Triple Nightmare /Bakudekutodo

Chapter 77: Snow or Sand?!

Todoroki POV:
The moment that the tent was opened the wind started whipping into my face. I took a step outside. The sun was blending me. I couldn't see but the ground under me gave slightly in to my weight. With my arm I protected my face from wind and sun. After a couple blinks I could finally take a glimpse at what lied ahead.

For a moment I thought I must be hallucinating. Dark orange nearly red dunes of fine sand covered with a thick layer of snow. Even though the sun was shining terribly bright and hot, the wind was ice cold. Flakes so big they looked like feathers fell from the sky and even though the sand was as hot as the sun somehow it didn't melt.

I took a closer look around. No signs of inhabitants. The only man made object was the humongous cruise siting on the never ending beach behind me. Somehow all the other passengers before us were no where to be see. The only people I saw were Izuku and Katsuki standing a couple meters further away from the ship.

I walked over to them. "Everything go well? You ok?" Izuku asked. I nodded. "Alright then, what's next?" Katsuki asked and looked at Izuku. "Well, I'm gonna be frank with you two: I've read through the diary multiple times over the last months. But I've never read of anything looking like this. And I have the feeling if they would have been here they'd have described it. We've been off track once before when we went to Highland Meadows. But this is completely unkown territory. I'm not sure how, but our priority should be: finding our way back to the path the others took." "We definitely need to be very careful then. We have no clue what kind of creatures or people live here. Plus, the weather and landscape could easily become a problem for us. The strange mixture of heat and cold will probably become a problem for our bodies sooner than we can imagine." Katsuki added. "Well we should get moving then. If we just pick one direction and follow through we might be able to find some help." I suggested. "Yeah, I agree. For now that's the safest bet." Katsuki decided and we started walking. In order for us to be as safe as possible we stayed close to the beach. But just about twenty minutes later we already started feeling consequences of the weather.

Midoriya POV:
At the beginning our tempo had still been relatively steady. We tried finding a place to rest as fast as possible. But the cold wind and hot sun as well as the uneven sand under our feet made any movement terrible exhausting. Especially after the first twenty minutes we started slowing down more and more. Once in a while we sped up again but it didn't last very long. It was difficult deciding whether we should take breaks or continuing until we collapse. The conditions wouldn't let us rest either way. Even though we expected as much we exhausted ourselves way too fast.

Shoto walked in front. Due to his former quirk he had an easier time regulating the temperatures. I walked in the middle and Kacchan right behind me. His breathing got louder the further we walked. For a moment I stoped walking and turned around to check on him. "Don't stop. It will just give your body the false info that it can rest. The moment you stop it will become harder to continue." He said while catching up to me. Right as he was about to pass me Kacchan took my hand and we continued. Once in a while Shoto slowed down in order for us to stay close to each other. But just as Kacchan suggested he didn't stop moving even for a second.

I lost track of time. Had no clue how far we've gotten anymore. Kacchans hand felt heavy in mine. Just like me he had troubles staying on his feet. Shoto had also started to walk increasingly irregular. Suddenly all leftover strength left me and as a result I wasn't able to lift my foot high enough. As I tripped over the heavy sand I lost balance and fell into Shotos back. He was able to hold me up but the sudden movement took Kacchan by surprise. As a result he pulled the both of us along with him to the ground. The sand felt like burning charcoal on my skin. I tried getting up but fell right back into the sand. Kacchan didn't even try and Shoto didn't get further than sitting up either. After a few minutes we had gotten accustomed to the heat. Somehow the pain was gone.

No one said anything. All I could hear was the sand blowing in the wind and all of us breathing heavily. My head felt as though it would go up in flames. I turned onto my chest. Shoto slid closer and placed my head on his upper thigh. As I rested my eyes he stroked through my hair. Kacchan slowly sat up. He took off our backpack and pulled out one of the bedrolls. "You shouldn't lay on the sand like that." He spread out the bedroll and Shoto sat down on top of it. I quickly followed and put my head back into his lap. Kacchan sat down next to Shoto and rested on his shoulder. To make sure he could rest properly Shoto secured his back with his arm and held him tightly. Before he dozed off Kacchan said: "We shouldn't rest for too long. We really need to find a shelter."

"Izu, wake up." I slowly opened my eyes. "The sun is setting. We need to go." I slowly sat up. The bedroll hat heated me nicely from bellow. Even though my skin was still ice cold from the freshly fallen snow. "Shit, we shouldn't have taken such a long break." Kacchan said. "Maybe it's a good thing." Shoto disagreed. "What do you mean?" "Once the sun has fully set we won't have issues with the split weather anymore. Of course it's going to get unbearable cold but maybe our body's will be able to regulate it better." "Let's hope then." Kacchan answered. "Even so, we barely have any rations, water included. And we really shouldn't dring the sea water either. We won't last out here." As the last remaining minutes of sunlight disappeared behind the horizon we took out our warm clothes and stored the bedroll back into our bag. Once we continued our walk it hat already turned pitch dark.

To be continued ...