Chapter 54
1216 Words
Mandy's words made me excited. I rolled over and pinned her beneath me. My hands started to move up her waist, soon touching the softness of her chest.
Mandy grabbed my wandering hand, pressing her body closer to mine. She kissed me and whispered, "Keep it down, don't wake everyone up."
"Yes, ma'am," I chuckled, taking off both Mandy's clothes and mine.
Though I was incredibly aroused, I kept my movements gentle deliberately. But as our passion peaked, it became hard to stay quiet, and Mandy almost cried out.
Fortunately, the other girls were sound asleep due to exhaustion and didn't wake up. Mandy and I exchanged a smile. I held her, stroking her back gently. Once we both calmed down, we fell asleep in each other's arms.
The first thing I did the next morning was open the door to check the situation outside.
This sudden snowstorm had brought us great hardship and disrupted our plans. I eagerly hoped for the storm to stop, but outside the cave, the wind was still howling, and it was still snowing.
The snow seemed heavier than before. Looking out, all I could see was a blur of white. There was no sky, no ground, and no trees—just the furious wind and relentless snow.
Even more troubling was that the snow had piled up so high at the entrance that it was half-blocked.
It made me feel both scared and relieved. If I had slept any longer, the entrance might have been completely buried.
Though the snow was soft now, it would soon turn into a hard ice layer. And once that happened, even breaking through it with a fire axe would be difficult. We could end up trapped in the cave.
It seemed that clearing the snow had become a new essential task added by the storm.
We had a military shovel, but one person alone couldn't handle the workload. We needed to get some additional tools.
Since I had to go hunting, the tasks of clearing the snow and gathering firewood would have to be done by the girls.
After breakfast, I shared my plan.
"Don't worry, Zack. Go hunting. We'll take care of everything in the cave and get it all done," Crystal waved at me, acting like she was in charge, which made Stella roll her eyes.
Everyone started getting busy.
Besides clearing the snow, they also had to gather wood near the cave to stock up on firewood. With the snow falling heavily, some low-lying areas had the entire forest buried under snow, making it hard to find enough firewood.
Meanwhile, I ventured back into the forest.
The continuous blizzard made the world completely silent and desolate. I almost thought I had arrived in the Siberian wilderness rather than the once vibrant island a few days ago.
Following my memory, I found the forest where I had caught worms yesterday, but unfortunately, the worms in that forest were almost entirely gone. It seemed that these worms couldn't be a long-term food source. I had to find a more stable source of food.
I spent the whole day in the blizzard but found nothing. As it got darker, I returned empty-handed. The girls didn't blame me when they saw me come back with nothing, but their expressions grew worried.
'How long will this blizzard last? Can we hold on?' These questions began to linger in our minds.
Fortunately, today Mandy caught a big fish from the spring Eva had used to escape. Perhaps because the water flowed very fast and was underground, it hadn't frozen despite the severe cold.
Mandy's fish, along with some of the salted meat we had stored, provided us with a satisfying meal. If we rationed our food carefully, we wouldn't have any problems in the short term. But this couldn't be a long-term solution.
After dinner, everyone started discussing where we could find more food.
At that time, we didn't know that the blizzard would bring not only food shortages but also more terrible crises.
At night, we were so tired that even though Mandy and I slept close together like the previous night, we had no energy for s*x and slept straight through till morning.
The snow still hadn't stopped.
In the morning, I gripped my gun tightly and stepped out of the cave. Looking at the blizzard outside, I couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"It's a new day. I hope I can be lucky today." Although I wasn't religious, I couldn't help but pray.
This was the third day since the blizzard started. I was convinced that the snow would stop soon. This island once had so many flowers and such a vibrant, bustling forest. If the blizzard raged for too long, those trees and animals, even in hibernation, would freeze to death. How would they reemerge in the spring?
'The snow will stop, and the sun will come out.' I kept repeating this to myself, as if it could warm me up and give me more strength to keep walking.
In the vast expanse of snow, I trekked alone, feeling as if the world had vanished, leaving only me trudging forward in exhaustion. Everything looked the same, and even after walking for an hour or two, I felt like I was still in the same place.
The agony of finding nothing tormented me. As I looked at the endless white around me, a sense of despair welled up. There were countless moments when I wanted to give up, lie down in the snow, and never get up again.
Death might have been a relief; I wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore. But every time this thought crossed my mind, the faces of those girls waiting for me back in the cave would appear. They were eagerly hoping for my safe return with food.
They had entrusted me with the only snow jacket we had, putting their lives in my hands. How could I give up so easily? I had to survive, for myself and for the responsibility I bore.
Thinking of this filled me with renewed strength. I pulled myself together and continued searching for prey. After some time, a strong scent of blood caught my attention, revitalizing my spirits.
'I can smell blood. There should be an animal carcass nearby.' Any kind of animal meant a glimmer of hope.
I gripped my gun tightly. With the gun in my hand, I felt ready to face any creature.
I started searching the surroundings carefully, trying to locate the source of the blood scent. As I walked over a mound of snow, I felt something unusual underfoot.
Curious, I crouched down and dug into the snow. My eyes lit up when I uncovered what was beneath. There, buried in the mounds of snow, were several animal carcasses! Although only a bit of their fur was exposed, and I couldn't identify the animals immediately, I could tell that their bodies had no major wounds, meaning the meat should still be intact.
These poor creatures had likely died of hunger and cold. Finding them felt like a blessing. I was so excited that I wanted to shout.
I cleared the snow quickly around the carcasses, but as I took a closer look, I was horrified.
- Writer
