"Trunk, Ragged"
I've never felt anything as cold as this.
Even through layers upon layers below Tatyana's spare winter uniform, I can feel the wind's ice biting into my skin. I can feel my fingers turning solid around my hoverbike's handlebars. if we don't get to where we're going soon, I might not even be able to stop the vehicle.
"How much further now?" I ask Tatyana through my headset.
"Not much," she replies.
The same answer as the last time I asked.
"You know, I think you still have some Miniknog programming stuck in your brain," I say to her. Her laugh crackles through the speakers.
"It's been a while," she admits, "There's a few stretches I forgot about, but I'm sure this time around we really don't have much further to go at all."
"Well," I sigh, "Guess I'll have to take your word for it."
Our destination is a forgotten Miniknog laboratory that's been abandoned by Big Ape. Tatyana's given me horror story after horror story about the experiments done there, and to be frank I only believe one or two of them. But as long as she's paying me, I may as well entertain her insistence.
I let myself get lost in thought as I keep a close distance from Tatyana. None of it is anything too important; mostly replaying our conversations and parsing out truth from delusion. But of course, if there's evidence to support delusion, it becomes something besides that entirely.
"Here it is!" she says, coming to a halt.
I follow suit, letting the relief of still air take away from the cold. Right in front of us is... Well, nothing in particular. Just a white mound of snow lumped up against its surroundings.
I breathe in to ask her what the big deal is, but catch the question in my throat when Tatyana dismounts her bike. She approaches the mound, punches into it with a swift motion, then scoops out a heap of snow. Then another. Then another. Right when the thought to help her out comes to mind, I catch sight of shining chrome behind the snow.
"No shit," I mutter as my legs swing themselves to the hoverbike's side. I hop off and approach her to help, but she just waves me away before sweeping away the remaining snow in one heave. Her right hand goes to her left hip, and before I can wonder what she's doing, the door is split in half and a violium energy blade is in her hands.
"Cul-!" I blurt out at the sight. I jump back from the sudden flash of light, my vision fixed on the plasma emerging from her hands. If I wasn't already hoping she's not delusional, I certainly am now.
