Chapter Two: Glacial
January - Day 3
Mai couldn't remember being colder in her entire life - to include the various supernatural experiences she'd been through over her year as one of Naru's employee's. It was two days from when they spoke to the woman that she later learned was Dr. Lisa Morris. They were already flying over the lower continent toward their final destination and no one seemed particularly comfortable.
She was surprised that everyone agreed to come along - it was always nice to have everyone together but she didn't think that everyone would agree to it. Naru must have pulled something to get Masako to travel to the south pole. He and Lin had spent the whole of the flight in the front of the three rows looking at their computers and trying to research every possible thing they could - it wasn't as if there was a lot of information in regards to the area. She wondered if they were even still looking up that kind of thing as they were still busily typing away, likely they'd started searching elsewhere for anything related to the strange happenings that they could find.
She was close to where they were on the large helicopter and had spent her hours eyeing the rest of the group. She had been unlucky enough to end up by one of the doors - which she could swear made her colder than the rest. She might still be tired but it was hard to think about sleeping when you were shivering.
Next to her Yasuhara had fallen asleep on Ayoko's shoulder and Ayoko had set her head back on the young student's and was drooling a little into his hair. That much made her stifle a giggle, she had to remember to start bringing a camera if they went on anymore long adventures. Moving along John was on the other side of Ayoko and was reading his bible, apparently having the same trouble sleeping Mai was.
The third and final row with people had the doctor as snuggled as she could get with a blanket over her and one of the C-shaped travel pillows. Next to her Bou had passed out with his head hanging over the back of the seat itself, arms over either side of the ladies next to him. Masako had snuggled up against the larger male she was seated with - probably for warmth given the temperature. Next to the priestess a sour looking older man was rubbing his arms between occasionally glancing at everyone much like Mai had been.
He was Mr. Halliford, one of the people funding the Glaicier Project that had apparently insisted on coming along with this 'nonsense psychic investigator' so he could see things get done correctly. In what little time Mai had seen him the guy was very rude and seemed generally unhappy no matter the circumstances. She had to give him the benefit of the doubt though - this part of the trip had been horrible given the lack of heat.
There was a fourth row in the fairly big copter but it had been completely filled with supplies, rations, and all the equipment that Lin and Naru could manage to fit and still have a safe flight weight. Mai frowned a little at that, she could have sworn he'd of rather gotten rid of a few team members for some extra pieces of his personal apparatus.
Mai herself wasn't holding up as well as she was putting forward, she likely hadn't gotten more than a hour or two more of sleep the night before they left and as tempting as unconsciousness was now she doubting even trying would do her much good. Once they arrived and she was somewhere warm?
"I just hope I don't pass out in the first warm room we come across." She thought to herself absently. "Though I imagine that would make Naru happy - well, only if I made the tea before I did."
Whatever other thoughts she might have had about the arrival were interrupted when the whole copter shuddered and they would have been piled everywhere if they hadn't been wearing the small seatbelts that kept them in place.
Mai yelped at the disturbance, Masako following with a shriek of her own. Masako was clinging to Bou and Ayoko was being clung to by Yasuhara. The old man had grabbed onto his seat and the one next to him - the doctor and Ayoko hadn't even woken up. Bou was grinning a little at the priestess holding onto his side until she realized things had evened out and they were safe and slapped him before straightening her kimono and huffing her indignation.
Lin had managed to save the laptops he and Naru were working on and Naru had already leaned up to the cab to ask them what was going on by the time Mai calmed herself down and her gaze had gotten back to the front.
"What was that?" Bou asked, still smiling a little despite the growing redness on his cheek.
Naru didn't seem amused when he turned around, letting the pilot explain things himself.
"Sorry about that folks." There was no intercom so he was forced to yell over the hum of the blades and engine. "There was some sort of electrical short out for a moment but things seem to be fine now and we'll be landing at the Project shortly, please be prepared to get off in the next few minutes."
"Don't you think they would have told us sooner that they were landing anyway?" The old man muttered in complaint to Masako who nodded a little in agreement and they started to discuss how horrible this place was already. At least Masako found someone that would be irritated at all the little incontinences of the world with her.
The announcement woke up the doctor where the helicopter shaking hadn't; though Ayako was still snoozing soundly.
"Yasuhara…" Mai whispered. "You should probably disentangle yourself from Ayako before she wakes up and murders you."
The college student glanced toward Mai and nodded a bit, removing his arms from when he'd grabbed her during the scare.
"That was fun to wake up to." He announced with a smile.
Mai eyed him skeptically. "At least you probably aren't lying - for once. Just remember to wash your hair once you get to a shower."
He glanced back to Mai a little confused at that random comment and just shook his head a bit, turning to wake up the shrine maiden who could apparently sleep through anything.
"Ayoko." He shook her gently. "We're almost there, you need to get dressed."
"Hmm?" She yawned a little and stretched, completely unaware of the scare that had woken most of the rest of the plane as she blinked and looked around. "Already? Seems like we just left."
"Well at least she won't have trouble with the insomnia it seems like." Bou commented as he started to get all the layers of extra clothes on with everyone else getting ready for the landing. "I think she'd still be snoozing if we flew into outer space."
"Ha, ha." she replied slowly. "Just because some of us are sounder sleepers than others."
"Better at drooling too." Naru commented as he put on the extra layers of felt like the rest. "There's still some on your chin."
The shrine maiden jumped at the comment and wiped at the spit that still lingered on her face.
She muttered something under her breath but didn't want to open herself up for anymore jokes at her expense so remained mostly quiet as she moved around to start getting all the heavy coats on herself.
They looked like a bunch of oompa loompa's in the heavy orange and green coats that the Project had provided for them.
"Is there a reason your group chose Orange?" Bou asked as he looked over himself skeptically. "Did you get a special discount for getting the color no one else would buy?"
"Honestly, yes." The doctor replied with a chuckle. "I know they aren't the most stylish of things but they're very warm and the color pattern stands out should someone get lost outside of the small hamlet itself."
"Is that a common occurrence?" Masako asked with some small measure of concern in her tone, she wasn't happy with her new color coding either but she was happy not to freeze. "We shouldn't be having to leave the small community itself will we?"
"We wouldn't approve of you all heading outside anyway." The doctor replied with a shake of her head. "None of you have had the training to survive in this sort of environment and there have already been enough deaths involved in this."
"It is likely that at some point we will need to go outside of your set boundaries." Naru put his word in, despite the slight dismay of the dark haired priestess. "I won't make any members of my team go out that don't want to."
Masako almost relaxed visibly at that announcement.
"However, it might come down to some sort of issue that is outside of the walls themselves. I'd imagine it is actually something that was here before your project ever came so likely count on us needing to transverse outside." He finished explaining to the doctor right before the helicopter came to a fairly soft landing.
The blast of glacial air hit Mai like a brick wall, it cut into the little bit of visible skin around her eyes like thousands of cuts. It instantly made her eyes ache and become dry and even with things over the rest of her body it still felt chilled just by stepping onto the ground. As if she'd hopped into a pool filled with ice water and it was just taking a little longer for the moisture to sink through her heavy clothing. It was hard to breath and she stumbled a little on her way after the doctor to the inside, half-wanting to cry at how much it reminded her of the nightmare she'd kept having lately.
There were few times in her short life that matched the relief she felt when she got into the warmer room inside. Only a little aware of the others following in behind her and looking around. The place seemed to built as a series of separated rooms connected by cylinder like hallways. It was semi-futuristic but had a lot of areas that were very comfortable in nature. The idea originally had been to make it a place where families could live with the researchers out here.
The tour wasn't long really, just drawn out cause the hallways made it seem larger than it was. There were separated sections; a set more secured section for the researchers, living quarters for single researchers and separate ones for family units, there was a large area set aside for recreation though some it wasn't completely built yet and then a area for classrooms for any children that might join parents. It was certainly well prepared, in the center of everything was a cafeteria and kitchen area where most of the foodstuffs were kept.
They were given one of the larger family units to share between themselves, the one closest to the cafeteria, explaining that the less power they put into areas the safest and more efficient it was for the Project itself. Though it was late and they probably wouldn't see any of the other researchers until the next day. The doctor left them with their boxes and other equipment in the large family area they were sharing and said that the people here would do what they could to help them set things up after they had a chance to sleep.
This time of year the area rarely had daylight hours so the digital and other battery operated clocks that were hung just about in every room was the best way to keep track of the time.
After the load of information she left them to themselves to look over the new home they were sharing.
"This is actually very nice." Bou observed as he looked over a small floor map of their 'home' on the wall. "Five bedrooms, three baths, two different common areas and a small kitchette and laundry room of our own. An apartment like this in Tokyo is unheard of for anything less than…well what we could afford anyway."
"Speak for yourself." Naru replied to the monk as he moved his personal bags into a room with Lin, it was no surprise the two would bunk together. "Yasuhara, Ayoko, Bou, take the three smaller rooms to yourself. Mai and Masako, you two share the final bedroom."
Mai frowned a little but didn't get a chance to protest before the priestess spoke up.
"Why do I have to stay with Mai? Why can't Ayoko do it?" Masako protested, though kept her voice fairly calm.
"Or why can't the ladies each have rooms of our own and have Bou and Yasuhara stay together?" Ayoko piped in. "I'm sure us ladies would appreciate rooms of our own more than either of them. They are used to sharing space."
"Good point." Bou agreed, he didn't want to see the fireworks between Masako and Mai if they had to share a room together. "I wouldn't mind staying with Yasuhara."
"I don't have a problem with it." Yasuhara said with a small shrug. "I normally have a roommate anyway, no difference for me."
"It won't work." Naru replied calmly. "Someone needs to be there in case Mai has one of her dreams and Ayoko can't be trusted to wake up if the ceiling caves in."
The red-haired shrine maiden huffed and grabbed her bag. "Fine. I get to be alone either way."
She stormed off to one of the rooms, apparently claiming that one for her own and leaving the argument after the last comment.
"Think you'd be used to it." Bou called with a smirk after her. "Well, I guess that does make sense. Sorry Masako, Mai, don't kill each other."
He and Yasuhara wandered off to rooms of their own. Mai just nodded a little, she was a bit too tired to care; she would be angry at Naru later for the room assignments. Though the irritation in Masako's face at her easy agreement was enough to make her smile a little as she passed her by and headed into her room to take the extra clothes off and fall asleep.
"We'll talk about this later." Masako promised Naru and picked up her bag to move daintily into her room after Mai.
"I guess it won't be so bad if she's just going to keep to herself like that." Masako thought as she settled her bag down, she had barely opened it when she noted that Mai had already tossed her clothes on the floor and gone to sleep on the bed without even crawling under the covers. "Though she'll definitely have to keep things cleaner or this will never work."
The priestess settled some of her things in the drawers and then stashed the empty bag under the bed, she had gotten on pajamas and was getting ready to sleep herself when Mai started to mutter in her sleep.
"So much for rest…"
End Chapter
Sorry that things are still a little slow. I had lots of details to go over to start setting things up a little more. Next chapter the action should pick up a bit.
-Aura
To my reviewers:
zeroseconds - I wanted to go for something original and I thought that it was new.
AirStriker - Guess you got what you expected?
Miss.Margaret - Hope you keep enjoying it.
Ayjah - Thank you.
