I am still trapped inside the hall, the meaning of time is starting to slip, and all I can do is think about the generator, my phone, and whatever is going on between me and Lena. This morning, I even found it cold here, with the fire Eldrin is tending to barely keeping the outskirts above freezing, and there was a very thin crust of ice over the drinking water tub.

Waking up, I head over to Thallion, who is massaging his wrist again.

“You’ve been doing that a lot, everything ok?” I ask.

“I’ll be ok, just an old injury flaring up again because of the cold. If you could get me some soup though, that would be great.

Heading to the kitchen, I see several people running around inside, both trying to keep warm, and putting ingredients in the giant pot. I catch the attention of one of them, a younger man who is busy cutting up what looks like a cross between a carrot and a turnip, being orange and spherical. I offer Thallion’s bowl as well as mine and he pours soup into them. I head back to Thallion, and offer him his bowl. Taking a scoop, I notice it is thinner and blander than it has been for the past few days. Sighing, I eat the watery soup and seek out the pastor, who is now organizing the line for the soup as people start to wake.

“I noticed the soup, is everything ok?”

He looks towards me, and back at the line. Seeing that the line is self forming now, he takes me aside to one of the walls of the room, far away from others.

“Good morning to you as well.” He says wearily, barely whispering. “I should not be telling you this, but we did not expect the cold snap to last this long. We are thinning the soup to stretch it a couple more days. And before you ask, no you are not going out. All of these goods are stored in cellars or buried, and unless you have some form of shovel that can break frozen ground, that is where they are staying until it warms slightly.”

Nodding along, I ask “How many days left do we have?”

“We are not that desperate yet!” He loudly whispers, “We have enough to go for another week at the level we are stretching it, two if we cut it down half again by midweek.”

“And how’s firewood?”

“No issue with that! With the amount someone brought in, we could probably last another month!” He replies, nudging me in the ribs with his elbow.

“Very well. Is there anything I can do to help right now? I can see people are anxious around me, but I also don’t want to interfere with anything.”

“Unfortunately, no. Due to this being a cold snap, there is not much we can do except keep people moving, fed and warm. Hopefully we do not lose anyone during this, but unless the weather changes soon, well… may God protect and watch over us to shield us from that.”

I nod, and join Thallion again, who has the doctor looking at him at the moment.

“You must move closer to the fire, your wrist is acting up, and if it gets much worse you may lose all control over it.”

“I am not going to move closer, removing space for someone that needs it more! I can put up with the pain, and I am learning to write with my other hand so that when it does come to that eventually, I’ll be ready.”

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“Why let it get worse when the remedy is so easy?!”

Thallion looks up, frustration clear on his face. "It's not just about me. Everyone here has their own problems, and the closer we are to the fire, the harder it is for others to warm up. We're all in this together."

I pipe up at this moment, causing the doctor to jump. “Just because we are all together, does not mean you need to suffer alone. How about we move a bit closer, there is plenty of space from where the fire is to the back corner you are sitting in. You need to warm that joint so the cartilage is a bit softer, and won’t wear as easily”

Reluctantly, he grabs his chair with his good hand and moves it about half way towards the fire.

“There, that should help.”

You are one strange kid, Ethan. You got him to do something I have only been trying to get him to do for years. He needs to take care of himself more! Also, how is it that a kid made it this far all alone, and knows medical knowledge?”

“Er, it is part of basic education where I am from. I can treat basic injuries and know some organ and system functions but not enough to operate.”

“That cannot be all, rumour has it you have some form of drug on you that we never heard of. It says it allows for vast feats of strength and knowledge. I would like a sample of some of this drug so that I can determine its safety and talk to you more about how it is made.”

“What?!” I exclaim loudly, but still quieter than before as I start to remember that we are in close quarters with gossips all around. “I don’t have any drugs! I would love to have some medicine with me, but I don’t even have that!”

“But you must, you even said that “adrenaline kicked in” which unless something is very off with that translator of yours, that is a drug. The translator does not know that word, so it must be some very exotic material. I want to know what it is, how it’s made, and what its impacts are.”

I take a deep breath, trying to mask my frustration. "It's not a drug. It's something my body produces naturally in response to stress."

She raises an eyebrow, and chuckles as if catching me in a lie. "Naturally? So how does your body produce this 'adrenaline'?"

"Look, it's complicated," I say, choosing my words carefully. "Where I'm from, we understand that the body can do extraordinary things when it senses danger. This 'adrenaline' is just a part of that process."

She leans in, eyes narrowing. "Where exactly are you from, Ethan? You've avoided that question since you arrived. You seem to know things that no one else here does."

I glance at Thallion, who is listening but staying silent. "I'm from a place far from here. That's all I can say."

The doctor isn't satisfied. "A place where people produce magical substances in their bodies? Do you expect me to believe that?"

"It's not magic," I say, my voice low and firm. "It's just biology. It's how we survive. You don't need to know every detail about where I'm from to understand that."

Her eyes flash with curiosity and suspicion. "But I do need to know, Ethan. Knowledge is power, especially in times like these. If you have information that can help us, you need to share it."

I shake my head. "I'm not hiding anything that can help us survive this cold snap. We need to focus on keeping warm and making sure everyone gets enough to eat. That's all that matters right now."

She sighs, clearly frustrated. "Fine. But if I find out you're keeping something from us, it won't end well."

Thallion speaks up, breaking the tension. "Doc, the boy's right. We need to focus on getting through this. Leave the interrogation for another time."

She glares at him but doesn't push further. "Alright, but this isn't over, Ethan. We will talk again."

I nod, grateful for Thallion's support. As the doctor walks away, I turn to him. "Thanks. I don't know how much longer I can keep dodging these questions."

He smiles faintly. "Just keep your head down and do what you can. We're all trying to survive here. Secrets or not, we need each other."

"Yeah," I say, glancing around the hall. "We do."