The cold forest continued

PART THREE

It had been three years since the evening they had argued. In that time Angele triumphed over her husband, they set out, Angele had a baby boy and Lana and Jermaine became engaged.

So far their journey had been rough, cold and dangerous. They were not always trusted and often had to sleep in sheds. It was easier to find a place to stay in the cities because of the shelters put up for the express purpose of helping those on the long march and giving them a good meal and a bed for the night, but despite these comforts there was always a sense of uncertainty and the feeling that all was not right. The towns were thick with armed patrols, some more than others. And everyone had some kind of weapon which made the little group feel very exposed as they weren't allowed to carry weapons to The Hidden City. They didn't feel comfortable in the cities and were always glad to get back into the countryside. All the guns gave the impression that a great number of the city dwellers didn't die of natural causes. Angele and Lana were in constant fear of being attacked, as were Ralf and Jermaine, although they didn't show it. They had got rather lost after leaving one of the smaller towns and wandered into the cold forest where they kept going for a few hours until they met Sonia.

Angele woke with a start, she was sure she had heard something, but all was quiet and she soon dosed off again.

“Angele! Angele! Angele wake up! Angele!”

“What?” said Angele sleepily,

“Angele! Connal is gone! And Ralf and Sonia!”

“Connal?” Angele was still only half awake.

“Yes, Connal! Wake up! They're gone!”

“Gone?!”

“Yes!” Lana was shaking her; Angele was beginning to comprehend. 
“Where?!”

“We don't know. Jermaine's gone to look for them and I'm going to go help him when you're ready, unless you'd rather stay here.”

“No, I'll come.”

Jermaine was standing outside waiting for them when Angele and Lana emerged from the hut.

“What have you found?” asked Lana.

“Tyre tracks heading in that direction.” said Jermaine, pointing, “I can't tell how they got into the vehicle since the ground was all frozen.”

“Oh Ralf.” Angele almost sobbed.

“We'll see where the tracks lead. Don't worry Angele, we'll find Ralf.” said Lana, taking her hand. They walked for hours as the sun rose higher but the temperature didn't. It soon became uncomfortably obvious why it was called the cold forest. The trail ended at a wall of rock. Angele sat down and burst into tears.