Eternal Frost

"I think we're safe. We can start again tomorrow, but for now let's rest. They won't find us here. " My voice hoarse, I hoped that they would not hear me. The strength to run again was beyond me, we had ran for so long and my legs were numb.

Julian let out a rasp of a laugh, his breath was heavy. The steam coming from his mouth looked like a cloud, the breath pooling in the air and disintegrating quickly as it began. There was no humour in it, only a laugh of what once was. I could see the ice freezing in his eyelashes and his eyebrows - now peppered with grey.

"Are you kidding me, Bree? " His voice was harsh - "There is nothing left but the ones who created this. Everything and everyone else - is gone ." He vividly gestured at the last word, gone.

"I don't believe it. There has to be something. I believe in everything we were seaching for, don't you still?"

Anger was now written across his face, a cold look crossing through his sky coloured eyes. "We almost lost our team, today. I won't have that happen aga. What if there's no sanctuary? We risk all of them, for nothing! "

Nothing.

We stood in the depths of a cave, I looked at the people that had waited behind us. Months ago we had all been searching for the solution to the climate change that had rapidly come upon us. We had the ambition to try and change the world back to as we knew it, with lush greenery and warm temperatures. The winter was like a crushing sadness, an emptiness. It had gotten colder everyday, we had hoped to slow it down before it was too late. As my mind flashed to the time before I closed my eyes and took a breath, I tried to pull my thoughts together as I thought of what to say next.

*******

October 2060 was only five months ago. Strange how less than half a year could feel like an eternity, something I only discovered as I lived it. I reminice often about the lab Julian and I used to manage ; now a distant memory. Back then, fear had crept into my veins that there was something wrong, I felt a deeper knowledge that there was something sinister happening. Each year the temperature had been dropping - month by month, day by day. At first no one thought of it, but as time went on they all became distant from one another. I watched a terror like an iron grip take them as they hid within themselves. The desire to find an answer is what fueled our search , to find a reason in a world of the unknown. In reason there was often hope, but how long we had was prevalent in my mind as I could hear the timeclock ticking down. How many years, months did we have left until it would be too cold for humans to surviveThat morning as I was driving my daughter to school the timeclock had been particularly loud , which had driven me to the decision to spend extra time at work. Zoey had only been ten, I had worried for the life she may live, and how long the world she was growing up in may last. I had glanced back at her as she looked out the window, the outside blurry from the frost that coated the glass.

"Auntie Grace is going to pick you up from school today sweetheart. " I called back. She had held up her barbie doll to the window, as if the toy had looked outside as well. "She's going to be standing outside the door I drop you off at after school, ok? She's in her red jacket and in her red car. "

"I know that. " Zoey stated. "Auntie's favorite colour is red. It's all she ever wears. What about dad?"

"We both work late hun. " I answered. "Don't worry, you'll have a really good time. Dad will be there first, and then I'll be there a bit after. See you later tonight - promise. "

I parked outside of the school entrance, the rooftop a sea green colour which matched the rusted doors. "Stay warm!" I called as she opened the door. The harsh air came into the car, crisp and dry I felt a chill go up my spine. "Don't go outside for too long! You and your friends just stay in - "

The car door was shut quickly , the whoosh of the door sent another wave of cold into the car. I watched her run over the sidewalk and up the stairs, she turned and waved as she reached the door. A fog surrounded the town, a dark grey tone like a haze. It was nearly too thick to see her at that distance, but I waved back and finished my sentence. "You and your friends just stay inside. Stay safe. "

*******

Grace called hours ago to let me now she'd piced up Zoey. It was now 9pm at the lab, Julian and I sat in silence. He had buried himself in some notes, before he threw them down on the table. The loud sound caught my attention, I looked at him in concern.

"It doesn't make sense. " He spat. " There's nothing else I can think of. We've tried everything. " He put his hand up to his brow, letting out a sigh of someone years older than himself.

"Hey, don't worry. " I said gently. Everyone else had gone home hours ago, I took a look at the dark outside. It was later than both he and I had planned to stay - even though we'd agreed on late. I took the moment to sneak a glance at my phone, Julian had now began to rub his head with his palms.

"Are you leaving work soon?" A text had read from Cameron. "Still at my sisters house, she cooked us dinner. Zoey doesn't want to leave yet , figured it's fine since it's the weekend. Love you and I know you're working hard, just checking in. "

I sighed before looking at Julian again. At the sound helooked between me and the clock on the wall before he spoke again.

"You can go, Bree. You don't have to wait for me, go whenever. Your daughter - "

"Cam's got her. We're making progress, I'm ok to stay a bit later. How about half an hour more, then we pack it up for the night?"

"Are we though, Bree? Are we really?"

I had never wanted anything to be true more than this ; that we were actually making progress. Yet I feared he was right, that he and I did not have the knowledge to change this , and worried that no one did.

Before I could reply Julian tilted his head back, he raised his arms above his head as he leaned back in his chair. "I hope you're right, there's just something we're missing. I feel it so close to us, something painfully obvious, maybe it's - "

A sudden voice outside the lab shook us out of the conversation. It carried through the far end of the hallway, it was dark and gravelly. I could tell neither of us recognized it, and as far as I had been aware we had been alone for quite some time.

He and I looked at eachother, confusion apparent for both of us. It quickly turned to alarm as we heard the footsteps stop in front of the door. We now locked eye contact, before he promptly stood and began towards the back of the lab where an emergency exit would lead us out of the building. I gasped as I heard a key rattle in the door , my legs trembled as my panicked run felt clumsy. Julian lead the way at a full on bolt, he noticed me fumble before he grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him.

"Sticky key hey ?" We heard a second voice say as the first let out a disgruntled sound along with a curse under his breath, he shook the key rapidly in the lock.

Julian's hand had been on the back door, about to push it open when the sound I had dreaded most had pierced through the air like a gunshot. The door had unlocked, our world had become frozen for a moment, the silence in the room deafening before the door began to creak open. He now crouched behind the filing cabinet by the back door, I quickly went beside him, and held a shaking hand over my mouth. I closed my eyes and prayed we would not be seen. It was not someone from our team coming back to check on us, not someone we knew. They were different. It was like what I had felt about the cold, they were something sinister. The hairs stood on my neck as they walked around. Their footsteps were heavy, sounded like a rocks hitting the floor, the soles of their shoes echoed loudly.

"Idiots. " The first voice hissed. "Trying to find a solution to the freeze. It'll never work. "

"Then why did we put them up to the task?" The second voice was mousier, more shrill.

A crash now came, as they impatiently dug through things I opened my eyes and looked at Julian's face out of my peripheral, as I did not dare move anything but my eyes. He had turned pale with rage, I could tell he was fighting hard to keep himself on the spot.

"Well, we couldn't let them think that it was done on purpose. " The first man said. His voice was the one that chilled me. It felt like the cold around us. "We had to put them to the task for the facade that it was something happening naturally, out of anybody's control. Word can't get out that we created it all. That the end of mankind, as we knew it was planned - I'd even go as far to say planted. We will hide underground. We will all wait until the rest of the world has been frozen before starting this new life. My genetic mutation is brilliant, our kind can live in the arctic for centuries."

"Yet, what about Ailton? It is the one part of the world that the deep freeze has not touched. It's otherwordly, like there's a sphere around it. i cannot enter it, I tried but- "

"It's a joke. Who will know it's there, a small area along the coast. Even if they find it, it will hold such a small population of the world that it will end in disaster. Lack of resources amoungst other things, they will never win. "

I could feel Julian tremble beside me, his hands had been clenched. With the crack of his knuckles I jumped, I looked at him wide eyed. He hung his head ,his eyes closed for a minute, his expression aging him greatly. It was a look of fear, regret, anger, dismay. The two men had been rustling papers still, I had been thankful for the white noise, they had not heard the small crack that had came by the back door. A few moments passed before the words I had dreaded most pierced through the air.

"Check the cabinet by the back door " Commanded the first man. "No notes anywhere in the desk and nothing of value. Maybe they were stored back there. "

My heart sunk in my chest, the breath hitched in my throat. I shrunk back against the wall, as if I could sink further into it, or it could swallow me. I could hear the heartbeat that coursed though me, pounded in my ears like waves on a shore. I was stuck, my legs would not move, until Julian grabbed my arm and pulled me up, he pushed open the back door with the full weight of his body. It hit the brick on the outside of the building with an ear splitting clang, I nearly tripped after him, yet I could not help but look back as we ran. I would never forget the face of the man as he saw us leave out the back door. He was tall and burly, he had a long grey goatee. His eyes were piercing, deeply sunken into his head. The expression that came across face quickly turned into something dark when he saw us, when he bared his teeth they were nearly rotten, a dark yellow and pointed. As the door sprung off the wall, I saw him reach for something in his pocket before it slammed shut and blocked my line of vision.

Julian's car was around the corner of the building, he pulled me around the side and started it, I got in without hesitation. They had seen us, they'd known that we had heard every word of their plan. I understood the danger we were in well, my heart had jumped to my throat and I could feel the sweat pooling on my brow. Yet I had wondered what Ailton had been , an unnatural occurance, they had spoken of it as otherwordly.

The city lights flashed on his face as he drove, I looked at him out of my peripheral once again, his hands still clenched on the wheel. We stayed silent for quite some time, the heat blared strong in the ice cold car. I tucked my hands in my sleeves as I tried to figure out what to say.

I was grateful when he was the one to speak the first words, they were clear and crisp. "So, it was all a game. Soon there will be nothing left. We tried, Bree. We tried hard, didn't we?"

Silent for a few seconds before I nodded, I took a second to digest the weight of the words he spoke, before responding with a simple "we did."

*********

We arrived at his house, we rushed into the garage and walked through the connected door. He began to run about the main floor, he shoved things into a bag before he looked up at me.

"Don't bother to take your shoes off. " He said curtly. "I have a feeling they'll follow us here. We won't be here for long. Call who you need, I'm calling the rest of the lab. They'll be after us, all of us very shortly. "

It was then I knew that I would not see my daughter again for a long time. I did not know who they were, but we had heard too much and their secret was out. They would want to catch us before that secret spread like a wildfire.

He had stopped throwing things in the bag, I watched him walk a few paces around the living room and run his hands through his hair with a certain madness as he went back and forth. He rythmically called our staff, it had all been the same words, they came to me over and over through a haze, like the fog outside of Zoey's school that morning.

Yes, that's whats going on. I'm sorry. They'll be after us. Yes they caught us. I know, I'm sorry. We tried - we tried.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and looked at the same text I had skimmed within the hour back at the lab. My heart sunk as I dialled Cameron's number, I leaned my head against the wall before a long sigh of grief came from me. I was thankful the phone rang three times before he answered, the sigh had already come and gone.

"Hey, I was starting to worry - " his voice answered, it was soft, concerned. "Working late tonight, I'm still at my sisters, we were waiting for you but - "

"It's ok. " I said, my voice quivered. "You don't have to wait. "

"Are you still at the lab - you ok? "

"No. " I answered, looking down. I took a long sigh once again and closed my eyes. Julian looked at me with sadness, before he continued his call, his voice rhythmic in the background

Yes, I'm sorry. We're going to be ok. We'll stick together. Dangerous?... I think so. I know.

"Something bad happened. " I explained. "Something really bad. We were at the lab and these two men came in. It's all planned , Cam. The climate change is no accident. We heard all of it, we hid by the back door. It's all over, the project was a joke and we were set up. "

I could hear his breath stop on the phone. Shock quickly turned to realization , yet his question still came as if he hadn't already guessed the answer.

"So you heard them speaking, then they left , right?"

"No. They saw us. We ran as fast as we could. But they'll follow us, I know they will. Listen, there's a place called Ailton somewhere along the coast. You, Zoey and Grace all go there. You'll be safe there, they can't get in. "

"Bree, come to Grace's house now. We'll all go together. "

"I can't now. " I murmured. "At least not yet. They'll be after me, all of us from the lab now that their secret is out. Remember the place - "

A loud knock came on the door. Julian and I looked at eachother in panic, before he motioned quickly towards the garage door once again.

"What was that??!" Cameron yelled, he heard the loud knock on the door through the phone. "Bree where are you??! Don't hang up. I'm going to come get you - just tell me where you are - "

Yet I hung up, my heart heavy in my chest as we ran out the door, and jumped into his car again. We peeled out the driveway, I watched the men who had walked into our lab who had now picked the lock off Julian's front door. The snarl had been apparent on their faces as they watched us speed off once again.

"Where are the others?" My voice was more harsh than I meant it to be, it came out like a bark. The conversation with Cameron had finalized it, I'd felt my phone go off on repeat in my bag, yet I dared not answer it. I did not have the strength to once again answer the same questions, all I could do was hope he would follow the instructions I had given him. If Ailton was real they would be able to live comfortably there. Although I did not know for how long, it was the small piece of hope I had after the turn my life had just taken.

"You just rest. " Julian broke the silence once again. They know where to meet us. He could hear the light buzzing that came from my bag, I watched him try to find the right words. "I'm sorry, Bree. I really am. "

"What about your family ?" I asked. I realized I had not known much about his personal life and my filter was now gone, I did not think there was much at this point I needed to refrain from asking him.

"I have no one. " He said with a sad smile and shrug, he kept his eyes on the road. He was hard to read, the story that touched his words very controlled. I felt as though I only saw the tip of the iceburg, his deep sadness hidden under the water.

He looked at me now for a second, before he caught the look of shock I had written plainly across my features.

"Don't worry about it. " He smiled grimly. "That's a story for another time. For now you just rest. "

I leaned back and closed my eyes, although I wanted to ask more questions I decided that could come later.

*********

"There is nothing left, nothing !"

His words rang through my head as I opened my eyes once again. Only a few seconds had passed, yet they all looked at me, waiting for my decision that would come next.

"What else are we supposed to do? Sit here and rot - or freeze, more like. You can if you'd like."

I thought of our conversation in the car that day so long ago now, when he told me he had no one. We would move quickly, often finding different caves or abandoned buildings - starting a fire in one of them to stay warm and leaving by the next day. My phone had frozen over long ago, we had no contact with the outside world, we were all scared and although we had eachother, alone. Looking back at the crew from the lab, their eyes darted back and forth between us, silent. I sighed, gathering the last of my thoughts before addressing all of them.

"Please. " I begged. "I know it's been so long. But we have to keep trying. We're almost there, I swear. If we don't get caught on the way , we can rest there. We can rest there for a long time. Then we can go back out and try to find the solution. Maybe we won't find one, but at least we'll be there. But please, I just ask of you all just a little longer. You can come with me, or you can stay out here with him. "

"I'm in. " Liam, the youngest in the lab had piped up. He had only been twenty eight years old, bright and chipper. I looked back at the other seven people that stood with us, they all nodded in agreement. "Please boss." He said, looking at Julian.

Julian sighed and hung his head in acceptance, he looked at me before he addressed the group. "We'll rest here for the night. Then continue on tomorrow. " Stoically he nodded, before he turned his back and looked at the tundra outside.

I thought of my daughter, of the place I hoped she , Grace and Cameron were now. I had our team with me for tonight, one more day, and that was the best I could've hoped for in a land that reeked of misery and destruction. I had prayed we would find her soon, I would not rest until I had. The last words I spoke to my her as I took her to school and morning everything changed came to me often.

See you later tonight, promise.

As we all stood in silence for a few seconds to catch our breath, the words through my mind rang loudly. I watched my cloud of breath disintegrate, before thinking of the next day when we would try again. The depths of the cave would keep us warm for the night, I lead the group inside knowing I would savor the moments of warmth until morning. A second thought came through my mind now, it had come to me every night for the last five months.

I'll keep trying until I find you. Promise.