A Frozen Heart

“Come on, Amity. Everyone knew the pods wouldn’t last forever. I’d bet my right arm that we’re in the final stages of The Freezing,” Umber declared.

“Even if we are, what could we do about it anyways? It’s not like the Head of the pod would ask two ward kids what to do,” Umber frowned. Amity was right, of course. The people running the pod had always kept everyone in the dark, and nothing would change even now that they might all die as soon as next month.

All she wanted to know was what was going on outside, but no one had left the pod in three years after her parents died in a transit capsule. The Freezing had finally made its way down into the mantle of Earth and froze the tunnels that connected every pod on the planet. They were supposed to be working on placing tunnels even deeper, but the general public was uninformed, as always.

Umber groaned and fell back against the metal bed frame behind her, static running through her spine. Amity didn’t even look up from her homework, but she knew she shared the sentiment. She wouldn’t even describe them as friends, but when you’re forced to spend hours a day with someone, you learn to at least act like friends. She glanced at the clock, one of the only decorations on the wall of their dormitory, and sighed.

“I’ve gotta go to Clary’s today, see you later,” Amity just grunted in response. One of the things that came with being in the ward was the therapy sessions. The caretakers insisted that Umber must be heartbroken after her parents died, but the truth was that Umber never felt much of anything at all, even before. She knew she should’ve been sad, because that’s just how things were. She’d always blamed her indifference on the fact that she rarely saw her parents anyways. They were the ambassadors of their pod, traveling all over the world to bring back extra supplies, whatever the community needed. They fell in love on the job and Umber had been a result of that. After that, they were never really there for her. So after they died, it was basically the same thing she’d been doing for thirteen years, except she had to live in the ward.

The best part of Clary’s office was how close the workshops were. Sometimes Umber liked to stop by and watch the workers for a little while. She didn’t know what they were doing, she just liked watching them work with the tools. They’d created the entire pod, and were still working on perfecting it. She’d always aspired to work in the shop as a kid, but she knew that she probably wouldn’t ever get to.

She couldn’t watch them for very long because she was about to be late for her session, and that had never gone over very well with Dr. Clary. She strolled to the very familiar door, but before she could open it, Dr. Clary stepped out, startling her.

“Oh, Umber! Glad to see you’re on time today! Come on in, kiddo!” he beckoned, grinning at her. She didn’t really mind her sessions with him, he was more like a friend than a therapist. She just wished he would stop calling her “kiddo” like she was still thirteen. She followed him into his office, which was as cozy as always. Blue and green walls, comfy chairs, plants in every nook and cranny, it was just her style. They settled on couches opposite each other, and he pulled out his clipboard. “You’ve done well this week. The caretakers had nothing troubling to report and you’ve been keeping up with your work really well! But, you know I have to ask this every time. How are you really feeling?”

Umber shrugged, “Just the usual. Our classwork this week has actually been interesting. Did you know we’re learning about what Earth was like before?” He gave her a small smile.

“Any lonely thoughts? Think about your parents at all?” At her blank stare, he checked something off on the clipboard. “If you’re sure there’s nothing you want to tell me, you’re free to go, but remember you can always hang out here, okay?”

“Thanks, Dr. Clary, I’ll see you next week,” she backed up to the door, waving to him. She thought it was a little strange he was letting her go so early, but she wasn’t taking any chances asking him. Maybe it meant she’d be cleared to leave the ward soon.

With all her extra time, she figured she would see what was going on in the workshop. She hummed as she walked back down the hall to where she could watch them work, but she heard voices around the corner talking quietly.

A deep voice spoke urgently, “The wires froze and snapped, Iva, people have already noticed the lights flickering. We’ve got to get a mechanic up there,”

“I don’t know what they could possibly do if they’re snapped, they’ll have to-” The woman’s voice stopped as the two walked around the corner and spotted Umber. “How long have you been there?” Umber smiled at them and turned down the hall, running faster than she ever had. After turning the corner, she instinctively found herself heading to the pod’s cafeteria. Her stomach groaned, reminding her she hadn’t eaten all day.

Once she’d reached her usual table with the evening’s rations, she practically collapsed into the chair. Her head throbbed with the thought of the pod dying. How long would it take for her to die along with it? We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, Umber decided, pushing the thoughts away.

The cafeteria was lively as ever. Families and friends laughed together, talked about what little news they had. The Freezing didn’t do much good, but it certainly brought humanity together. Everyone understood they would have to work together, at least after the initial wave of non-believers. There’d been more than a few deaths along the way, of people who’d remained outside, but most people had successfully moved into the pods. It was clear early on in the Freezing that if they didn’t work together, no one would survive.

However, it didn’t really matter anymore, because that was well over thousands of years ago. Life was normal, and all of the citizens had gotten used to being trapped in a metal container. Coming out of her thoughts, Umber looked up at a table near her. It was a mother, father, and their daughter. She was squealing with laughter, looking between her parents with what seemed like the world’s love. She was bouncing in her seat, with the biggest grin Umber had ever seen. Umber caught a glimpse of gold at her collar. A necklace bumped against her chest, a beautiful golden locket with a heart at the bottom. She’d seen those before, in old movies and TV. People put pictures of them and their loved ones to remember them by. Why do they need a picture to remember their family? She remembered thinking, but now a pang of hurt shot through her ribs. Her breath escaped, as if her own lungs were trying to kill her.

Umber shook it off, shoved the rest of her rations into her mouth and got up to put her dishes away, the girl giggling behind her. She tried not to think about how she’d never felt like that before as she half-jogged to get back to her room. She swung the door open and saw Amity leaning against her pillows.

“Oh, you’re back already. What’s wrong, did Clary give you a hard time?” She asked flatly. Umber looked over at her with a sarcastic look, which Amity promptly mirrored. Umber watched Amity’s face closely, and finally remembered what she wanted to tell her.

“Uh, sure,” she started, how do you tell someone you think they’re going to die? “I heard some workers in the workshop, uh, working,” Amity looked unimpressed.

“Is that it?”

“No, they were talking about how the wiring in the pod froze over and snapped. Haven’t you seen the lights flickering? I think that means the Freezing is progressing again. If it is, first the electricity will go off for good, then the heat, and the pod will die, us along with it,” she rambled.

“They’ll just fix the wiring, though. We’ll be okay,”

“They seemed pretty reluctant to fix it, and I think it’s because the only way in is outside the pod,” When Amity scoffed, she continued, “An awful design choice, I know,” Amity looked meek, even scared. Both girls knew her theory made sense. They held eye contact, until a woman cleared her throat behind Umber.

“Care to explain why you’re still up, ladies? It’s past lights out, and I could hear you down the hall,” said the woman, one of the ward’s caretakers. Umber reluctantly moved to the side of her bed and sat down. “And don’t spread rumors like that. The pod is doing fine, just as it’s always been,” She huffed, and spun to exit the room as quickly as possible.

Umber wanted to say something to Amity, but she still seemed in shock. So, she went to get dressed and brushed her teeth for bed. She settled into the mattress, turning her back to the rest of the room, falling asleep almost immediately.

Amity was already up when Umber awoke the next morning, buzzing around the room getting ready for class. They had the same class in the mornings, then went their separate ways. Umber decided to wear her favorite jacket, she needed it after yesterday. Her bomber jacket was only a replica of the real ones, but she still loved it. About a half an hour of scrambling later, the girls were ready to go.

They walked in silence on the short walk to their classroom. Kids were already gathered, and their lesson started soon after they arrived. It was the same story as always. Earth was once a part of a solar system, with a star called the Sun, but another star came through and threw off the balance of gravity, hurling Earth into the abyss. She’d heard this story a million times. She itched to ask her question, finally confirming her theory.

Umber raised her hand, “Ma’am, what do you think would happen if the wires froze over and broke?” A few kids around her snickered, but she didn't care.

“Well Umber, at that point the pod would probably lose power if enough wires were damaged, but I promise there are plenty of safeguards in place so that won’t happen,” She seemed cheerful, like she really believed what she was saying. Her teacher returned to the lesson, but Umber’s mind was elsewhere. She wasn’t really thinking about anything, just waiting to be dismissed. At some point she glanced over her shoulder to see a tall man watching her with a scowl. She was fairly certain he wasn’t there before, but ignored him. When class finished, she rushed out of the room to get to her next class, when the man stepped in front of her.

“Ms. Averett, pleasure to meet you,” he stretched a hand out for her to shake, “Would you mind explaining your thought process about your question in class to me?”

“I was just curious sir, I swear,” she tried to bluff, but he didn’t look convinced.

“I’m going to ask one more time, because you’ve been reported to have shared this theory before. We know you know something, and unless you have any clue how to help, we ask you to keep your suspicions to yourself, and never speak of this again,” he leaned in close.

Instead of backing away like he must’ve expected, she raised an eyebrow at him, “I think I could think of something…”

…. TO BE CONTINUED