Arctic Cold War Chapter 18 Novels & Stories

Andrew yelled, grabbing hold of my arm to usher me in. "NO, WE HAVE TO STOP THEM!". "YOU'RE NOT STAYING OUT HERE!" I ripped his hand off of my arm and shoved him into the crowd. "GET THEM INTO THE ROOM AND STAY THERE!" "ELLIE, DON'T DO THIS, YOU HAVE TO COME WITH US!" "I'LL BE FINE, TRUST ME, JUST GO!" I told him as I gave him one last shove. I looked over at the rogues who were still grinning as they watched everyone rush into the hall. As soon as the doors were closed, two hunters appeared out of nowhere with large tin cans and started emptying its contents of gasoline all along the side of the building.

The other part… exhausted. It was good to have control over the two of them again, or at least the illusion of it. While they were in a truce, I never knew what to expect. I couldn’t predict when they would join forces to make decisions for me, when they would hide conversations, when they would talk for too long. Now, with the cold war reignited, everything was back to normal: I knew exactly who mistrusted whom, who tried to control whom, and how I needed to move between them.

She learns the true origin of the Renaissance Trial. • Chapter 18: The Siberian Vault • Setting: A Sub-Zero Bunker in Russia. • Plot: In -40°C weather, Elara breaks into the High Council’s main server farm. She has to use her knowledge of thermal insulation to prevent the servers (and herself) from freezing. • Chapter 19: The Traitor’s Price • Setting: A Safehouse in Prague. • Plot: One of the 43 Survivors is tempted by the $10 million bounty. A tense, "whodunnit" style chapter where Elara must find the mole before the Hunters arrive.

After that night, the cold war officially began. Normally, even if I pushed him away, Hudson would inevitably gravitate back to me. Even if he just glanced my way, he would subtly maneuver himself to keep me in his line of sight. But now, he treated me with the cold, ruthless efficiency of a stranger. Even when handing out rations, he didn't spare me a second glance. Things were going exactly as I had planned, but I didn't feel relieved at all.

"It's not like I don't have the time. Entertain me, old man." Haldir glanced back to Bose then sighed through his nose. "Alright then. Believe it or not, I was fishing one day..." Arctic Region of Norway 1001 A.D. Sitting between the two ice covered cliffs, Haldir looked over the side of the boat into the unnervingly still and dusky waters that bordered his village. Scratching his cheek through his bushy reddish-blonde beard, he glared up into the sky and cursed the bright cruel sun beating down on him. In all his 35 years living in that arctic settlement, he's never seen a day so warm as this.

He was a grown adult and he can make decisions for himself. But his father still could not comprehend that simple fact. ‘He might have returned home. If I go back would he be there. He must be. He never actually disappointed me before.’ He tightly gripped the warm cup. ‘The arctic tribe lives close by…. How is this weather so pleasant.. it’s very close to the arctic? Even if it’s the northern regions of Canada, it is supposed to be covered in layers of ice. This place is not even cold. What happened.. How did the climate change so drastically …’

They both freeze when they see each other, the air crackling with tension. Oh shit, this is the confrontation scene from chapter 12! In the novel, Ardyn and Kaelen bicker over Cillian’s attention, but now? With my twists on their dynamics? This is gonna be gold. “What’s this?” I say, setting the book aside with a grin I can’t hide. Cillian’s supposed to be cold, but I’m too amused, my favorite harem boys fighting over me? Yes, please. Ardyn points at Kaelen accusingly.

The blizzard was a white wall of rage as the blacked-out snow vehicle crept up the mountainside. Site 6 was buried beneath layers of Siberian ice, a forgotten relic of the Cold War now repurposed for something even darker. Sophia sat beside Rafael in the back of the armored crawler, her breath fogging in the freezing air. She wore insulated tactical gear, a pistol at her thigh, and a serrated blade at her hip. But it wasn’t the cold or the looming danger that chilled her. It was the silence. The stillness before an unseen storm.