The scenery didn’t feel like it has changed since leaving the house. The snow was so vast and distant, they traveled through for hours. The only thing that Nathanael could consider as proof of their travel, was him being tired.

They took a break. Dusting away the snow to create a small place to sit down. Seth said a fire wasn’t needed at this time, Nathanael didn’t disagree, he didn’t feel as cold thanks to his clothes.

The last bunker was their next destination. After that, they would head back and stock the shelves.

Once more Nathanael stared into the distance. That abstraction in the far beyond, it felt closer. He could tell it was high, the everlasting clouds hiding their real length above. There really was something in the distance. But as hard as he squinted his eyes, he couldn’t make out what it really was. It was strangely the same color as the ground and skies; gray and white. As if the two worlds, the ground, and skies, were connected.

If Nathanael would walk far enough, could he maybe start a climb to that other world above him?

The plains of snow didn’t feel endless anymore.

“Where’s the sun?” Nathanael suddenly asked.

“The sun? I know you haven’t seen it since waking up and would most likely not see it for a while. It’s beyond the endless veil of clouds. Hiding, never showing itself to the snow and cold. Not ever.”

He hasn’t seen the star. Only the lit clouds. It was hard to know what time it was without a clock. The skies might suddenly become dark, then the night would come without warning. The next thing you know, you are freezing to death. Without fire or shelter. You’re dead.

Nathanael is still kept in the dark. Every time he asks something, the old man comes up with a riddle of words.

“Why don’t you give me any clear answers? I’m still confused by everything you say.”

“Because this world is confusing from the start. Nothing makes sense. Even I got worthless answers when I needed them. And, honestly, I can’t tell you everything. You’ll need to find most of the answers yourself.”

Why? Nathanael thought, but didn’t say.

Why couldn’t Seth say? Why not? He wanted to know, but as much as he wished, he wouldn’t get anything. Nathanael needed to seek the answers himself, along with his lost memories.

The final bunker was just ahead. And the day had only a few hours left.

“How exactly are we going to go back to the house before sundown? Aren’t we quite far?”

“Have you not noticed the mountains?”

“Hah?”

He looked around. The mountains were on his left. When leaving the house, they were on the right.

“We have been going in a large circle. I’m not taking us in a straight line to our death. I wouldn’t want to spend my time here at night. Behind that bunker is my house, about two hours’ walk.”

Nathanael did notice the mountains move after every bunker, but didn’t really think much of it. Seth made sure the path they took was the safest and the most favorable. He has done this for a long time, he knew the exact path, the exact time it would reach the next bunker, and took notice if the mountains were in the right position.

They had no map on hand. And if Seth would have a map, it would only contain white and markings of bunkers. Perhaps notes of how far the bunkers were from each other, and how long they would take to reach. He most likely remembered it all. He must have lived for years here, isolated from any nearby cities.

This old man knows this land more than anyone else. Even if everything looks the same. This land of snow, with no special formation to distinguish areas, Seth knew it all.

No stars to be used for navigation, they were hidden behind the veil. Not even the sun could be used, also hidden but lightens the clouds. He held no compass in his hands, only the mountains were his source of direction.

How many times did you get lost figuring out this route?

They trudged on towards the bunker. Nathanael ever wanting to know more about the man before him.

Just like the others, either a door below or a hatch above, it was frozen with ice.

Seth smashed the ice around the door and pried it open with the help of Nathanael. The trapped air inside wafted out, and in came the cold from the outside.

Dark like the others, the flashlight lit up the small familiar space within.

But though it was the same as the last one, there was something different. First of all, the cache itself was open and completely looted. Food packages were ripped open and the content missing. Other supplies within the chest were gone.

Unlike the first three bunkers, the last one and this one had a single closet with clothes. Yet the closet in this bunker was empty, a single glance around could tell where they went. It was all piled on the bed. The reasoning was unknown.

The lone table with a single chair contained papers with drawing on them. A bottle of black ink spilled over a figure on one of the drawings, and it was dried from who knows how long ago. The pen was on the floor.

The first drawing depicted an image of a family, but the mother figure was covered with the spilled ink and the father and son figures’ heads scribbled over. Only the daughter figure was shown the face, and it was an emotion of sadness. No curvature of a smile. And below the eyes were ink smudges, likely tears. The drawer wasn’t particularly good, some of the lines the person tried to remove, but the ink wasn’t exactly removable. It only made bigger markings. Nathanael believed it was drawn by a kid.

The other pictures weren’t exactly a good sight to see. Depictions of loss and lonesome, the daughter had the most attention of every picture drawn. The father figure laying on the ground, thick ink spots covering his chest area. The son figure ran with the daughter figure, away from something that Nathanael was unsure of. The mother figure was only shown in one of them, where the ink overflowed her form.

As Nathanael flipped through them, the last caught his most attention. A black mass of something unnatural surrounding the single soul of the daughter figure. Eyes of the abyss stared down. Endless tendrils of the void, expanding and reaching down towards her. The paper was completely covered with ink, no white to be found, only smudges and thicker ink areas could be told apart from each other.

That single soul in the drawing wept.

“What’s up with all of this?” Nathanael muttered.

“People were first, again. Leaving the place in such disarray is unnecessary and bothersome. Let’s look around, perhaps there is still something to be found.”

Nathanael searched the corners of the bunker, but nothing of particular importance was to be found. The pile of clothes on the bed was perhaps the only valuable source in here. Having spare clothing would be great if he found the right sizes.

Most were winter clothing, some undergarments for both genders. Nathanael slightly felt embarrassed as he took a bra and panties off the pile, along with other clothes.

He did eventually find the right sizes for himself. He asked Seth if he needed a spare, he answered no.

“I’m fine with what I have. Lydia as well.”

“Ah…” Nathanael realized he had completely forgotten about the woman. She has been avoiding him after all.

Then, as he removed a jacket, he felt something stir in the pile. And as he looked beneath it all, something showed itself.

It took a second to process. A pair of drowsy eyes were staring at him. The small head drooped down and up as if trying to stay awake.

Her skin was pale. Much paler than Nathanael. Her long, unkempt, golden hair swayed about as it left the pile.

This sudden appearance of a girl made Nathanael confused about what to do. He decided to reach his hand towards her, and ask if she was alright.

“Hey, are you…”

Sharp pain reached around his fingers, and he yelped. The girl has just bitten him and bitten him hard.

He managed to get his hand away from her mouth, which he thought would be harder considering the pressure she did, and stumbled back until hitting Seth.

“What are you…” Seth’s eyes widened as he noticed the girl. “Ah… great…”

The girl looked young, perhaps somewhere around seven or eight. And it was plain as day on who created those drawings.

“That wasn’t really nice. You could have made me bleed.”

The girl didn’t respond. And that is when Nathanael noticed something off about her. She looked dazed, her eyes darted here and there, and didn’t seem to see the two standing.

“What’s wrong with her?” Nathanael asked.

Seth knelt by the girl and inspected her face. Barely any reaction. Only her head was exposed, the rest of her body was hiding within the pile of clothes.

They threw the pile down from the bed and saw her whole figure. She was wearing winter clothing. Thankfully. But she started to shiver once the pile was gone.

She surely wasn’t cold? Her clothing appeared in good order, but still, her teeth rattled. And once Seth went closer, she reacted by crawling away. She tucked herself at the edge of the bed and held her knees, her eyes showed fear.

Seth scratched his head.

“I really don’t want to take more into the house.”

“But?”

“But what?”

“Aren’t you going to say that we need to take her somewhere safe? We can’t just leave her alone here.”

“I’m not sure if she even wants to come along with strangers.”

“We’re strangers.”

The old man looked at Nathanael and gave a sigh. More mouths to feed. That is what he wanted to say but didn’t.

They suddenly heard a gurgle. Nathanael glanced back at the girl. She was hungry. And perhaps thirsty as well.

Nathanael brought out a snack bar he found in the last bunker and handed it out. As well as a bottle of water.

The girl didn’t seem interested. But then after a few seconds, she quickly grabbed the two items from his hands. She ate and drank, not saying a word of gratitude.

“What’s your name?” Nathanael asked.

She didn’t respond nor look his way.

“How did you end up here?”

Same response.

“Leave her be. She couldn’t have gone this far alone. People might be looking for her.”

Nathanael wasn’t going to let that happen. The girl was obviously cold, leaving her would kill her.

“We’re taking her. Who knows how long she has been here.”

“She’ll slow us down. The next thing that’ll happen is the sudden nighttime.”

“Then she can be on the sled.”

“We’re carrying too much stuff.”

“Then we’ll unload something off.”

“Or, as I said before, she doesn’t want to come with us.”

Nathanael grew more irritated. That feeling he never remembered until now.

“Seth, why are you so bent on leaving her?”

He turned away.

“Like I can answer that.”

What?

The man had a reason. But he wouldn’t give it. Nathanael wanted to ask again, but he most likely wouldn’t give a single word. A girl, alone and freezing, and Seth was going to leave her be. But that wasn’t going to happen, Nathanael wouldn’t…

“Fine, I’ll be outside preparing the sled. Try to make her follow us,” Seth said. He then disappeared out the door.

“Huh? Did he make up his mind? Just like that?”

Nathanael stared at the exit for a moment, not believing what he heard. Then turned to face the small girl. She was sleeping, or that is what he thought. Her eyes were closed. Her soft breathing came at a steady pace. Yet she still shivered from the cold.

Is her skin paler than before?

He removed one of his gloves to feel her skin. She was cold. Too cold.

Carefully picking her up with his arms, Nathanael took a step outside. The old man had his hand against his ear, but then retracted and gestured towards the sled once seeing the boy. Seth has managed to make space for the girl, and that is where they placed her. And they made sure not to wake her up.

I’m sure she is alone. Who would leave her here?

Nathanael didn’t leave the odd drawings behind, he stacked them and placed them in his satchel. He wasn’t sure on what to do with them later though, perhaps give them back to the girl? Are these the kind of pictures you would want to keep?

Before they headed off, Nathanael took another look at her. Something in his mind felt as if he recognized her, but nothing clear was surfacing. It was a strange feeling. He tried to look through his memories, but they were just empty since waking up. All that came up was that image in his dreams. Of seven people, one of them being much smaller than the others. But that was merely a dream, and their faces and figures were just scribbles, scribbles from the drawings.

The room next to Nathanael’s was now occupied.

Lydia tended to the girl. She gave her the empty room and put her to bed. The girl was asleep the entire time since coming to the house.

She awoke in the middle of the next day, still looking drowsy and sleepy. Nathanael sat next to the bed on the only chair in the room. The girl stared at him with half-closed eyes.

“Hey, how are you feeling? Still cold?” Nathanael asked in concern. She still shivered slightly.

“…Mm.”

At least she made some noise this time.

“What is your name?” He placed his hand against his chest. “Mine is Nathanael.”

She didn’t respond. She didn’t show healthy emotions either. But after some time…

“…Eh- Eh-,” she managed to say through her stutter.

“Eh? I’m not sure if that is a name.”

“…Mm.”

“Do you know where you are? Or how you ended up in that bunker?”

“…Mm.”

“Mm?”

She didn’t look like she had the energy to talk. The girl only gave that same answer.

Were others with you? Where do you come from? How did you find the bunker? Are you hungry?

Nothing he said made her change her answer from “Mm”.

“If you feel any better, you can come downstairs. Or if you need anything, just call my name.”

He turned to leave, but his sleeve was grabbed and lightly tugged back.

She had tears in her eyes.

“…I don’t know.”

“What? You don’t know what?”

She looked away and laid back her head on her pillow. Nothing else came after.

“I’ll let you rest.”

I wish I could somehow stop her from crying. But I don’t know how to deal with children.

The day went by. She didn’t say anything else. Neither the next day. Or the day after that.