Chapter 9: The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Laura was a genuinely kind-hearted and well-liked person. If she were more conventionally attractive, Jake might have made more of an effort to connect with her romantically in this apocalyptic scenario.
As it was, while Jake still cared about her wellbeing, he kept a certain emotional distance because of his shallow tendencies.
Ultimately, Jake was someone who judged by appearances. These days, especially in high-stakes situations, actions mattered more than words—but he had to admit looks still influenced him. Of course, personality was important too, but not enough to override everything else.
Would anyone fall for someone they found genuinely unattractive, even if that person was quiet and loved reading? Jake knew plenty of social media influencers who coasted purely on their looks. He wasn't proud of being shallow, but he was at least honest with himself about it.
However, he wasn't heartless either. He might be able to ignore strangers, but he couldn't bring himself to abandon people he knew, especially kind and gentle people like Laura.
There was another consideration: adding a supply-finding mission to the plot might significantly advance his progress bar. This was one of the few action sequences in the movie, and Jake, who knew the entire storyline, was confident that with proper preparation, he could handle any danger.
Therefore, unsurprisingly, a supply team was formed, consisting of Jake, Sam (the male lead), JD (the rich kid), and Brian (another classmate). Their target was a massive Russian cargo ship frozen in the ice about three hundred feet from the library.
The four bundled up in their heavy winter gear, wrapping themselves tightly against the cold.
"Jake, we're ready," Sam and the others announced, standing before him after getting dressed. Although Jake was average height by American standards, he was still noticeably shorter than the three taller guys.
Jake didn't mind at all. He calmly nodded to the three and said, "It's all ice and snow out there. Walking will be difficult, so we'll need to make improvised snowshoes."
Then Jake dismantled one of the wooden chairs in the room and tied large flat pieces of wood to his feet, creating makeshift snow boots that would distribute his weight and keep him from sinking into the deep snow.
The other three followed suit, and the sound of chairs being broken apart echoed through the room.
This was why, even though Jake wasn't the biggest or strongest among them, the group was willing to follow his lead.
He was always thinking ahead—about food, about warmth, and now, considering Laura's infected wound, about making snowshoes to reach medical supplies.
Without really meaning to, Jake had become the de facto leader of the group, guiding them to survive in this frozen wasteland until rescue arrived.
"Alright, let's move out," Jake said, leading the three guys to the door. The moment they opened it, a blast of arctic air rushed in, making everyone shiver violently, and the flames behind them flickered dangerously.
"Remember to keep everyone safe," Jake said to the only guy staying behind—a Black student named Luther who'd been quietly helping out.
"I want to go too!" Luther protested, showing unexpected courage despite his earlier nervousness. Adversity really did bring out people's strength.
"No, we have injured people here, and others who need protection. Your responsibility is just as important," Jake refused firmly. "Remember to keep feeding the fire. If that fire goes out, we all die."
He spoke with such seriousness that Luther couldn't argue.
"I will!" Luther nodded solemnly.
The four of them quickly left the room and stepped out of the library under the worried gazes of the others.
The scene outside was both beautiful and terrifying. Several feet of ice had transformed New York into a frozen wonderland—or nightmare, depending on your perspective.
"We need to hurry. Laura's wound is getting worse," Sam said as soon as they exited the library, starting to jog toward the ship. But Jake stopped him after just a few steps.
"Stop, Sam!"
Sam halted at the sound and turned back, confused. The other two had also started moving faster than Jake, but now they paused uncertainly.
"Look over there!" Jake pointed to a patch of snow about thirty feet away. "I think we might have a problem."
Everyone looked in that direction and saw several paw prints in the snow.
Dogs? Maybe.
But then they noticed Jake's grim expression as he said, "Wolves."
"Wolves?" The three exclaimed in unison.
These apex predators might not be much larger than humans, but with their sharp teeth, powerful jaws, and pack hunting instincts, they were far more dangerous.
"That's right, wolves," Jake confirmed grimly. "New York was flooded before the freeze." He looked at the others as he spoke, and they nodded—everyone remembered the catastrophic surge that had preceded the ice age.
"There was a news report about it," Sam recalled. "Animals escaping from the Bronx Zoo during the flood."
Jake nodded without elaborating.
"What should we do?" asked JD nervously, clearly not confident about facing a wolf pack.
"Laura's injury can't wait much longer," Jake said, opening his backpack and digging through it. "And we need those supplies to survive, so turning back isn't an option."
"As for the wolves—if we don't run into them, great. But if we do, we fight." With that, Jake finally pulled something from his pack.
The others stared in shock at what he'd produced.
It was a hunting knife—a serious one, with a twelve-inch fixed blade and a rubberized grip. The kind of knife hunters used for field dressing deer. Jake had bought it from an outdoor sporting goods store back in the real world, along with a thick leather forearm guard, which he now strapped to his left arm.
With the protective guard on his left arm and the substantial knife in his right hand, Jake looked surprisingly intimidating despite his smaller stature.
However, these two pieces of equipment alone weren't enough to make him confident about facing a wolf pack. What gave him an edge was something else: during his NZT-enhanced study sessions, he'd absorbed countless videos and guides about animal behavior, wolf pack dynamics, and defensive tactics. He'd learned defensive techniques surprisingly well. If the wolves didn't swarm him all at once, Jake believed that killing these hungry, cold-weakened animals wouldn't be impossible.
The four of them cautiously moved toward the cargo ship. This time, thanks to Jake's warning, they moved much more carefully, significantly reducing their vulnerability.
Three hundred feet of frozen wasteland. The cold wind howled, and the blowing snow had already covered them, turning them all into walking snowmen.
But the wolves didn't appear.
Was Jake wrong? Or had the wolves already left the area?
No one knew. All they could do now was find the medicine as quickly as possible and get back to safety.
"Hurry up, you guys go inside and search for medical supplies. I'll stand guard out here!" Jake positioned himself at the entrance to the tilted cargo ship, hunting knife in his right hand, projecting an aura of determination.
The other three exchanged glances, then looked at Jake's equipment. Perhaps they thought it was unlikely there were really wolves nearby, so they nodded. "Jake, be careful," they said, then quickly rushed into the ship's dark interior to begin their search.
Jake, his left arm protected by the thick leather guard held horizontally across his chest, gripped the knife in his right hand, carefully scanning his surroundings.
Although they'd arrived several hours earlier than in the original movie timeline, that didn't mean the four wolves would be late. Perhaps they'd already come hunting. Those paw prints at the library entrance made Jake especially vigilant.
Moreover, after dealing with the wolves, there was still the eye of the storm approaching—capable of flash-freezing anything in its path. That was the real crisis.
"Hopefully the wolves moved on," Jake thought, gripping the knife handle through his thick gloves. Only the feel of the solid steel gave him any sense of security.
Unfortunately, the wolves hadn't moved on...
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