Chapter 2 : Lincoln (Past)

"It's starting to freeze out here, we should move faster!" Lincoln heard Dexter's voice say through the coms in his ear. He grunted as he shoved his ice axe upwards, yanking on it as he climbed up a snow mountain, in Ontario, Canada, that had long lost its name when it became no less than a mere landscape over the years.

The gifts of god were taken advantage of, and the humans had become this world's new gods when they created it the way they wanted it to be. Oceans were either covered by manmade architecture or were just left alone. Mountains were no longer recognized as a tourist or a hiking destination but an obstacle to mankind's revolution due to their indestructible form.

Everything was now manmade, from the seven seas to the houses, people lived in. Apartments had at least fifty stories and skyscrapers were taller than the tallest of mountains, even the mountain that not too long ago was called Mount Everest. This mountain had lost its name and was worth no more than five years ago when the United States of America built the Everest High Tower, at least a few hundred meters taller than Mount Everest. Other countries then started making buildings of many different shapes eventually beating the reputable skyscraper made by the USA.

Canada themselves achieved the title as the tallest manmade mountain before that too was taken away by a country called the United Arab Emirates when they built the Man-Mount Everest. Other countries, however, did not stop there. The technological industry had also taken a big turn when reputable companies announced that everything was possible with technology. And yes, that was very true. However, in the eyes of the minority, including Lincoln and Dexter, nature will always remain the most beautiful.

But that did not mean they hated this new evolution, if anything they loved how the world ran. If only they would not hurt their planet in such away. War too plagued the planet when many governments wanted more land for their economy, nothing new there. But the war has been going on for several years, weapons manufacturers created lethal weapons, people were randomly killed by anonymous killers and the world since then had no future.

Wars would sometimes occur when some countries or states did not want to take on futuristic turns, and they would be forced to if their land was taken away. Even Ontario refused to make too many tall buildings and also did not yet give in to the flying vehicle manufacturers. Sure, there were flying cars here and there because the president of Canada made it compulsory for all states to build SkyStreets, so people using flying cars can easily navigate around the country. However, that was how far Ontario would go for the time being.

"We should find a spot to stay the night! It's getting late... And cold..." Lincoln said as he climbed a few meters under Dexter, a rope keeping them together. Dexter did not reply.

Suddenly the snow shifted. "Oh no..." Lincoln whispered. "We need to climb faster!" Dexter yelled through the coms and used all his remaining energy to strike the ice axe as high as possible, then pulled hard. But he was too tired to climb that high and stopped midway, striking the axe in his other hand to regain his balance and posture. Lincoln watched as it happened, he saw Dexter losing grip on one of his axes. "Dex!" Lincoln yelled, but it was too late the axe came falling towards Lincoln.

Lincoln snapped. It was falling on his left side, so he pulled out the axe on that side and reached out. He caught Dexter's axe, but barely. It slid down the shaft, but he caught it on the tip. He could feel his grip losing up on the axe in his other hand that kept him on the mountain, still, he held strong and hurled Dexter's axe back to him, to be caught by his friend's free hand. Lincoln then shoved his axe back on the snow. "Nice catch, dude!" Dexter yelled weakly. Lincoln smiled, "You too." They were indeed too skilled to let the cold get to them.

But they still had to get to someplace warm before one or both of them passed out.

Lincoln's watch made a beeping sound, announcing that another ten minutes passed in a dangerous temperature. He looked at the watch, the temperature was only lowering as seconds passed, it was now at -30 Degrees Celsius. Lincoln sighed; how grateful would he be if they survived their first day hiking this mountain? He could not help the anger rising inside him when he remembered that this was all Dexter's fault.

This would not have happened had Dexter not insisted on climbing more on their first day so they could reach the top sooner in the next few days. This was not their first time hiking a mountain, they hiked much taller ones before this. Just this time Dexter was feeling too confident. And Lincoln had not argued, maybe it was his fault too. The air became thinner, he would normally have a plan, but Lincoln was too angry to think but too cold to be angry at his friend. His pane of vision became dimmer as the sun started to set. "Torch," Lincoln commanded and his watch shone bright light above him.

Dexter jerked at the light, "You scared me there!" He yelled through the coms. "Sorry" Lincoln replied. "It's fine. I should turn my torch on too." Dexter said and his watch too started flashing some light above him. "Wait I see something!" Dexter said and started climbing again. Lincoln groaned, the move he pulled to get Dexter's axe tired him out, but if what Dexter found was shelter then Lincoln would have to use his remaining energy and start climbing.

Lincoln looked down one more time. Their backpacks were still hanging on to the end of the rope. He continued climbing until he heard Dexter's voice again. "Lin, I found an opening! But we need to dig to get through it. Come up here." Dexter announced. "I'll be right there," Lincoln replied as he started to climb faster, until he reached Dexter, his heart thumping against his chest as his breathing became more ragged.

He was not looking at Lincoln, but at the small opening in the snow. Normally something like this would not need so much attention, but there was some strange crimson red light coming from the inside, it was dim, but it was enough for them to see it. Lincoln followed Dexter's line of sight. No. He wasn't looking directly at the red light, more like he was looking anywhere but at the light. His eyes were glassy as if they weren't focused on anything. "Dex?" Lincoln called out.

Dexter shook his head and used the axe in his right arm to insert the other end of the axe into the hole and yanked on it, trying to make it big enough for the pick to fit in. "Good idea," Lincoln whispered. Dexter then turned his axe around and struck the pick towards the hole, while his left arm held on to his other axe so he would not fall off. Lincoln watched as Dexter's axe went deeper into the snow until he stopped.

Dexter took his axe out and looked inside. Lincoln could not see the red light anymore, was he imagining things? Then what about Dexter? That can just be the cold getting to him, stuff like that happens a lot it can't be different this time around, right? He squinted but could not see any light coming out of the hole anymore like nothing was there in the first place. Dexter grunted, interrupting his thoughts. "Hey Lincoln, give me a hand, here, will you?" Dexter said without making eye contact. Lincoln nodded and closed in on his friend. He struck his axe into the snow and yanked on it. "Woah!" He yelled as the axe slipped out of the hole and he almost lost his balance. "Careful," Dexter said as he too yanked on the axe, but this time more carefully.

Suddenly the opening started enlarging as the snow got sucked into it. "Too big! We'll fall in!" Dexter yelled in panic as he and Lincoln struck their axes simultaneously into the opening to stop it from enlarging any further. However, they did not know what a bad idea that was. As soon as both axes connected with the hole, the whole ground opened and they fell right into it, screaming as they did.

It was a long fall, there was a point where Lincoln lost consciousness, and everything went black.