Permafrost

22: Floe

⭐️Chapter 22: Floe

The Infernos had a nice time talking while walking. It helped take their mind off things. It was curious to them how Thrash had gotten back to Laocrah town without being damaged. Heck, they didn't even know how he escaped in the first place. It was so weird...

They had dismissed it as him being the colossal squid he was, but the more they thought about it, the less sense it made. They had never seen ANYONE escape those things, not even sharklings or sea monsters. So either something must have cut the net, or there was another thing that they weren't taking into consideration. They didn't even see him with his weapon when he was dragged away, so what could have happened? It was all a mystery.

Their walk setting really hadn't changed since the last hour or so. They were still under the moonlight, snow everywhere. There was no addition of noises or strange figures, but there was also no nearby town. They were seriously considering making a makeshift stick house and sleeping, even though that would make them sitting ducks for any nighttime creatures. Not to mention, Jack noticed Silvia was seemingly...tense after that encounter.

"Sil, you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thrash is just...reckless and ruthless. He doesn't know what he's getting himself into but he doesn't care as long as he benefits from it" Silvia grumbled.

"You sound like you know him" Cosmo said.

"I don't. He's just a big jerk that wants to make fun of you all. I won't let that happen."

"Awww, thanks Silvie!"

Silvie was the nickname Ryn had given her when they were kids. It had stuck forever.

"No problem."

Their walk continued on. It was still awkward. There was barely anything to do or say at all. Just snow, snow, more snow. They were starting to doubt the direction they were going in. 

Maybe they should have taken that curved path, or gone down that other path. Anything at this point would interest them, even if they were being attacked. There weren't any interesting patterns in the stars, the moon didn't look weird, and the scenery had barely changed. Of course, they were still worried that something might ambush them from the forest. They didn't exactly know what else lived in these woods. 

They hoped there would be another house like Talon's, but hadn't seen any sign of a living structure for hours.

"Guys, I don't think we're gonna make it. I think we'll have to find a place to stay" Jack said.

"Only problem is, we're stuck in the middle of some frosty woods with no way of knowing where we are!" Ryn exclaimed.

"Well yeah, I know that...I just hope we find something..."

"Hold on, is that a sign?" Silvia asked.

She pointed at a small silhouette of what looked like a wooden sign. The group walked over to it and brushed off the snow. On it read "beware mutant viperfish". The group looked at what was beyond the sign, only to see a series of bridges over half frozen waters. Cosmo slowly made his way around in an attempt to see if the viperfish were under the bridge.

Sure enough, huddled under the bridge, were groups of viperfish, seemingly asleep. One would figure that the cold weather old make them slow or basically inactive, but they were...well, fish. They weren't white like those weird anglers and the frostfangs. They could still pack a NASTY punch though, and their bites stung like shell. Sure they were at a disadvantage, but hey. This was the source of the group's excitement. 

Cosmo walked back over.

"Yeah, they're there. And asleep. What do we do?"

"I say we cross!" Ryn whispered, ready to take on this challenge.