very eyes, taken prisoner by those monsters, after they murdered everyone else."

"Elsa..." Snowflake expressed. "I'm sorry... was that the reason you had a nightmare last night?"

"Yes... I relive the day that Anna was taken from me every once in a while. I can never escape it," Elsa stated. "I originally set out on my own to go and find her, but after so many years... I've just kinda given up, moved on, started to look out for myself."

Snowflake placed her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "I hope you find her someday," she said.

"I doubt that," Elsa replied. "I accepted she was gone a long time ago... but you two... you are my new family and I don't want us to break up."

Snowflake then hugged Elsa tightly. "I promise Elsa... I'll be here for you and you'll never be alone again."

Elsa suddenly blushed, her heart touched by Snowflake's embrace. "Thank you... Snowflake."

"Well... if you two are gonna be cuddling under the stars, I'm gonna put dinner on," Kristoff remarked, before leaving the two girls in peace, Elsa and Snowflake holding each other in a bond of friendship... and in some ways, so much more.

xXx

Author's note: So yeah... this has certainly been an eventful chapter. Good news is the chapters will be coming out daily as usual so look forward to that. See ya next time!