I STARED AT the base of the mountain.

The car offered some protection, but if anyone saw that I was a female and alone, they would notice and try to find out more.

They would really try to find out more once they got a look at my outfit.

I could feel the coldness leaking in through the car.

I didn't have the gas to turn the heater on and leave it sitting there running.

Damn this dress.

Damn mother for making me wear this thing.

I climbed over in the back, sorting through whatever I could find with the slim hopes that I had left something in the car.

Father had left a jacket in the back, and mother had her stash of blankets tucked away for when she got cold. Father always had the AC on and mother's small body sometimes really couldn't handle it.

I took the thickest blanket from the pile and examined it.

It looked nice, but glancing at the frost covered ground, I knew it wouldn't be enough.

Damn. I had forgotten also about my shoes.

Heels were enough of a problem but walking in them on ice equaled no.

I sighed deeply and fell back onto the seat. I just needed to find a tunnel. But what if I had to climb to get to the tunnel.

No one was around anyway to see me.

Sighing I put on Dad's jacket and wrapped the blanket around me. For good measures, I stuffed as many of the other blankets as I could in my backpack and cautiously opened the door.

"Nope."

I shut the door quickly, cursing that I had let the cold air in.

This wasn't going to work.

I hated the cold.

Breathing slowly I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth.

I was a survivor.

I could do this.

I had endured the monsters of hell and lived to see the sun again.

This mountain wasn't going to stop me from getting what I wanted.

I would fecking move it if I had to.

Opening the car door again, I already felt a dull pain in my jaw at how hard I clenched my teeth together.

Ahhh such sweet memories, I thought, remembering past moments when I had done the same action.

I closed the door and walked forward. Looking around I saw a beaten up sign that read,

""

Who the feck named a frozen mountain pass '?'

I certainly wasn't enjoying the humor as I followed the direction of the sign.

Nothing I really needed was left for me in the car. I had father's wallet in my pack, and the keys and one blanket I had been able to shove in, but other than that, the car was clean empty.

The first half mile or so, I felt ready to tear someone. My teeth were chattering now. My toes were probably going to fall off by the end of this.

I didn't know. I couldn't feel them anyway.

Nor could I feel my hands. They awkwardly held the blanket around me, leaving them exposed to the cold.

My nose was running like crazy also. I had long ago stopped wiping the snot away, ignoring it now and letting it disgustingly drip down. Maybe after a while, it would stop and freeze on my face.

My eyes burned from the wind. I couldn't decide if they were raw from the cold, or if they were too moist since they kept watering up. Either way, they hurt like hell.

I groaned. I could survive this, but that didn't mean I couldn't complain along the way.

Finally.

Finally.

After maybe thirty minutes of walking in the frozen wasteland, I saw the tunnel entrance.

I stumbled in, frowning that it was equally as cold. Shouldn't it be warmer inside? The wind was gone though, and that was all that mattered to me in the moment.

I groaned again as I took off my heels. Blisters, raw and popped were on my feet.

I had to pat myself on the back for making it through with them on. But now that I wasn't stepping on the ice, I couldn't last that long in them.

The coolness of the ground was actually welcoming to the burning area around the blisters. No doubt they would become infected because I was walking around and getting them dirty.

There was no sign on the entrance to say how far this thing was.

I looked up ahead and felt my heart drop.

The rest of the tunnel had been blocked, rocks and different debris in the way.

Old caution tape hung loosely around.

I could tell it had been there for a while.

It was obvious to see that the rest of the way had been collapsed in. However, my mind didn't see that option.

"Someone must have blocked it."

I looked around and slowly peeled a rock back.

It clattered to the ground and I couldn't help the sudden giggle that escaped my mouth.

"Idiot. Who would want to collapse the cave?"

I pulled another rock out, setting it besides the little one.

"Well maybe because they didn't want you to get to the forbidden fruit?"

Another rock fell.

"Possessive old bastards. That fruit is mine."

One rock was pulled, but in the process, another fell with it.

"Wonder what kind of fruit."

More rocks fell.

"Probably an apple."

One rock fell and hit my foot. I swore on instinct, even though I had long lost feeling in the limb from the cold.

"I hate apples."

My self-dialogue continued for a while.

This behavior traced back to the reason why mother had told me to be quiet during the bidding. Once I got started, it was hard for me to grip what was real and not.

Hard for me to determine which voice was my own, and which one I had created.

It had helped me survive the Conversion.

Soon enough, a small hole opened up within the wall.

"You think we can fit?"

Silence met me as I shrugged and pushed my backpack through. I heard it hit the ground on the other side and nodded in satisfaction.

Now was the hard part.

I pushed the blanket and heels through, then wiggled myself in.

The dress didn't really get in the way. The thing was like a damn body suit.

After a few minutes of struggling, I fell on the other side.

"Have to cover that up."

It was mostly paranoid thoughts that lead me to waste more time collecting rocks and filling in the hole I had created.

I nodded in satisfaction at my handy work before moving on.

The tunnel was dark.

And by dark I mean, I couldn't see a damn thing.

I stumbled a lot and stubbed my toe countless times.

I felt along the wall, groping my way blindly through.

Then I felt something.

The air shifted in the tunnel. I blinked my eyes a few times and squinted.

In the distance, I saw that it broke off into two separate paths.

One path I could see. It obviously had light somewhere close by it.

The other path was darkness.

I grinned as I walked forward.

I chose the darkness.

After the third toe stub though I was regretting it.

My steps faltered when I saw a light up ahead.

Turning the corner, I found nothing but an empty room, the top opened to the sky, filtering in cool sunlight from above.

I looked around. There was nothing.

Just a room.

No other tunnel. No window or passageway, and after feeling along the way, no cool secret hidden cubby.

"What the hell? Where's the fruit?" I said out loud, frustrated and annoyed at my "fruitless" endeavors.

I waited a few seconds before sighing and walking towards the tunnel entrance.

"I get it. No one will ever want me. Not even Axis himself. I'll just be stuck here forever."

My father's words re-voiced and crawled out of my mouth, letting me hear just how much it had really bothered me inside.

I gave one last glare at the empty cavern room before fully facing the dark entryway.

Before I could make my exit though, I felt a small tickle on my hand.

Looking down, I saw a small thin white creature.

"Ew, spider."

I flicked it away, cartwheeling its body off me.

The room shuddered then, the movement causing me to stumble around as the frame of the cave began to shake.

Earthquake.

There couldn't be another reason for it.

There was no shelter and let's just say being inside a mountain during an earthquake wasn't the best of ideas.

But just as soon as the shaking started- it stopped.

I looked around the room again and froze.

There right in the middle.

Layed a pomegranate.

I stepped closer, watching the fruit closely.

It wasn't there a second ago. I know it wasn't there a second ago.

I glanced around the room. Someone must have put it here. Someone who was probably pulling a prank on me. Sick people who sat waiting for dumb creatures like me to walk into the mountain and search for the legend of the forbidden fruit.

I picked it up.

Nothing happened.

Slowly I sunk my nails into it and opened the flesh.

Seeds laid inside, bright red like small drops of blood.

I smiled at the sight.

I ate it willingly.

I made sure no one could come after me and taste the forbidden offering. This I made sure of as I laughed and swallowed all the seeds whole.