Chapter 13 - Dealing With Loss
It was a rather foul morning in Ground Zero, with the militia guarding the barricade into the quarantine zone. The infection had been growing worse day by day, with more people who were turning into the ice creatures having to be moved there.
Eric and Elsa were part of the guard duty that morning, protecting the shipment of food for the monsters. They may have been mindless beasts now, but they still were once human and didn't deserve to be treated like animals.
Elsa stood by the barricade to the quarantine zone, her perpetual frown more pronounced than usual.
"Hey, Elsa," Eric said, walking over to her. "Are you—"
"Fuck off, Eric," she grumbled. "I'm not in the mood."
"Jeez, what crawled up your ass this morning," Eric remarked. "I was just saying... you seem a little bit pissed off."
"Yeah, and?" Elsa assumed. "You got a problem with that?!"
Eric sighed. "Elsa... is this about Snowflake leaving?" He wondered. He and Ariel had found out about Snowflake's departure the morning after she had gone, when he heard Elsa sobbing as he stopped by her apartment.
Elsa was feeling better now, but she still had an icy, bitter sense about her.
The blonde looked on at the soldiers tossing meat over the barricade, the horrible snarling sounds as the monsters behind the wall devouring it with what could barely be described as mouths.
"This is sickening," Elsa admitted. "We can't keep them in there forever."
"Yeah, but like we have any choice?" Eric asked. "You saw what those things can do to people. They're better off locked behind that wall."
"They were once human, Eric," Elsa argued. "It's not like they're dead now." She sighed, walking over to her motorcycle. "I'm going to go and talk to Hans, see if there's an update on that cure I gave to him."
"You sure you wanna go do that?" Eric wondered. "You and him haven't been exactly seeing eye to eye lately."
"Does it matter? These people need help and we're the only one who can get it to them." She put on her helmet and started up the bike, riding off into the distance.
Eric sighed. "Elsa... please don't go do anything stupid."
Elsa rode along the streets of Ground Zero, now deserted thanks to an order made by Hans for everyone to remain in their homes.
The entire city was noticeably quiet now, with snow gently falling from the sky. It would almost be peaceful, if Elsa could care.
She was still hurting inside. She was struggling with the fact that Snowflake was gone, after such a beautiful evening they had shared together. The dancing, the drinks, seeing Snowflake in that dress... only for her to vanish the next morning.
She felt bitter, knowing that she should have asked about it sooner. She didn't care if the city needed her, Snowflake had gone off with Kristoff to parts unknown... and there was nothing she could do.
Eventually, she made it to the bottom of The Tower, climbing off her bike and putting her helmet to one side.
She stormed towards the elevator, an angry scowl on her face. As the metal cage climbed towards the main floor, she sighed, trying to vent her anger.
"Let it go, Elsa," she recited, trying to ease herself, but all she could think of was Snowflake, beautiful Snowflake, being alone without her.
Soon, she arrived at the top floor, various soldiers and scientists walking around, tending to their duties. She half expected one of them to stop her, to order her back to her post, but she didn't care. She didn't care about anything right now.
As she walked to the office of Hans, she tapped on the door, sighing. "Hans? Are you in there?"
"Come in!" He called to her, sounding in a cheerful mood.
Elsa walked inside, seeing Hans sat at his desk, going over some documents regarding the current situation in the city. He seemed busy, but Elsa knew that she had more pressing matters for him.
"What are you doing here?" Hans asked her, confused. "Elsa, shouldn't you be on your patrol. I believe you're on duty near the quarantine zone."
"I don't care about that," Elsa argued. "I'd rather focus on the long-term solution for this crisis than just focusing on the here and now." She stood by his desk. "How's that cure been doing?"
"Taking time," Hans merely told her. "I assure you. My top people are already working on reverse engineering it. We hope to be dispersing the cure soon."
"Soon isn't good enough!" Elsa shouted, venomously. "I can't sit here while people are out there suffering. We need the cure now!"
Hans frowned. "I'm already doing the best that I can, what more do you want?"
"Something that's going to help people more than just sitting by a wall, watching some poor creatures getting reduced to nothing more than animals," Elsa told him. "I need to do something good."
"Well, I can't speed up the cure project," Hans replied, standing up and walking to the window. "But... if you want something else to do, I might have a little job for you."
"What good will that do?" Elsa wondered.
"It might make someone very happy," Hans said. "A few days before the outbreak happened, a young woman was captured from the outskirts of the city by a group of raiders." He then held up a picture to Elsa, of a young woman with short brown hair. "Her husband has been waiting for her return for some time."
"Why has nobody gone after this?" Elsa asked.
"Everyone has been busy with the outbreak, that no one has gotten chance," Hans stated. "But since you want something to do, perhaps you could look into it?"
Elsa looked at the photo, realising that if this was the best she could do right now, it wouldn't be a bad idea to look into this case. It might even help her deal with what had happened to Snowflake.
Elsa sighed. "Fine, you win, I'll look into it... but you better make sure that cure is ready soon." She then started to walk out of the office. "I'm sick and tired of seeing people dragged behind that wall."
"As am I," Hans responded, as Elsa left the room.
xXx
Some hours later, Elsa walked to the door of the apartment to which Hans had sent her. "This is the place," she said to herself.
The apartment was in a similar building to the one she had been staying in, very ratty and torn, much like the other buildings in the city. She looked up at the door, reaching out with her hand and tapping on it. "Hello?"
There was a pause for a few seconds, before the door opened, to reveal a man with short, brown hair and a small goatee, wearing a blue jacket. "Who are you?"
"I'm Elsa Walker," Elsa introduced herself. "I'm with the local Militia. I was told you had a situation regarding your wife?"
"You mean... you're here about Rapunzel?" He wondered.
"That's right," Elsa confirmed. "You are Mr Eugene Fitzherbert right?"
The man nodded. "Yeah, that's me." He opened the door fully, revealing his apartment. "Come in and I'll talk some more."
Elsa walked into the apartment, seeing it was very worn like her own, with the scent of alcohol faint in the air.
"Sorry, it's a bit of a mess," Eugene told her, walking over to the window. "I haven't been coping with my wife's disappearance well."
Elsa sighed. "I know how that feels... I'm actually coping with losing someone too."
"Were they kidnapped?" He asked her.
"No... I don't think they were," Elsa told him, preferring not to divulge any details about Snowflake. "What exactly happened to your wife?"
"She was out of town, at a small plantation we have not far from the city," Eugene stated. "We were thinking of starting to grow our own food recently, but when she came back... she got taken by a group of raiders. Surprisingly, they didn't want to kill her, but they did send this."
He then handed Elsa a small note.
Elsa frowned, seeing a sum of money written on the note. "Ransom."
"I can't exactly pay them," Eugene stated. "But I don't know what else to really do."
"And no one has been able to help you due to the outbreak," Elsa assumed. She knew that she could help this man, but was that in her nature? No, if Snowflake was here, she'd go and help this man, no questions asked. Elsa knew that she wouldn't let Snowflake down.
"So... will you help me get her back?" Eugene wondered. "Please... I'm sort of begging here."
Elsa smiled. "Alright then, Mr Fitzherbert, I'll help you." She held out her hand and the man shook it with a happy expression.
"Thank you!" He said gratefully. "Okay... according to the note, I had to deliver the ransom money to their camp by tonight."
"Do you know where the camp is?" Elsa asked him.
He nodded. "I believe it's not too far from the city, just in the badlands."
"Okay, we're gonna need a way of getting there," Elsa then said. "Do you have a Snowcat or anything like that?"
"Yes!" Eugene stated, excitedly. "I've got one in the garage out back... but I haven't got gas in right now."
"Let me worry about that," Elsa told him. "Now, Mr Fitzherbert, if we're gonna get your wife out of that camp safely, here's what we're gonna do."
xXx
That evening, on a large plain of ice and snow far from the city of Ground Zero, a group of bandits were sat around a fire in their camp, waiting for Eugene to arrive.
Their leader, a rather burly man with a thick moustache and carrying a large rifle on his back, merely watched the flames kindling before him. He knew the man they were ransoming from would be there soon, he just needed to be patient.
"Grrrr!" one of his subordinates, a younger man with white hair, growled. "I can't take it anymore, boss!" He complained. "I want to kill somebody!"
"Patience, Wesley," the large man told him. "Our prey will be here soon enough."
"He better!" Wesley snarled. "I'm tired of waiting in this cold."
At that moment, the group of raiders looked up, seeing a pair of headlights drive towards them. They belonged to a medium sized Snowcat, converted from an old military humvee. As it's tracks carved through the dirt, the raider leader could see Eugene at the wheel, finally here.
"He's here," the leader stated. "Alright, bring out his bitch and let's put on a show. I want to make this a fair deal between us."
Two of the other thugs nodded, heading for a nearby tent, screams of pain and terror were then heard as they dragged out a young woman wearing a short pink coat with gloves, tied up with rope. Her eyes were green and her hair was short at her sides, a deep chocolate brown.
"You're in luck, my dear," the raider leader told his hostage. "Your husband is on his way to pay for your freedom."
"He won't be paying you!" the woman shouted. "He's nothing like the scum you are!"
The snowcat then pulled up at the camp, turning off its engine. The door on one side opened up and Eugene walked out, carrying a small bag in his arm. "I got your money," he said, calmly. "Where's Rapunzel?"
"Eugene!" The woman cried out, trying to rush towards him before being pulled back by the two thugs holding her.
Eugene smiled. He knew his wife would be safe soon, if Elsa's crazy plan worked.
The raider leader walked towards him, looking at the bag in his hand. "Is that the money?"
Eugene nodded. "It's all there. About forty bucks, the best I could scrape."
"More than enough for us," the thug remarked, taking the bag off from him. "Now, let's see how much we've got here."
As the thug leader reached his hand into the bag, suddenly, a bullet shot through the air, hitting him square in the wrist.
He growled in pain, dropping the bag.
Eugene quickly grabbed the bag, pulling out a pistol from it. "Alright, nobody move!"
At that moment, Elsa walked on top of the Snowcat, gazing down at the thugs with the flames illuminating her like some sort of vengeful angel. "You heard him," she repeated, holding up her rifle. "Unless you all want bullets in your head."
Wesley growled at her. "Who do you think you are, missy?!"
"I'm Elsa Walker, from the Ground Zero Militia," Elsa introduced herself. "and If you don't get moving by the count of three, I'll start shooting."
Eugene quickly walked forward, grabbing Rapunzel and holding her close to him. "I've got you, baby."
"Yeah, you got her," the raider leader grunted, getting up and holding his injured hand, blood dripping onto the snow from his wound. "But you won't double cross me that easily! Get them, boys!"
"Eugene get down!" Elsa ordered and Eugene ran to cover behind the Cat with Rapunzel.
The raiders then charged towards Elsa, their guns at the ready.
Elsa quickly pulled out her own gun, firing off a volley of shots into the heads of two of the thugs.
Wesley climbed up the front of the Snowcat, charging at her in a blind rage.
Elsa smacked him with the butt of her rifle, before shooting him square in the stomach. As Wesley dropped dead, she charged forward, shooting dead as many raiders as she could see. She wouldn't let these people take another innocent as their prisoner.
Soon, she had shot nearly all the raiders dead, most of them bleeding to death in the snow.
"Alright, who's next?" she asked, panting softly.
Suddenly, she was kicked from behind, tackled to the floor.
The raider leader stood on her spine, an angry glare on his face. "You killed my men! You double-crossed me! For that, I'll gladly skin you alive." He then pulled out a large machete from his back.
Before he could drive it into the back of Elsa's skull, a sharp object struck him in the back, causing him to drop his weapon and collapse to the floor, unconscious.
Elsa caught her breath, looking to see Rapunzel, holding the end of her rifle, bloody from the wound she had struck into the back of the leaders head.
"You okay?" she asked.
Elsa chuckled. "You handled him well, Rapunzel," she said, getting to her feet. "You ever thought of joining the Militia."
"No... but I might think about it," the brunette replied, before running to Elsa and hugging her tightly. "Thank you... for saving me."
"It's what I do," Elsa replied simply.
Eugene took his wife back towards the Snowcat holding her close. "Come on, baby, let's go home. You look like you could use something to eat."
Rapunzel smiled. "And thank you... my handsome prince, for coming to my rescue."
"Elsa deserves more of the credit than me," Eugene expressed, looking back at Elsa.
Elsa stood over the remains of the raiders she'd killed, knowing that she had made that part of the wasteland a little safer.
She looked at Rapunzel and Eugene together, heading to the Snowcat. She felt a sense of relief in herself seeing them, knowing that like Rapunzel, her own beloved would return to her soon, safe and sound.
"Be safe out there, Snowflake," she said, looking to the horizon. "And watch yourself... it's a big wasteland out there." And with that she headed back to the Snowcat, ready to take the newly-reunited couple back to the safe haven of Ground Zero.
xXx
Author's note: Hey Eugene and Punzie! Sadly, they won't be doing much for the rest of the story, but I figured this would be a nice little filler adventure for Elsie :3 As for Snowflake... well, let's just say you'll be seeing her again very, very soon... when the start of the finale comes out later tonight. See you then!
Take care!