Read Online Trial by Ice by Casey Calouette - Free Book Online Page A

it because he felt it too.
    The snow squeaked with every step. It had settled since it fell. He paused and peered to the horizon. The sun burnt, dimly cradled between the horizon and the low clouds. His nose burned and he continued inside. 
    “Come. Sit,” Crow called to William.
    William walked slowly and sat across from him. Vito was seated back-to-back with Crow with his head hung forward. He snored lightly.
    “What did you think of the day?” William asked.
    “Do you really want to know?” Crow replied.
    William nodded. “Always.”
    “Is too slow. One man was carried today, tomorrow it will be more.”.
    “Nothing more we can do.”
    “No, I suppose not. But it does not make it easier.”
    William nodded.
    Crow looked up. “Lead them.”
    William glanced around the room with guilty eyes. “I’ve never done this before.”
    Crow leaned forward and tapped William’s chest. “Lead from there.”
    William sighed and stripped off his mittens. The tips of his fingers were a sickly gray. He cupped his hands and exhaled into them.
    “Are you really from Farshore?” Crow asked.
    William nodded and exhaled again. A slight mist of frosty air wisped through his fingers. “I was.”
    “Yes. Was.”
    “I don’t remember much, I was young when it happened. I can remember being hungry all the time. The camps were not nice for a child.”
    “How…”
    “How did I survive the burning? I don’t remember exactly. My father stuck me on a transport off I think.” William sighed. “They thought they had won, but then they burned them somehow. I didn’t know until years later, my mother didn’t tell me.”
    “She survived too?” Crow raised his eyebrows.
    “They were separated, she lived in Montreal.” He looked away. “And you?”
    “Turkey.” Crow said. “Grew up so poor that even stealing food was difficult. I left when I could, learned to read on a cargo hauler, and then came to the Army.”
    “Volunteer?”
    “Food. When you don’t have it… That pit inside, it burns you,” Crow said. “So I joined once the cargo job was finished. I was hungry.” Crow smiled. His dark eyes sparkled.
    William smiled and nodded.
    “Even this is more food than I grew up with. For now, at least.” The smile disappeared.
    “Ever been in a situation like this?”
    “No. Not exactly. I deployed twice. Incursions. One was against some fanatics that locked down a grav point, the other to enforce the Covenant. That one was bad.”
    “How so?” William leaned forward.
    “They signed, but dumped on the government, booted ‘em out and burned the papers. So we came in to restore the government. We didn’t care who ran the place, as long as they followed the covenant.” Crow slid up his sleeve and showed a smooth scar, dark and taut. “They signed eventually, but we had some rough times.”
    “Those papers…”
    Crow missed the cue. “Was an old colony, set in their ways. Back when anyone with enough money could buy a way off planet.” Crow caught himself with a look of surprise on his face. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
    The wind whispered behind them in concert with the expanding and contracting fins. The light of the room was barely enough to reflect off their eyes.
    “Listen Grace, there are men who lead, and men who are led. You may be young, but rank alone isn’t what has kept you here. You’ve got that…” Crow stopped and rubbed his hands together in thought. “Presence, presence of command. Ask of us, and lead in front.”
    William sat in silence and stared at the space between them. He didn’t feel like a leader. But he didn’t feel overwhelmed. Command be damned, for now it was survival.
    “Are we going to get through this, Sergeant Crow?” William asked.
    “You tell me, Mr. Grace.”
    William gave a single crisp nod. “Yes.”
    The two men sat and listened to the heating coils sing. William fell asleep quickly as the day’s travel finally overwhelmed him.
     
    * * *
     
    Sebastien