evening. But still, I couldn't help staring at it. It felt surreal standing on the other side of the porthole instead of being part of the crew on board the ship. For a brief second, I wondered whether I should turn back but then shook off the feeling. No turning back now.

As soon as Captain Vargo noticed my gaze, he raised a finger to his lips, signaling for me to remain silent. After making sure nobody was nearby, he reached into the pack and handed me a pair of binoculars. They were much smaller than those aboard the ship. I put them on and focused carefully on the horizon. Nothing moved. Not a bird nor a cloud disturbed the sky above. But I knew something strange must be hiding there somewhere.

With every passing minute, the temperature dropped further. Even though the sun was shining brightly, a thin layer of frost covered everything within sight. Soon, it began to snow gently. Within seconds, it became hard to distinguish individual flakes drifting lazily through the air. Without realizing it, I lowered the binoculars to protect them from the cold.

When Captain Vargo saw that I'd lost focus, he leaned forward and whispered into my ear, "Keep watching. Don't blink." He placed a hand on my shoulder and guided me back to my original position. When I resumed searching, the scene changed almost imperceptibly. First, I spotted a white lump lying motionless on the ground. Then, I recognized it as a person wearing a parka. Next came a dark shape moving across the snowy landscape. In less than ten minutes, I counted five figures walking together. One of them carried what appeared to be a body wrapped in blankets. Slowly, they disappeared behind a hill.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

My first thought was to alert Captain Vargo immediately but I held myself back. Instead, I waited patiently until the group was completely out of sight. Only when it seemed safe to move again did I remove the binoculars and give Captain Vargo a thumbs-up sign.

For a long time, neither of us spoke. Eventually, I broke the silence. "Are they really dead?" I asked hesitantly.

Captain Vargo sighed deeply, as if the question weighed heavy on his mind. "They look dead enough to me," he answered grimly. "But sometimes the human form can deceive itself."

"Can't they breathe under all that ice? Or do they need a special atmosphere to live?"

"Maybe they don't die instantly," Captain Vargo mused. "Or maybe they have adapted to survive long periods of hibernation."

"Do you think they'll make it back alive?"