Zoe Beringer

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Every hair on the back of her neck was standing on end. There was something very wrong here, and it wasn't related to what had happened the day before. Zoe had pushed through this feeling of unease before, and she would do it once again for the sake of placing the final nail in this project. "Okay, well i believe if we head this way we should be down in a few hours. I will break trail." Taking a few steps forward, she made sure to keep the Drac and Micheal in her peripheral. About one foot of powder was piled on top of the permafrost below and it was slow going to break through the upper crust. Weird how the others had not seemed to have been slowed by the barrier as they approached her before.

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Their smiles unnerved her, but Zoe feigned indifference and walked toward her tent. Very few would willing haul down 90 lbs from South Col. "Well, I'm sure you will change your mind after you lift some of this stuff." Unzipping the tent she reluctantly turned one shoulder away from Micheal and Drac to access the space. She pulled two packs out and slid them toward the newcomers. "I think this will do. When we get off the glacier. I may pair down a bit. Not too much to handle is it?"

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"I see..." Drac's laughter echoed in an unsettling way between the slopes. Zoe shoved her glove into the pocket of her shell jacket, and hoisted her bag back onto her shoulder. The weight seemed to have doubled since she had set it down moments ago. She glanced over at her tent knowing that she should at least take part of the gear she brought up, but she would have to ask for help; something she was not quite ready to entrust in these strangers. "Well, I am on my way down to Kathmandu. If you are headed to town, I would be willing to pay you for aiding me in hauling my equipment....my Sherpas...well...they are indisposed at the moment." A lump formed in Zoe's throat as the mountain glowered at her back. This was an unnecessary risk.

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"I see..." Drac and Micheal's laughter echoed in an unsettling way between the slopes. Zoe shoved her glove into the pocket of her shell jacket, and hoisted her bag back onto her shoulder. The weight seemed to have doubled since she had set it down moments ago. She glanced over at her tent knowing that she should at least take part of the gear she brought up, but she would have to ask for help; something she was not quite ready to entrust in these strangers. "Well, I am on my way down to Kathmandu. If you are headed to town, I would be willing to pay you for aiding me in hauling my equipment....my Sherpas...well...they are indisposed at the moment." A lump formed in Zoe's throat as the mountain glowered at her back. This was an unnecessary risk.

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Zoe stomped her crampons releasing the last remnants of powder from the from spikes jutting from the toe. Thoughts of sitting down and resting on the glacier crossed her mind, but she knew she needed to get down from this height relatively soon and the words of the new visitors were becoming increasingly cryptic. "Try me. I have been quite a few places. Surely it is not so remote that you could make it here. Also what do you mean by hot blooded?" Biting into the fabric of her gloved fingertip she pulled it off her right hand. The frigid air actually felt good on her skin as Zoe wriggled her fingers.

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Zoe scanned their peculiar attire. Quickly covering her mouth with her heavily gloved hand and coughed. Being above 14,000 was beginning to take its toll. It was at least 20 below celsius. "There are a few extra suits available in the dining tent. I'm not sure if they will accommodate you size Drac, but anything must be warmer than what you have on now. Where exactly are you two traveling from?"

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Zoe turned back to the figures as they entered base camp. A smell pervaded the air that brought Zoe back to that night in the bivouac tent. She shook off the feeling of dread and managed a thin smile. "Oh...about two months on the mountain, but only this morning did I make it back here. It was Drac and Micheal right?"

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Now that the gap between them had shrunk, Zoe realized that there were definitely two people coming towards her. The extremely tall one with the gleaming eyes was addressing her and the other appeared to be exchanging pleasantries as well. Her grip on the axe loosened and she stepped forward to meet them. Something still didn't seem right, but truthfully she was in no shape to start a fight with complete strangers. "Well you picked a good time. The mountain is as empty as it will ever be." A somber note resonated in her voice as she rotated her gaze to those unforgiving peaks.

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As the figure approaches at a sprint Zoe instinctively adjust her stance so that the spikes on her crampons dug into the ice and allowed her pick axe to slip into a better placement in her grip. There was something not right about the gleam from this persons eyes and their hand, and something in the way the light hit the ground made it appear as if two figures were now in the place of the one. Zoe questioned her sanity for a moment. This figure or figure were out of place on the glacier. "This is Zoe Baringer. Are you attempting a climb or has someone sent you?" Her voice attempted to rise again to cover the distance, but once again it sounded small in comparison to the space.

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Without the Sherpas, the other equipment and supplies would have to remain at camp along with all the dining tent and the unused oxygen bottles piled next to it. There was no way Zoe could carry it down to Kathmandu herself, and even if she could what was the point. As she looked out at the wasteland that was base camp, her eyes caught movement and a glaring blue light. For a moment her pulse stopped, could it be that someone else had made it. It was foolish to solo at this point in the season, and she didn't recognize the garb as any of the climbers she had passed on the way down. She threw a hand into the air to wave at the figure. "Hello" Zoe's voice sounded weak on the wind, but the emptiness of the valley ensured it would carry to the strange figure.