In the Frigid Apocalypse My Husband Lost His Wife With His Own Hands Chapter 05

In the Frigid Apocalypse My Husband Lost His Wife With His Own Hands Chapter 05

Behind the barrel was a face I knew down to my bones.

Slowly, I lowered myself to the floor.

The guards rushed forward and cinched a steel cable around my neck.

The little girl tried to crawl toward me, but a staff member dragged her away.

“She… saved…”

Her throat was damaged, and those were the only two words she could force out.

Sophie immediately crouched down and pulled the girl into her arms.

“Don’t be scared. I saved you.”

A collective sigh of relief swept through the room.

Everyone assumed Sophie had protected the child.

Ethan did not ask what had happened.

He took out a silver collar and fastened it around my neck himself.

A red indicator lit up. Four steel pins sprang from the collar and drove into my cervical spine.

Sophie went slightly pale.

“A detonation collar?”

“She’s learned to attack people.”

Ethan adjusted the settings.

“We can’t take any more chances.”

He gently touched my scalded face.

“As long as you don’t hurt anyone, I won’t press the button.”

His voice was soft, just as it had been when he used to coax me into taking medicine whenever I was sick.

Then he handed the remote to Sophie.

“Keep this when I’m not here.”

Sophie asked, “What if she only comes near me?”

“You don’t have to be sure.”

Ethan looked directly at her.

“If you feel threatened, press it.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

He knew Sophie was afraid of me. He knew she hated me.

Yet he had placed my life in her hands.

Later that day, researchers from the institute came to examine me.

The screen showed that my body contained a prime cryocore capable of linking every frost-dead.

The researcher’s voice shook with excitement.

“Extracting the cryocore would stabilize Ms. Reed’s cold-induced cardiomyopathy and give Haven control of

the frost-dead hordes.”

Ethan frowned.

“What happens to her after it’s removed?”

“We may be able to preserve her vital functions. Her personhood is another matter.”

My head snapped up.

Another researcher studied the data, then abruptly frowned.

“The prime cryocore contains a complete neural map. In theory, as long as the core consciousness remains intact, it can draw on cryogenic matter to rebuild the body even if the original host is destroyed.”

His colleague scoffed.

“Unless more than ten thousand infected supply energy simultaneously, it’s only a theory.”

The researcher handed Ethan a consent form.

“If we don’t extract the cryocore within forty-eight hours, Sophie will die.”

“If we remove sixty percent, we can keep Subject 001’s body alive, but her existing personhood will most likely be lost.”

“You decide. Save Sophie’s body, or preserve Subject 001’s personhood.”

Ethan did not sign immediately.

He took me to an isolation room outside Haven’s walls. The climate-controlled district was just beyond the

wall.

Through the vent, I could hear people talking and laughing and catch the scent of hot food.

Ethan brought me a small bowl of frozen grapes.

“You used to love these.”

My fingers twitched.

He remembered.

Ethan held one of the grapes to my lips.

“Eat. Then you’re coming back to the institute with me.”

The small spark of warmth that had risen inside me instantly went out.

“We’re only taking part of the cryocore,” he explained patiently.

“Sophie saved the entire convoy. Without her, I never would’ve made it back to Anchorage, and I never

would’ve found you.”

For the first time, he spoke to me as if I were still a person.

I looked up at him.

But Ethan continued, “Even if you really do retain Nora’s memories, then you should know she would never

leave a debt like that unpaid.”

“She would agree to save Sophie.”

I knocked the bowl of frozen grapes from his hand.

Ethan’s expression darkened.

“Don’t be difficult.”

Using my fingernail, I carved a message into the iron bed:

[Then why won’t you ask the Nora who’s here now?]