World of Frost

[Razgat]

World of Frost
Adventures of a Wanderer

No one saw it coming. No one ever thought the world would go into another ice age. It was inconceivable, unimaginable, unbelievable. Everyone was caught off guard. Or course in the beginning, they adapted. They bought thicker coats and used more fires, but they all thought it would pass. But the Earth just got colder. Soon, the electrical wirings would freeze up, and then the heating, the electricity, the refrigerators, they would all die. People would begin to rely purely on fire and blankets for their source of light, cooking, and warmth. Then the oil froze. Cars could no longer get any gasoline, and transportation was at a standstill. People walked, but in the zero degree weather just a walk around the block could result in frost bite. People weren’t prepared for it. They needed to regroup. That was when the military stepped in.

The world hadn’t totally changed. There was still a government, still political power. Communication was the only thing they lacked, so they sent out the army, the navy, everyone. They sent anyone who could help evacuate the people into specially built camps with generators, food, and warmth. They could survive there. The only problem was that there weren’t enough. The populations were too great. The government had to pick and choose. The rich bought their way in, or at least those who still had money. It was still useful then. The rest were hand picked. If you showed promise of becoming a political leader, a doctor, a military star, or any type of scientist, you were in. You would be taken from you families, and you would be sent off to a camp while the others were left to freeze. Natural selection, they called it, but this time they were playing God.

So the people were moved as the Earth continued to get colder. Most weren’t able to survive without the camps. Those that did formed colonies and rebuilt. They adapted to the cold. Without the restrictions placed on them by humans, the animals began to multiply and expand their territories, so the survivors were able to hunt. They used their pelts for clothing and took the meat. They learned to pick apart pieces and form their own generators, and they learned to scavenge for anything. Everything was useful in some way.

And so the population began to grow again, without the camps. They never heard from those that were sent there. Some had tried to take a look for themselves, but they were locked tight with no way of communicating with those inside. People gave up on them and formed their own government. They had tried to maintain remnants of their old society, but they found that it was impossible. They changed everything. There was no authority or law. You fought to survive and served the group. If you didn’t, you were on your own. Some preferred to be that way, and they were known as Wanderers. They moved from colony to colony, helping out where they could until they decided to move onto another. There were no leaders in these colonies, and nobody cared. They were unified. One colony, one family.

That was how everything worked for a while. They thought that after a few generations the Earth would fix itself and return to normal, or it would stay this way and humans would evolve. What they didn’t expect was that the animals would evolve first. Lions became Frost Lions. They migrated across the frozen sea to all parts of the world and multiplied. They were the first problem. At first they would only invade a colony to investigate. Then it started to steal the food and wreck equipment. Then it started to feast on the colonists. It was after that when the colonies decided to establish security around its borders. Barbed wire was set up in layers around the outside to prevent the Frost Lions’ entry. It worked because the Lions only searched for food, and they found it was much easier to hunt animals outside the colonies. The colonists were relieved. Until the wolves came.

The wolves hadn’t changed much. They looked exactly like arctic wolves, and they were much harder to spot then the lion, which was an icy blue. They also were much smarter and traveled in packs. They figured out how to dig under the barbed wire and sneak into the colonies. They were the biggest nuisance. The colonists tried everything to get rid of them. They tried building fences, putting ice blocks underneath the wire, putting up electric fences. The wolves always found a way around it. It wasn’t until later when someone figured out what to do. The wolves only attacked the colonies at night, they discovered. Before the sun could set, the entire colony went into lock down. They bolted the doors, plastered the windows, hid the equipment in a better facility. When the wolves came, there was nothing for them to take. They learned not to invade the colonies anymore, or to come in the day time, but by then the colonists had created weapons. Or they had learned how to manufacture their old weapons.

For a long while, everything was fine. The colonists had adapted and overcame many obstacles, and they were managing to survive in their frozen world. People began to learn means of protection, and nearly everyone was some sort of mechanic. Some of the doctors, they found out, had even been left behind by the camps. They began to teach the colonists until everyone knew the basics. Everyone had a fair chance at survival. Then, they realized, the frost not only changed the animals they knew, it brought new creatures as well.

When it first came, no one believed it. They thought it was some huge bird or that the military had regrouped and gotten an airplane to send help. But they were entirely wrong. It flew over their security, over their barbed wire and electric fences, and landed in the middle of the colony. It walked on all fours, with massive claws and a muscular body. And tail. It was covered head to toe in scales with wings spreading up to fifty feet wide. Its jagged teeth could tear apart any weapon, and when it breathed, it didn’t breath fire like the legends said. It breathed ice. The Ice Dragon was the biggest threat to everyone. Whole colonies had been destroyed from one attack. No one knew how to protect themselves from it. The only choice they had was to go where they couldn’t be reached, but where could that be? “We should move underground”, one man had suggested, “That was we are unreachable. We can dig out caverns and reinforce them with metal. We can get away from the dragons, the lions, and the wolves, but we could form an entrance so that we can still hunt.”

And so, within a matter of months, all the remaining colonies moved underground. They made the entrances small so that the dragons wouldn’t fit, and they made the colonies so far underground that no being could dig through to reach them. They had prepared themselves for everything. They had beaten the odds and survived.

And so, years went by, and generations grew up. Humans began to adapt more to the cold and grew used to the conditions. Seeing a wolf or Frost Lion became normal, and Wanderers became more common now that they knew how to get past all the predators. That is where Todd comes in. Todd Wylie. He is a young Wanderer who has just left a colony. He carries a sizeable back pack over his shoulders with enough supplies to last him the weak. If he runs out before finding another colony, he will have to start hunting, but he knows the land well. Most of the Earth has retained its shape, and there are multiple colonies. With any luck, he’ll reach the nearest one in three days.

And so, our young Wanderer treks on, totally oblivious to the storm clouds approaching out in the distance. Of course, in this day and age, it doesn’t rain or storm anymore. It blizzards.

[Razgat]

Adventure One: The First Snowfall

“I should get out of the open soon and find some shelter. It’s getting late.” Todd glanced around his surroundings, but the constant flaking of snow blurred his vision. He couldn’t see very far. “Nothing nearby…” Todd continued walking, hefting his back pack and glancing anxiously at the sun. It was drifting lower and lower, and he knew he only had so much time. The wolves would start hunting once it went down. Todd quickened his step, hoping to see some sign of shelter in the distance. He spotted a form up ahead. It could just be a snow mound or a hill, but it was worth investigating.

He headed forward, his footsteps sinking in the deep snow. He kept his gaze on nothing else but the form up ahead. As he got closer, it began to grow taller until it was much too tall to be a snow mound, and its shape changed. He could see straight lines and jagged edges. It was definitely a structure. A colony? No, he knew of all the colonies in this area. It was much too soon for that. Although, he could have easily veered off course, but that seemed very unlikely to him. He continued walking. The snow began to fall in larger clumps, and the wind picked up. Todd was engulfed in its blanket and could barely see the hand in front of him. The shape of the structure, however, could still be partly seen. He continued to head towards it until he was sure he was nearly there. “Maybe they’re survivors,” he thought, “Or researchers. Maybe they broke away from the colonies and created their own. It could even be an abandoned place.”

He finally approached the area close enough where he could see. It turned out to be a bunch of cabins built near each other, but spaced out in a way where you knew there must have been a pathway in-between them. The others Todd couldn’t really make out, but the one he approached had a stone base and wooden columns that went up to the second floor. A lot of the windows were either open or broken, and parts of the roof were falling apart, but it appeared to be in good shape. It was odd, though. No one built wooden cabins anymore. He quickly hopped up the steps and jiggled the door handle. It was locked. He sighed and looked around him. There were a couple of rocks that had broken away from the base. He picked one up and tossed it through one of the windows on the main floor. He heard a loud shatter, but now he could get inside easily. He cleared away the glass from the edges to prevent them from cutting him and tossed his back pack inside. He climbed in after it. Once he was inside, he was amazed at what he found. There were life size statues of bears, wolves, and large cats. Stuffed birds hung from the ceiling. There was also a large sheet of glass protecting a small scene of forest animals. He had read about them when he was still living in a colony, but he had never actually seen any of them. He approached the small display and gazed at the contents. There were tall, wooden structures behind them with green paper hanging down from them. He had seen some before, but he had never seen any like these. These trees. The only thing he ever saw was the Evergreen.

He finally took a step back from the display and looked around him again. There was a small archway with a sign hanging over it that said “Gift Shop”, and there was a set of stairs towards the back. He glanced at the archway and peeked inside. A long glass counter filled with old artifacts were displayed there. There were also a garden of knick knacks splayed across the floor and racks filled with pictures. There were shelves towards the back with boxes and more trinkets and a large machine on the counter. “That’s what they call a cash register, back in the day. And these…” Todd picked up a plastic bag filled with a pink soft substance, “this is what they must have eaten here.” Todd opened the bag and grabbed the pink fluff. It easily broke away from the rest and he examined it. When he looked at it closely, it really looks like a ball of closely knitted string, but there were tiny crystals sparkling all over it. He smelt it. It smelled sweet, like some of the old perfume bottles he had found in the ruins of the old world. Finally, he took a bite of it. He was amazed to find that it disappeared in his mouth, but he could still taste it. There was also a powdery substance on his tongue. He savored it, not wanting to swallow. As he did he glanced at the bag. “Cotton Candy….Is this what they ate? I like it.”

His savory moment was interrupted by a crash. It came from above him, probably from the second floor. “Is there someone else here?” He ran off heading for the stairs.

[Razgat]

Todd sprinted up the stairs, heading for where the crash had emanated from. The area upstairs was much smaller than downstairs. There were two glass cases with a metal suit in one and an underwater scene. The creatures in it looked pale and old, but he had never seen them before. There was also a couch with many random objects draped over it like a doll, some rags of clothing and small articles. There was also a record, some books, and a teapot of all things. There was a door at the end of the hallway. Todd approached it and opened it to take a peek inside. It looked like an office of some kind. He had seen those before in a book. There was a desk, a file cabinet, a shelf, and an open window. The shelves were filled with random artifacts he assumed were meant to be downstairs. The desk and floor were littered with boxes of papers, folders, and books. He walked over to the desk and picked up a small picture with writing on it. It said “Museum of Nature”. Todd frowned. “Museum,” he thought, “What’s that? Hm…It must be a display place. Yes, I think I’ve heard of those.”

His attention went back to the crash he had heard. If something had caused it, they were no longer there. The open window banged loudly against the wall as a burst of wind came through. “It must have been the window.” He reached out and closed it. He peered back around at the office. “I guess I could camp here for the night. It’s getting pretty late.”

He took his back pack off and placed it next to the couch in the hall way. He had cleared most of the artifacts off of it and stretched out a few blankets he had kept with him for a bed. He climbed into it, fully clothed, and tried to sleep while the blizzard blazed outside.

[TEAM_DERRICK]

gasoline needs to be chilled at -150 to freeze....

cool

[Razgat]

It's been at least 200 years since the Earth began to freeze, so I'd say they've had time to adapt.

[Mizagium]

I LIKE THIS AND DEMAND MOAR

[Razgat]

Ok, I've done a little research on temperature, and I found out what temperature oil freezes. I said the oil froze, not gasoline. I said they couldn't use vehicles because gasoline comes from oil, and it was bound to run out eventually, plus without antifreeze, the machines would freeze up or rust. Oil begins to freeze once it gets below freezing. First it clouds, then it starts to gel and turn waxy. This wax causes engine failure. I also found out that blood freezes between -2 to -3 Celsius. I haven't stated an actual temperature for the story, but it's definitely below freezing, BUT THIS MEANS I WAS RIGHT! HA!

[Razgat]

Sleep turned out to be harder to obtain than he thought. He had grown quite used to blizzards over the past few years he had been wandering, and one like this wasn’t uncommon. The sounds of blistering winds and windows banging and buildings creaking, however, were a little unusual to him. Since colonies were underground, he only heard the wind whistling through the tunnels. He awoke with every bang of the shudders and stirred in response to every moan the museum gave.

Todd groaned as he heard another bang from the shudders. He thought he had closed them earlier. The wind must have been strong enough to open them again. Todd turned to his side and closed his eyes, trying to get back to sleep. He felt so tired, but the blizzard was torturing him. “I could always sleep after the blizzard, but then I might not make it to the next colony, and I wouldn’t want to be out there with the wolves.”

He turned back onto his back, eyes still closed, and sighed. He reached to pull the blankets up higher, but they were stuck. He figured they had caught on his legs and started to move them, but he felt pressure on them. Something was on him. He opened his eyes to find that he was face to face with another person. A girl staring right at him. Her face was centimeters from his, and he could feel her breath on his face. He glanced past her pale face and saw that she was kneeling on top of him. Her legs were folded over his and she had leaned over to peer at him. He could feel her hands on his stomach to prop herself up.

“He-Hey.” Todd tried to smile, but the girl hadn’t stayed long enough to see. As soon as he had spoke she had flown off of him and darted towards the office behind him. Todd sat up immediately. “Hey, wait! I didn’t mean to scare you!” He jumped off the couch and slammed onto the floor. His legs were tangled in the blankets he had been using, and he struggled to free himself. Once he had, he ran to the office. He pushed the door open and looked around the room. The girl wasn’t there. He quickly stepped inside and looked behind shelves and under the desk to see if she was hiding. She wasn’t there either. He jumped when he heard the window bang shut with the wind. It had been open.

Todd ran to it and threw the window open. He peered outside in search of any kind of sign. He didn’t see any sign of the girl, but this was the only way out. He sighed and let his head fall, but then he paused. There were rather large foot prints on the ledge below the window. He followed them with his gaze and saw that they lead to a pipe that ran down to the ground beneath the ledge. She must have slid down to get away, but why? Had he scared her? He didn’t mean to. He leaned out to see if he could get a glimpse of her farther up the trail outside of the museum, but the blizzard acted like a cloaking device. He wasn‘t going to see anything during this storm. “She’s not there. She’s not anywhere….but how? How could she be that fast?”

Todd sighed and brought himself back inside, shutting the window behind him. Who was that girl? Was she part of a group? Or maybe she was a wanderer like him. He wasn’t sure, but there was only one way to find out. He darted out of the office, past his make-shift bed, and down the stairs. He was headed straight for the door. “I’m going to find her or at least find out who she is and what she’s doing here. I have to. It’s too cold out there with the blizzard going on. She’ll freeze to death.”

Todd opened the door feeling a blast of wind and snow in the process. He held his arms up to block the wind and went outside into the blizzard.

[Razgat]

The blizzard was fierce. Wind blew in all directions, and the snow acted like a blindfold. The snow that had already piled up was already half way up Todd’s shin. His movements were slow, almost robotic. He kept treading on, however, and moved as best as he could against the wind. He blinked as a burst of wind and snow stung his eyes. “Ow, God, where did she go?”

A howl sounded in the distance. A wolf’s howl. Todd froze. “They couldn’t possibly come here, could they? This place looks like it’s been abandoned for years. No, they’ll stay away. I hope.” Todd continued to tread through the snow, listening for any movement other than his own. The girl couldn’t have gotten far, not in this storm. She had to be close by.

He saw a tall shape just ahead of him. It was about twenty or thirty feet tall, and about ten feet wide. “Strange.” Todd thought. He got closer and saw that smaller shapes branched out to create a halo around the top. Parts of it were jagged and went in different directions. Todd got closer until he could reach out and touch it. It felt rough, like tree bark. He looked up and saw that it was, in fact, a tree, but a strange tree. It was a tree he had never seen before. He took his hand away and felt something like ash stick to it. The tree was definitely dead. Todd looked up to stare at it. “How could you have lasted so long?”

The tree suddenly moaned in response, and Todd took a step back. As he did so, it moaned again. A crackling sound followed. He glanced up and saw movement in its branches, but before he could tell what it was, a large crack sounded as a scream followed. The form fell from the tree and landed in the snow to his left. Todd quickly jumped over to it and saw that it was a body. Their clothes were white and blended in with the snow, and their hair was so blonde that it nearly disappeared, too. He reached for their head to turn their face towards him. He saw a soft, pale face with flushed cheeks from the cold. Their lips were a pure blue, and they looked frozen. It took him a moment to realize that it was the girl from before, but she was much younger than he expected. She looked like she could be five or six. She was such a strange girl, too. She had stuck gloves over her ears, and a belt was wrapped around her head like a head band. She wore long, striped socks over her arms like socks, and she had silverware strung around her neck like jewelry.

“So strange…” Todd’s gaze fell back to her face. Her eyes were still closed, and her body was limp. Todd’s heart skipped a beat for a moment. “Is she…dead?” Being a wanderer, Todd had seen death before. Sometimes he would pass other wanderers who had been torn apart by the wolves or lions, or had simply frozen to death. The colonies he visited had problems, too, with their elderly or ill, but to see a little girl like this who had been so lively moments before. It seemed unreal. Todd shook her shoulders. “Come on, girl, wake up. Nap time’s over.” The girl remained limp like a doll. Todd shook her again. Still no use.

He shivered as he felt another burst of wind blow over him. He needed to get out of the storm or else they would both freeze. He paused to look around but saw only white. “Shit, which way is the museum?” Todd looked back at the girl. “Hey, you, do you know the way? Come on, you need to wake up!” He got no answer.

Todd swore and stood up. He would have to find some way on his own, and he would have to bring the girl with him. He couldn’t leave her to freeze, even if she really was dead. He bent down to pull her out of the snow and hold her in his arms. As he did so, he noticed a bag that had been underneath her. “It must be hers. I should take it with me.” Todd grabbed it and threw it over his shoulder. He adjusted the girl in his arms for a moment. She felt oddly light. Todd sighed and glanced around. He decided to pick a random direction in hopes that it would lead to something.

[Razgat]

Todd didn’t have to walk for long. The area was very small, and he came across a building in minutes. It wasn’t the museum, but it was shelter from the storm, and that’s all he needed. It looked like a cabin to him, like the ones he had seen pictures of in a book, and it had a stone base and steps. None of it had collapsed, like the museum, but its wood looked old and some of it had begun to crack. There were a few holes here and there, too.

Todd hurried up the steps, the little girl still in his arms, and shoved the door open. Once it had opened a crack, the wind did the rest of the work and slammed it against the wall inside. Flurries of snow followed suit, and Todd had to put the girl over his shoulder to free his other arm so that he could close the door. Once he had, he looked around. He was surprised wit what he saw. There was a large rug in front of a fire place littered with blankets and random items. There was a box as well, and he could see random cans inside of it. It looked like food. The rest of the cabin consisted of a few pictures, a large chair, and a small kitchen in the corner. He suspected that they were beyond repair, and everything else was caked in dust. The area by the rug was the only clean spot. Someone had been living here. Todd’s gaze fell to the little girl in his arms. She couldn’t possibly be the one. She was too young to live on her own,. The living conditions in this world had forced a lot of kids to grow up early, but a little girl? It just wasn’t possible.

Todd moved over to the blankets and wrapped the little girl tightly in them. He turned to look at the fireplace. “There are ashes in there. It’s been used recently.” There was a small tea kettle hanging from a hook above the hearth. It was probably used for cooking. Todd turned his attention to the side of the fireplace, half expecting to see a pile of wood, but there was nothing there. He sighed and turned to look at the window near the door. When the girl had fallen out of the tree, she must have knocked down some branches. They wouldn’t last long, but they would be something. A little fire could bring a lot of warmth. He glanced back at the little girl. She laid still, wrapped up in the blankets. She looked frozen solid, but he had a feeling that she was still alive.

Todd rose from the fireplace and walked to the door. They would definitely need a fire if they wanted to stay warm. Plus, his pack was back at the museum, and they barely had any blankets. They were thin, too. He would definitely need some wood. He opened the door, wincing as his face was stung by wind and frost. He shook away the feeling and walked outside, slamming the door behind him.

As soon as he had left, the girl’s eyes immediately opened. She sat up with a start and looked around. She was back in her cabin, but how did she get there? She winced as she felt a sharp pain rush through the back of her head. She raised a hand to rub the spot, and the blankets fell from her shoulders. She shivered as she felt a draft rush over them, and she rushed to pull the blankets back over her. She looked at the fireplace and saw that there was no flame. She whimpered and fell to her side. She wrapped the blankets over her head to make herself a little cocoon and sniffled. Then she pulled the blankets apart again. She had forgotten something. She subconsciously reached for her bag, but she found that it wasn’t there. She gasped and looked around the cabin. It wasn’t there. She sniffled again, and her lip quivered. She rubbed at her eyes and shivered again. She tried to take a deep breath, but she hiccupped because she was upset. She finally buried herself back inside her blanket cocoon. A soft sobbing could be heard.