Actions of the Past Dictate the Future

Prologue

The cold air follows her as she runs across the snowy plains. She is trying her hardest to outrun her pursuers, but she does not exactly blend in with her white background. Quickly ducking behind a large tree surrounded by bushes, she holds her breath as she hears them pass her. As she takes a shallow breath, her vision begins to blur as her body starts losing all feeling. “No, I can't die here. Please!” She thinks weakly as she desperately tries to cling to life. “Someone, please help me!” Not only two hours ago wrapped up tightly in a blanket reading a book, and yet here she is on the verge of a wintery cold death. This thought could make someone start to question their life choices had there been any to make. The events leading up to now were not due to her actions, but to her dear departed brothers'.

Azazel exits his house and takes in a breath of the cold morning air. He checks for the essentials before embarking on his daily walk — a revolver, a spare magazine of bullets, a flare gun, a small first aid kit, heat vision goggles, a flashlight, and a thermos filled with Earl Grey Tea. He compiled the list from his 5-year experience as an outdoorsman. Despite the fact he takes daily walks, Azazel cannot help himself but mind his surroundings. There is always a surprise lurking in a corner. The daily walks only serve as a coping mechanism for cabin fever. About half a mile away from his comfortable and safe home, Azazel spots something unique on the snowy grounds. He cannot identify, so he whips out his goggles for a more helpful view. He sees a large source of heat! And vapor seems to be leaving the source of heat. Azazel was taken aback by the sudden appearance of a body. “That's a body!” He sprints to the body and unzips his puffy jacket. He wraps the victim with it and loads her onto his shoulder before making a hasty retreat to the house. Alena slowly wakes up as her body begins to warm up. She faintly sees flashes of someone carrying her before she once again fades back into the darkness. Azazel struggles to offer words of affirmation to the mysterious person as he runs. “Don't worry, what's- your- face! We are almost home free!" He stops for a second to catch his breath. “Oh crap, this is hard.” He sucks it up and resumes his run.

The front door burst open as Azazel runs into the house and gently places the victim next to a fireplace. He takes several logs from a nearby stack of fire logs and puts them into the fireplace. He bathes the pile with lighter fluid before striking a match and throwing it. As the fire begins to grow, he jumps back to his feet and closes the door. After about thirty minutes later, Alena finally awakes to rejoin the waking world. She is confused about where she is since the last thing that she remembers is wishing for someone to save her from her wintery grave. Azazel is in the kitchen, making chicken noodle soup and hot cocoa. There is a loaf of bread in the oven. He plans to create a warm bread bowl for the soup. Hearing someone move inside what she figured was a house caused her to freeze as she looked around for the door. She prepares to make a run for it, not wishing to overstay her welcome.

Reaching the door, she stops, “I have no idea where I am, and there are at least 10 inches of snow covering the ground outside.” Thinking this, she begins to re-evaluate her escape plan seeing as she wouldn’t get far in her current clothing. Alena continues to keep her distance, not sure why she was there. “Oh.” Azazel takes a step back and exposes his palms. “I should probably explain the whole thing. I found your body lying in the snow while I was out on a walk. I wrapped you with my jacket before carrying you back to my house. You were beginning to experience hypothermia. How are you feeling?”

“You are not with them?” Azazel tilts his head out of a mixture of confusion and curiosity. “Who's 'them'? I just live here all by myself.” Alena lets out a sigh of relief, “I was being chased; that is how I ended up almost buried in snow.” Azazel's interest is peaked. “Who was chasing you? And why were they doing so?”

“I don’t know. I recently received a letter that my brother had passed away, and then the next day some random people are chasing me out of my house.” Azazel became stuck inside his head for a moment. He shakes it off, then returns to the conversation. “I’m sorry for your loss. That is quite a series of unfortunate events.” He quickly walks to the windows to scan outside the house. “The snow is very thick outside. It will be hard for them to travel through all that snow.” He covers the windows with curtains. “You should stay for the night. It's safer here.” Taking a seat on the couch, she glances at the food before picking up the mug. The warmth caused her fingers to tingle as the feeling is still returning. “How are you feeling?” Azazel takes a seat that is across from the woman. “I am Azazel, by the way.” She looks up, catching his glance, “Alena.”