Frostpunk: The Last City On Earth

Chapter 10: A Small Act Of Kindness

Jack runs back up to the bear, holding the flares tightly in his hands, "Back off!" Jack warned. The bear started to back away from him.

"It's working," Jack calls out to Walter.

"Yeah, but we still need to get the other one." Walter reached into his backpack and pulled out two more flares. He passes them over to John.

"Here, John. Take these."

John grabs the flares, "Light them up and help Jack. Drive the bears away."

John nods, "Uh, okay. I'll try." He lights up the flares, and he runs to Jack.

Walter mumbled, "This plan better work."

Walter gets up and covers the two of them.

Jack looks behind and sees John, "Hey, there you are. I didn't think you would be this bold too."

"Yeah, well, your friend told me to help you out. And fending off bears isn't my thing." John said. "We need to distract them."

"Let's try and get closer to the cave. If we're lucky, maybe your group would help us."

"And if they don't?" John asked.

"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it," Jack said. "Now, let's move. These flares won't last very long."

They began to move towards the cave slowly.

"Hey, it looks like your friends are coming out of the cave to help us," Walter said.

"Oh, looks like they did help us," Jack said.

The others joined in, "Get back, beasts!"

The bears were back away from the cave. They couldn't do anything as the flares continued to threaten them.

With one final growl, they finally leave them alone.

The survivors gathered around Jack and Walter. Shaking hands and thanking them for their help.

"We did it!"

"We're saved!"

"Wow, you two are the craziest people I've met."

"It's alright now. You're safe." Jack said.

Walter tried his best to smile back.

"Wait, what about her?" Jack walks up to the body of the poor lady who got killed by the bear.

"Does anyone know her?" Jack asked.

But they shook their heads. "We were just a group of strangers when we left our home."

"We should bury her, at least."

They bury her under the snow, not too close to the cave.

"Man, I'm so hungry." One of them suddenly blurted out.

"What?" Jack said.

"We ran out of food for a while now."

"Wait, so you guys haven't eaten anything yet?" Jack asked.

They nodded their heads.

Jack thought about it for a moment. He got on his knees and started searching through his bag again, "What are you doing?" Walter asked.

Jack pulled out his lunch box. It was still warm. And the smell of food was still fresh.

"You got food?" One of them asked. They gaze at the box, "A warm meal. Never had one since the purge."

"It smells good." One of the children said.

"Jack." Walter wanted to protest.

"No, Walter. Look at them. They are starving, and they need this more than I do." Jack said.

Walter looks at him, then back at them.

"Sigh, fine." Walter reaches into his bag and pulls out his rations as well. "Thanks, Walter."

"I'm only doing this because they're hungry, Jack."

They handed them their boxes of warm food. It was a much-needed aid of ease.

"Why don't we head back inside the cave for a while? It's cold out here," Jack asked.

"Sure, it's safe now without the bears. Come, we've already got a fire going."

"Thank you so much."

"Share this out with the others," Jack said.

Jack and Walter watched as they ate their food. They fed the children first.

One of them started crying, "I haven't eaten a good meal in weeks."

"This is a godsend."

Jack warms himself while Walter starts questioning them, "We have a few questions about you guys."

"Sure. Ask away."

"First off, where did you guys come from?" Walter asked, "Are you from Winterhome?"

"No, not Winterhome. We came from Tesla city." John answered.

"Tesla city? What's that?" Jack asked.

"It's a city founded by Nikolas Tesla. The founder of Tesla Manufacturing. You've heard of them before, right?"

The two scouts shake their heads, "No, not much."

"Well, something happened. And people were exiled or fled. That's us. It was too dangerous to stay. We had to leave."

"What was it that caused all this trouble?" Walter asked.

"We don't know. Just some cult members started preaching about the new age or something. They were executing people, and not many agreed with them. Tesla himself disappeared soon after."

"Where is the city then?" Jack asked.

"Don't go there!" Everyone shouted.

Jack raised his hands in defense, "Okay. Okay, we won't. Sorry for asking."

"Well, after Tesla, we have nowhere else to go. We've traveled for a while now."

"Will you take us? To your home, I mean." Jane asked.

"No, we can't go home yet. We still got to check that observatory place. There might be something useful over there."

"Oh."

"We can send another scout team to pick you up. I can radio on a message for you." Walter said.

"Yes, thank you, please."

Walter nods, pulling out his radio, "Scout team one to New London. Come in New London."

"Go ahead, Walter. What's the problem?" Asked the radio officer.

"We found another group of survivors over here at the cave. They got attacked by bears, but we managed to drive them off. They said they're from Tesla city."

"Wait, did you say you've encountered bears? Holy shit, Walter. Is Jack okay?"

"He's fine, but don't forget about the survivors." Walter reminded.

"More survivors? How many are there?"

Walter did a quick headcount, "About 30 plus people over here. Listen, can you send another scout team to come here and pick them up? Jack and I still need to head over to the observatory site."

"Uh, sure. Just send your coordinates, and I'll organize a team."

"Thank you."

"Hey, you want me to bring this over to the captain?"

"Yeah, but don't include the bears, please."

"Heh, okay."

Walter gives their coordinates and puts the radio away, "Alright, sit tight. Help is on the way."

"Thanks again. You two have been a lot of help to us."

"It's nothing. We're just happy to help when we can." Jack said.

Walter rolled his eyes.

"Wait, here, take this. It's one of the weapons we took from Tesla city." John said. He hands Walter a strange baton.

"Thanks. Uh, what is it?" Walter asked.

"It's a shock baton. I stole it from one of the guards while trying to leave the city. Go ahead, try it."

Walter presses a button, and bright purple electricity immediately engulfs the weapon. "Woah, that's impressive."

"Yeah, it is."

"But don't you need it? In case the bears come back?" Jack asked.

"We have more of those. We'll be fine."

Suddenly, the sound of a bear came from outside.

"What was that!?"

"Oh god, it's another bear!"

Out of the corner of the cave, there was a shadow of a bear. "Everyone get back! Jack, get the flares!"

Jack searches his bag, "I'm out of flares. That were my only two flares! What about you, Walter?"

"I only brought two as well." Walter aims with his rifle.

"Get ready."

Jack took the baton and braced himself.

The shadow approached, and out in the entrance was a tiny white cub.

They stared at each other.

"It's just a single cub," Walter said.

"That is the most adorable thing I have ever seen," Jack said. He reaches out for it, "Jack, please don't."

"Oh, come on, Walter. It's only a cub." Jack whines. "Those two must have been its parents."

"Yeah, and we made them leave it behind too."

"Well, we can't just leave it here. This little guy can't survive on its own." Jack said.

"Yes, it can. And for the last time, Jack. No."

/-/

"Look at this little guy. He's so cute." Jack said as he carried the cub in his arms.

"I can't believe this." Walter sighs. "I hate this. Why I said no."

"But look at him, Walter." Jack shoves the bear in his face. "Look at his cute little face. Can you say no to that?"

The cub purrs to him.

"Kill me."

"Hey, would you look at him at least?"

"Kill me now."

"I wonder what I should name him?"

"Please."


A/N: Bears can purr, kinda. I thought this little addition will spice up the story. A tiny bear companion. I think this story is slowly creeping its way to making Jack and Walter the main protagonist and not the captain. But a story about the scouts is not bad either.

Not a lot of stories about Frostpunk though.

And that small scene where Jack and Walter give up their food to the survivors. I was planning to write a little eating session with them and have them talk about the whole frost situation. But this scene was too good to ignore it.

Also, Tesla city. It's a bit early to discover it now. But this is a new path where it doesn't follow everything from the game. How advanced are the weapons in Frostpunk? I'm not sure but maybe they didn't improve much on it.

Thanks for reading.