The ice structure Koro led me to was warmer than the outside, but only in the same way that a refrigerator is warmer than a freezer. I could still see my breath, and my fingers were still numb, but at least my eyelashes had stopped freezing together every time I blinked.
The interior was surprisingly cozy despite the cold. Soft blue light filtered through the ice walls, pulsing gently like the whole room had a heartbeat. Furs were piled in one corner, thick and white and looking impossibly comfortable. A small depression in the center of the floor held a cluster of what looked like glowing blue coals, radiating a gentle warmth that took the edge off the biting cold.
"Rest," Koro said, gesturing toward the pile of furs. "I will return with supplies for the journey. Food, water, and what warm garments we can spare. Though I fear our smallest furs will still swallow you whole."
"At this point, I'll take whatever doesn't let me die of hypothermia. Fashion is no longer a concern."
Koro made his rumbling laugh sound and ducked back out through the low entrance. I was alone for the first time since I had landed on this frozen nightmare of a planet.
I lowered myself onto the pile of furs and immediately sank into warmth I had not felt since pressing that stupid red button. The furs smelled faintly of something earthy and clean, like a forest after rain, which was confusing because I had seen exactly zero trees on Thundra. Maybe it was just what Yutari smelled like. I decided not to think too hard about it.
The remote sat in my lap, its screen still displaying the countdown. Sixty nine hours and fourteen minutes remaining. Below the timer, a new message blinked patiently.
[INVENTORY ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDED. WOULD YOU LIKE TO REVIEW AVAILABLE RESOURCES?]
I stared at the screen. "You want me to check my pockets?"
[AFFIRMATIVE. KNOWING WHAT YOU HAVE IS THE FIRST STEP TO NOT DYING HORRIBLY.]
"I really hate your tone."
[YOUR HATRED HAS BEEN NOTED AND FILED APPROPRIATELY.]
I sighed and started going through my pockets. It was something to do while I waited for Koro to return, and the remote was right about one thing. I should probably know what I had to work with before trying to climb a frozen mountain guarded by an ancient ice monster.
Item one. Duct tape.
I pulled out a partially used roll of silver duct tape from my windbreaker pocket. I always kept one on me during shifts. You would be amazed how many problems in a residential complex can be solved with duct tape. Leaky pipe. Tape it. Broken chair. Tape it. Resident who won't stop complaining about their neighbor's wind chimes. Well, technically I couldn't tape them, but the thought had crossed my mind more than once.
Item two. LED flashlight.
This one was in my pants pocket. A small but surprisingly powerful flashlight I used for night patrols. I clicked it on and off, the beam cutting through the soft blue glow of the ice room like a blade. Batteries were still good. I had no idea how long they would last in this cold, but it was better than nothing.
Item three. A lighter.
Also in my pants pocket. I did not smoke, but Old Bill had taught me early on that a security guard should always carry a lighter. "Never know when you'll need fire, kid," he had said, his weathered face creasing into that mysterious smile he always wore. "Fire solves more problems than people think." I had never needed it before. I had a feeling that was about to change.
Item four. Nylon rope.
This one was looped through my belt. Another Old Bill recommendation. About twenty feet of thin but strong nylon rope, coiled neatly and secured with a carabiner clip. I used it mostly for tying down loose tarps during storms. Old Bill had shown me about forty different knots before I finally admitted I only remembered three of them.
Item five. My Casio watch.
On my wrist, still ticking away Earth time even though I was on a planet where "time" seemed to be measured in countdowns to extinction. It was waterproof, shock resistant, and had an alarm function I used to wake myself up for shifts. Not exactly high tech, but reliable. And right now, reliable was worth more than advanced.
Item six. Notebook and pen.
In my back pocket. A small spiral notebook and a ballpoint pen I used to write down license plate numbers and incident reports. Most of the pages were blank. The first few had notes like "Chairman Meow spotted near dumpster 2:15 AM" and "Mrs. Higgins left another rent notice. Ignored successfully."
Item seven. Swiss Army knife.
Also in my back pocket. A gift from Max on my first day of work. "Every security guard needs one of these," he had said, his big face split into a goofy grin. "You never know when you'll need to open a box. Or cut a rope. Or fight off a bear." I had laughed at the bear comment. Now I was about to face an Ice Wyrm, and suddenly the idea of fighting a bear seemed quaint.
Item eight. Power bank.
In my windbreaker's inner pocket. A twenty thousand milliamp hour power bank I used to charge my phone during long shifts. It was about the size of a deck of cards and surprisingly heavy. The remote had mentioned needing to be charged. I made a mental note to figure out if the power bank could actually charge an ancient alien artifact.
And finally, item nine. My phone.
Also in my windbreaker. Screen cracked from when I dropped it last month, battery at forty three percent, and completely useless as anything other than a clock and a flashlight since there was definitely no cell service on Thundra. I checked it anyway. No bars. Shocking.
I arranged all my items on the fur next to me and stared at them. This was my arsenal. Duct tape, a flashlight, a lighter, some rope, a watch, a notebook, a pocket knife, a battery pack, and a broken phone. Against an Ice Wyrm and a stolen planetary core.
"This is not a survival kit," I said to the remote. "This is a garage sale."
[ASSESSMENT: RESOURCES ARE LIMITED BUT NOT USELESS. CREATIVITY WILL BE REQUIRED. LUCK WILL ALSO BE REQUIRED. PROBABLY MORE LUCK THAN CREATIVITY.]
"You are the least encouraging device I have ever encountered."
[ENCOURAGEMENT IS NOT MY PRIMARY FUNCTION. SURVIVAL FACILITATION IS. YOU ARE STILL ALIVE. THIS SUGGESTS I AM PERFORMING ADEQUATELY.]
I was about to respond with something witty and cutting when Koro ducked back through the entrance. He was carrying a large bundle wrapped in what looked like treated hide, and his expression was troubled.
"The blizzard approaches faster than Elder Nara predicted," he said, setting the bundle down next to my sad little pile of Earth items. "We must leave sooner than planned. If we wait for first light, we will be trapped here, and the mountain will be unreachable."
I looked at the remote's screen. Sixty eight hours and fifty two minutes.
"How long to reach Frostfang Peak?"
"On a clear day, perhaps eight hours. In the blizzard?" Koro's ears flattened. "I do not know. The path will be treacherous. The cold will be worse than anything you have felt. And the Wyrm hunts more actively in storms."
"Of course it does. Because why would anything be convenient?" I started gathering my items and shoving them back into my pockets. "What's in the bundle?"
Koro unwrapped the hide, revealing several items. A thick white fur cloak that looked like it had been made for a Yutari child, which meant it would probably fit me like a blanket. A small leather pouch filled with something that clinked when he moved it. A waterskin made from what I really hoped was animal stomach and not something more disturbing. And several strips of dried meat that looked like jerky but smelled faintly of fish.
"The cloak will provide some protection against the cold," Koro said. "It is not enough for the peak, but it is better than your current garments. The pouch contains fire moss, more than Elder Nara gave you. Crush it to release warmth, but use it sparingly. It does not last long. The waterskin and food are self explanatory."
I grabbed the cloak and wrapped it around myself immediately. It was heavy and warm and smelled like the same earthy forest scent as the furs. Within seconds, I could feel my body temperature rising from "actively dying" to merely "deeply uncomfortable." It was an improvement.
"Thank you, Koro. Seriously."
He nodded, his blue eyes serious. "Do not thank me yet, Janitor Ray. Thank me when we return with the core. If we return."
"That's the spirit. Really uplifting stuff."
Koro's face shifted into what I was starting to recognize as his confused expression. "I do not understand. I stated a fact. The journey is dangerous. Our survival is uncertain. Is honesty not uplifting?"
I opened my mouth to explain sarcasm and then closed it. Some cultural gaps were too wide to bridge in a single conversation. "Never mind. Let's just go save your planet."
We stepped out of the ice structure and into the growing storm. The wind had picked up significantly since I had entered the village. Snow swirled in thick curtains, reducing visibility to almost nothing. The aurora overhead was barely visible now, just a faint green smear behind the clouds. And the cold. The cold was worse. Even with the fur cloak, I could feel it trying to worm its way into my bones.
Elder Nara was waiting for us at the edge of the village. Her silver fur was dusted with fresh snow, and her ancient eyes seemed to glow in the dim light.
"The storm will only worsen," she said, her creaking voice barely audible over the wind. "But I have seen your path, Prophesied One. You will reach the mountain. What happens after is hidden from me, but you will stand at its base." She reached out and pressed something into my hand. It was small and smooth, carved from what felt like bone. "A token. For luck. The Yutari believe that luck is just hope given form. Carry it with you."
I looked at the token. It was carved into the shape of a small creature, something between a bear and a wolf, with tiny blue gems for eyes. "Thank you, Elder."
"Go now. And do not look back until the mountain is behind you. The dead walk in storms like these, and they do not appreciate being watched."
I had about forty questions about that statement, but Koro was already moving, and I did not want to be left behind in a blizzard full of apparently real ghosts. I clutched the token, checked that the remote was secure in my cloak's inner pocket, and followed.
The village disappeared behind us within minutes, swallowed by the swirling white. The only evidence we were heading the right direction was Koro's massive silhouette ahead of me and the occasional glimpse of jagged mountains through gaps in the storm.
We walked in silence for what felt like hours. The cold seeped through my cloak despite its warmth. My legs ached from trudging through knee deep snow. My face was numb despite the hood pulled tight around it. And the remote's countdown continued to tick away in my pocket.
Sixty five hours.
Sixty four hours.
Sixty three hours.
"Koro," I called out, my voice muffled by the wind. "Tell me about the Wyrm."
He did not stop walking, but his pace slowed slightly. "What do you wish to know?"
"Everything. How big is it? How does it hunt? Does it have any weaknesses? If I'm going to face this thing, I need information."
Koro was silent for a long moment. The only sounds were the howling wind and the crunch of our footsteps in the snow.
"The Ice Wyrm is old," he said finally. "Older than the Freezing. Older than the village. Some say it was left behind by the Ancients as a guardian for the mountain. Others say it is a creature of the deep cold that simply claimed the peak as its territory. No one knows for certain, because no one who has seen it up close has returned to tell the tale."
"Comforting. What else?"
"It is large. Larger than any creature that walks the surface of Thundra. Its body is long and serpentine, covered in scales that shine like frozen blades. Its breath is the breath of the void itself. Anything it exhales upon freezes solid in moments. Flesh. Bone. Even stone."
I swallowed. My throat was dry despite the cold. "So don't let it breathe on me. Got it. Anything else?"
"Its senses are keen. It feels vibrations in the ice from great distances. It sees heat as clearly as we see light. And it is fast, Janitor Ray. Faster than anything its size should be. If it decides to hunt you, you cannot outrun it. You cannot hide from it. You can only hope it chooses not to notice you."
"Hope. Great. I'm running on hope and a pocket full of random Earth junk."
Koro stopped walking. I almost ran into his back. "What is that?"
I followed his gaze. Ahead of us, barely visible through the swirling snow, was a massive shape. It rose out of the ice like a frozen wave, jagged and sharp and impossibly tall. Frostfang Peak. We had reached the base of the mountain.
And between us and the mountain path, half buried in fresh snow, was a set of tracks.
They were enormous. Each print was longer than I was tall, with deep grooves carved by what looked like massive claws. The snow around the tracks was discolored. Not red. Blue. A deep, frozen blue that seemed to pulse with its own faint light.
"Ice Wyrm blood," Koro whispered. "It has been injured. Recently."
"Injured by what? What could possibly injure something that big?"
Koro's ears flattened completely against his skull. "I do not know. And I am not certain I wish to find out."
The remote in my pocket pulsed warmly, and I pulled it out. The screen had updated.
[ICE WYRM DETECTED: INJURED BUT ACTIVE.]
[WARNING: INJURED PREDATORS ARE MORE DANGEROUS THAN HEALTHY ONES. THEY ARE DESPERATE. DESPERATE THINGS DO NOT HESITATE.]
[RECOMMENDATION: PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION. OR DO NOT PROCEED AT ALL. BUT THE CORE IS AT THE PEAK. SO YOU PROBABLY HAVE TO PROCEED. SORRY.]
I stared at the tracks. At the mountain looming above us. At the blizzard that was only getting worse.
"I really hate this job," I said.
And then I started walking toward the mountain.