They woke up freezing.
Not cinematic freezing.
Not dramatic "breath fogging in slow motion" freezing.
The kind where your nose is clogged, your throat hurts, and your fingers feel like they belong to someone else.
Zane sat up first and immediately groaned.
"I can't feel my face."
"That's because it's -30," Tanya muttered from inside a pile of blankets.
Siara was still cocooned in two thermal sheets, hair messy, nose slightly red from the windburn.
Luna was awake but didn't move.
She just blinked slowly like someone whose body had filed a complaint overnight.
Outside, the wind had calmed slightly.
Inside the shipping container, it was barely tolerable.
"Breakfast," Zane croaked.
Tanya blindly reached into a crate and pulled out four instant ramen packets like she was revealing treasure.
"Boil water," Siara said.
"With what?" Zane asked.
She pointed at the generator.
"We're not only charging a plasma cannon."
Five minutes later, they were crouched around a small portable electric kettle plugged into the same power source as Gamma Nine.
The smell of artificial chicken seasoning filled the metal container.
It was the most comforting thing they'd smelled since arriving.
They sat wrapped in blankets like disgruntled burritos, eating ramen out of paper cups.
Zane slurped loudly.
Siara kicked him.
"Have some dignity."
"It's ramen in the Arctic."
Luna blew gently on hers before taking a careful bite.
Steam warmed her face.
For a moment, it felt normal.
Almost cozy.
After breakfast, Tanya finally pulled out something she'd been saving.
A small black drive.
"Haldens' AI core," she said.
Zane blinked.
"You brought that?"
"I wasn't coming here blind."
She plugged it into her laptop.
The screen flickered.
Static.
Then—
A clean interface appeared.
HALDEN_AI v3.4 — ONLINE
A calm synthetic voice filled the container.
"Environmental conditions detected: extreme polar.
User survival probability currently suboptimal."
"Rude," Siara muttered.
"Recommendation: establish insulated heat-retentive structure.
I can provide optimal layout instructions."
Tanya's eyes lit up.
"See? Worth it."
For the next two hours, they followed Halden's step-by-step instructions:
Double layering the tent walls
Creating an air gap insulation pocket
Positioning the generator exhaust properly
Reflective thermal sheets on interior walls
Snow wall windbreak outside
It wasn't professional.
But it was way better than yesterday.
By afternoon, they had a functional heated tent.
Still freezing.
But survivable.
Gamma Nine: 91%.
Still stabilizing.
Still humming.
Still not ready.
Evening came slower in the Arctic.
The sky dimmed into a deep bruised blue.
They gathered inside the tent with snacks.
Chips.
Protein bars.
Three cans of Coke.
All for Siara.
She cracked the first one open like a ritual.
Zane stared.
"You're not serious."
She took a long sip.
"Don't judge me."
"That's your third."
"It's hydration."
"That's not hydration."
She cracked the second.
Luna giggled quietly.
Tanya shook her head.
"Caffeine dependency under combat stress is statistically—"
"Don't," Siara warned.
Zane leaned back against a crate.
"You're going to vibrate through the floor."
"Better than freezing."
Luna, exhausted from sensing strain, slowly leaned sideways.
Her head rested against Zane's shoulder.
He froze.
"…Uh."
She didn't move.
Just sighed softly.
Half-asleep.
Zane stayed completely still.
Siara watched.
Something tight twisted in her chest.
She looked away quickly and opened her third Coke.
The hiss felt too loud.
For a second—
She wished Richard was here.
He'd make some stupid comment.
He'd tease her about the Coke.
He'd probably steal a chip.
The thought hit harder than the cold.
She didn't say anything.
Night fell fully.
The wind picked up again.
Outside, the world returned to endless white and shadow.
Inside, Halden's AI quietly monitored temperature metrics.
Gamma Nine hummed deeper.
91%.
92% would mean stable plasma density.
They just needed a few more minutes.
Then—
One of the heat sensors screamed.
Not pinged.
Screamed.
All four snapped upright.
Luna lifted her head.
Zane grabbed a flare.
Tanya's laptop screen lit red.
"Warning. Massive surface-level thermal anomaly detected."
Siara was already on her feet.
They stepped outside.
And saw it.
At first it looked like a polar bear.
Then it moved.
Too fast.
Too wrong.
Eight feet tall at the shoulder.
At least 800 kilos.
Skin distorted.
Muscle unnatural.
Veins faintly glowing dark beneath fur.
Eyes black.
Not animal.
Not normal.
"Phantom mutation," Tanya whispered.
It roared.
The sound shook the drilling tower behind it.
It charged.
Zane fired the flare.
It didn't even flinch.
Gamma Nine: 91%.
Still not stable.
"If that thing hits the tent we're done," Siara said.
The beast slammed into a crane support, bending steel like aluminum.
Snow exploded into the air.
Luna tried to reach with CE—
Pain shot through her skull.
She stumbled.
Zane grabbed her.
"Don't!"
The creature lunged.
Thirty meters.
Twenty.
Ten.
Gamma Nine flickered.
91%.
Still not green.
"Come on," Tanya whispered.
The beast reared back—
And then—
Two orbs of blood appeared in the air.
Perfect spheres.
Floating.
Crimson against white.
They pulsed once.
Condensed.
A streak of red tore forward like a sniper round.
Piercing Blood.
It punched straight through the creature's shoulder.
The monster howled.
Before it could react—
A figure landed between them and the beast.
Black coat.
Calm stance.
Crimson eyes.
Corpse.
He raised his hand.
The two blood orbs spiraled and elongated.
Solidifying.
Forming.
A massive blood axe manifested in his grip.
The beast lunged again.
Corpse moved once.
Clean.
Efficient.
Untouchable.
He stepped inside its reach.
Swung.
The axe cleaved through its arm like cutting frozen meat.
The limb hit the snow with a heavy thud.
The creature roared and tried to snap at him—
Another orb formed mid-air.
Compressed.
Fired.
Pierced straight through its skull.
The body staggered.
Corpse didn't wait.
He leapt, bringing the axe down in a final arc.
The head separated cleanly.
The monster collapsed into the snow.
Silence.
Wind returning slowly.
Blood steaming faintly against ice.
Corpse stood there, weapon dissolving back into liquid form.
He turned slightly toward them.
Expression unreadable.
"You should not be here," he said calmly.
Behind him, Gamma Nine finally clicked.
92%.
Stable.
But the fight was already over.
And for the first time since arriving—
They weren't alone anymore.