The Traveler: Mondstadt (Genshin Impact)

Chapter 34

- Irma -

My parents always hated the winter cold that would hit Texas. Most of the time it wasn't the romantic cold that would be advertised by marketing companies. It was a crueler thing where the pipes would burst if you didn't turn off the water. The power grid would shut down as people desperately clung to the heat of their homes. And the streets would become icy and ignored by the impatience of the city folk making them victims to themselves.

It only snowed once. That day I got ready to go to school like I always did. I layered both my brother and I thick so that we wouldn't have to waste money on medical bills. When we stepped outside, everything was so quiet. It was like the whole world ceased to function at that very moment. A few seconds later my mom yelled from her room that the school called at six in the morning saying that school was canceled.

She hadn't bothered telling us until we were out the door but we honestly didn't care. We both gave each other a knowing look. Well, we had already gotten dressed for the walk to school, hadn't we?

Don't become illusioned with the picture of a thick snow that could blanket your knees in a single sinking step. No, this snow wasn't at all that deep. Our snowmen were the size of puppies instead of matching our heads. None of that mattered though. We were stuck in the silence that was winter.

This was a different type of silence. A chilling silence that came from a dangerous predator stalking nearby. I had woken up a couple minutes ago with the feeling that I was being watched but I was too scared to move to see. I laid there frozen on my side, my hands stuck underneath my head as I faced the dirty ground in front of me.

My heart was dancing wildly against my chest and my hands grew numb. I calmed my breaths as much as I could as I listened to the silence of the night trying to hear whoever was hiding in the dark. If there was anyone at all. It might've been my paranoia after what happened in Mondstadt.

There was probably some part of me that would hate the night forever. That would picture sleep a time of infiltration and death. Of broken city walls and crying people. Of fear and desperation.

I wish I could brush it aside but my nerves wouldn't let me. In my mind someone was watching me and they were getting closer. And I know it wasn't Ariana because she laid next to me, her breathing soft. She came down next to me maybe an hour before after she finished that little work of hers. It wouldn't be surprising if the sound of grinding rock had attracted some sort of monster.

No, I feel like any sort of monster would attack us while we slept. There would be no slow creeping or planning. They would simply stab us in the heart. Whoever was watching us was sneaky in nature. I looked over at Ariana and called out to her inside of my mind, hoping that I had some sort of telepathic connection to the elf.

A stone skittered across the floor, landing on the back of my boot. Shit, they were close. I snapped my eyes shut and did my best to pretend I was asleep.

"Careful you idiot! If that damn elf wakes up we're as good as dead."

"Tsk. It's damn dark, what do you expect?"

They both whispered to each other. Both of their voices were male and muffled. When I thought of muffled I immediately thought of the dark masked figures at the Cathedral next to the red haired bitch. I could feel my whole body buzz with nervousness as one of them stood over my body. The bottom of their cape gently brushed against my back.

It took everything in me not to turn around and cut their damn legs off. I thought I would be more afraid now that they were this close but honestly...I couldn't feel more damn angry. Slowly the beating of my heart turned from the violent quivering of a lamb to a blood thirsty rage.