Back to the present, the cold started to set in. The air outside the RV was very chilly; anyone who went out would receive a blast of cold wind and could freeze to death. Luckily for Alex, Layla and Christine were safely cloistered in the RV, and due to some technological modifications, they were okay.
Layla started to get bored; the only thing she could do was look outside and watch the little snowflakes flutter in the wind, some clashing with the window and sticking there for a moment until they finally fell off to the ground. She felt farther away from Christine and even... Alex. This isolation made her look odd, quite different from her smiling, enthusiastic self. She wondered if it was a phase that would pass away later.
She looked over at Christine, who had recently taken up sleeping as a hobby after her fever attack. She glanced over to Alex, who had now become the assistant navigation system after the RV's software. She stood up, unable to bear the boredom, and decided to ask if anybody wanted something. She moved her mouth slowly, sort of hesitantly: "Does anyone want anything?"
Christine, whose eyes had been closed, suddenly opened them. Alex looked up from his work, his eyes meeting Layla's; he gave a slight nod, and she nodded in accordance. Layla looked at Christine to see if she had any requests. Christine, as if knowing what Layla wanted, said, "I would like a cup of black tea and two cubes of sugar."
Layla, taking a mental note, walks up to the counter to brew some tea since Alex hadn't given her a specific order; she made a cup of tea for everyone. She gave everyone their cup of tea and settled down into her usual spot, slightly nursing the hot liquid, taking a sip one by one.
Alex set his own tea on a platform, waiting for it to cool slightly, while Christine just stared at the froth that was on the edge of the cup. The silence in the room continued, everyone lost in their own little worlds. Layla thought about their plan to go to Antarctica and if there were any other survivors. Questions arose in her head:
"Should we save them or not?"
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
Alex suddenly spoke, "I've made some more modifications to the RV's system. Now it has an artificial intelligence function, which would help us in various tasks. You could talk to her; her name is Ava."
Alex finished with a smile showing he was proud of his work, and then he sat beside Layla on the couch. She looks at him surprised; he sat beside her. "What, don't be like that," he said with a smirk slowly appearing on his face. Layla asks, "Then what is the smirk for it makes no sense."
Ava spoke, interrupting the budding conversation between Layla and Alex. "There is a significant increase in the temperature; it suddenly rose to 4 degrees Celsius." A smile appeared on Layla's face. Alex, who was puzzled, decided not to ask and waited for her actions to speak for themselves.
Layla grabbed an extra wooly jacket with a pair of gloves and a hat. She opened the door and stepped out into the cold. She stayed still, letting the cold's embrace envelop her whole. She breathed in and released the air, finally becoming calm.
"Hey guys, do you think we could do some sort of campfire activity?" She said, batting her lashes to gain some approval. Christine raised an eyebrow and looked at Alex. "Okay, I agree," said Alex, "but I'll have to find a spot to hide the RV so no one sees it."
"Why don't we keep it inside that black ball with infinite space?" said Christine. "That's a good idea," said Alex, agreeing with Christine. They all stepped outside after carrying all necessary items, and Alex used the black ball to trap the RV.
They went around and gathered some logs for sitting. The only problem was there were no completely dry woods to make fire with. Layla, walking around carelessly, found a bunch of dry wood and brought them back to the campsite. She successfully established the fire and called Alex and Christine to come over.
When they came over, Christine's face looked uneasy as she saw the wood burning in the fire. She looked over to Alex, who was far behind her. "Alex, come and see quick!" She pointed at the fire Alex looked at it for a second, and he then also bore an uneasy face just like Christine.
They walked over to Layla, who was happily roasting marshmallows and had no idea what was running through Alex's and Christine's minds. Christine refused to speak and didn't make eye contact with anyone. "Layla," he called out softly, breaking the silence. She turned her head to him; he continued, "You just found the firewood lying out in the woods alone, right?" Yes, I did, she said, giving him a sincere answer.
"Do you know what that means?" He asked again, obviously taking his time with Layla. Christine then snaps, "It means that someone may have dropped it. Why do you think it took so much time to find them and why we cover a long distance?" "Isn't that a good thing, more survivors?" Layla said, with signs of confusion slowly settling on her face.
Before Christine could say anything more, they heard noises coming from the trees. The sound of leaves, branches, and twigs being stepped on became louder. Alex uses his hands to give signs to Christine to take Layla and hide. He decided to stay back and erase every piece of evidence of their presence they had made. He put out the fire and scattered the arranged logs.
Meanwhile, Christine and Layla were running for their lives. Layla was ever so confused; she didn't know who she was running for, and the reason why was still ambiguous to her. They later reached an underground cave and entered inside it. Christine sat on a rock to catch her breath while Layla stood looking at the entrance of the cave, trying to figure out whether she was crazy or not.
Alex knew he had no time and decided to make a run for it. Although after running a few feet away from the once-existing campsite. He sensed that something was wrong. Suddenly someone appeared before him and pinned him to the ground. The grip was so strong Alex could only just stay still, waiting for what would happen next.
He looks up to get a glimpse of the figure. He noticed the bright icy blue eyes that had this... glow. It jolted a memory of his...