Pacing up and down in the entrance to the cave, the human shaped naga occasionally glanced over at his gold coloured partner, as the crunch of the snow echoed from beneath the soles of Flash's stolen boots.
"It's nearly stopped," remarked the fake human, as the gold coloured beast delicately flicked some more wood onto the smoky fire, with his long, muscular tail, compelling the flames to crackle and spit as tiny flecks of the new wood exploded out at all angles.
"You know as well as I do that it has to stop fully before we try to ascend. On our previous attempt in even a little snow, we nearly fell down that crevasse and died."
Staring forlornly out of the cave and into the distance, the falsehood human thief shared his feelings in a rare moment of clarity.
"I just want it to be over. I'm tired of doing their bidding. All of this... kill these, capture those, bring these ones back here. It makes me sick to the stomach."
Slithering over to his friend, the gold, snake like beast stopped short of the entrance itself.
"I don't like it any more than any other of our kind. But it's not like we have much choice in the matter at the moment. There will come a time when we get him back, and let me assure you, when we do, there will be hell to pay. We will take our revenge on their kind, mark my words," he spat, venomously.
"But they've had him for so long. Why should we believe they'll let him go anytime now?" asked his partner.
"A fair and good question, for which I don't have an answer. Those higher in the chain of command believe this is all coming to an end, and that HE will be freed shortly. Whether that is actually the case remains to be seen. Given what we've been promised in the past, I'm more than a little sceptical."
Remaining at the back of the cave, firmly against the wall, Flash listened intently, able to hear everything the two said, because they were practically shouting. Whether it was because they knew he could enhance his hearing, or because they truly believed he was their prisoner and had no way of escaping, he just didn't know. Once the snow stopped, they would attempt to move him. Where to, God only knew, but his experience and training screamed at him to wait until he was being moved before trying to escape. That in theory, should present the best possible chance, particularly if the minds of the nagas were focused on other things. Whatever was going on, it seemed to be very important to both of them, he thought, waiting for the shimmering snowflakes to cease falling from the grey and white sky beyond the cave's entrance.
Another three hours passed before the snow finally stopped. With one flick of his giant tail, the gold shaded naga destroyed the smouldering remains of the hastily built fire. Flash could feel his stomach twist and turn as his kidnappers approached him. Unsure of what to expect, he hoped that if he was going to be frogmarched up the mountain, then at least they might give back his stolen clothing. That in itself would be an added bonus.
"On your feet," commanded the human form.
Instantly he stood up, wanting to at least appear compliant and resigned to his fate. A smoky, ashy smell wafted over him as 'Gold' (the naga of that colour) came in close. Flash studied its head closely, on the lookout for any potential weak spots, should it come down to using the lethal darts in his watch in an attempt to escape. For his part, the naga just stared at him, moving its head lazily from side to side as if in some kind of trance. Flash's fear started to get the better of him, but he remained steady and still, putting on a brave face, as the humans would say. Inside, he was absolutely terrified, something that was very much a new experience for the talented Crimson Guard. Trapped against a sheer wall, facing two deranged nagas, one in human form, the other resembling a giant serpent, both with absolutely no regard for his life, it seemed things could get no worse. The moment he blinked, he realised just how wrong he'd been.
BAM!
Gold swung round in an instant, smashing him against the cold, hard, rock wall. Desperately he tried to breathe in, the blow having knocked all of the air out of his lungs. Gulping frantically, all he could manage were small, short breaths, over the pain which was tremendous. Figuring the strike must have broken at least two of his ribs, as spots started to appear around the periphery of his vision, using all his willpower, he concentrated on channelling some of his dragon magic into the damaged area, but with the cold biting at him and both nagas dragging him across the cave floor, he seriously doubted it would do any good.
With his head bobbing up and down like a yo-yo, bouncing off the solid rock, something cold and slimy started to curl itself around his prone body, squeezing as it did so. Waves of pain that came with the squeezing nearly rendered him unconscious. It was all he could do not to fade away. After forcing more than half a dozen short breaths into his weary body, he managed to move his head a couple of inches to see exactly what had happened. It was as he'd thought. Gold had wrapped his long tail around Flash's entire body, so much so that he could barely move. His view was suddenly blocked as the human shaped naga wearing Flash's stolen clothes hovered into view over him. It started to mumble words, most of which Flash couldn't recognise, which in itself was deeply disturbing given most dragons have a basic understanding of just about every language on earth, past and present. Flash certainly wasn't most dragons, and due to his training and diligence, was pretty sure he knew every language that had ever existed, to quite a high standard. A language with words that he didn't recognise, he thought to himself, could mean nothing good in his current predicament.
The words, as it turned out, had been the naga equivalent of a mantra. This magic was designed to keep Flash warm and unaffected by the Antarctic wind and cold that he was about to be taken out into.
Leading the way, the human shaped naga, his boots crunching in the snow, climbed up the steep slope. Flash, wrapped in the other naga's giant tail, slid over the snow and rock, only occasionally feeling a bump from the rough ground below him. Looking back down the slope into the valley below him, he could just make out the handlebars of his skidoo, sticking out in the freshly fallen snow. It seemed such a long time ago that he'd arrived there. Would Casey have sent people out to search for him? Probably not in the storm, he decided.
The going was slow, as the higher up the slope they got, the more obstacles they encountered. Boulders changed from small ones that could be stepped over to monstrosities that had to be circumnavigated. Fresh snow disguised deep trenches and lethal holes, two of which the human shaped naga had nearly fallen into.
Feeling like closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep, Flash was exhausted, not having had any food or drink for some time, combined with the injuries he'd suffered. Despite all this, he knew he had to fight to stay awake with all his strength; his life, quite literally, depended upon it.
After one more narrow escape in which all three of them nearly plummeted down a gaping crevasse, the group appeared to arrive at their destination.
Managing to turn his head slightly, Flash tried to view exactly what was going on. Nearby he could just make out the steady stream of running water.
"What do you think?" asked the false human form. "Want to keep him like that all the way there?"
On hearing this, Flash panicked, barely able to breathe, let alone make a bid for freedom, his heart racing at the thought of being trapped like this all the way to their final destination.