In a military base divided between a snowy biome and open fields, more and more military vehicles kept arriving while soldiers stood guard from their turrets.
More vehicles continued to enter. Finally, the sound of the engines ceased as a 34-year-old woman stepped out of one of the cars and the soldiers dispersed among the others.
"What happened, General Victoria? The mission failed, from what I can see," said a high-ranking officer, a man around 35 years old wearing a black military uniform with medals on his chest and a Marines beret.
"Not exactly, Drax," replied the general, defending her failed mission in the mountain ranges and along the Canadian border.
"Then how do you explain that more than 500 soldiers are dead?" said Drax in a serious tone as he looked around and watched wounded soldiers arriving.
"It was a miscalculation. But that doesn't take away from the fact that the investigation was a success," said Victoria, looking at the high-ranking officer with a calm but serious expression.
"Oh, sure, a miscalculation that undoubtedly killed many of my men," said Drax with a serious look. He then continued, "How do you think Smith is going to react?"
There was a brief silence from Victoria, though she maintained her cold and serious demeanor.
"You see? Well, rather, tell me the report on your…," Drax paused for a moment and then finished the sentence, "on that investigation," as he waited for Victoria's response.
...
"Thank you very much! Come back another day!" said the man in the pizza costume as he continued advertising the Bartolomé pizza stand.
Sam and Eric walked away, this time heading in a new direction: toward the ice cream shop Eric had mentioned.
"So, what did you think? The pizza was delicious, right?" said Eric while patting his clearly non-existent belly.
"Without a doubt, even pizza made by an Italian chef can't compare to the American one," said Sam as he let out a small burp.
"Actually…" said Eric as he guided Sam through the crowd and the food stalls. After a while, they finally reached the ice cream stand.
It was a large, spacious place that looked more like a giant tent. There were many things: posters of ice creams, a wide counter with many different flavor options, tables placed on each side to avoid crowding, servers, and plenty of staff. They even had someone in an elegant ice cream costume handling the advertising.
Both of them approached the ice cream counter, which was right next to the main stand.
"Hi! Welcome to IceFresh. Would you like to hear about our frozen options?" said a guy in ice cream shop uniform, with light brown hair, a calm gaze, and a normal but slightly fit build, as he handed them a menu with a variety of ice creams.
"Oh, yes, sure," said Eric, looking at the options on the menu.
"Oh, look, that one looks better," said Sam, pointing at the Sundae — a giant bowl of ice cream that was like a bigger version of a banana split, with even more flavors.
"Excellent choice. Now pick your flavors. You can choose up to 9," said the guy as he turned the menu to show a wide selection of flavors.
"There are so many," said Eric, slightly surprised to see new flavors he had never heard of, like bubblegum and blueberry.
"I like strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, mint, and lúcuma," said Sam — pretty normal tastes for a teenager.
"Alright, I want coconut, blueberry, mango, choco-peanut, and cake," said Eric, making a strange combination, though he still looked happy with it.
"Very good. I'll bring your order in a few minutes. The total comes to 7 dollars," said the guy while Eric took money out of his wallet and paid for the ice creams.
They both walked away and sat at a table while they waited for their order.
"I feel worse when I hear the prices," complained Sam.
"Are you saying that because of the cookies? Haha, oh Sam," said Eric, laughing — not mockingly — at how he had scammed Sam with the cookies earlier.
"Yeah…" said Sam, clearly wanting to avoid talking about the cookie scam again.
Finally, after a short wait, their ice creams arrived: a large banana split for each of them with their chosen flavors.
"Enjoy!" said the guy as he walked away to serve more customers.
"Well, bon appétit!" said Eric as he grabbed his spoon to eat his ice cream. Sam did the same.
...
Buzz
Buzz
"Huh?" said Ben as he returned to the radio area and adjusted the frequency to try to hear the signal clearly.
"Frozen Base, Frozen Base, this is Black Falcon 2-3," came a voice over the radio at Station 13, with what sounded like a blizzard raging in the background.
"Shit," Ben muttered to himself as he finally stood up from his chair to adjust the radios and monitors on his desk.
"Frozen Base, Frozen Base, this is Black Falcon 2-3. Static Send reinforcements — there are still survivors," the radio continued, broadcasting a desperate call for help from somewhere.
Ben glanced to the side where the automatic recorder had been running for a while, then focused back on the radio, hesitating to pick it up and answer.
"Frozen Base, Frozen Base, this is Black Falcon 2-3," the radio kept repeating, filled with static and the sound of the blizzard as the person tried to make contact.
Finally, Ben grabbed the receiver and answered:
"Hello, I can hear you," the boy said as he waited for a response.
"Thank God, someone! Hello, this is Eagle Base, Black Falcon 2-3 speaking. We need help — there are still survivors. The strange fog has disappeared," said the voice on the other end, as the blizzard and static grew louder.
"What?" said Ben, confused by the person's words.
"What? Who are you? Identify yourself," demanded the man on the other side, while the static and blizzard sounds continued.
There was silence from Ben, and suddenly the radio call cut off abruptly.
"What the hell?" said Ben, trying to reconnect with the station, but it seemed to have been blocked.
"I have to tell the guys about this," said Ben as he grabbed his other radio, the one he used to communicate with his friends.
Buzz
"Guys, guys," Ben said into the radio.
"Ben speaking," replied Ethan, pausing whatever he was eating to answer.
"What's going on?" asked Mason from the other side as he got up from his bed, where he had been writing notes about conspiracies.
"Huh?" said Zoe from the other end, answering from an unknown location.
"And Sam?" asked Ben.
"I don't know," said Ethan, still eating but answering anyway.
"He said he was going out with his stepdad this week, since he had some free time," said Mason.
"Oh, I see. Well, who's going to tell him? But I think we'll have to call another 'nerd meeting' again," said Ben in a serious tone. For a moment, everyone went quiet.
"Again?" asked Ethan, sounding like he had stopped chewing.
"Yeah, there was one not long ago," said Mason.
"If there's another meeting, I'm guessing it's for something serious, right?" said Zoe, as if interrogating Ben.
"Yeah, guys. I found out something, but it's better if you come over," said Ben seriously. The others understood that the situation was probably serious.
"Alright, I'll let Sam know. I might stop by his house later and contact him from there," said Ethan, going back to eating.
"Okay, guys. See you tomorrow night," said Ben, ending the call.
Click
...
"It's so cold," said Sophia as she watched her parents drive along a road heading toward the mountains. Eventually, they stopped nearby.
"Well, we'll continue tomorrow. It's time to set up camp," said Marcus as he parked the car in a flat area, not too far from the road but close to the mountains.
"Have you talked to her, honey?" asked the woman as she took out the camping tents and travel gear.
After a while, they finally set everything up properly. Background music was playing while Sophia's parents danced to the rhythm. Sophia simply sat near the campfire reading a book because of the cold.
"Oh, honey, don't you want to join us?" asked Marcus while dancing with his wife.
"No thanks, Dad," said Sophia, politely declining her father's invitation.
"Ah, you can't fool me. I bet if Ethan were here, she'd be dancing," said Elvia with a smile as she looked at her daughter.
"Mom!" complained Sophia, clearly turning slightly red like a tomato.
"Haha, got you," laughed Elvia, Sophia's mother, amused at having discovered her daughter's secret.
"Don't tease her, dear," said Marcus, trying to get his wife to stop bothering their daughter.
"Ugh, I'm going inside," said Sophia as she stood up and headed into the tent to read in there.
"Don't get upset, honey," said her mother, trying to calm her down, but it was useless — Sophia had already left.