winter in greenland

Chapter 38

If Dan is awake at this moment, he must be able to see the abnormality from August's movements: there is a rare trace of fear in the pair of gray-blue eyes that are usually calm, and he has to catch him even if the blood is dripping. His arms were trembling imperceptibly.

He took a breath: "Stop talking, Heath and the others will come, and you will survive. If you have anything to say, you can wait until the hospital or return to the base."

Dan didn't answer.

Just when August thought he was lucky enough to avoid this topic, he felt the person in front of him propped himself up from the ground, and those green eyes looked straight at him, with a clear and stubborn expression that he had never seen before. .

He hardly dared to look Dan directly in the eyes, and stepped back a little uncomfortably.

"You...and Sergeant Arthur, are you lovers?" Dan's hoarse voice was very soft, but there was an unquestionable determination.

August was almost terrified. He never thought that Dan would ask such a question. He turned his head away in embarrassment and said vaguely, "Why do you ask such a question?"

Dan didn't speak, just looked at him, taking in all the changes in his face.

After a long silence, August said a little bluntly: "No."

He still didn't meet Dan's eyes.

"Then you...do you love him?"

August's jaw tightened, and for a moment he seemed to want to say something, but he fell silent.

"Damn, why am I asking you this...it doesn't matter..." Dan murmured, as if he had decided something, and was about to speak again——

"Enough!" August shouted in a low voice.

Dan didn't react for a moment, and blinked.

"Don't talk anymore! Whether my relationship with Arthur or my feelings for him has nothing to do with the current situation. Don't talk about it." August's voice softened a little, almost with a hint of pleading means.

After a long time, Dan said, "So...can I take this as your answer? You have already guessed what I'm going to say, right?"

There was even a smile in his voice.

August didn't know what to answer, so he simply kept silent.

"...I see. I'm sorry, Major, for the inconvenience. I'm sorry."

Feeling that something in his voice was withdrawing rapidly, August looked back at him somewhat helplessly, but it was already too late.

Dan turned his face slightly, his face hidden in the darkness.

He didn't know what to say, the hand beside him clenched into a fist, and he closed his eyes in pain.

two years ago.

On the helicopter, August couldn't tell whether it was his hands shaking or the illusion caused by the instability of the helicopter. The setting sun shone in through the porthole, casting a layer of blood on everyone's face.

Arthur lay in front of him, clenched his hand, his knuckles turned white, and his eyes were full of despair.

"August, have you ever thought about why I have always followed you like a tail during the past few years in the military academy, and even...even after graduation, I want to be with you?"

He was a little confused about what Arthur meant, and kept his head bowed, and the fleeting confusion on his face fell into Arthur's eyes.

"Because... I love you. Since the first day of the school opening ceremony, I have...cough...cough..." Another stream of blood came out of Arthur's lips.

August didn't have time to think about the meaning behind his words, hurriedly wiped away the blood around his mouth, and said incoherently: "Arthur, be obedient, stop talking, rest for a while, we will arrive at the hospital soon."

Arthur shook his head: "Don't be stupid, I can't... make it. There's no time."

After a pause, he raised his head with some difficulty: "I just want to ask you a question. In the past few years, you...you have been alone, neither found a girlfriend nor fell in love, and have been...always with Me, can I have a glimmer of hope... think... think that you... may also treat me..."

He didn't finish the last sentence, but stared at August with scorching eyes.

August just felt that there was nothing to hide under such gazes. He suddenly felt at a loss for the first time, unable to see the direction in front of him, and didn't know what kind of answer was appropriate and correct.

"You don't speak...can I...take it as you...by default?"

He felt compelled to say something, or do something to comfort the man in front of him.Finally, he nodded very lightly.

Arthur's gray face brightened for a moment: "I... I'm very... I'm very happy."

August didn't dare to look him in the eyes, and squeezed his hand tightly: "Now you can take a good rest, be obedient, don't think about it anymore. When we get to the hospital... When you get better, I will... we At once……"

"You know, August," interrupted Arthur, "I regret why...why I didn't tell you this sooner. We wasted so much time...if I could have... Even if I'm going to die right now, I might...not be so regretful..."

He looked at August with gentle eyes, and slowly raised a hand, as if he wanted to touch the eyebrows of his loved one for the last time: "Don't forget me, promise me."

August's voice trembled: "I won't, I promise."

"Help me...help me take care of my mother, you know, she likes to listen to you...playing..." After all, Arthur didn't finish his words, the hand fell from mid-air, and there was no more sound, only that His eyes were still wide open.

August closed his eyes, still holding Arthur's hand in his palm. He had never noticed that wrist was so thin.

It's as if nothing happened, and it's as if everything has changed.He has made a promise to a person, no matter what his sincerity is, a promise is a promise.

There are not many things left for him to hold on to.

If it is not difficult to forget, then "love" should not be difficult.

"Dan...I'm sorry, I'm not..." He said in vain, but he didn't know what he wanted to explain.

"You don't need to apologize, Major." Dan didn't move, and the weakness in his voice could not be concealed under the calm surface: "You never have to apologize to me."

August lowered his head to look at his palm, pursed his lips tightly and did not speak again.

on the ground.

It was already the fourth day of the search and rescue. After the professional search and rescue team arrived, Heath hadn't had a complete rest. At most, he had spent two or three hours in the tent of the temporary camp.Tired and anxious, in just four days, he seemed to have aged several years.

The entire search and rescue team has launched a blanket search of the ground within a radius of ten kilometers, but still has not found any signs of living people.Professor Murphy has been staying in their team, updating the meteorological and geographic data while helping them find someone.

"Professor... can I talk to you?" On the evening of the fourth day, the search and rescue team rested briefly under a mountain col. Heath was sitting with the others, and Ian quietly walked up to Professor Murphy while he was not paying attention. .

Murphy glanced at him in surprise, without asking any further questions, got up and followed him to the other side of the fire.

"Professor, judging from your professional point of view, how likely is it that Captain and the others... can still survive?" Ian's voice was a little dry.

Murphy was silent for a while: "From the time we received the last communication request from the scientific research station, under the weather conditions at that time, it was impossible for them to go far. Ten kilometers is the limit. From the current situation Look, they probably fell into the ice cirque or ice cave formed by the cracking of the ice shelf, and if they are lucky enough not to be seriously injured during the fall, they have a high chance of surviving."

"But we have searched all the nearby ice caves that can be used by people." Ian rubbed his head a little anxiously.

"Before we came here, there was a secondary fracture due to the impact of the earthquake wave. If...the ice cave they fell for the first time happened to be blocked by the fault formed by the secondary fracture...we may need more time."

"Then can you persuade Heath, I mean Captain Ibron, I can understand his feelings, but if this continues without sleep, I'm worried..."

Murphy raised his eyebrows: "He is your vice captain, why do you think he can listen to me?"

Ian smiled hastily: "Although he usually looks joking, once he decides something, he won't listen to any of our suggestions, except the captain."

Murphy thought for a while: "I will try my best."

Ian nodded gratefully: "Thank you, Professor, you have worked hard these few days."

Murphy shook his head: "It's nothing hard, I'm not the one who really worked hard. I, like you, hope that your captain can come back safely."

Dinner was compressed biscuits, Heath took a few bites and put it aside.The sky above their heads is an unchanging dark blue. The weather is very clear these days, and the Milky Way above their heads emits an eternal light.He squinted his eyes and looked up for a while, and for the first time felt that the light strip was hideous.

"Why, why don't you go to rest?" Murphy's voice came from beside him.

He glanced at her absently: "Professor."

Murphy didn't sit down, but stood beside him and looked at him condescendingly: "Want to go for a walk? Maybe you need to talk to someone?"

Heath raised his head. After a whole day of searching, most of the others in the team had returned to their tents to rest, leaving only a few watchmen sitting around the fire.Unable to explain what was in his mind, he stood up silently, followed Murphy and walked slowly towards the outside of the camp.

Murphy brought a flashlight, and the bright light cast a round spot in front of the two of them.

"I heard from Ian that you haven't rested for nearly three days?" Murphy spoke first.

Heath frowned, but didn't answer.

"Your behavior is actually very detrimental to the later search and rescue work."

"I know my physical condition myself." Heath said a little bluntly, and then, as if aware of his rudeness, he added "sorry".

Murphy turned his head to look at him for a few seconds, shrugged: "Don't be sorry, Captain, I understand your mood, but your state makes your team members, me, and maybe other members of the search and rescue team very worried .”

Heath sighed, with a rare fragility on his face: "I just... I just can't sleep, lying in the tent, I will wonder where August and the others are, he must be here somewhere A place waiting for me to take someone to find him. How can I rest."

Murphy didn't continue the topic.A sloping fault appeared in front of them. It should be a secondary fault that caused the movement of the continental shelf crust and arched an ice shelf.She knelt down, shone a flashlight on the ice in front of her, and changed the subject: "Captain, have you ever imagined what it would be like if the entire earth was completely frozen?"

Heath didn't understand the meaning of her words, and gave her a confused look.

"About 7 million years ago, the earth once had a global ice cover. It started from the poles, and the glaciers gradually moved to low latitudes, until all the warm wind and waves of the tropics were frozen in the chilling ice. But this event is like Ghosts come and go in a hurry. After leaving their imprints at the end of the Proterozoic period, they immediately disappeared in the same warmth as before. After hundreds of millions of years, it never reappeared. The Cryogenic Period was taken by scientists for it. A vivid name, used to remind future generations that there was a time when glaciers spread all over our planet, and even the equator was covered with snow.

"However, it was the volcanic activity that finally woke up the earth from the ice. The volcano continued to outgas, and the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere accumulated more and more. When it was above the freezing point, the deadlock was finally broken. The earth ushered in the Cambrian explosion of life."

The light of her flashlight swept across the ice layer loosely, and when it passed a certain angle, it refracted a layer of colored light.

"I said this not to popularize the knowledge of geology or meteorology. I just want to say that many times we feel that things have reached a deadlock and it is impossible to make any progress, but the deflection machine emerges from trivial things. Hold Hope is better than anything." Murphy stood up and patted his knees: "It's getting late, let's go back."

"Wait!" Heath grabbed her wrist holding the flashlight: "Don't move!"

Murphy was a little confused, so he kept a wrist firmly held by him, and the light of the flashlight was fixed somewhere on the ice.

Heath didn't speak, and slowly twisted the aperture of the flashlight until the beam of light condensed into a compact circle.

"There... there's something under there." Heath's voice trembled slightly.

Murphy looked in the direction of the flashlight, and through the thick ice layer, he could vaguely see a dark shadow below.

"You wait, I'll go back and call someone." Heath said, turned and ran towards the camp.

The author says:

Recently, various things have been very busy, and there are not many manuscripts saved. I am considering whether to change the day to update every other day...