It was cold, really cold. I woke up with my entire body covered with ice. I sat up slowly looking around. It was all blue and frozen. The fire was still going somehow still going. I saw Chelsea and Max huddling looking very scared. They both faced me. They both looked at me like that needed an idea from me to save them. I looked around trying to get an idea.
"Come on, Doctor, think." I said to myself. We weren't going to last much longer. I hit my head trying to generate an idea. I thought, 'with all of this weather change, there has to be something generating it. It had to be in a place where it could reach all of the dome. Then i shouted in excitement.
"AHA!" I shouted. I ran to the edge of the dome, which was covered with ice, and looked at where it met the earth. It was ever so slightly curved. That meant that it had to be perfectly straight a few feet down.
I ran to where the middle would be in the dome. I tried to dig. The ground was frozen solid. I hit it as hard as I could. I had to get to dirt. I kept hitting over and over until I made a crack. I pulled the edges of the crack apart. I saw dirt. I smiled in joy and started digging.
After a few minutes, I felt something, not dirt. I hit it a few times. It was metal. I tried to pull it out with my hands, which didn't work. I dug around the metal object to try to get a better grip. It worked. I pulled out what appeared to be a metal ball, It reminded me of the toclifane, which wasn't a good memory. I pulled out my sonic screwdriver. I scanned it with setting 31A. The ball opened revealing a light that had the label 'Connected' next to it. I ran over to Chelsea and Max.
"I found it!" I said happily. They looked at me with blank faces.
"W-Wh-What?" Max asked.
"The source. This ball, if I'm right, is what's controlling all of this freak weather." I said to her. Max tried to smile, but went back to the blank face. Chelsea looked a bit confused.
"Why d-di-didn't you deac-deactivate it yet?" She asked me. I sighed.
"I don't know how much it will deactivate. For all I know, it could deactivate the air filtration system for max, or for all of us for that matter. Or it could destroy the dome. But it could kill us in the process." I said to the two shivering girls sitting down. They both looked at each other then back at me. Chelsea was about to talk before she was interrupted by Max.
"I'll take the risk." She said. I rose an eyebrow.
"Why are you so enthusiastic?" I asked her.
"I'm not scared of dying. And anyway, all that's waiting for me out there is probably a mental institution. I don't mind running away from a mental asylum but it would be easier having this way out." She said. Chelsea seemed a bit upset.
"You're saying you want to die?" She asked. Max shrugged.
"I don't know if I want it, but it would be easier." She said to Chelsea. Chelsea looked back at me. I just stated what she wanted.
"Ok, one vote for yes, Chelsea, what do you think?" I asked. Chelsea looked at me like I WAs insane.
"Wait, you're not against that? Are you insane?" Chelsea said, standing up and letting the blanket fall off of her. Max quickly grabbed it to stay warm.
"Look, all I want to know is if we want to deactivate this thing. I need to know as soon as possible so any answer is one I'll gladly take." I said. I clearly said the wrong thing as Chelsea punched me, knocking the ball out of my hand. I looked up at her with a questioning look.
"What the hell was that for?" I asked her.
"I don't care if we may die here, but you are not letting that girl pick because of that reason." She yelled at me. I stood up immediately.
"You're right. But either way, we're dead if we don't pick soon!" I shouted back.
"I don't care." She said to me. I sighed. I went to Max.
"You need to listen to me." I demanded. She nodded slowly.
"I need you to forget everything right now. Everything that you think will happen or may happen. You need to be in the moment. Right now, if you don't make this decision, then you will freeze to death along with me and Chelsea. I won't deactivate this thing without consent from everyone. So right now, in this exact moment., do you want to freeze to death?" I asked her. She hesitated. She was clearly thinking.
"I-I don't know. I've been through so much, I don't know if I can keep-" At this point I cut her off.
"Oh stop deflecting! I'm asking you if you want to live or die right now, you can't even tell me that!" I yelled. She seemed really surprised.
"What do you want me to do? Cry?" She asked, trying to take back some authority.
Yes! I want you to show that your life has meaning to you! Because right now, I don't know. That's what you're deciding right now, your life." I yelled at her. She seemed scared out of her mind. She stayed silent. I got up to throw the ball back into the hole I dug. But Max grabbed my arm. She had small tears coming down her face.
"I-I don't want to die. I don't." She said, no longer stuttering due to her being cold but due to her trying to hold back tears. I nodded and looked at Chelsea.
"There you go, now are we all in agreement?" I asked. Chelsea and Max nodded. "Right then, I haven't said this in a long time, Geronimo." I said buzzing the ball. The light turned off. I looked up to see any changes. At first there we none, but then the snow got less crazy. Eventually it started to heat up in the Dome. All the snow melted very fast. I dropped the ball onto the ground which was now snow free. Chelsea laughed in excitement.
"HA HA! You did it!" She said excitingly. Then she saw the look of concern on my face. "What?" She asked.
"We broke the rules. We tempered with the system giving us challenges. We basically went against whoever wanted us to face the challenges. I'm wondering what the punishment will be." I said to Chelsea. All of the sudden, the opening at the top of the dome appeared. A paper airplane flew through. It seemed to come specifically towards us. I caught it mid air and opened it up. I read it outloud
"That wasn't what you were supposed to do. You have broken the system you had to follow. For this, tomorrow, comes your final challenge. Say your goodbyes while you still can." I finished the letter and looked at the two girls. Chelsea seemed confused while Max was a bit scared.
"Doctor, what does that mean?" Max asked.
"Our punishment." I responded.