The Long Dark

said you thought it was Russian? How could you know that?”
Tish sighed, but I somehow managed to ignore her. “Probably because it had Russian lettering on it.”
“What did it look like?”
“It was hexagonal and solid, maybe a half foot thick. The camo was a digitized pattern… white, light blue, and light brown.”
“Odd,” he said, after thinking about it.
“What does that mean?”
Rare for Avery, he looked befuddled. “I am not sure.”
I finished eating the nasty macaroni and cheese. Needing to stand up, I grabbed some of the trash on the floor around us and placed it along with a couple pieces of firewood in the woodstove.
“Did you take inventory?” I asked Avery, but his mind was somewhere else. “Earth to Avery.”
He jerked his head toward me. “Yes… Uh, we have six MREs, two gallons of water, thirty rounds of 9mm, ninety rounds of 5.56, and thirty rounds of 7.62. We also have a box of shotgun shells with no shotgun and a box of .45 caliber pistol ammunition with no .45 caliber pistol.”
“Sam, can you translate that?”
“We have four AR 15s and the one M4 you got from the radar site. They use the five, five-six ammo. That means we have ‘bout fifteen rounds each for ‘em. That ain’t shit. The 7.62 is for the AK you was shootin. Those thirty rounds will fill one magazine. ‘At’s it. We have, I think, three 9mm pistols.”
Avery interrupted. “We have two.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “I like how you pay ‘tention when you get ta be a dick ‘bout somthin.”
“What about batteries, Avery?” I quickly asked.
“What we have in the lanterns and headlamps is what we have. I believe one of the bags we left at Miley’s was a bag that held batteries and 5.56 ammunition.”
I sighed. “Great.”
“So, what are you working your way up to here, William? What’s the plan?” Titouan asked.
“I don’t have one yet, Titouan. That’s what we’re doing here, planning.”
Avery had Kelley’s phone out and looking at it. “With what you saw at the radar site, it is even more important that I be able to see what kind of information is on this phone. I need a charge cord and a Korean Language book from the library.”
Tish began shaking her head. “Miley had the right idea. I say we get diesel, head straight to Prudhoe Bay, and then jet on down to Fairbanks.”
Avery looked towards the ceiling, which was a clear sign he was doing math in his head. “As the crow flies, I would estimate Prudhoe Bay being two hundred to two-hundred-fifty miles away. That means we need a tank of diesel plus a little extra for good measure.”
“Well, let’s grab the diesel and go,” she said.
I slowly lowered myself to the floor, before saying the hell with it and allowed gravity to do with my body as it chose. The floor creaked as my ass smacked against the shoddy floor, Avery shouldering some of the blow as I nearly fell over on him. Sam chuckled. I mouthed “fuck you” to him before getting serious again.
“We’re on our own, Tish. There’s no one to save us. If we break down on the way without food and water, we’re screwed. Prudhoe Bay is a great idea, but only if we’re smart about it.”
“You think going to the library and getting a book is a particularly smart thing to do?” she countered.
“That phone has information that could potentially help us stay alive.”
She shook her head. “If we can go to Fairbanks, I’m sure there will be someone who could legitimately analyze it. There is a real military base there.”
“I don’t disagree.” Avery looked saddened to hear I was agreeing about letting someone else look at the phone. “But what if there are no bases in Fairbanks? Hell, what if there are no bases anywhere?”
She laughed. “In that case, it won’t matter either way, then, will it, William?”
“I don’t think it’s particularly funny, but, yeah, it matters to us.”
“What if we get killed trying to get the book?”
I rubbed my temples. I was getting a massive headache. “What are we going to eat when the MREs are gone, Tish? We have to go to Barrow anyway. Why not spend an extra few minutes getting the book?”
Avery chimed in. “If I didn’t have the access code, I could not break this phone. I am not sure anyone could. I have it. Not only can I read the messages on this phone, but I can also get to the underlying code. In my mind, I do not see how the added time looking for a book is not warranted, given the potential upside.”
“Sam?” I asked, wanting his input.
“If we can find one damn thang on ‘at phone that’ll help us smack ‘em in the dicks, I’m good with it. ‘At, and if we can take a break from eatin ‘ese damn MREs ‘at be real nice.”
Without meaning to, I locked glances with Sam for just a moment before asking Titouan what he thought. I needed to make sure I included everyone. “Titouan?”
“The library is next to the grocery store. I say we hit both.”
Tish stood up, dusted herself off, and glared at me before saying, “I suppose this is another time where I don’t get a vote. Just like back at the airport. You guys do whatever you want, and I have to go along with it.”
I sighed. “Come on, Tish. You know it’s not like that. But, look, I’m the one who has to make the final decisions.”
“Why in the hell don’t I have a say when my life is on the line like everyone else’s?”
“Come on, girl.”
“No, Sam. I’m sick of this. I want to make my own decisions.” She shook her head. “We need to go to Fairbanks.”
“I’m not making you go tomorrow.  We’ll come back for you, but we’re not going anywhere without supplies. And like Titouan said, the library is next to the store.”
“But there’s a store in Prudhoe Bay,” she said, trying one more attempt at changing