Chapter 11: Experiencing the Cold One Again
The people began closing their doors, sealing windows with rubber, steel, and anything they could find to keep out the cold water. I watched from inside the house as the lanterns outside slowly faded, one by one. The cold was crawling over the walls now, wrapping the house in silence.
I sat, restless, watching Mino and Kineki fiddling with some kind of metal toy, clicking parts together to make a stick. Outside, the wind howled—it was cold. Very, very cold. I stared at the wax-coated walls.
Yoku was pacing, trying to increase the fire's output—a candle made from wax or maybe polyester and WD-40."Adam, can you help me with this?" he asked.
Sigh. "Sure, sure." With my help, and Yuri's too, we managed to keep the fire burning just a bit longer.
Berto lay down and rested at the lantern, yawning
I stared at some bugs nearby. One of them, a flying kind, had curled into a shell—hibernating. Its bright gold-yellow body was now dull, covered.Adaptation. That's what this was.
Hours passed. The cold deepened. Outside, there was no sound at all.Sigh... It's so damn cold. No wonder there are barely any humans left in this settlement.
If I'd realized it earlier, maybe I'd have done something differently. Maybe I'd have punched that old man in the face and gotten us out of here faster.
The silence was overwhelming.Where are they?I stood, breathing heavily. My hands and feet felt numb.
"Heh," I whispered. "I can't believe I'm experiencing this again."
The kids were bundled up in polyester and layers of clothing. There was nothing to do but wait until the cold passed. It reminded me of back when we were stuck on Yoku's truck—but this time, there was no urgency. Just… waiting.
Yoku tried not to sleep. He was exhausted, but still writing his book—his daily log of everything we did. Of every experience.
Then, suddenly, I heard it.
Voices. Two girls, outside, calling for help.
Huff…
I stood up. Yoku grabbed my shoulder.
"Adam, no. You're kind, but this is different. If you go out there, we…"
"No. All your comrades will die. Kineki, Mino…" I muttered.
Yoku stared at me, then shook his head. "Please. Just a couple minutes?"
I stepped toward the door, but Yoku pulled me back. "Are you stupid?! If you open that door, we're all going to die in minutes!"
My head spun. I didn't know what to do.The cold was unrelenting. Merciless. It kills the ignorant.
A tear traced down my cheek. "Fine…"
Still.. the outside was completely silently exception of the wind blowing
More hours passed.
Hahh… I was so exhausted. This felt like a dream now. A fuzzy, silent dream.
Yoku handed me some coffee. "Here."
I sat down. Yuri was beside me. The group was tired. Confused, cold. This was longer than any winter we'd experienced in the Lower Stratum.
Yuri was a robot, after all. She couldn't feel what it was like to be alive. To feel fear. To be cold.Sigh… I'm so useless…
Yoku smiled faintly. "Sigh… Now I understand why engines die in extreme cold." He continued working on the heater, trying to make the damn thing run, yoku kicked it.
Kineki and Mino stirred, shivering.
"U-uh… can we b-be with you… instead?"
Adam hesitated, but Yuri opened her arms and embraced them. We huddled together, the cold seeping into our bones, even as the lanterns dimmed to near-darkness.
A week passed.
Still snowing. Still freezing.But at least it wasn't colder than the Lower Stratum… or maybe I was just imagining that.
Yoku stumbled, catching himself on a wall, holding up a wrapper. "This is the last of the food."
Then—darkness, the fire of the lantern had been completely burnt off.
The lights shut off.Kineki and Mino panicked.
We formed a makeshift fort out of futons. I never really thought about death when I slept. Maybe because I always believed I'd wake up.
They all held my hand—Mino, Kineki, Yuri, and Yoku. They were afraid, too.Living really was the best thing of all.I was afraid of death."…Hey guys."
Kineki asked, "Are you afraid of death?"
Adam's eyes widened, as if he was about to say that. "…Yeah. I don't know why. But I am."
Kineki whispered, "I think I was always afraid too. But the more I think about it… I'd rather die with everyone than alone."
Yuri smacked him lightly. "You're not dying. Got it?"She squeezed my hand tighter.
We shared our last meal together.
I thought back to my old world—how stupid it was to want to die, just because of a little suffering.
Did I make the right choice coming here?
One thing I knew for sure:
There's no world I want to live in… without these guys.
Silently inside the futon berto joined in on the rest of the group..
"I'll just sleep for now. I'll think about surviving… once I wake up."