The Dawn of the New World

"Quickly, close the door for ancestor's sake!"

One of the barbarians yelled at another that forgot to close the door all the way.

"I am, I am!" he turned around embarrassedly and pushed it again, punching the sidewall in to keep it shut.

Hao Xuan opened his eyes halfway and let out a smile looking at them. But then his gaze shifted towards the third silhouette resting against the cold wall, farthest from the fire that was keeping everybody warm and the smile slowly faded away.

'Jarek...huh...'

He recalled the barbarian's name, the one that gave him a bad feeling earlier. But so far that's all he had done so there was nothing that Hao Xuan could do about it.

He turned his head to the right and peered out of the algae-covered window towards the scenes outside. They were currently on the third floor from the top. There was one apartment here in the back that only had two entry points, one was the door and the other was the window Hao Xuan was leaning against.

There were no cracks or broken walls here either and the furniture was in a remarkable condition so they chose this place to make camp for the time being. The cold had come in way too quickly and intensely and they needed shelter.

It was easy to make fire using the wood from nearby trees that grew all over the place. Food was still an issue but they would be gone within a couple of days so there was nothing to worry about.

Most of the others were asleep, Burak and Isak included. Isak tried his best to stay awake but he had the worst injuries of anyone here and soon succumbed to the comfort of the sofa he had chosen to meditate on.

Hao Xuan stared at the ice crystals covering the entire outer section of the few buildings that were in view. But even though the temperature was way below freezing, the plants and trees and even the algae that were growing all over the place didn't show any signs of frost damage anywhere on them.

The wind picked up and started blowing throughout the abandoned forest of metal and brick that littered the surface.

*Whooooooosh*

In the darkness, the billowing wind sounded like the ghostly howls from damned souls coming from beyond the grave. The shrill noises were so loud that one wouldn't even be able to think in peace. Not to mention the view was obstructed by the snow and ice that came and went with each gust, so there wasn't much to see.

Hao Xuan could not help himself from imagining what had happened to the previous residents.

Was it the temperature? Did they voluntarily leave because the weather was too extreme or could there be another reason?

Hao Xuan sensed the cold get a hold of him and a chill went down his spine. He shuddered and got up, moving to one of the three fires small fires placed around the apartment.

But as soon as he moved, the wind cleared up for just an instant, not even a full second but it was enough to reveal a pale figure standing in the window of the building across from theirs. A tall emaciated figure, humanoid in appearance.

Most of its body was shrouded in a veil of darkness revealing only its head and arms, which on a closer examination were not entirely anthropomorphic. The arms were far too long to belong to a human.

A few strands of stringy hair hung from its head, perhaps a vestige of its former self. Its eyes were completely black and skin the color of the frost and snow that encased the world within.

Hao Xuan and the barbarians were completely unaware of its presence yet it did nothing. Well, nothing other standing in one spot like a statue and watching them from afar. The cold didn't seem to bother it much.

Its eyes followed Hao Xuan and the various barbarians even through walls, coming to a slow stop when it found Jarek. Its dry lips arched into a wide grin before parting to reveal rows upon rows of sharp needle-like teeth.

*Woooosh*

A sound almost identical to the raging wind came from its mouth. Jarek who had been fast 'asleep' suddenly opened his eyes and jerked his head towards the window. He kept staring at it for a good few minutes before going back to 'sleep'.

Nothing out of ordinary happened throughout the night.

By the time Hao Xuan woke up the sun was already out. The snow and completely melted as if it was never even there to begin with. Hao Xuan couldn't believe his eyes.

'How is this the same place as last night?'

Birds chirped, small animals moved around the concrete floors creating their own unique noises and there was even the sound of water.

'Water again....' Hao Xuan smacked his parched lips.

He hadn't had a single drop of water in the last 40 hours at least and was now feeling its effects. His body hadn't mutated to the point of not requiring sustenance, at least not yet so he needed to refill Baracus's storage space now that he had the time.

He went to Burak, "Going to explore....be back...later..." and informed him incase they got worried and slipped away in silence.

Burak stared at his back and when he had vanished from view, he snapped his fingers to call one of the nearby barbarians.

A large man almost the same size as that of Burak but a little thinner came forward. He one had a faint mustache and a beard only around his chin that was sorted into two dreads.

"Tasgall, follow him from the shadows.. Make sure he comes back in one piece," Burak ordered in a low voice.