Chapter 433
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According to the smart-phone Eve was getting closer, making progress, however slowly. This snow was sludgy, but there seemed to be a solid icy surface beneath this snow. This allowed Eve to walk, but the snow was damaging her suit and there seemed to be no way to stop it from getting into Eve's clothes. She could only hope that the Ark could give her medical treatment when she arrived. The Arks weren't replying to her transmissions. She couldn't blame them, Adam couldn't listen to other refugees' transmissions. That would make it difficult to turn them away if they came. But during her transmissions Eve managed to make a friend. His name was Omar, he seemed to be both starving and frezing, and he only spoke arabic. They talked, neither was certain what the other was saying, but they told each other their stories. Eve might not know exactly what Omar's story was, a part of her hoped Omar didn't understand her story. But it helped a little to talk to someone.
Omar's skin was turning blue, he looked like skin and bones. And yet Omar looked like he felt sorry for Eve. She wondered, did she look even worse to him? As far as Eve could tell Omar's shelter was destroyed. He was also making his way to an Ark. Eve wasn't actually sure what country Omar was from originally. Not that it matterred anymore. Those countries were gone, the Arks would become new countries soon. Eve ate the little food she had. Omar ate his at the same time. It almost felt like sharing a meal with a friend. Omar tried to talk to Eve about Allah. He seemed unaware that she was once a muslim She'd been a catholic, a muslim, a born-again christian, part of a death cult, and at one point claimed to have made a pact with the devil. As much as Eve wanted to believe that God would forgive her sins, it seemed that she'd betrayed or abandoned just about everyone she'd ever loved, and everything she'd ever believed in. Eve still hoped she could get into Heaven, maybe because she'd already served her time in Hell. At the moment christianity seemed her best chance, and she'd alegendly already made that once and for all commitment If Christ could forgive her sins, he could truley forgive anyone. She tried talking to Omar about Christ, he tried talking to Eve about islam. It seemed these two friends were at a stand-still.
The smart-phone said it was November 30th, 2036. Eve tried contacting her friend Omar, no answer. She'd already eaten all of her food, the oxygen tank was almost empty, and the gun was likely useless. Exhaustion and hypothermia were taking their tolls on her body. Eve still continued her trek, it seemed better than just giving up. She feared she'd die soon, be sentanced to Hell for all eternity for her various sins. Depending on how bad Hell was, Eve might actually look back on this experience with fondness. She was still slouching towards Bethlehem, and ther was another fear. Adam had been the canary in the mine, his shelter had failed, would the Arks also fail? Even if she were accepted, it might be a very temporary solution to the hovering darkness. But, even if that happenned, Eve would coninue to fight until the very moment she was too weak to resist and laid down to be taken by the cold embrace of the snow.