Sienna sighed, lowering the volume. "Extreme weather is happening."
"Extreme weather?" Louisa repeated, her body still shaking a bit. "Is it like Ice Age... like the one in fantasy?"
"Yup, something like that... but it would end in a week at most..."
Louisa pursed her lips. Even though she understood what Sienna meant, she was still curious how she knew when it would end.
However, before she could ask, bowls of steamy noodles appeared on the table out of nowhere, as if space had cracked open and delivered them there!
Her eyes widened like she had seen a ghost.
It didn't disappear!
So it wasn't her imagination!
Nothing was wrong with her eyes either!
What was even more shocking was that Sienna didn't seem bothered by this strange phenomenon but instead dug in.
Louisa's jaw dropped while Sienna shot her a look and urged, "Come eat now before it freezes in minutes."
Louisa gulped, her voice hesitant. "Di–Did you just... did the meals just ap–appear out of nowhere?"
Sienna forked some noodles and opened her mouth. She finished chewing first before nodding. "Yup... Sis' superpower."
"Superpower? Like in—"
"Yeah, like in fantasy movies or novels or whatever, except it's real. Anyway, come eat now so you can gain some strength."
Although Louisa had lots of questions to ask, she knew now wasn't the time. Not yet.
So she slipped out of bed and joined Sienna while Snowball ate at the side.
After they were done, Sienna left for the garage and looked around first. When she was sure there was no camera and no one would come in, she let her modified SUV out with a thought and then made the van disappear after.
She got inside and turned on the engine for warm up.
She was somewhat glad when the engine energetically hummed, unnerved by the cold. Thank goodness she had the foresight to modify or she would be stuck here.
Then she went to Louisa's room and sent the little girl's luggage to her space. She also asked if she would need anything, and after getting a "No," they boarded the car.
And on this day, when no one dared to go out, and without the awareness of any of their sisters shivering inside their rooms, the two left for Tiger City.
Sienna had planned to travel there three days later, thinking she still had time left. After all, there were still twenty-one days before the apocalypse was supposed to start. The Extreme Cold, also known as the Quick Ice Age lasted a week, followed by the Quick Thermal Age, which will also lasted a week. As it turned out, the Extreme Cold happened a week earlier, which was something Sienna hadn't expected.
The world outside was buried in snow, a large expanse of white the only thing their eyes could see. Once in a while, one or two people trudged on the sidewalk, bundled up like artic explorers, and that was all. It was an absolute silence, with the exception of the SUV's engine and the rhythmic crunch of its tires compressing the deep snow.
Louisa sat huddled in the passenger seat, wrapped tightly. She had on insulating gloves, military boots like Sienna, and at least ten layers of clothes despite the heater in the car. She caressed the bundled cat, her heart hammering as she stared at the world outside.
Her sister was right.
It was the Ice Age.
Cars had turned to frozen sculptures, and houses were lumps under white blankets. The trees were no different.
Her hand clenched slightly.
Meanwhile, Sienna was calculating the time in her head.
They'd been driving for almost an hour now. Tiger City was the city next to theirs, and it would only take around an hour and a half to drive there. However, due to the current weather conditions, it was bound to take much longer.
Suddenly, Sienna felt the temperature starting to drop. She said in a muffled voice, "Do you feel the change in the air, Louisa?"
Louisa's body has already begun to tremble. "Ye-ea-ah."
Sienna immediately pulled over to a stop. She didn't turn off the ignition, of course. She turned the auxiliary heater two levels higher, and the coldness was immediately offset. Following that, she took out several more blankets.
"This was only the first day. How worse will it be by the seventh?" She pondered.
In fact, she would have preferred to just stay at home and train while waiting for this to pass. But that wasn't possible.
After the deadly rain, zombies would completely fill the city, and it would be harder for people to leave. Moreover, most of the roads would be already damaged by then, buildings would have fallen, and bridges would be destroyed. This was what killed most people: being unable to get out of even after the government announced the location of bases in other cities, which was where Sienna was headed right now.
"Pull your scarf over your nose..." She instructed. "We are going to go faster now. The temperature is dropping even lower, I think."
Louisa immediately did as she was told, and Sienna stepped on the gas.
The car continued to drive forward through the drifts that rose like frozen dunes. At least three times, the Cruiser's wheels slipped, spinning against the ice before the traction control got into action. If Sienna weren't an expert driver, they'd have been in an accident by now.
But that wasn't the worst thing to happen.
At first, she couldn't see clearly. However, upon getting closer, Sienna's eyes widened when she saw the faint outline of a bridge. From her research, she knew this bridge was crucial to cross through to Tiger City, but staring at it now, one could see the way it sagged unnaturally, its steel frame weighed down by thick layers of ice.
Years of experience kept her calm, and with a tight expression, she called, "Louisa."
"Yes?"
"Hold on tight."