Ice World Explorer - Chapter 3

Oso and Avtar slowly made their way out of the forest and into a large snow-covered field. The great mountain, only a few miles in front of them, created a beautiful backdrop to the flat, snowy field before them.

“The Dravar Sail…,” Oso contemplated aloud with Avtar, “....hmm, it’s an amazing piece of equipment from the description Mother Victoria provided,” Oso thought to himself as he began to emerge from the frost covered forest. He had only been this far away from the compound a few times in his life. The C creature he had studied his entire life did not venture far from the forest areas of the icy planet.

“According to the map, the mountain range should be about 20 kilometers from this point. Amazing. I can’t believe such an important piece of technology was lost and frozen in the mountains. The ice of this planet hindered Mother Victoria from finding it for twenty years. And to think, this might be the beginning of a new horizon to leave this...planet.”

Oso shouldn't get the highly prized fleece but he loves the quality. And now, Victoria wants him to use it to camouflage himself to sneak past the herd of beasts.

Once he is deeper into the forest, he is about a few kilometers from where the herd are located. At that point, he uses his new super.powered fleece to illuminate himself. He looks like a fiber optic tree. The fleece sends a reverse charge that repels the beasts.

He starts to make his way through the herd, slowly and quietly, being careful not to disturb the beasts. They can kill if this does not go smoothly.

As the duo made their way through the herd, the sound of snorts and grunts could be heard as they passed each beast. The air turned warm from the immense body heat coming from the animals. Oso felt himself break into a deep sweat.

"Just need to play it easy for a little bit more," he thought as he turned a quick glance at Avtar. His eyes focused forward, Avtar held a strong frown moving closely behind Oso.

Though his sweat still felt intense, Oso could feel the air slowly becoming cool again. Before his eyes, a bright twinkle could be seen peeking through the herd.

It was the other side.

Holding back a rush of excitement, Oso kept a steady pace to ensure he made it out safely. Suddenly, a loud grunt could be heard behind him.

"Ooof," a voice rang behind him. It was Avtar, he had bumped into one of the beasts.

Both men froze as one beast began to stir. Another nearby grunt from only steps away caused sweat to appear on both of them.

After pausing for a few moments, the two both took a single step that would have been too slow for a snail. Oso looked down as he could feel a single footstep sink into the snow and mud.

“What?!” Oso thought to himself as he could feel the thick mud swallow his foot into the ground.

He quickly threw his hand up, signaling Avtar to not take another step.

Taking a deep breath, Oso slowly began to pull his foot from the spot, trying to not sink anymore as the snow and mud continued to mix.

“This isn’t quicksand but it might as well be. All of these beasts here must be creating a warm area for the snow and mud to mix. We need to hurry because if I know these beasts, they will move to another area to graze when…”

Avtar froze completely as the beast surrounding him began to stir more. A few steps forward from the beasts and the air filled with the sound of sniffing animals, feeling for their next bite.

Oso stared at Avtar and signaled him to stay completely still. Slowly grasping his fleece, Oso signaled to pull the fabric over his body. Avtar mimicked the movement and began to pull the fleece from his neck and over his body.

Once covered, both men began to slowly kneel closer to the ground.

“We must use camouflage to get out of this situation. If we move too quickly, the beasts will stampede. Every movement must be made carefully. If I guess correctly, we can slowly move away from this herd in about 2 minutes.

Moving as if they had cement stuck to their feet, Oso and Avtar carefully made their way through the crowd of beasts. Oso could feel the heat rising all around him. The combination of the fleece and the numerous beasts all around created an warm fog that only

Duck…wide step…slide…” Oso thought to himself, announcing each of his movements to himself to keep the quiet atmosphere. It seemed as if he was crossing an ocean before finally seeing an opening from the herd.

“Only a little bit more and…”

Suddenly, the sound of cracking could be heard behind Osos.

An instant blanket of sweat covered Oso’s body.

“Avtar…”, he thought to himself.

Slowly turning around, Oso could see Avtar standing up from his planned crouch position, with a horrified look on his face.

Oso looked confused as he couldn’t find a reason that Avtar would stand up.

“We are almost there, Avtar! Why would you…”

Suddenly, the sound of cracking could be heard again but this time much more quickly and

With a loud roar into the cold air, the beast all seemed to react to the sound, stirring the herd. As quickly as a window shattering, the herd began to charge in the opposite direction.

“No! We will become trampled. We just have to…”

Before Oso could finish his sentence, he realized there was no ground beneath him.

One more loud crash and the entire ground under Oso, Avtar, and the herd gave way, plummeting the duo into the darkness of a large hole.