23. Fire from the top

This place was like a warehouse, some carriages came with bags of groceries. There were corn, potatoes, carrots and many other vegetables. Ane gave a piece of paper to one of them. She talked to the person, then handed her some gold coins. After that, she called me to come closer.

"This is where we used to buy groceries. Keep that in your mind," She said, once I was beside her. "You'll be coming here with me more often, because I'll be taking you with me later on."

I was glad to hear it. I had never been away from Alpha Camp, and this was my first experience. Even if it was just being out for a while and smelling new things, it felt really good. I went to a new place and got to know a new habit here.

…

While waiting for our order to be prepared, Ane took me to take shelter beside the warehouse, which appeared to be a hay holder and for carriage repairs. There were tons of carriage parts, from wooden wheels to coach seats. Several wagons were also parked here.

I sat on the haystack hugging my knees, to ease the chill. The snow was falling more heavily than before. Ane said that the cost for the groceries purchased included the delivery, so we wouldn't be walking home again. It's good to hear that, because I guessed my feet were frozen now.

"Is winter always this bad here?" Due to living in a desert area, I was not used to such bad winter. Although Euron started having snow since the last four years, the ice would only last a few days. "It's been snowing at my place for four years, but I've never seen this much." My feet almost sank with each step I took, and it was freezing cold even though I was wearing layers of socks.

"This is very normal here," Ane replied, checking a note. "Last year was the worst, we had to heat the ice to get water, besides that there were also a lot of broken and fallen trees because they couldn't hold the branches and twigs frozen into ice" I was shocked to hear that. "Cold temperatures kill you more easily than hot temperatures. At Camp Alpha, last year, five prisoners died, so we had to increase the heating in the detention room."

"You mean that strange flame?" There was something like a fireplace where I was locked up in the past, and it was still there to this day.

"Yes, it is fire from the top of hell, it will always burn and warm Alpha Camp," Ane explained. I could only say 'Oh' maybe because it's from hell, I felt the color was a little different from the fire I used to see.

Someone called Ane, and we immediately approached him. It looked like the things we asked for had been prepared, besides that I also saw a creature larger than an elephant with one pointy horn standing behind that person. At first I thought it was a rhinoceros, but there was something on the top of its body and legs which were thick layers resembling bones or something. The creature looked like a giant version of an armadillo, elephant and rhino mix.

I was amazed looking at that creature. Even more so when I knew that it could pull seven freight carriages that were towed in such a way with one coachman. Ane invited me to sit in the seventh carriage which carried the least amount of goods. This was an open freight carriage that was usually used to transport crops and was pulled by horses or oxen.

"Wow! Is he really capable of carrying all of this?" I was doubtful, uncertain. Normally, for a freight carriage with that many goods, it would be drawn by one big horse or two horses.

Ane laughed at my words. I immediately sat down and arranged the bamboo basket I was carrying, on top of a pile of sacks that seemed to contain wheat. "If you use a horse, it will take longer, Tha," Ane said as she sat next to me. "By carrying seven freight carriages at once, Karkadann is enough to carry one carriage, it will be faster. Don't be afraid, this creature is very strong." Even though she said that, I felt like this was like torturing an animal.

I just nodded, pulling a hood on my coat to reduce the cold. "Hopefully we don't freeze when we get there." Ane laughed again at my words.

…

The carriage we were riding moved down slowly on a road covered in thick snow. The trails imprinted from the carriage wheels were like snake trails, gliding under my feet. Slowly, the large building that we came to was getting smaller and smaller, until I could only see the brown brick walls and the white roof. The creaking sound of the carriage's wooden wheels and the occasional shakes were like entertainment for my ears. Slowly I realized that it felt like I broke out from my previous solid habits. It felt like I was on an adventure in a place where I could see and understand the world from a different perspective.

Ane signaled the coachman to stop, then asked me to get off. We crossed the red sea of ​​sun apple orchards. In one of the apple trees, she scavenged a mound of snow and dry leaves, then tugged one end of the sack. We carried a sack of apples with great difficulty, lifting each end, pulled it through the thick snow in the middle of the apple orchard to the freight carriage, then went back for another sack.

"How much food do you want to stock up?" the coachman asked Ane. However, it sounded like he ridiculed us.

Anne laughed. "You have no idea what this winter will be like. By making preparations for the worst, wouldn't it be better instead of being silent?" He said.

We got back on the train. The coachman began to direct the creature, and then the carriage slowly started moving again.