Time has always been considered a ruthless and unrelenting aspect of the universe, reaping life indiscriminately no matter who or what is in its path. That's just it, though; time is a finite currency; a coin having two sides: one labeled life and the other death. Without life, there would be no death; without death, life would be a monotonous existence only given meaning through the knowledge that there is an end and that the time they have should be cherished. So what then makes a life worth living? How should someone spend their time alive? How should they die? Which would stand up to the test of time?

Alan’s thoughts came to a grinding halt as he heard the crunching of snow behind him. He had gotten lost in thought, which had been happening more often these past weeks. He looked up from his work, gazing at the endless plains of ice and snow towards the horizon. It was a beautiful sight to see, only making it easier for his thoughts to wander.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Sarah asks as she playfully rests her hand on Alan’s arm.

He sighs, “Time. My time, I guess.”

Sarah’s eyebrows scrunch up in confusion as her hand begins to slide down his arm. “What do you mean your time?”

Alan’s gaze lingers on the horizon before he turns to Sarah. He had only signed up for this expedition to Antarctica because Sarah kept going on and on about the benefits. Some wack job, only being known as the Collector, had spent an exorbitant amount of money following leads on some ancient ruins. The Collector had funded six prior expeditions in places throughout the world that held any potential significance to their research.

The venture had garnered much criticism throughout the years, having been named by many as the second fountain. The venture gained this name when information leaked that the ruins contained a water source believed to hold power over death, comparable in relation to the fountain of youth, believed to hold power over life. Maybe that was why the Collector had never revealed who they were.

Regardless of the veracity of the research, the money was real and quite substantial. It was a difficult position to pass on, which was why Sarah hadn’t. He’d like to say the money was the most significant contributing factor to his decision to accept the job, but he knew it wasn’t. Looking at her, he knew he had only taken the position to be with Sarah.

They were friends from college, both majoring in environmental science. He had been enamored with her since they had first met. Her long brown wavy hair cascaded down her back, her beautiful brown eyes, and her smile that could light up a room. She was stunning, even when covered in snow gear.

They had dated throughout college, right up until he had asked Sarah to marry him. Her answer was a resounding no. Sarah had said she wasn’t ready to settle down. That had been over a year ago. They had remained together, but their relationship had become strained, and they decided to take some time apart just a couple of months before the expedition began.

One week into the expedition, Sarah had asked if he would be willing to share a bed, as the frigid arctic nights were becoming too much for her to handle. Unsure of his feelings over the separation, he tentatively agreed. It had only taken a few nights before they became more passionate in their actions to remain warm. Alan thought that with their rekindling intimacy, the possibility of saving their relationship wasn’t as far out of reach as he imagined, but doubts still clouded his mind.

Releasing a shuddering breath that wasn’t caused by the cold winds, he asks,

“Sarah, what are we doing?”

“What do you mean what are we doing?” She begins to lightly chuckle, “We’re out here..”

Alan sighs again, interrupting her as he asks with more confidence than before,

“Sarah. What are we doing? I need to know where we are headed. I want to settle down and start a family. Have something in my life that will mean something and continue on long after me. Even if we assist in discovering these ruins, if they’re even out here, that's just it, we assisted. We won’t get the credit. It won't be our accomplishment. I just need to know if we will stay together and what both of our intentions are?”

The tension Sarah was holding collapses as her shoulders sag, and she backs away a couple of steps. The crunching of the snow sounds deafening in Alan’s ears as his heart rate began to accelerate.

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“I… I don't know.” She whispers. Her windswept hair covers her face as she casts her eyes toward the ground.

Alan didn’t know how to respond or feel about the situation. He decided to be as straightforward as possible, to remove any misconceptions either of them had about where this relationship was heading.

“Sarah, where did you see thi…”

“This is Sam. Come in, over.”

Alan and Sarah were both startled by the sudden interruption, so caught up in their conversation. Alan was the first to refocus, responding to the message.

“This is Alan and Sarah; go ahead, over.”

“There has been a development with the weather. Make your way to home base asap, over.”

“What kind of development? Over.”

“Huge storms are begi.ni.g to form across the globe. Com.unic…ons expected to fail. Return to ho..base. It’s not safe, over.”

“Roger that, how long do we have? Over.”

“Undetermin…. leav.. ow, o..r.”

“Say again, over.”

“Le..ve ..w. Storm esca…ng, Ov..”

The radio signal cut, producing only static. The previous tension had been swept away, replaced with the sudden urge to get to safety. Sarah began running towards her dogs to get the dogsled ready for departure, shouting,

“We need to go! Grab what you need and get over here.”

Feeling a sense of urgency, Alan sprinted over to his equipment, quickly grabbing the essentials. He reached Sarah just a minute later, throwing his gear in the covered storage attachment to her sled. Sarah had already gotten the dogs up and ready to move, just waiting for him to jump on behind her, then they were off.

“How far away are we again?” Alan shouted to be heard over the wind.

Sarah glances back for a moment to respond to Alan,

“8 miles. We should be back in around 25 minutes under good conditions.”

“Let's just hope we get that then.”

They were ten minutes in when disaster struck. Already dealing with the increasingly harsh winds, they only expected the winds to get worse or maybe for the beginnings of a blizzard. What they were not prepared for was for the ground to shake as if an earthquake had struck. The ice in front of their sled team cracked apart, leaving a sizable rift.

“Haw!” screamed Sarah. With the quake happening so suddenly, the dogs’ footing faltered, resulting in some of the dogs tripping during the sudden left turn. This caused the sled to slide sideways, sending it over the edge of the newly created rift.

Alan and Sarah held on to the sled for dear life as it abruptly stopped, swinging towards and striking the wall of ice. The distressed whining of the dogs began to echo down the hole. Alan glanced down, instantly regretting his decision, when all he saw was a slanted descent towards what appeared to be an endless abyss.

“Hike! Come on, guys. Hike!” Sarah’s commands for the dogs brought Alan out of his spiraling panic attack, allowing him to reassess their situation. It didn’t get any better, no matter how long he thought about their situation. They were dead. The dogs had managed to slow our descent towards our doom, but we were still slowly losing ground. They didn’t have enough strength to pull the weight they had.

“Hike! Hike! Come on, you can do it!” Shouted Sarah.

She sounded determined; she still had hope that they’d make it out of this alive. They weren’t going to make it, and Alan knew it. There was just too much weight. That didn’t mean one of them couldn't make it through this. They just had to lower the weight. He just wanted to make sure Sarah would make it, so he steeled himself for what was required. He loved Sarah; he could admit that. He just wished he had had the time to say so earlier. To get his feelings out there for Sarah to either confirm or deny. Better late than never, he thought.

“Sarah”

“Huh? Alan just hold on and stay quiet. I’ll get us out of this mess in a minute.”

“Sarah!”

“What, dammit! Did you not hear what I said!?”

Sarah turned to look at Alan, taking in his appearance. She saw him smiling at her, with all the care he always had before, but with it was a look of resolution. She began to get a queasy, unpleasant feeling in her stomach. Then it got much worse.

“Stay strong. You’ll make it through; you always have.”

He detached the storage compartment, allowing it to plummet into the icy depths. As the equipment disappeared from view, tears began to well up in Sarah’s eyes as she stared at Alan. Her voice begins to shake.

“Alan, just hold on, alright? We’ll make it through this together.”

Alan’s smile wanes, his lips no longer as curved upwards as they were. His life wasn’t one worth remembering. He hadn’t made any outstanding accomplishments, nor had he started a family. He wouldn’t be leaving anything behind that would have given his life meaning. Maybe then, his death could provide that meaning. The more he thought about it, the more he felt his death would provide more meaning than his life. Hopefully, Sarah could make something of the time he was giving her.

“Goodbye, and I love you.”

Alan closed his eyes and let go, wanting the last thing he saw to be the life his death would save.

“Alan!” Sarah burst into tears, crying as she watched him fall to his death. She continued to cry for the next minute as she was slowly dragged to the surface by her dogs. She sat there for minutes, trying to come to terms with what happened, quietly sobbing the entire time. The whining and barking of the dogs had risen to a feverish pitch, finally rousing her from her stupor. She made her way back over the rift, staring down into the abyss. With small shuddering breaths, she whispers,

“I love you, too.”

She wanted to stand there, to lose herself to the darkness of the depths. She could be with Alan again; all it would take was another step. Then she fell. Her heart felt like it leapt from her chest as she landed on her back. She turned her head to see her lead dog, Mia, release her sleeve, whining as she began to nuzzle her head against Sarah’s. She had to leave.

Climbing onto her sled, she began to yell, “Hi..”

A blue box suddenly fills her vision, causing her to shriek in surprise.

[Mana threshold has reached operational capacity.]

[System initiating…]

[Initial assessment commencing…]

[Assessment completed]

[Congratulations, you’ve been granted access to the tutorial]

[Initiating tutorial protocol]

[Tutorial commencing]