Nothingness dissipated.

  I could feel my body again. Stiffness in my limbs, the dull ache in my joints. Like waking up from a nap where you slept at an odd angle. After moving around a bit, I started to feel this chill that wrapped itself around me like a second skin.

  Darkness was suddenly replaced by light. Blinding, as I forced my eyes open. I was tired but filled with renewed vigor. I can’t remember…well, anything actually. How did I get here? I sat upright, frozen to the bed I’d been lying on, but somehow... still breathing. Still here.

  The cold bit at my skin, and I shivered. The freezing air seeped into my bones, making it clear, whatever happened, I wasn’t where I’d been. This place... it wasn’t home.

  I blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog from my mind. But nothing came. No memories. No names.

  “Ah... you’re awake,” a voice said, soft and almost relieved. It sounded ethereal, emanating a direction but not a single point in space.

  Confused, I turned toward the sound, my gaze landing on a figure. It wasn’t human… I think? The figure was a translucent presence, glowing faintly in the dim, icy light, hovering just a few feet away. Its shape was ethereal, flickering like a candle’s flame in a gust of wind.

  Yeah, not human. What the hell is this thing?

  “You’ve been resurrected,” it said, almost as if it was reassuring itself. “I didn’t know what to expect, but here you are.”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out at first. My throat was dry, like I hadn’t used it in ages. Clearing it, I tried again. “I’m sorry, resurrected? What the hell are you talking about? What even are you? Where am I? What happened? What is this place? Why is it so damn cold?” My mind raced at a thousand miles per hour. “Why can’t I remember anything? Who am I? Why can’t I remember my name? How the hell am I alive if I died? What are you? Am I losing my mind?” My mind raced with thousands of questions, and my mouth struggled to keep up. Focus. Nothing will happen if I let myself be overwhelmed here. Think.

  I breathed in and out, trying to calm myself down. How do I remember that breathing calms the mind down? Why can I remember that but not my name?

  The floating blotch of light’s voice was calm. “Most of your memories were lost when you were revived. Frivolous things such as faces, people, names...” It paused before speaking again. “Who you were? That’s gone. I’m sorry.”

  We sat in silence as the weight of what was said sank into me.

  “But not all hope is lost,” The light ball said, “just rely on muscle memory, you’ll be okay.” He hovered closer, his glow steady. “As for who I am, I’m your Phantom,” it said carefully. “I brought you back. You were… well, you died. But I saved you! I kept you from staying dead.”

  A chill ran through me at the word “died.” That didn’t make sense. I died? I had to be dreaming. Or worse. But the cold around me, the frost on the walls of the tent, everything felt too real.

  “You’re not... you’re not real, are you?” I asked, still half in disbelief. “This isn’t real. Is this the afterlife? You said I died?”

  The Phantom hovered closer, its light flickering more brightly for a moment. “I am real.” There was a hesitation in its voice, as if it was struggling to find the right words. “This is a temporary shelter. We’re in the middle of nowhere. There’s no one else. Everyone else... well, they didn’t make it.”

  My chest tightened. The weight of the words settled on me like a heavy blanket. Everyone else? What the hell was going on?

  I finally decided to check my surroundings. The roof of the tent was cracked like brittle plastic, letting the light of the sun inside. We were in an ornate tent with a few boxes scattered around the room. Ice covered them like a thin layer of glass. The cot I have been lying on cracked with every movement. I must have been frozen to it. My clothes thankfully seemed to have come back with me: a fur-lined coat and thick pants with boots on, protecting me from the frozen world.

  “Where am I?” I asked, my voice rough. “What happened to me?”

  The Phantom’s glow dimmed slightly as it floated just out of my reach, like it didn’t want to get too close. “I don’t know, my guess is something happened and you froze to death,” it said, “I found you, and well, I brought you back. But this place isn’t safe. I don’t think you can stay here. On my way here, I saw a storm in the distance. With how brittle everything is, it will probably tear through this place,” the creature said while whirling around the room, it seemed to inspect the walls of this tent.

  I tried to stand, but my legs were stiff, my body uncooperative. It took me a few attempts, but eventually, I managed to plant my feet firmly on the cold, uneven ground. The moment I stood, I stumbled. My body was still foreign to me, like it didn’t belong. Or worse…

  I didn’t belong.

  Enough of that thought process, I’m here now, so I’ll deal with it.

  The Phantom hovered behind me, watching intently. “You’re... not fully yourself yet. The process is... complicated. But you’ll get the hang of it. Eventually.”

  I rubbed my face, the cold making it hard to focus. "Hang of what? Living?”

  The Phantom paused, its glow flickering again. "Reviving. I can explain more, but right now, you can’t afford to waste too much energy on questions. Focus on surviving first. I'll answer your questions later, but we should get moving.” The hovering light said. Its voice laced with urgency and worry.

  I looked down at my hands. They were fleshy and pink. The world around me looked like it had been frozen in time, the remnants of something that once resembled life. The Phantom was right. I can't stay here, else I’ll just freeze to death again. There was no warmth. No sound except for the eerie stillness.

  I stood up, more sure than before. What we needed was to take inventory of what we have and leave. First up, we need supplies.

  I turned back to the boxes around the tent, each one coated with a layer of ice thick enough to make them look like fragile sculptures, delicate and crystalline, frozen to each other or the walls. I had to start somewhere. It wasn’t like I had much of a choice. Whatever was inside these had to be useful, right? I looked around for the best way to start, one of the boxes was out of the way, not frozen to anything but the floor.

  I stepped forward, the cold creeping deeper into my bones. My fingers ached from the chill, but I grit my teeth and focused.

  With a grunt, squatted down to the box. The ice was like glass, smooth, hard, but looked brittle enough. I hammered my fist into it, sending jagged cracks spiderwebbing through the surface. A few more strikes, and it shattered, sounding like glass.

  I rubbed my cold hand and peeked inside, hoping for something, anything, that could help me make sense of what was going on. But all I saw was more ice. The contents inside had frozen solid, and the moment I tried to touch anything, it shattered. Everything inside was useless. Broken clothes and shattered tools. The ice had seeped into everything. There was no warmth, no life, just cold and dead weight.

  I kicked the box in frustration, the shards of ice spiderwebbing out and falling to the floor. It was kinda satisfying. But I didn’t have the energy to stick around, and I couldn’t afford to waste time on anger.

  I moved to another box, repeating the process, and the result was the same. More frozen, useless junk. It was like everything here had been forgotten, left to die in this frozen wasteland. No tools, no supplies, nothing of value.

  I sighed, frustrated, and kicked the box again, watching as more shards of ice spilled onto the floor. “Great. Nothing useful. Do you know if there is anything useful around?” I said to the ball of light.

  There was a pause, and then the Phantom’s voice, gentle but steady, cut through the silence.

  “I think there was something outside that may have survived. I remember a larger tent, maybe it has something inside?” Their voice had that familiar, measured calm, but something about it felt different now, less distant.

  I turned to face it, rubbing my hands together to generate some warmth. He was right. I was afraid of what was outside, but I should stop stalling and go see what horrors lie outside this tent.

  Wait, ‘he’? I stared at the phantom. What do I even call this guy? Its voice was kinda masculine but…

  The figure flickered slightly under my scrutiny, almost like it was uncertain. “What is it?”

  “What do I call you? I’m not calling you ‘Phantom’ over and over.”

  There was a brief silence. The Phantom’s light dimmed slightly, like they were considering my words, and then they responded in that calm, collected tone.

  “Vesper,” they said simply. “You can call me Vesper.”

  “Vesper, huh?” I repeated, trying the name out loud. “That works.”

  The figure seemed to flicker, a subtle warmth to their glow. “I think it suits me,” Vesper said, their tone almost a hint of amusement.

  “Wait you just came up with that?” I asked, confused.

  “Well, yeah… not like anyone named me before,” Vesper replied, almost chuckling.

  “You know what, fair enough. Vesper, it is. Where do you come from? Is there more of your kind?” I asked as I walked toward to tent flap that was frozen shut.

  “There are more of my kind, yes, but I don’t really know them. All I know is that when I came into existence, I felt a presence and was pulled to it. Now I'm here. I know I was supposed to revive you but I'm not entirely sure why,” Vesper said, looking dimmer, almost confused.

  “So we’re both lost in the dark?” I asked as I touched the tent flap. It was like a wall of ice.

  Vesper’s form flickered, their light dimming then glowing over and over. Sounds of chuckling emanated from the light, “hahaha, yeah, I guess we are... But we really should get out of this room, you said nothing was useful, so onwards we go.” Vesper said while doing the equivalent of nodding towards the door.

  I nodded back, still rubbing my hands together. The cold wasn’t letting up, and nothing here would help me survive.

  I tried pushing the flap of the tent, but I was only met with resistance. It was like trying to push a wall.

  I decided to kick the wall.

  It barely cracked.

  I kicked harder and broke a jagged hole around my boot. That’s funny, this cloth flap was more glass than wall.

  I pushed through the hole I made, breaking off more and more pieces till I could get my body through, carefully avoiding cutting my hands on the ice.

  Stepping out into the open air. It was worse outside than it had been inside. The wind bit into my skin, making my breath fog up in front of me and forcing me to tuck my hands into my jacket. I needed gloves, but as it was, everything was frozen and useless. As I looked around, the landscape was a maze of splintered ice, jagged spires jutting toward the sky like the frozen ribs of a shattered world. Between them, deep fractures split the earth, narrow at first but widening into dark, gaping chasms that seemed to stretch endlessly downward. The air was heavy with the quiet groan of shifting ice; it felt like the ground itself was never truly still.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  After looking around, I noticed the tent that Vesper was talking about. A larger tent a few paces in the distance, standing out against the smaller, shattered tents.

  I started walking toward it, Vesper floating behind me, his light flickering more erratically as if sensing my movement.

  Any one of those shattered tents could have been mine, but thankfully, mine seemed to be protected better by the environment. A dune, if you could call it that, made of ice was built right up against my tent, protecting it from the elements.

  That's nice.

  Looking back at the larger tent, it looked important. It was bigger, sturdier than the others. There were no cracks in the roof, and the flap wasn’t frozen shut.

  A supply tent, maybe… hopefully.

  The thought sparked a small flame of hope in my chest. There might be something usable inside.

  As I reached the tent, I paused, eyeing the entrance. It was made of higher quality material with no frost layering the door or blocking the way. That had to mean something good, right? I gritted my teeth and pulled open the flap, half-expecting another disappointment.

  But when I stepped inside, the chill was just a little less biting. The inside of the tent was dark, but not completely frozen. Inside were lockers, and in the far corner, stacked against the walls, were crates. Big ones, ones that might actually contain something useful.

  Vesper drifted into the room, bathing the area in light.

  “This better be holding supplies,” I said quietly.

  Vesper floated closer now. His voice was steady, firm. “Seems like it, or at the very least it seems usable,” he said.

  I looked at the lockers that lined the wall. Maybe I could force one open or crack it open like I had with that brittle crate earlier. The conditions in this tent were better, but still, it was worth a shot.

  I can deal with the lockers later, I thought to myself, as the large crates were holding my attention more.

  I walked to them, praying that they held useful things inside. I brushed the light frost from its surface. The wood was thick, and when I knocked against it, the sound was solid. Sturdier than the boxes in my tent. That was promising.

  I pressed my fingers against the lid and pushed. It didn’t budge.

  Of course. That would’ve been too easy.

  "Locked?" Vesper asked, drifting closer.

  "Feels like it," I muttered. I ran my hands along the edges, searching for a weak point. If I had a crowbar or something decent to pry it open with-

  My fingers brushed against something rough. A break in the wood, where age or cold had split the grain. Not big enough to get a grip, but maybe...

  I sat down and curled my legs in preparation to kick the crate open. I braced myself against the floor with my arms, damn it was cold, then drove my boot into the crack. The first kick sent a dull ache up my leg, and the crate held. I gritted my teeth and kicked again, harder.

  On the third kick, the wood gave in with a sharp, loud CRACK.

  I stumbled as splinters rained down, my breath coming fast. My pulse jumped. That was loud. Like, really loud.

  Vesper tensed. “Careful…”

  I swallowed and made a face of yikes. Nothing else should be living out in a frozen tundra, right?

  Right?

  Shaking off that feeling, I stepped forward and pulled at the broken wood, widening the gap enough to see inside. Darkness greeted me, but as Vesper hovered closer, I could see with his light.

  The biggest sense of relief washed over me.

  Supplies.

  I reached in, fingers brushing against something cold and hard. I pulled it free. A can. The label had peeled away, leaving nothing but lightly rusted metal, but if the seal was intact…

  I exhaled, tension bleeding out of me. Food.

  “There’s useful stuff in here!” I said while I reached back in, rummaging through the crate. I grabbed anything I could and started piling it up outside to take inventory. Another can. A few vacuum-sealed packets of food, stiff with frost. Some looked worse for wear, but it was better than nothing.

  Vesper hovered over my shoulder. “Enough to last?”

  I let out a short, humorless laugh. “Long enough to figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do next.”

  I kept digging. There had to be more.

  Inside, bundled tightly in thick, waxed paper, were ration packs, old but intact. My breath hitched as I kept reaching in, pulling everything free. Military-style MREs, still sealed. Maybe not fresh, but calories were calories. I piled them up outside the crate and rifled deeper. There were also protein bars, hard as a rock but still edible if I let them thaw.

  “This is great!” I said, my voice tight with relief.

  Vesper hovered closer, his glow illuminating the crate’s contents. “Better than good,” he said. “This might actually keep you going.” his voice seemed as relieved as mine was.

  Encouraged, I moved to the next crate. The lid splintered more easily this time, and inside I found a metal water canister, completely frozen solid but salvageable. Beside it, a small portable stove, its fuel canisters still strapped in place.

  Thank the stars that whoever was in charge of this expedition knew how to pack.

  I moved away from my pile of survival and now needed a way to carry it. I looked back at the lockers, the next logical conclusion being that they held personal items, and hopefully, a backpack and some gloves. My hands were freezing.

  I pushed myself up, brushing the frost from my hands, and turned to the lockers.

  I grabbed the handle of the first locker and yanked. No luck. I tried another. Still locked. A third. Same damn result.

  "Figures," I muttered.

  Vesper drifted closer, his glow casting faint shadows against the metal. "You could try brute force," he suggested. "The environment's worn down most of the metal here, but it’s still sturdy. Breaking in won’t be easy."

  I frowned, flexing my fingers against the cold. The crates had splintered under pressure, but these were built to last. I wasn’t going to punch my way through steel. But if I could get leverage...

  I crouched and grabbed one of the lockers by the base, bracing my legs before pulling it forward. The metal screeched as it scraped against the frozen ground, resisting at first before finally budging. It was heavier than I expected, but not impossible to move.

  "What's the plan?" Vesper asked.

  I huffed, dragging it a little further. "Tip it over. Smash it open."

  With a grunt, I pulled the locker out, then tipped it onto its side.

  These types of lockers were the large personalized ones, so each locker was a separate entity. That made life easier when laying it down to break it open.

  "Okay? Now what?" Vesper said curiously.

  I straightened, rolling my shoulders, and stepped back. "Now, we break it."

  I walked around and scanned the area for anything heavy, anything solid enough to do some real damage. I walked outside and my eyes landed on a chunk of ice-covered debris, half-buried in the snow on the. Perfect.

  I grabbed it, hefting the weight in my hands. I was very careful not to cut the frost-tender flesh on my hands. Then, with a sharp inhale, I lifted it over my head and slammed it down onto the locker. The impact sent a metallic CLANG echoing across the frozen wasteland. The locker held firm, but a dent had formed near the top.

  Again.

  I swung the debris down once more, putting every ounce of strength into it. The metal groaned, the top corner crumpling inward. Encouraged, I adjusted my grip and struck again, this time focusing on the hinges.

  The fourth hit did the trick. With a sharp crack, the metal bent just enough to pry it open. I dropped my makeshift rock and grabbed at the warped door, wrenching it back until the latch finally gave way.

  The door creaked open, revealing what lay inside.

  A backpack. Thick fabric, stiff with cold, but intact. I snatched it up, shaking out the dust and ice. Inside, a pair of insulated gloves, exactly what I needed.

  Snatching them and pulling them on, now my hands weren't at risk.

  Vesper hovered beside me, his light flickering in approval. "Nice."

  I exhaled, flexing my fingers as warmth slowly seeped back into them. One locker down. Maybe the others had something even better.

  Chapter break?

  I moved to the next locker, bracing myself for another struggle. Wrapping my arms around its cold metal frame, heaving, I dragged it forward, the frozen ground scraping against its base with a grating shriek. With a grunt, I tipped it onto its side, sending up a puff of frost as it hit the ground.

  Grabbing the chunk of ice-rock again, I raised it high and brought it crashing down against the locker’s door. The impact rang out sharp and metallic, but the door held firm. I gritted my teeth and struck again, and again.

  Eventually, with a groan of protest, the metal warped. A final, well-aimed strike forced the door open with a loud snap, and I let the rock drop from my gloves. Catching my breath, I peered inside.

  Tools, battered but usable equipment. My fingers closed around a crowbar, its surface rimed with frost, and beside it, an ice pick, the head still useable despite who knows how many years of abandonment.

  I exhaled a short, disbelieving laugh. “This feels like insane luck,” I muttered, running my fingers over the metal grip of the crowbar.

  Using the crowbar, I moved to the next locker. This time, I didn’t have to drag it across the floor or smash it open like a caveman with an ice-rock.

  I wedged the crowbar into the gap, found some leverage, and pulled. The metal groaned in protest, resisting for a moment before the latch finally gave way with a sharp SNAP. The door swung open, and the broken latch clattered to the ground.

  Inside was nothing.

  I exhaled through my nose. “Yeah, I really shouldn’t have jinxed it.”

  Vesper hovered just over my shoulder, his glow casting long shadows against the lockers. His voice was dry but tinged with amusement.

  “You were bound to hit a dead end eventually,” he said. “Luck only stretches so far.” He paused, then added, “Though theres still some lockers left.”

  “Yeah, we got what… 7 more? 9 lockers in total? Let's see what we get,” I replied. Hopefully, we can find more stuff, but honestly, I'd be happy with what I already found.

  It felt like gambling… how do I know that?

  Whatever, more to think about later.

  I moved through the rest of the lockers, working faster now that I had the crowbar. Each one resisted, groaning and shrieking as I pried them open, but they didn’t stand a chance.

  The first locker popped open to reveal nothing. Just empty shelves and frost. “Figures,” I said as I moved on.

  The next gave way with a snap, and inside, tucked into the bottom, was a thick bundle of cloth. I reached in and pulled out a heavy-duty jacket, stiff with cold but intact. Nice, but the one I was wearing was in better condition.

  Onto the next locker. A metallic groan and a ping of a lock snapping later, I found nothing inside.

  Another empty locker. I sighed through my nose and kept going.

  The fourth locker held something promising, a small first aid kit, the plastic casing lined with frost. I cracked it open, inspecting the supplies. Some bandages, painkillers, and antiseptic wipes. Basic but useful. I tossed it into my growing pile.

  Then another good find, spare thermal socks and gloves. They were old and stiff, but extras were extras. I tossed them onto the pile.

  The next two lockers broke open just as easily, and I found nothing.

  The last locker groaned as I wrenched it open, and inside, almost tucked away, was a small flashlight. I picked it up and gave it a shake. No response. I twisted the back open. Dead batteries. I clicked my tongue in frustration, but kept it anyway. Maybe I’d find a use for it later.

  With the lockers looted, I stepped back and surveyed my haul.

  I glanced at Vesper. “Alright, we got some serious supplies, no sleeping gear, but beggars can't be choosers,” I started opening my new backpack and filling it with food and supplies. It seemed to be a hiker's bag and thus could hold a lot and had straps for the larger tools.

  Vesper drifted closer, his glow flickering slightly. “I’m glad you were successful in scavenging, but as much as we want to celebrate. The storm is still coming.” His voice was steady, but there was an urgency beneath it. “If we don’t move, we’ll be buried in here.”

  I exhaled sharply. “Right. No time to linger. But once we are out of danger, you'll be answering a plethora of my questions, deal?”

  “Sure sure,” Vesper said, bobbing up and down, “although I will warn you, I’m just as knowledgeable as you in some areas.”

  I didn't like the sound of that, but whatever, let's get a move on.

  I shoved the last of the supplies into my bag, making sure the most important things were tucked away. I managed to fit everything I wanted or could need for the foreseeable future. I only left the old jacket as I had one and would rather have that space being used for food, as I don't know how long it will be till I find access to more.

  I strapped the crowbar in a jury-rigged tie to the backpack and then slung it all on my shoulders. I'll wield the ice pick for now. I rolled my shoulders, testing the fit. Not bad.

  I turned toward the tent’s entrance. Opening the tent flap, cold wind poured in, and I braced myself before stepping outside.

  For the first time, I truly lifted my gaze to the sky, and the sight struck me with an unexpected beauty. The horizon stretched out in a soft, light blue, while the sky above me unfolded into an endless void of black and speckled stars, like a window into space itself. Dominating the scene was a massive planet, its swirling clouds and vibrant bands consuming most of the sky.

  Jupiter, I thought, if my memory served me right.

  My eyes swept over the landscape, the wind trying its best to attack my jacket, until I spotted something in the distance. Dark blues and steely greys churned and twisted, a storm cloud massing into a terrifying wall. It wasn’t drifting lazily to the side either, like clouds sometimes do. This one was getting larger.

  It was moving directly for me.

  I narrowed my eyes, squinting against the wind, and studied the horizon, my pulse quickening.

  "Alright..." I muttered to myself, feeling the pressure of the moment. "Where do we go from here?"

  Chapter break?

  (idea. Maybe make the first interaction with other people (reveanants or people) be negative to introduce cynicism or character growth / characterizations)