Men of Ice

2. Homeless

Nano lay in darkness. It was cramped in the trench, but it was better than freezing to death on the surface. He could smell something cooking through the sheets. Noah must've found enough material to start a fire to cook. He focused more on the scent to try and figure out what Noah was cooking... something.. fishy.... is he cooking seabird as well? Whatever it was, it was making him hungry.

Ivan laughed as he heard Nano's stomach. "Someone's hungry!"

"Ivan, you don't have to be so loud, we're shoulder to shoulder." Nano held his head, his headache still in full force.

"Heh, sorry Nano." They all waited in silence for about thirty seconds before Ivan was humming to himself. Nano instantly recognized the tune. It was a song from his childhood that Ivan would bring up all the time to tease him.

"Ivan, don't start with that now. I'm not in the mood"

The smile on Ivan's face grew as he started singing the words. "The night is dark, the wind is chill-"

"Ivan."

"But your penguins are safe and still"

"Stop, I don't want to hear that song right now."

"They know that you are watching near," Ivan looked at Nano. "C'mon, you know you want to finish the words."

"No, I don't."

"They know that you are watching near..." He waited for a second. "And they have nothing to fear."

Nano turned to face Ivan. "I'll give you something to fear" He grabbed his extra gloves from his coat pocket and smacked Ivan on the face with them. Ivan laughed as he pushed the gloves away, knocking them onto Emily.

Emily gasped and got up to leave the trench. "What are we? Children?" Nano and Ivan watched her leave before both laughing.

"You know I'm gonna have to get you back for that" Ivan chuckled.

"Get me back? I say it was well deserved." Nano put the spare gloves back into his pocket.

"You know you love that song."

"Not when you sing it!" Nano let out a sharp exhale, having forgotten about the pain in his head. "Wanna go up and see what Noah is cooking? I'm starved."

"You didn't have to tell me, I could've heard your stomach from Argentina!"

"Oh shut it." Nano got himself up and climbed out of the trench. The temperature difference hit hard as he put on his mask. It was the mask of a warrior, painted like a mighty seal. Even as he put it on, he could still feel the cold. Ivan came by and looked back at him.

"Looks like your mask might be a bit... broken." Nano pulled off the mask to see a large crack going down the right cheek, effectively making this mask useless unless they could fix it. He hooked it to the side of his jacket as he sat down by the fire, it's warmth inviting them all to gather around it. Noah was just finishing up cooking a rather large seabird alongside Antarctic krill. No plants grew in the Antarctic cold, nor could any survive being imported from other countries; meat is all anyone had to eat, but that never bothered anyone. Food is food, and the four of them were happy to have a meal that night.

[20 years ago]

Ice shavings flew by a young boy's face. One hand placed on a block of ice, the other hand holding a saw. Behind him, his father was holding his hand, guiding the boy as he sawed.

"Just like that, Nano. Try to keep your cut straight" His father let go to let him finish the cut on his own. Eventually, the saw went all the way through, hitting the snow underneath. The eight year old's face lit up with glee as he picked up his block to place on the shelter.

"We're almost done with this one, and you'll have your own dome to sleep in."

"Just like the grown ups!" Nano laughed as he picked up the second block from his cut to place next to the first block.

"Here, let's grab some snow and pack it between the gaps here. That way you can stay warm". His father took a handful of snow and began to push between the blocks.

"Father, how does a dome made out of snow keep us warm?"

"Well, you see how we dug one spot much lower than the other?" On the inside of the igloo, the entrance is much lower than the sleeping area. "The cold air will stay down there, while all of the warm air will rise up to where you sleep. All of the blocks of ice we're building around this will keep that warmth inside of the dome." Nano didn't quite understand, but he enjoyed listening to his father's explanation.

[Present Day]

"Please! We can make a deal! Just spare me and my family!" The village leader was being held down to his knees, his traditional robe on the ground in front of him. Behind him, his wife and three children were held with blades to their necks.

"Any offer you have to make means nothing to me. You've oppressed my people for over a decade, and now your kind will all pay." The man towered over the leader and his family. Wearing the mask of a conqueror, streaked with the blood of those he had already killed. Around his waist was strapped a royal garment. Made to look like the feathers of a peafowl, the fabric feathers stretched out behind him in a downward fashion. They were not colorful like the peafowl, simply being black and white, matching the rest of his attire.

"I.. I'm just a village leader. I have no say in what the king declares." His voice trembled as his youngest child cried behind him. His attacker looked down at him with a stern face, tightening his grip on the spear in his hand.

"I know. You're just in my way" The warrior walked away from the leader and his family and turned to face the rest of village. His army had circled the village, leaving everyone trapped in the village. "This is what happens when you neglect my people. Pushing us away from the shore and leaving us with no means to trade. While you all enrich yourselves with the Argentinians, my people have been starving, freezing, and fighting for the scraps of your kingdom. No more! I will rain fire upon your kingdom and bring it to it's deserving end, one.. piece.. at.. a .. time."

At his word, his men immediately snapped the village leader's neck. His body fell limp onto the snow as his family screamed, only to be abruptly silenced by the blade. The village gasped as they watched the heads roll. The people collectively panicked, chaos ensuing in the circle. One of the guards dragged out a young boy before the army barraged the village people with flaming arrows.

The boy cried as he watched everyone burn. He found himself thrown at the feet of the conqueror. The conqueror grabbed the boy with one hand and lifted him up.

"You, boy. You tell your king that Infierno is coming for him, and I will drag him into the fiery pits myself." Infierno stuck his hand in the half frozen blood of the leader's family; smearing it across the boy's mask before letting him go. The boy ran away from the village and the surrounding army. "This will be a trading village, keep the port where it is and we'll rebuild as we see fit." He rounded up a small group of the army. "Go back and inform the others of our success here. Have them bring supplies back so we can rest and start rebuilding. After that, we continue on."

He watched as the boy slowly vanished over the horizon.

"Justice feels so good."