Thalls have an uncanny similarity with the Neanderthals that preceded humanity. The main difference between them was the Thalls’ unique pigment on their skin that colors their whole body into a yellowish tint, much like a human with jaundice. Thalls had thick long hair that covered their whole body as a sort of protection from the cold as well as predators. The hair on their body stood on end whenever they felt threatened, which made the illusion that they were much bigger and spikier than they were. The hairier they were, the more manlier they looked.
Perhaps the only thing that saved Achram from freezing to death were the hairs on his face. His face was covered in snow, with his hair already freezing to the point of almost reaching his skin. The brown fur coat on his body turned white from all the snow that accumulated on his journey.
The cold turned his mind sluggish. He couldn’t think anymore, with his legs moving step by step automatically. If he used his precious energy to worry and think about useless stuff, he wouldn’t have enough internal warmth to fight off the cold.
The only thing pushing him forward was the thought of his family. The only thing that was fighting off the urge to lay on the snow and sleep off into eternity was the thought of leaving his family to fight off death by themselves. He needed to live. He needed to reach the top for them even if it meant that he couldn’t return. He needed to find the God of Icy Rock.
It felt like every step, his body was getting heavier. He didn’t know if it was from exhaustion or the snow piling on his body. He threw away his bow and arrows and his pickaxe a long time ago because they were just extra baggage for him. At least, this part of the mountain he was hiking was a flat land that didn’t need any climbing.
It was then that he remembered he still had a few black rocks in his pocket. They were completely useless, having no benefit to his survival in this freezing hell. And when he tried to get rid of the rocks from his pocket, he found out it was stuck. The pockets of his pants were frozen together from the sweat he was producing, leaving the rocks tucked safely inside.
He decided to keep them. It wasn’t worth it. He needed to save as much energy as possible to summit this mountain. Especially when he reached the blizzard.
He didn’t know how he reached it, but the whole climate seemed to change as freezing hail and icy winds were bombarding him with snow and ice from all around. He was already feeling cold just from the temperature of the mountain, this weather made the cold intolerable. He couldn’t lift his knees anymore, feeling as if they were frozen. He couldn’t feel anything from his hands and face, numb.
Not only that, the hairs on his skin suddenly stood up despite being frozen. Electricity shot up from his spine, signaling his brain of a threat. He was so sluggish from the cold that he must have unknowingly wandered over to the Alpha Bear’s territory. This was dangerous. Alpha Bears kill anything that intrudes on their territory and are unaffected by the cold. And without any weapons, Achram was a frozen dish waiting to be served.
The hairs on his body and face suddenly pointed forward, telling Achram that the bear was right in front of him. He looked up and his heart skipped a beat. His body spread adrenaline on his body, keeping it warm and able for the last time. Freezing in the cold was much better than getting mauled by a giant bear.
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Achram turned around and quickly trudged through the snow away from the bear. Even with his body working the fastest he could ever do, he still felt as sluggish as ever. His brain got more anxious as he heard the sound of the bear running on all fours. With every second, Achram was dragging his body one step at a time, while the bear seemed to glide through the snow like it weighed as light as paper.
ROOOOAAAAAR
The bear was warning him that resistance was futile. But Achram still ran as fast as he could, his joints aching from the cold. He ran and ran until he finally ran out of energy. The heat on his body suddenly disappeared as the adrenaline wore off. Immediately, he felt the numbing cold hit his body and very soul. His legs and arms crawled to a stop. With the last of his energy, he plopped on the snow, freezing and on the dredges of death.
“M….”
He couldn’t even move his mouth to call out to his wife one last time. He closed his eyes, sure that he would never be opening them again.
ROOAAR….
The bear finally caught up to Achram, but it just stopped in front of it and observed the Thall. It used its nose to turn the poor guy around and see if he was still breathing.
“Did you tell him that we were here to rescue him?”
Out from the top of the Alpha Bear’s fur, a slime came rolling up and looking over Achram’s freezing body.
Roarr….
“Of course, he was going to run away, you’re a scary, scary bear!” the slime reprimanded the Alpha Bear.
Roar…
“That’s fine, it’s not your fault–”
Roar…
“No, you’re not. Don’t say that. You’re a beautiful bear that will find your very own Alpha Bear mate in no time. You just need to work on your intimidation skills a little bit. Even you scare me.”
Roar!
“Okay, okay! I’m sorry. We’ll work on your roaring skills when we’re back in the kingdom, okay?”
Roar.
“Didn’t you say that you’d join us? I already told our King that you’d be the one to patrol the borders of our kingdom and protect us from invaders!”
Roar…roar..roar!
“You’re too big for the Bamboo Hut! But, fine! You can stay in our territory. But, you have to patrol the borders too, deal?”
ROAR!, the bear said with enthusiasm.
And with another successful diplomatic mission to recruit the scary Alpha Bear as security, the slime nodded in satisfaction. Surely, Patty would pat his head this time.
“Now, what was I going to do again?” the slime wondered as the freezing body of Achram lay unconscious in front of the bear. “Oops! I forgot about our first citizen. Flamie, do your job!”
Flamie popped out from the very thick fur of the Alpha Bear. It jumped up from the torso to the neck, to the top of the bear’s head, and finally down to Achram’s body. Flamie felt sorry for the freezing guy and used its ability to send some heat down into Achram’s body and let his blood flow again.
“Good! Now let’s go back and bring this guy for our King to see him!” the slime said as he pointed back to a barely visible dome in the distance.
—-----------------
Achram felt a tightness in his chest when he finally came to his consciousness. He thought he died. Was he in the afterlife? Did the God of Icy Rock take pity on his soul and save him from damnation? Was that why he felt a very comfortable heat around his body as if it was in the middle of summer?
He felt the beating of his heart and even a slight tinge of pain in the ends of his fingers. He still had a body. He thought he died and became a spirit. But feeling all of his body, he figured out that he was still alive. How was that possible?
“How…how am I alive?” muttered Achram.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a slight orange glow from the surroundings. He seemed to be safe from the cold with a cozy roof above him made out of bamboo. When he looked around, the first thing he noticed was this strange blob of green thing that was on his chest. No wonder his chest felt heavy.
“Greetings, NeanderThall! You have had the privilege of becoming the first citizen of our Lord and King!” the slime said.
AAAAHHHHH
Achram shouted as he got up from the floor and shooed away the talking green blob that was in the middle of consuming his body.
‘Just when I thought I survived that bear, I ended up becoming sustenance for a strange blob of green animal.’
Achram backed away while keeping his eyes on the green blob. He didn’t know how fast or powerful the blob was, so he needed to be ready to escape as fast as possible. He tried to reach the wall and escape through the door, but when he reached the end, he didn’t feel the solid and rigid feeling of a structure. He felt something soft.
He felt something soft and furry.
When he looked back, he suddenly saw the Alpha Bear that chased him sitting in the corner. It crouched its head because the roof was too short for it.
“AH”
Those were Achram’s last words before he fell unconscious onto the floor again.