Episode 33
Fortunately, the weather was clear the next day too.
Because there was no wind all night, the ice floes barely moved.
Of course, it would be dangerous to not move at all here…..
Still, the group decided to consider this fortunate, since being blown away from the shore by the wind would have been a bigger problem.
They walked toward the edge of the ice floe for a whole day.
The purpose was to cross over to the ice floes that reached the shore, or to those that were closer to the shore.
But including the day they were in the whale’s belly, they had to travel on hungry stomachs for several days, so they naturally lost strength even after walking a little.
Moreover, this place was just a lump of ice floating on the vast ocean, and there was not even any plant growing on the ground.
All that was edible was snow and ice.
Brody was able to hold out because she was still and stamina was preserved in the whale’s stomach, but after walking all day yesterday, her stamina was rapidly depleted.
“Ugh, Brody is dying….”
Brody sighed and lamented as she looked up at the spinning sky.
The last meal she ate was at Jacob’s house. It was a bunch of dried grass that she had picked and eaten in the warehouse.
For Kyle, all he ate there was steak and soup laced with sleeping pills.
Although he ate more than Brody, he was hungrier because his body burns a lot of calories.
“****, there’s no seal’s breathing hole here.”
Kyle, who had been digging the ground from time to time while walking, muttered with genuine regret.
It was inevitable.
Even though they had almost reached the edge of the ice floe, the ice layer was still thick. That meant that the layer was not one that a sea lion could penetrate.
Shiloh heard Kyle’s sigh, raised his head, and looked at the continent in the distance, speaking with a worried expression.
“What if the wind doesn’t blow for a few days and we get stranded here?”
It was an unlucky worry.
Kyle, who was already feeling hungry, turned to Shiloh and grumbled.
“If that happens, I’ll have to eat you first.”
His large, sharp fangs were ready to devour Shiloh, regardless of whether he was a beastman or not, demonstrating his will.
Shiloh quickly snapped out of his trance and shut his mouth because he felt so much sincerity in that savage sight.
Brody looked at Shiloh, who was cowering in fear, and scolded Kyle.
“Kyle, don’t be like that. Let’s just be nice to each other on the way.”
She only said that out of pity. But Kyle’s expression grew even more sinister after hearing Brody’s words.
Then he immediately growled at Brody.
“Who are you protecting right now?”
Brody figured he was just hungry and couldn’t stand the noise.
There was no point in provoking him when he was sensitive. She knew this, so she took a step back.
“Okay. Then either eat him or don’t. I’ll not tell you what to do.”
She deliberately reacted indifferently to discourage him.
Kyle still didn’t loosen his frown, but he somewhat seemed to be satisfied with Brody’s reaction and kept his glare at bay.
On the other hand, Shiloh looked at Brody who was ignoring him and muttered with a pitiful expression.
“I thought we were friends…but it was just me who was mistaken.”
The wounded fox walked along alone, his shoulders hunched.
It looked so pitiful that Brody tried to comfort him later.
But because of Kyle’s persistent gaze following her as if watching her actions, she decided to just let it go.
Walking around like this while struggling was only possible when the surroundings were peaceful.
As the afternoon wore on, clouds began to gather in the once clear sky.
And as the wind began to blow slowly, the number of times they spoke decreased drastically.
The weather, which had been quiet and calm, was taking a turn for the worse.
As the wind blew, the small ice floes around them began to move noticeably.
This meant that waves were crashing.
As the clouds moved faster, their walking speed with serious faces also increased.
For some reason, it felt like the waves were pushing the ice floes out to the sea. Of course, it was most likely due to anxiety.
And when the steps of the three people heading towards the edge of the ice floe became more and more urgent…
Suddenly, it felt like a bomb fell from far away, then a loud ‘bang-!’ sound erupted.
“Whoa!”
A startled Brody screamed and clung to Kyle’s leg. Kyle and Shiloh also stopped in surprise.
The sound was heard, and soon the impact reached where they had stepped.
They quickly scanned the end of the ice floe where they had heard a noise so loud they thought something had exploded.
“What?”
Nothing exploded.
But after looking around again, they realized that the explosion sound was caused by a nearby ice floe riding the waves and crashing against theirs.
The ice floe that had collided was also huge, which created such a loud noise and vibrations on the ground.
Brody, who was hanging on to Kyle’s leg, spoke to Kyle, feeling uneasy about the shock she had felt from the floor a moment ago.
“Kyle, I think it’s dangerous to go any further than this point.”
As they get closer to the edge, the ice gets thinner. So, just in case another ice floe collides with it and the impact continues, the thin layer of ice at the tip of the floe might crack.
If they are left on the fallen ice, they will be in more danger than they are now.
In places where waves crash like this, light and narrow floes are more easily swept away than large floes.
They were already near the edge of the ice floe, so it was dangerous. It would be safer to stop here and not go any further.
The other two agreed with Brody’s words and decided to end their journey here for today.
The three of them sat down on the snow instead of digging a hole to observe the sea situation.
As they all laid flat on the floor, Brody sat down and stared silently at the distant shore.
But as night fell and visibility became more limited, Brody became anxious.
Once again, a drift ice that had come over on the waves collided with their drift ice, making a loud ‘Boom~!’
It was a sound coming from quite close by.
“Mommy!”
Brody, who had a weak heart, jumped in surprise and ran straight towards Kyle, who was nearby.
She clung to him as if she was drawn to a magnet and buried her head in his arms.
Kyle spoke to Brody in a gentle voice, soothing her like a child.
“Shhh- it’s okay, it’s okay. It is just the sound of ice colliding.”
“…….?”
Brody, who had been shivering with her eyes tightly shut, suddenly doubted her ears.
It was absolutely not something that would have come out of Kyle’s mouth. It was then that she noticed something strange and opened her eyes.
Brody blinked at the white fur in front of her.
The person she was sticking to was not Kyle, but Shiloh.
Brody felt eyes on her from somewhere a little while ago, so she turned her head and flinched.
Her eyes met with Kyle’s, who was standing behind her with a bewildered expression on his face.
He spoke to Brody who was frozen in embarrassment, in a low voice.
“Why don’t you come here?”
Brody was startled when she heard that and quickly crawled towards him.
She approached him like that, went into his large arms, and just stuck her head out to look at him.
It was an unusually sensitive reaction from Kyle.
So she kept her mouth shut and watched the situation closely, and soon she heard a crunching sound as the ice floes collided and brushed against each other.
It sounded like a giant beast gnashing its teeth.
Brody covered her ears at the creepy sound and huddled into Kyle’s arms.
“I’m scared, Kyle….”
Of course, it wasn’t 100 percent out of fear, since she wasn’t a pure rabbit.
Whether he knew it or not, Kyle stuffed the rabbit into his arms and glared at Shiloh, who was sitting in front of him.
Meanwhile, Shiloh looked at Brody with envy as she walked from this scary place into Kyle’s sturdy arms.
Then, his eyes met with Kyle’s and he looked at him with a face that would immediately bring out one’s pity and muttered.
“I’m scared too….”
He even tried to imitate Brody’s trembling behavior. But it only had the opposite effect.
Kyle, who was feeling disgusted after seeing Shiloh pretending to be weak, imitating Brody, turned serious and growled.
After being threatened for playing a prank, Shiloh decided to just cower.
The ominous premonition became reality.
The waves, which had not subsided until dawn, continued into the morning.
After being anxious and unable to sleep all night, they finally managed to close their eyes at dawn and sighed as soon as they woke up and checked the situation.
“It feels like we’re getting further from the land…!”
Brody shouted with a bewildered look on her face.
It was true.
The waves pushed their floe out to the sea, not onto land, all night long.
Because of this, they ended up facing a dizzying situation where they were further away from land.
Completely isolated on the ice floe.
What made them even more desperate was the fact that this wave showed no signs of abating.
They were stranded on the ice floes all day, waiting for the sea to calm down, but the waves kept them floating out to sea all day.
Eventually, the three people, who had been swallowing only despair with empty stomachs due to not being able to eat anything, were so exhausted that at one point they lost consciousness and collapsed.
***
After a night of despair that seemed like it would be dark forever, morning has come again.
The first one to come to her senses was Brody.
An unidentified sound woke her up, as she had difficulty coming to her senses.
It seemed distant, but gradually became clearer. It was a very complex sound, like the cry of a seagull or the quack of a duck.
Moreover, as it was complex, it resonated from all over the place as if there were dozens of them around.
Brody opened her eyes with difficulty when she realized that the strange sound was coming from right next to her.
And as soon as she opened her eyes, Brody’s sleep vanished as if it had been washed away.
“!”
Brody looked around at the beings surrounding her and her eyes widened in surprise.
Around her were giant birds…no, penguins.
Moreover, they were all standing there holding long spears in their hands, their sharp ends pointed at her.
***
TL:
Next chapter will be locked, I hope you did not get so used to frequent updates🌚
