Chapter 9: The Bomb Heads South

Early the next morning, the nine companions met at the gate near the BLU base. They were all carrying full packs of food, water, and wore blue winter jackets. Saxton was waiting for them there, and Ava Ebony was standing beside him, wearing a less revealing shirt to commemorate their departure.

"I wish you all the best of luck," Saxton said, and then he turned to Ava Ebony. "Do you have something that you'd like to say to these men, Ava?"

"Yeah, I hope you mates all make it back…" Ava Ebony paused, and kept her gaze on Aonghus. "…Alive and well."

Saxton nodded at his daughter, then he tipped his hat in a final salute, and the Mercenaries of the Bomb left like the mists as the sun rose higher. During that time, they managed to get a few miles down the mountain on foot, since they didn't want to risk taking a van. Secrecy was their prime objective, and so the stealthier they were, the better.

In the days that followed, they traveled southward through a valley that opened on the other side of the mountains in order to avoid going through Frontier, which Saxton figured had Robots waiting there to ambush them. The mountain range continued alongside their path, until they came to an abandoned factory called Pipeline. There, they rested on the battlements part of the area. Then right before dawn after their second night in Pipeline, Steve spotted a large cluster of lights heading towards them through the air. Aonghus immediately told everyone who was up to hide and so they retreated into the building next to the battlements. From inside, they watched as dozens of illuminated jack-o-lanterns flew overhead, laughing manically as they went. Once they were gone, everyone immediately packed their things up on Gerald's orders.

"Those were enchanted Halloween Pumpkins, which were probably sent by Merasmus," Gerald said. "But if he's looking for us, that means we'll have to head through Coldfront instead of Granary."

"Aw, and we just got out of the mountains," complained Mickey.

"Why don't we go to Double Cross instead?" asked Gavin, who was already packed. "It's not as high up as Coldfront, and I have a cousin named Brian who runs the place."

"I appreciate the invitation," Gerald said, and then he gripped his Freedom Staff tightly. "But I sense we'll meet more dangers if we go there."

This surprised everyone, especially Gavin.

"What kind of dangers, mate?" Matthias wondered, checking the sharpness of his Kukri knife.

"I'm not sure, but if Coldfront proves too difficult for us, then I'll consider going to Double Cross," replied Gerald, and led the way followed by Freddie, Matthias, Gavin, Mickey, Patten, Benjamin, Steve, and Aonghus in a single file line behind him.

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A week later, they traversed the wide valley and came to the foot of the mountain where the Coldfront area resided. From there they took an old road that had once been used to allow vans and trucks to get to Coldfront, but since the war between RED and BLU ended, the place had been abandoned, allowing people like Mumble to live there without anyone to bother them. About midway up where the pine-trees were the most heavy, the road branched. One path went to the Double Cross area, while the other continued up toward Coldfront.

Obviously, they took the road leading to Coldfront, but as they climbed, the air started to grow colder, and soon the road was covered in thick layers of snow. Some parts were even frozen over, so the nine men had to watched where they stepped, but Freddie wasn't so lucky. He slipped on a frozen patch that lay on the shadow-side of a big rock, causing him to fall backward and the necklace with the One Bomb on it to fly through the air. Luckily, Benjamin caught the bomb before it fell to the ground, while Mickey and Patten helped Freddie up. When Freddie noticed Benjamin holding the bomb, his eyebrows widened.

"Give that to me," he said as calmly as he could. But when Benjamin didn't hand it over, he shouted, "Give it, you frickin' moron!"

"You'd better hand it back to him, lad," Aonghus said, pinching Benjamin tightly on the shoulder, which startled him.

"Yeah, yeah," Benjamin muttered, giving the bomb back to Freddie.

Then as he walked past Freddie, Benjamin pushed Freddie's winter cap further down on his head. Surprised, Freddie didn't move at first, until Steve pushed him forward. The two trudged forward through the snow to catch up with the others, but stayed far enough back to talk to each other.

"What the hell was that crap?" Steve asked.

"Beats me, but I don't like it," Freddie said, watching Benjamin's towering back.

From that point on, Freddie decided to keep the bomb in a pocket of his winter jacket, and was constantly checking it to make sure the light wasn't flashing. The snow piles kept increasing to the point where the road was barely visible, and it became increasingly difficult to walk in. Then a snowstorm suddenly picked up, forcing the Mercenaries to walk more slowly. Eventually, the snow piled so high that it went all the way up to their torsos. So Benjamin had to take out a Shovel that he had been carrying this whole time, and dig a path for them. This took several hours, and while Gerald used his Medi Gun to keep the men from getting frostbite, the storm didn't seem to want to let up.

"Something about this storm doesn't feel right," Gavin said. "I think we should turn back."

"Now, let's not give up yet," Gerald said, taking a step onto the platform of snow above the path Benjamin had dug. "We should be approaching the area very soon, I think."

But then shortly after he spoke, an avalanche came tumbling down from the cliff next to them, forcing the men to put their backs against the cliff-face. The waves of snow washed over them, and continued further down the mountain slope. Unfortunately, the path Benjamin dug was gone and the snow was now all the way up to their shoulders. Immediately, the four Scouts ran like crazy, causing the snow to part from the force of their fast-moving arms and legs. Once enough of the snow had been cleared, everyone gathered in a circle.

"You see, sawbones! This is exactly what I was talking about!" Gavin said, glaring at Gerald. "If this here cliff wasn't behind us, we would've been rolling down the mountain by now!"

"For once I agree with the Engi," Benjamin said, crossing his arms. "I bet Merasmus is jinxing us with that voodoo magic of his, because he knows we're heading this way!"

"That…maybe true," Gerald looked at everyone present, then his eyes settled on Freddie. "What do you think, Freddie? Should we continue, or go to Double Cross?"

Freddie looked ahead of Gerald at the road, which was now completely buried in snow, and then he looked back the way they came, which wasn't any different.

After a few minutes, he said, "I say we go to Double Cross. Anywhere else is better than here."

End of Chapter 9