Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Souls Disappear in the Snow ❯ Blinding White ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Souls Disappear in the Snow- GW fanfic
Masamune Reforged '06

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters therein.
Warnings: yaoi (established 3x4, developing 1x2 and...), angst, violence, supernatural, cursing,
Archive: Anyone that wishes to archive this fic is welcome to.
Comments: to MasamuneEHS@hotmail.com

Recap: The pilots are being sent to space to fight OZ there after a long break in missions. While enroute, their shuttle fails and crashes to Earth. Wufei is the narrator.

Part 1- Blinding White

Black.

White.

There was nothing but white when I opened my eyes. Blinding me, the expanse of colorlessness seemed to never end. For a moment I thought that I was dead and that this was…afterlife?

....whoosh...

There was a sound. Can the dead hear? Maybe, I decided. Maybe I wasn't dead… although I couldn't honestly say I felt alive either.

...whoosh....

I could almost hear hushed voice, whispered words floating among the howling wind.

Wind?

“Where am I?” I asked the endless white expanse, not even beginning to see the absurdity of the question.

The wind howled back in return; but this time a sharp sting of wet and cold shock passing over my body accompanied it. Blinking my eyes, I tried to sit upright. An incredibly sharp pain in my torso threw me into a fit of pain, and for a moment, I almost became unaware of the snow falling all around me.

Snow?

Almost in answer to my silent confusion something small, almost invisible and white, became stuck in my eyelashes. I didn't even try to brush away the solitary flake. I felt so lifeless and hurt.

I was slowly awakening to the world. My vision became better and even my hearing returned almost to its normal level, despite my ears almost being frozen solid. I suddenly had a much better grasp of what was going on and where I was.

Preparing to go into space, the confusion on board the small shuttle, the crash. The not so distant memories struggled to come back to mind. I could remember Quatre or somebody saying that we were very far north… We'd obviously crashed into one of the more inhospitable regions. That was nice and logical. But there were quite a few things that were still unexplained and quickly filled me with fear and dread.

First, how long can I last out here? Second, where are the others?

Rationally thinking, they were all dead. It was a lone miracle that I was still alive. But if I had survived… A second tremor of pain cut off my thoughts. The biting cold would soon finish me off…

I tried to stand, trying to ignore the intense pain that was shredding my chest apart. But the second I put my left foot into the deep snow to support myself, a pain that quickly wiped away everything else nearly knocked me unconscious, and easily felled me to the ground with a pitiful cry that I could hardly acknowledge as my own.

I lay there in a heap for a good long time, shivering in the cold, doing about as much as I could just to keep myself awake. Something deep inside of me wanted just to lie down and sleep, curl up in the snow and forget the pain. And in a way, the tundra seemed to make a nice place to lay one's head.

White. Even when I closed my eyes, I could still see the searing shine off the snow. The wind was becoming like background, as if it had always been a part of my life. And for a while I couldn't remember a time that I hadn't been alone like this, dying in the cold heartless element.

I managed to turn myself over onto my back, the pressure on my chest gratefully relieved. The cold snow fell down towards me and I shivered whenever it landed on my face. I couldn't believe that this was my fate, that I was going to die like this, freezing to death in the northernmost pit of hell.

...whoosh... whoosh...

I listened to the breath of the earth. My eyes felt heavy. I could swear I heard voices in the wind.

“Wufei.”

What the hell?

“Wufei.”

I propped myself up and looked around, desperately searching for the voice. Squinting and trying to pick out anything different amongst the sea of white, I felt my heart rise in hope for the first time since I had awoken. Someone was out there. The others were alive and looking for me!

“HEY!!!” I shouted, screaming into the howling wind, which seemed to roar up just in time to dwarf my yell. “I'M OVER HERE!”

Hoping to catch a glimpse of whomever it was that was still out there I managed to pull myself up somewhat, hardly able to bear the searing pain in my leg. I looked all around me, only finding the blinding white snow.

“DUO! HEERO! TROWA! QUATRE! I'M OVER HERE!” Yelling out the names of my fellow pilots the thought arose that maybe not all of them had made it out alive. But regardless, the fact that at least one of them was alive was more than enough to give me the strength to yell again.

Minutes passed and as the only thing that answered me was the occasional gust of wind and sharp sting of snow I started to wonder if what I'd heard had only been a mirage. My voice grew hoarse, I shouted less often... It seemed pointless to shout for help to the emptiness. And besides, I thought while I looked around me, if I can't see them anywhere… what's the chance that they'd be able to see me?

White.

It was still the only thing I could see, although for a minute there seemed to be a small difference between the absolute blinding white of the space around me, and the faintly blue-tinted infinity above me. Maybe I was just cracking up, going crazy, knowing that without some miraculous, fleeting chance of aid; I'd be dead in less than a few hours.

“Get a hold of yourself!” I said aloud. “You're not so weak as to just lay here and die!”

No, a true Chang warrior wouldn't just lay here and die. But with a broken leg and probably a few other injuries, I wasn't going to be moving for a while. So with nothing to do but hope and wait for either death or the impossible, I lay down in the snow again.

Comfortable as one can be in negative degree weather, I hoped to pass the time by thinking of what exactly I would do if I managed to get out of all this alive. Helplessness is a thing I'd always categorized along with weakness and cowardice. Being helpless means you have no power and can't do anything. Only the weak have no power, only cowards don't take action. All the helpless can do is wait for someone to tell them what to do or do something for them.

But feeling as helpless as I was, lying there, it didn't feel half bad. Having no options and no control over my situation was almost relieving in a sad sort of way. Even the power to move around on my own had been taken from me. For the first time that I could remember, there were absolutely zero responsibilities that I had to fight to fulfill.

Maybe going to sleep would be the best thing… And so I shut my eyes.

Black.

“WUFEI!!!”

White.
< br> I bolted upright so fast that the blood rushed out of my head and for a moment I was even more disoriented than when I'd first awoken… Was someone calling me?

“WUFEI! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!”

Quatre. Not a mirage this time, Quatre's voice managed to lift over the wind. Gods, it sounded like he was nearby. Frantically I looked around me, praying to catch a glimpse of my comrade. But to my sickening dismay, all I saw was that same wretched color.

“WUFEI!!!!” It sounded so close by, so desperate. Still, as much as I squinted my eyes, I couldn't make out anything through the shield of snow that seemed almost solid around me. I stood up as best I could and yelled out into the wind.

“QUATRE!” I screamed, hoping that he'd be able to hear me over the loud wind. “QUATRE!!!”

“I thought I heard him Duo! I think he's over here somewhere,” It was Quatre's voice, clear as day.

“We can't stay out here much longer! We're gonna freeze to death!” This time it was another, a deeper voice.

“But I'm sure he's still alive! I thought I just heard him!” Quatre said back, but as if he were talking to someone fairly close to him. “We have to find him!”

“You said you thought you heard him before! And…” Duo's words were blurred out as another loud gust of wind obliterated all sounds.

Why can't I see them!? I asked myself vehemently in confusion. They sounded so close; but I still couldn't see even a hint of anything but snow and ice. I'm not going to die out here! I thought I heard their voices coming from over to the left…

I tried to take a step forward and then another. The pain in my leg was tremendous and I grunted in pain every time I stepped down with my left foot. Staggering towards where I though they must be, I put my hands to my mouth and shouted again.

I can't feel my hands or legs anymore, I thought.

“Wufei?” Duo this time, sounding very surprised. It sounded as if he were even closer now. Then after a moment's pause and a wave of stinging snow, “Wufei! Where are you? I can't see you!”

“I can't see you either dammit!” I yelled back angrily.

“It sounds like he's right below us,” Quatre said.

Below them? What? What the- Limping forward I looked around in confusion. My foot slipped on ice. Hopelessly trying to balance I stuck my hands out, instinctively looking for something to catch myself on and found myself. ………………… still standing?

"Sons of bitches," I snarled, my anger settling in along with the pain and numb chill. I pushed back off the ice wall and looked at it, squinting as the wind picked up again. Everything clicked in just a single moment.

I couldn't see Quatre or Duo because I was down in some kind of pit or crevice. The endless white expanse was just thick sheets of snow and ice, giving the illusion of wide-open plains. I felt like such an idiot.

I heard laughter, and looking up saw, not too high above, a figure clad totally in black, Duo.

"How the hell did you get all the way down there?" He laughed, a smile on his face along with bits of snow.

"Quit laughing you bastard!" I shouted angrily, not seeing any of the humor. I was in far too foul a mood. "It's not funny at all! I'm going to fucking freeze to death!"

But all my shouts and curses gained from Duo was more laughter. It was almost like he was getting a kick out of this entire shitty situation. Limping closer to the solid barrier of ice, I kept my head upwards, scanning the surface for a foothold to climb up. Quatre came over to the crevice's edge.

"Wufei!" Yelling to me with joy in his voice, Quatre looked to be wearing either a coat ten times the size of him or a ratty brown blanket. "Hold on a minute, I've got a rope."

Salvation, rescue, miracle, life. I'm going to live. Thank the gods, I'm not going to die here.

A rope came dangling down, and for a minute all I could do was stare at it; unable to believe I was going to live. Shaking snow from my hands I coughed and the pain in my chest flared up, making me cringe in pain.

"Are you OK Wufei? Grab the rope." Quatre sounded worried and urgent, and I quickly thought about Heero and Trowa. Where were they?

"I think I broke a few things," I said in reply, although I don't know if either Duo or Quatre heard because an insanely powerful gust of wind blew through the crevice and seemed to carry my words away with it. I took hold of the rope and, careful not to use my bad leg, began to pull myself up.

Even if you get out of this pit, who says you're going to live?

Brushing away the dark thought, I tried to keep myself focused, feeling weaker as I climbed. Taking a deep breath of cold, I neared the top. A hand came into my field of vision and I grabbed it. Feeling myself being pulled up more than I was pulling myself, a blur crossed my vision and I felt lightheaded.

Blinking, I looked around, surprised to find myself out of the crevice that had nearly been my grave. A familiar face crossed my sight and I smiled weakly at Duo, dropping to one knee.

"You going to be alright?" He asked, his voice distant and too far away to hear very well. My eyes roamed around, looking at the beautiful scenery through an ever-increasing blur. Any houses? Any people, anything? No. Only snow and ice and the same bright color.

White.

"Yeah, I'm fine,” I answered.

I slumped forward, but didn't feel my face hit the ground.

Black.

-end “Blinding White” Part 1 of

Souls Disappear in the Snow
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