The temperature dropped during the night. Extreme cold was not uncommon here, but tonight it felt different.
The forest here was overgrown, it was untouched, not because someone protected it, but because no one ever had a reason to destroy it. The trees were old, with branches twisted together covering most of the sky. Life here wasn’t easy, and nobody expected it to be. Things here were rarely predictable and never reliable.
Naia moved quickly through the trees. She didn’t look back to check if anyone was following her. Heavy smoke curled between the trees ahead, that was never a good sign.
She spotted it immediately and broke into a run. “Damn it.”
By the time nearby guards reached the outer generator, Naia was already there on one knee with the panel ripped open. Frost coated the metal casing. Too much frost... Everything felt extra wrong today, this wasn’t normal winter, it was more aggressive tonight.
“Temperature dropped even lower,” someone said behind her.
Naia opened the panel and adjusted the valve with her bare hands, she didn’t have time to put on gloves and play safe.
“What are you doing?” a guard asked.
“Fixing it,” she snapped.
The engine shuddered violently and for a moment it almost died.
“Don’t you dare,” she muttered. “Not tonight god damn it!”
She slammed her palm against the casing, the machine shut down, but soon after it worked again. A low hum returned, it wasn’t stable but it seemed to be alive, and that was all that mattered for now.
Someone ran towards the generator from the underground tunnel. “Crops in section three are freezing!
Another voice echoed from inside the tunnel. “North water line stopped working! I think the pipes are frozen”
Naia stood up and walked towards the tunnel immediately, her face became visibly more annoyed.
Inside the tunnel, frost was already spreading on most of the pipes. A man gripped the valve wheel but didn’t turn it.
“If I shut this, section two loses water,” he said. “They’ll be furious.”
While he was waiting for a response, Naia stepped forward and aggressively took the wheel from him. She turned it so hard it made the metal scream.
"If we don't shut it, the whole pipe will burst and we lose the entire water supply." Said Naia.
The man stared at her. “They’re going to be furious.”
“Let them,” she said. She tightened the final turn. “Better angry than dead. Every second you stand there, it gets worse.”
She released the wheel and moved past him. “Wrap the next line.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Naia grabbed insulation and started sealing the next pipe herself. Someone knelt beside her and gently took the tool from her hand.
“I’ve got it.”
She let him and scanned the corridor. The wind shifted again, but it was stronger this time, strong enough to reach inside the tunnel. She could almost see her breath freezing in the air before it faded away.
One of the guards standing outside the tunnel entrance raised his hand signaling them to come out.
Naia and others left the tunnel.
The same guard raised his hand again and shouted.
“Listen.”
Everyone stood still.
“Can you hear it?”
Wind was moving fast through branches, the generators were humming.
People started looking at each other, confusion spread by the second.
Naia turned her gaze toward the forest before anyone else did. She understood instantly, forest was too quiet, wolves weren’t howling, but why?! They always howled at this time.
Birds burst out from the deep forest, flying towards the south.
Naia’s expression hardened. “Inside,” she ordered.
“Raiders?” someone asked.
“No.” Her voice sharpened. “Birds don’t randomly flee, something must be wrong. Everyone get inside NOW!”
Someone hesitated, but Naia yelled at her, “Inside!”
Everyone started moving fast, they could feel the urgency in her voice, they trusted her instincts. She might have been a bit too much, but her instincts had saved them more than just a few times.
Inside the tunnel, the lights flickered once, then steadied again.
A child stood near the wall, he was crying quietly with his mouth covered in blood.
Naia stopped in front of him. “What happened?”
“He lost a tooth,” someone replied. “Thinks he’s dying.”
She took a look at his mouth, then leaned back and exhaled dramatically.
“Oh boy.. This is serious.”
His eyes widened with fear while Naia kept her face completely serious.
“You’re falling apart.”
He froze, probably more scared than before. She waited just long enough...
“Good thing it’s only your teeth,” she added. “If your brain fell out, we’d all be in trouble.”
He blinked couple of times, confused at first, then laughed through his tears.
Naia tapped his shoulder lightly. “You’re not dying,” she said. “You’re upgrading.”
She smiled and the boy’s smile quickly followed hers.
At the far end of the corridor, Kat was walking toward her. Naia’s annoyed expression was instantly replaced with a gentle smile. Kat reached her and brushed frost off Naia’s shoulder with two quick, but irritated movements.
“You rushed out alone again,” Kat said. “Unbelievable.”
Naia exhaled, almost laughing. “It’s not my fault you were slow.”
“I was right behind you,” Kat shot back. “You just never wait for anyone.” She adjusted Naia’s collar roughly enough to make it clear she was angry.
“You don’t always have to do everything yourself, you know?!” She paused, then added quietly, almost whispering, “One day you’re going to scare the hell out of everyone here.”
Naia’s smile lingered for a moment. Kat was the only person she didn’t argue with.
Kat could read her like a book, she knew something wasn’t right.
“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?” she asked.
Naia nodded. “Yeah.” She took a deep breath. “Something is definitely wrong.”
“What is it?” Kat asked.
“I am not sure yet, but.. it’s just...”
“Spit it out!” Kat got impatient.
“It might sound weird but I think it’s all connected.” Naia was trying her best not to sound too insane too soon.
“What is connected? What do you mean?” Kat kept asking.
“The temperature, the wolves, the birds acting crazy all of a sudden, it’s like they sense something we cant and are running away from it. Don’t you think it’s strange?”
Kat thought for a second, tried to connect the dots and see through these random coincidences.
“Yea, it does sound strange, do you think there is a chance that we are facing another white mo...”?”
“Generator’s failing again!” someone shouted from the outside, before Kat could finish her question.
“We should turn down the heat in the outer sections to keep the main generator running.” Said Naia and started moving in mid sentence and Kat followed her outside without hesitation.
Her plan worked and they managed to keep the generator running, for now.
Naia looked toward the forest again.
Still no sound of wolves.
The wind moved quickly through the branches, but the forest felt ... empty.
One rule was crystal clear down here - nothing fixed itself. You moved first or someone ended up dead.
Which Naia do you like more so far?
