The next morning, Rio set off early in search of the fishermen. Timmy meowed softly behind him, as if to say, “Be careful.” After carefully blocking the entrance to his shelter, Rio, armed with his walrus tusk, made his way toward the ship, hoping to find the fishermen still there.

Upon reaching the wreck, Rio quickly realized the boat was empty. “They might have built a shelter nearby, like mine,” he thought, trying to reassure himself. Determined, he searched the area around the ship for any signs of life.

But as he explored, a sinking feeling began to grow. The possibility that they might have already left gnawed at him. Rio hurried back onto the ship, frantically searching for the emergency boat. He scoured every corner of the wreck, but there was no sign of the fishermen—or the emergency boat.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

Finally, he came across the spot marked ‘FOR EMERGENCY.’ The lifeboat was gone.

Rio’s heart sank. The fishermen had escaped, likely as soon as they wrecked. He stood there in silence, the realization washing over him like the icy wind. He had been so consumed by the food and supplies the day before that he hadn’t noticed their absence.

The fragile hope Rio had clung to began to fade, leaving him once again to face the harsh Arctic alone.

Rio trudged back to his shelter through the snow, he was in so much despair that he did not care to find a path with less snow or at least cover himself from the harsh wind. Rio crawled inside and sat there disappointed, he looked at Timmy, Timmy seemed to understand that Rio had once again met failure and cuddled next to him as a consolation. Rio smiled weakly, he opened a can of beans, poured some on s plate he had fashioned out of the wooden slab for Timmy, then ate the rest himself.

Rio did not know how he was going to escape from this wasteland, but he knew he would survive and not give up.