---
The wind didn't scream.
It judged.
It pushed against their backs like the Arctic itself was asking why they thought this was a good idea.
The excavation site stretched wide and empty, rusted drills frozen mid-bite into the earth. Boreholes capped with thick steel plates disappeared straight down into darkness.
Three hundred feet below—
Richard.
With Zero.
They saw him get taken.
No mystery. No "maybe he escaped." Zero folded ice around him and left.
Now they stood above wherever that ice led.
Tanya checked her phone again.
AirTag signal: strong. Battery: 82%. Location: directly beneath them.
"He's still wearing the jacket," she muttered.
Siara crossed her arms. "If he took it off I would actually kill him."
"You'd have to find him first," Zane said.
"Don't."
Luna stood quietly, eyes closed.
She reached downward.
It hurt.
Chrome energy wasn't something she commanded yet. It was something she survived.
Two signatures.
Close. Not clashing.
"He's alive," she said.
They all exhaled.
Then she added:
"They're not fighting."
Zane blinked.
"…That's worse."
---
Setting Up (Badly)
They tried to look organized.
They were not.
The generator took three attempts to start.
Gamma Nine got dragged into position beside a shipping container acting as wind cover.
It hummed low as it began charging.
Charge: 27%.
Zane kicked snow off a crate.
"So we're just sitting on top of whatever frozen nonsense is happening down there?"
"Correct," Tanya said.
"And we're not equipped."
"Also correct."
"And we might die."
"Very correct."
Siara rubbed her face.
"Shut up."
They placed heat sensors around the borehole caps.
In this cold, anything warm would show instantly.
No CE scanners. No fancy tech.
Just heat. Motion wire. And an AirTag.
Peak military operation.
---
An hour passed.
Nothing moved.
The AirTag didn't shift.
Gamma Nine ticked up to 46%.
Zane finally reached into his jacket.
Siara saw the cards.
"No."
"Yes."
"You did not bring UNO to the Arctic."
"I plan for emotional stability."
Tanya sighed.
"Fine. But if you stack a +4 I'm deleting your phone."
They sat on overturned crates in a loose circle.
Wind hammering metal behind them.
Gamma Nine humming to their right.
AirTag pulsing quietly on Tanya's screen.
---
UNO Begins
Zane shuffles dramatically.
"You're so annoying," Siara says.
"Skill issue."
He deals.
First card flipped in the center:
Red 7.
Zane goes first.
He places: Red 2.
"Strong opening."
Tanya drops: Red Reverse.
"Already toxic."
Direction flips.
Siara grins and slaps down: Red +2.
"Draw."
Zane glares.
"Already? We just started."
He draws two.
"Personal attack."
Luna quietly places: Red 5.
Zane smirks.
"Oh we're doing this?"
He drops: Red +4.
Tanya's head snaps up.
"You absolute demon."
"Draw."
"You can't just—"
"Yes I can."
"Stacking isn't allowed on first rotation!"
"Show me the law."
Siara laughs.
Tanya draws four dramatically.
"I hope Zero senses this and decides we're not worth killing."
Luna places: Blue 5.
Color change.
Zane throws: Blue Skip.
"Siara you don't get a turn."
Siara lunges at him.
"You are actually the worst human."
"Skill issue."
Tanya drops: Blue +2.
Zane points at her.
"Traitor."
Luna quietly stacks: Blue +2.
Zane freezes.
"No."
"Yes."
"That's not how it—"
"It absolutely is."
He draws four again.
"I am being targeted."
"Correct," Siara says sweetly.
---
Heat Sensor Ping
The sensor beeps.
All four freeze.
UNO cards mid-air.
Zane grabs a flare.
Siara half-turns toward Gamma Nine.
Tanya checks her tablet.
"…Surface-level heat. Large."
They step outside.
Polar bear.
Massive. White. Watching.
Zane whispers, "We are not fighting wildlife and calamity-tier in the same evening."
"Don't escalate," Tanya says.
"I won't."
He fires the flare sideways.
Red light streaks across snow.
The bear huffs and walks away.
They all exhale.
Zane looks down at his cards.
"…Anyway. Blue 9."
Siara smacks him with a card.
"YOU DID NOT JUST CONTINUE."
"What? Crisis handled."
---
Rage Bait Phase
Tanya drops: Yellow 3.
Color change.
Luna places: Yellow 8.
Zane drops: Yellow Reverse.
Siara immediately slams: Yellow +2.
"Draw."
Zane narrows his eyes.
"You're enjoying this too much."
"Correct."
He draws two.
Then slowly places:
Yellow +4.
Dead silence.
"You don't even look sorry," Tanya says.
"I'm not."
Siara groans and draws four.
"You are the weakest link in this group."
"False. I'm the only one winning."
Luna suddenly stiffens.
Cards slip from her hand.
The air shifts.
Pressure.
Below.
"He knows," she whispers.
The joking dies instantly.
"Richard?" Siara asks.
Luna shakes her head slowly.
"No."
Zero.
The wind grows louder.
Gamma Nine hums harder.
AirTag still steady.
Three hundred feet down.
Zane looks at the snow beneath their boots.
"So what," he says quietly, "we're just sitting here while whatever frozen nonsense is happening down there decides our future?"
No one answers.
Luna swallows.
"He hasn't chosen yet."
"Chosen what?" Tanya asks.
"Where he stands."
Silence.
The UNO deck lies scattered between them.
Draw fours. Reverses. Skips.
Teenage warfare paused.
Above them:
White sky. Endless wind.
Below them:
Something that could change everything.
Gamma Nine reaches 61%.
And for the first time all night—
No one makes a joke.