NOVEL NEXT Ch67 Lorna: Frozen Wilderness
15:22 March 19, 2295
Mariposa Grove Area, South Entrance, Former Yosemite National Park, Disputed Territory
The Space Rover's fusion engines hummed as they approached Yosemite's southern gate. Lorna gripped the wheel, watching unnatural snow accumulate in angular patterns that defied everything she'd learned in Oslo winters.
Through the windshield, abandoned ranger stations stood coated in predatory blue ice. Not her homeland's soft glacier-blue, but something alive and hostile.
"This isn't March snow," she said, voice tight. "Not in California."
Cold-cold-wrong-place-danger. Håkon's thoughts brushed her mind as he shifted in her coat pocket, scales darkening.
"Temperature's dropped twenty degrees in the last mile," Xin reported, his Quantum Watch projecting holographic readings. "Park's weather control should be dead. This is... deliberate."
Strange-ice-who-made-them? Håkon's mental voice carried childlike confusion, his claws gripping her coat as he perched on her left shoulder.
"Must be the Jokull Horde." Lorna's tone dropped into operational mode. "My pa's creations. They've claimed Yosemite."
Xin shivered despite his puffer jacket, studying the ice-locked entrance ahead. "Road's completely frozen over. We still going in?"
"We are." Lorna killed the engine, coasting to a stop as the Rover's sensors pinged movement patterns. "Check Kuma. Manny's SMG might give us an edge."
"Still getting used to this thing," Xin muttered, pulling the white Kinetic SMG from behind his seat, its polymer barrel bulky. "Compared to my pistol, it still feels…unwieldy?"
"I'm sure you'll manage." Lorna quipped. "At least it's not all metal and heavy anymore."
Strange-ice-can-we-eat? Håkon's question came as they stepped out. He tilted his head, eyeing the ice formation before them.
They weren't random. Nordic runes twisted through the crystalline structures. The ranger station's walls bore deliberate claw marks, metal and concrete gouged in scarring.
"No, boy," Lorna traced the patterns with her eyes. "If you're hungry, we'll get you some Helionite later. Plus some yummy little things."
Håkon chirped once, nodding contently on her shoulder: Green-glowing-juice-yummy-important.
Lights flickered weakly through the frosted windows ahead.
Inside, artificial warmth hit them as emergency power kept minimal systems running. Xin's Quantum Watch interfaced with a terminal, holographic displays springing to life.
"Defense grid's partial, but the data cluster's intact," he reported, fingers flying across virtual keys. "I can extract the remaining 12%—"
"How long do you need?" Lorna asked, scanning the reception area.
"Just a moment or two. This interface has minimal protection — hold on!" His professional composure cracked. "77th-gen NexLink processor! 128 cores! This is better than ZenFusion's mainframes!"
Perched on Lorna's left shoulder, Håkon produced a series of playful chirping sounds, his tiny mandibles parting in a mimicked smile.
"Tech gets you high better than any drug," Lorna teased, hand on hip. "Diego should just give you server access instead of hazard pay."
"That would actually—oh. Joke. Right." Xin's ears reddened as he refocused. "Okay, data's downloading. The Moondust shard is at...Mount Lyell?"
"Fuck." Lorna's smile died. "That's backcountry. Deep backcountry."
"Really?" Xin swiveled to face her. "How far?"
"Full day's hike from the nearest vehicle access. Maybe more with the ice."
"Guess we won't be retrieving it today then?"
"We'll have to camp out." She let out a sigh as her arm dropped to the side. "At least the Rover's provisions should keep us going for a few days."
"Got it. I'm seeing several routes on the Atomic Map here. This landmark called…Half Dome…north of here. Might be a good spot to —" Xin continued tapping away at the terminal's keyboard.
Håkon's trill cut through the air, sharp with warning. Ice crept along the windows, crystallizing into barriers that sealed their exits.
"Xin, grab the files. We're leaving." Lorna's fingers found Baldr's handle as frost patterns spread across the glass.
The ice walls shuddered, then erupted. Four massive shapes burst through - creatures resembling armored crabs, each the size of a hoverbike. Their shells gleamed iridescent blue in the afternoon light, smooth and alien. Unlike normal crabs, they moved forward rather than sideways, advancing purposefully in formation.
Pack-creatures-danger! Håkon's mental voice rang as his scales darkened to match Lorna's turtleneck.
"Got everything!" Xin caught up, flash drive secured, Kuma slung across his back. His triumph died as he saw the creatures. "Buddha's balls...what are these?"
The lead creature halted, crystalline eyes shifting to gold - a sign Lorna recognized from briefings about remote possession, though SIMU had never identified which entity controlled them. When it spoke in Jǫturmál, the voice resonated from somewhere far beyond its shell: "Si ditt ærend, utlending. [State your business, outlander.]"
"Det er jeg. Sigrún Fjeld, [It's me, Sigrún Fjeld,]" Lorna replied, also in Jǫturmál, placing her free hand on her chest. "Vi kommer i fred. [We come in peace.]"
"You understand them?" Xin whispered, surprised.
"My father's language. These must be his creations - the Jokull Horde." She kept her eyes on the golden-eyed creature.
"Correct. We are Krabbas, scouts and warriors shaped by Harald's will." It switched to English, the remote voice carrying ancient weight. "Sigrún Fjeld. The Last Daughter returns. Why do you trespass where ice has claimed dominion?"
"We're for a fragment of the Moondust Crystal. Nothing more."
"The Crystal shard. Yes, 'Harald made us divide the ancient stone. To this day, we guard it still." The Krabba's tone grew bitter. "Though our new allies hunger for its power. The Fenris calls, and we answer. Ysolde, the Mother of Fenris walks again, and new pacts demand her foes be slain."
"Fenris?" Lorna's grip tightened on Baldr, its cool surface offering no solace. "You serve Skarn now?"
"We who were made to obey now choose our chains. But you - Harald's blood - you complicate these arrangements."
"Where is he?" Lorna stepped forward, hope flickering in her voice. "Where is my pa?"
The Pendant of Mánagrát at her throat pulsed with sudden brilliance, sapphire light spilling through her coat. The Krabba's golden eyes tracked the glow, and the remote voice sharpened with interest.
"Let him live knowing his children hunt his bloodline." The creature's tone turned venomous. "You wear his face, carry his cursed gift. For every Jokull who died to create those shards, you will answer."
They-hate-us-prepare! Håkon's warning spiked with urgency.
"I'm not him!" Lorna protested, stunned by the venomous words. "I never knew about—"
"Your pendant." The Krabba's claws clicked against ice. "Another shard stolen from our suffering. Surrender it, or we take it from your corpse."
"Like hell." Lorna activated Baldr, quantum-blue blade erupting to life.
The lead Krabba's shriek triggered chaos. All four creatures charged at once, their shells hardening to a metallic sheen. Automatic fire erupted as Xin brought Kuma to bear, the Kinetic SMG's rounds sparking off their armor.
"Kṣati Vardhana!" Xin's left hand glowed emerald as Void energy wrapped around the nearest Krabba, weakening its shell.
Lorna lunged, Baldr singing through the air. The quantum blade met the weakened carapace with a satisfying crack, shearing through the creature's right claw. Golden ichor sprayed across the frost as it reeled back.
Big-blue-bad-left-side-NOW!
She pivoted on Håkon's warning, barely avoiding another Krabba's scissoring attack. The creature's claws snapped shut where her head had been a heartbeat before. Lorna rolled under its bulk, dragging Baldr along its underbelly. Sparks flew, but the shell held.
"The ice!" Xin shouted, firing controlled bursts as two Krabbas flanked him. "They're using it!"
Crystalline spears erupted from the walls. Lorna deflected one with Baldr, the impact jarring her arms. Another grazed her shoulder, tearing through her coat. The pendant's light flared brighter, almost blinding.
"You fight like him!" The possessed Krabba's voice boomed. "The same arrogance and cruelty!"
"I'm nothing like him!" Lorna snarled, channeling her fury into a devastating overhead strike. Baldr cleaved deep into the lead Krabba's shell, quantum energy burning through its armor.
The creature screamed - not the possessed voice, but its own death cry. The golden light faded from its eyes as it collapsed.
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"Lorna, the walls are closing!" Xin's Void magic pulsed again, disrupting the ice formations, but more kept forming.
She saw it then - the Krabbas weren't just attacking. They were herding them deeper into the building, away from the exit. Away from escape.
The Pendant of Managrat's blinding light suddenly dimmed. In its place, something else ignited within Lorna - a burning in her blood that she'd fought to suppress since that time in Taiwan, where she fought Kaori and Iron Roach. The Fenris virus stirred, responding to mortal threat.
Mother-different-blood-scary! Håkon's mental voice carried new fear.
"No, not now—" Lorna gasped as the change hit. Her vision sharpened to predatory clarity. Her muscles coiled with unnatural strength. The virus sang through her veins, demanding violence.
The remaining Krabbas hesitated, sensing the shift. They'd made a mistake.
The concept did not feel like her own: They'd threatened Skarn's mate.
Lorna moved faster than thought. Baldr became a blue blur as she carved through the nearest Krabba's legs, dropping it before spinning to bisect another. Her movements flowed like deadly water, each strike finding gaps in their armor with impossible precision.
"Lorna?" Xin's voice sounded distant through the blood-rush in her ears.
She couldn't answer. The frenzy had her now. A Krabba lunged; she slid under its bulk and erupted upward, driving Baldr through its underbelly and out its back. Golden ichor painted her face as she ripped the blade free.
"Du ville drepe meg? [You want to kill me?]" She snarled in Jǫturmál, advancing on the last standing Krabba, her shrieking voice barely her own. "Du vil for pokker drepe meg! [You want to fucking kill me!]"
The creature retreated, clicking frantically. The ice walls shuddered.
"More coming!" Xin warned, Void magic crackling around him. "They're—"
The ground erupted. Six more Krabbas burst from the frozen earth like nightmares birthed from permafrost. Fresh troops, shells pristine and claws sharp.
Mother-too-many-heart-racing-danger!
Lorna spun to face them, but the frenzy was already fading. The virus-granted strength ebbed as quickly as it came, leaving her muscles screaming. Her heart hammered erratically - too fast, too hard. Each beat sent spikes of pain through her chest.
"Can't..." She stumbled, Baldr's weight suddenly unbearable.
"I've got you!" Xin stepped forward, Kuma chattering as he laid down covering fire. "Kṣati Vardhana! — Kṣati Vardhana!"
His Void spells weakened multiple shells at once, buying precious seconds. But six fresh Krabbas against his inexperience and her failing strength was simply too much.
The new Krabbas formed a closing circle, their leader speaking with that same remote voice: "The frenzy fades. Harald's blood runs thin. Surrender the shard, daughter of suffering."
"Never." Lorna forced herself upright, though her vision swam. The pendant pulsed weakly against her throat, its light flickering like her consciousness.
Håkon leaped from her shoulder, his small form landing between a Krabba's eyes. His claws found purchase as he pulled and scratched with desperate fury, disorienting it, buying them moments.
"The exit!" Xin grabbed Lorna's arm, half-dragging her toward the shattered ice wall. "Now!"
Lorna's legs barely held as Xin pulled her through the shattered ice. Behind them, Håkon's fierce trilling mixed with Krabba shrieks. Her heart stuttered - they couldn't leave him—
"Håkon!" Xin shouted at that moment, reaching one arm out. "Jump to me!"
A blue blur launched from atop the Krabba's head as it fell. Håkon leapt and landed on Xin's shoulder, his tiny claws holding onto him before scrambling into Lorna's coat pocket.
"Good boy…" she wheezed, each word an effort.
The Space Rover sat fifty meters away. Might as well have been fifty miles. Lorna's knees buckled on the third step. Xin caught her, slinging her stronger arm over his shoulders, his strength belying his smaller form.
"Hang on, Lorna," he grunted, half-carrying her weight. "We're almost there."
Kuma bounced against his back as they stumbled forward. Behind them, the Krabbas burst from the station, shells scraping against ice as they gave chase. The possessed leader's voice boomed across the frozen ground:
"Du kan ikke flykte, Sigrún! Blodet ditt tilhører isen! [You cannot escape, Sigrún! Your blood belongs to the ice!]"
"Please shut up!" Xin spun then chanted with one hand pointed at them. "Kṣati Vardhana!"
Void energy pulsed backward, not at the Krabbas but at the ground. The permafrost cracked, creating a brief barrier of unstable ice. The creatures began to slip, their movements slowed and scrambled.
"It works…" Lorna managed, her vision tunneling.
They reached the Space Rover. Xin practically threw her into the passenger seat before vaulting to the driver's side. The fusion engine roared to life as Krabbas surrounded them, claws striking the reinforced hull.
"Hang on!" Xin activated the Gauss Machine Gun, firing a few shots to scatter the Krabbas attempting to circle the vehicle, the Rover's tires spinning on ice before finding traction.
The Rover lurched forward, through the scattered Krabbas. Through the rear view, Lorna saw them regrouping, the possessed one raising a claw in what looked like salute. Or promise.
"Hør mine ord, Sigrún Fjeld! [Hear my words, Sigrún Fjeld!]" Its voice carried despite the distance. "Vi vil jage deg til verdens ende! [We will chase you to the ends of the earth!]"
"What did it say?" Xin asked, navigating around abandoned vehicles.
"They'll…hunt us…no more talking…next time." Lorna closed her eyes, trying to slow her racing heart. Each beat felt like a hammer against her ribs.
Mother-hurt-heart-wrong! Håkon emerged from her pocket, crawling onto her chest.
"I'm okay, boy." The lie came automatically. Black spots danced in her vision.
"You're not okay." Xin's knuckles were white on the wheel. "That frenzy—what was that?"
"The virus. Fenris strain. Makes me..." She couldn't finish. Breathing hurt too much.
"We need to find somewhere safe. Call Dr. Nikki—"
"No. Keep driving. North." She forced her eyes open. "Upper Pines. Have to... have to..."
The world grayed at the edges. Through the haze, she felt Xin's hand find hers, squeezing tight.
"Stay with me, Lorna. Please."
She wanted to answer him. Wanted to promise she wouldn't leave. But her heart's wild rhythm drowned out everything else, and darkness crept in from all sides.
The Rover swerved, tires crunching over frozen debris. Lorna's breath came in short, painful gasps. Her heart felt like it might explode from her chest.
"Lorna? Lorna!" Xin's voice cracked with panic. "Where's the medical kit? There has to be—"
Håkon's determined trill cut through her fading consciousness. The little Diabolisk positioned himself on her chest, burnished bronze scales glowing with golden inner light. His claws pressed against her sternum with surprising gentleness, finding the exact spot where the pain originated.
"Håkon? What are you —" Xin glanced over, nearly hitting a snow drift.
The young Diabolisk's mandibles parted. When he spoke, it wasn't his usual chirps or mental projections, but actual words in Jǫturmál, carried on a voice that seemed older than his weeks of life:
"Hjarta Kyrr."
Azure light flowed from his claws, seeping through her turtleneck and into her chest. The effect was immediate - the wild hammering slowed, each beat becoming less violent, less wrong. The crushing pain eased into something manageable, then faded entirely.
Lorna gasped, pulling in her first full breath in minutes. The black spots retreated. Her vision cleared to find Håkon's bright sapphire eyes staring into hers, his small form trembling with effort.
Mother-better-Håkon-did-good?
"You did good, boy." Tears slipped down her cheeks as she cradled him close. "You did good…"
"He saved you." Xin's voice was thick with emotion. "Our son keeps learning these new spells, it's...amazing."
Through her exhaustion, Lorna caught the words - 'our son' - but didn't correct him. It felt right, somehow. Natural.
"Thank you," she whispered to them both.
Håkon chirped softly, curling against her chest as if guarding her heart. His scales gradually dimmed from their healing glow, but he maintained his vigil.
"Okay. Map says we're about seventy minutes from Upper Pines," Xin reported, his driving steadier now. "Need anything?"
"Water." Lorna croaked as she stroked Håkon's head.
"Okay." Xin kept one hand on the wheel while reaching back to fetch a thermos of purified water for her. "Can we talk about what happened back there? The frenzy, your heart problem..."
She knew he would ask. The Fenris virus was still in her, making her more violent. But fatigue was setting in, and she just wanted to rest.
"Can we…" she promised, accepting the thermos. "Can we get somewhere safe first? Talk about it later."
"Alright." Xin relented as he focused back on driving. "Later is fine."
Outside, the ice-locked landscape rolled past, Half Dome's shadow growing larger against the afternoon sky.
On her lap, Håkon suddenly made a yawn, his thoughts drifting through her mind: Mother-want-rest?
"Yeah," Lorna murmured, taking a measured sip of warm water. Then another. Then a bigger gulp before she finally continued. "Rest."
The warm water spread through inside her, chasing away the last echoes of pain. Håkon now moved down to her lap and nestled there, letting out soft chirps while his small paws rested against her, his gentle noises matching the rhythm of her heartbeat.
"What's the plan after we get to Upper Pines?" Xin asked. Above them, the Rover's Gauss Machine Gun hummed as it cooled down. They were out of danger.
"We should make camp." Lorna replied, holding the thermos. "The Rover's built for it."
"The map shows Upper Pines about an hour out," Xin reported, now navigating around a fallen sequoia encased in unnatural ice slowly. "Sure you're up for camping? We could try to push up to—"
"No." Lorna shook her head. "The Krabbas — or whatever the Jokull has — might watch the exit routes. Better to lay low tonight, approach Mount Lyell at dawn."
"Okay." His fingers drummed nervously on the wheel. "I've never camped before, though. Unless you count that debugging marathon at ZenFusion's server farm."
Despite herself, Lorna chuckled. "City boy through and through?"
"Yeah. Didn't have wilderness survival curriculum in school, either." He glanced at her, sheepish. "Funny, I actually know how to code a tent assembly algorithm but not…you know, set one up."
"Luckily, the Rover has auto-deployment." She finished the water, setting the thermos aside. "Alliance field tech. Just park somewhere defensible and hit the camping mode. Does the rest itself."
As Lorna felt her pulses calming down, Håkon's chirping came to a halt, now resting his small form on her military pants' smooth fabric.
"Thank Buddha." Xin's relief was palpable. "I was worried you'd make me gather firewood or something."
Xin-funny-makes-mother-smile, Håkon observed, chirping twice.
"You'll still need to help with dinner," Lorna added as she placed the thermos down between them. "Hope you can work a camp stove."
"I can follow instructions," Xin said. "Instant ramen, miso soup, maybe some beef-and-broccoli, too?"
"I'm afraid we'll settle for SIMU dinner boxes instead." She let her head rest against the seat, exhaustion pulling at her. "Wake me when we're close?"
"Of course." His hand briefly touched hers on the console between them. "We'll keep watch for you."
Through heavy lids, Lorna studied Xin's form against the afternoon light.
Pack-safe-mother-can-rest, Håkon's thoughts came as he looked up at Lorna, his mandibles making a soothing trill.
The Rover's gentle hum mixed with her boys' breathing - one human, one not, both hers in ways that needed no explanation. Outside, Yosemite's corrupted majesty rolled past: ancient granite peaks crowned with alien ice, sequoias standing sentinel despite the Jokull Horde's touch, streams running beneath frozen surfaces.
Even transformed, the park held its wild beauty. Just like them, perhaps - changed by things beyond control but still themselves somehow.
"Whatever it is, we'll figure it out together." Xin's voice came soft. "Right, Håkon?"
But the little Diabolisk raised a claw to his mandibles, making a tiny 'shh' gesture as he turned to face Xin.
"Oh, right." Xin lowered his voice to a whisper, looking sheepish. "Sorry, buddy."
"Mm." Lorna was already drifting. "Together."
She savored her last conscious thought before sleep claimed her: her father Harald lived somewhere. The pendant's glow confirmed it. Yet his creations wanted her dead for his sins—sins she'd never known, crimes she'd never witnessed.