BXBX NOVEL Chapter 118 - The Cabin
"How many hours left?"
"Probably two."
The location of the house and town that they would be staying in was around six hours from Lullin. They had gone through half of the journey, and they would probably arrive sooner or later. The town itself was called Sneggor. According to Walter, the city was filled with snow all year long. Needless to say, the town would be freezing.
Del was sitting in the backseat alongside Anna while Walter drove. The car was something that one would expect coming from the 1930s or 1940s era. It was pretty much a classic car without any air conditioning or anything that resembled modern tech. Del could use the MRAP, but he thought it wouldn\'t be a good idea to introduce their ability too soon to Walter.
All that was inside Walter\'s mind now was probably his responsibility to babysit the children sitting in the back. He didn\'t look too satisfied with whatever setup Linda gave to him. All in all, Del hoped that the bald man wouldn\'t go far beyond what the contract told him to do.
There was also another question on why they chose Sneggor out of all the available towns inside Ilbistirum. Was it because the city was located in a remote area? If that was the case, then many more towns were located far more remotely than Sneggor. Why would Linda keep children in a city with a cold climate? It was just odd. The fact that there was an academy there made the town feel way bizarre.
"Walter, can I ask something?" Del asked.
"Throw away," Walter said.
"Why are we going to Sneggor? Isn\'t there any better place for us than Sneggor?"
"The town is one of the places where Salve Group has a training ground. Although that training ground was rarely used by us, it could prove to be useful for both of you. We also have a cabin that we can use to stay. Lastly, there is an academy there for you two to get your high-school diploma," Walter explained.
Del nodded. Basically, because Sneggor was an all-in-one package for them, Linda decided to send them to Sneggor. Still, that town would be as cold as the arctic. They needed warmer clothing for that town. Their shirt or standard combat uniform wouldn\'t cut it. There was also the fact that some of their weapons might have reliability issues in the snow.
He always cleaned his weapons, so they rarely jammed. Still, there would be a possibility for them to leave their guns in snow only to come back finding out that the weapons were jammed. And unlike mud, snow or ice was way harder to be dealt with. They needed more force to break the ice, and running water through it wouldn\'t be the solution, unlike mud.
"Walter, what will we do once we arrive at Sneggor?" Del asked.
"For starter, we should clean the cabin first. There\'s a huge chance that the cabin would be very dusty and almost unliveable. After that, we can start unpacking our baggages. Maybe, if we have enough time, we can go around the town for a while," Walter answered.
"That\'s a good idea," Del said.
"Yeah, but kids, if you don\'t mind me asking, what happens with your parents?" Walter asked.
"They died."
"Do you want to tell me about it?" Walter asked.
"No thanks. We\'d rather not talk about it." Anna crossed her hands. She rejected Walter\'s request. The death of their parents wasn\'t something that they wanted to discuss for now. Maybe if Walter could get more friendly to them, he might be able to dig more about the past of those two kids.
The rest of the journey was relatively uneventful, mainly because neither Del nor Anna wanted to open their mouth. The question about their parents alone sparked disinterest in Walter. It was an honest mistake, but still, one wouldn\'t ask something too personal to a person that they barely knew.
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Del cleaned up the snow that fell on top of the head. It was snowing outside, and the temperature was really made them shudder. Who would build a town in a place with such a cold climate? It wouldn\'t end well for them unless the city had a particular resource.
Walter wasn\'t lying about the cabin either. The cabin was dirty. It probably had been years since the last person visited the cabin. Dust was literally everywhere. In fact, Del and Anna were wearing their gas mask. Even a slight touch on any object in that cabin would reveal that the cabin was dirty.
"Damn, we have to clean the cabin? How? Water will freeze at this temperature," Del commented.
"Del, help me light up the fire," Walter said as he picked up the wooden logs and threw them into the fireplace.
Del helped him set up the fireplace by tossing dry branches into it and igniting it with a fireball. The warmth from the fireplace immediately radiated all over the cabin. There should be a lamp inside of that cabin, but where? Del looked for a switch, and he found one. He switched on the light.
"Wow, it\'s better than I expected," Anna commented.
The light revealed the living room of the cabin itself. The cabin did look big from the outside, but she didn\'t expect it to be that big. There were like three couches surrounding a big table in that living room. There was also a dusty radio on the corner of the room. Wait, since when a cabin designed for military training could be this comfy?
"Very nice, huh? This is a cabin for our Stockholders or our VIP. For now, this will be the place for you two to stay, it doesn\'t look so bad, does it?" Walter asked as he put his hands in front of the fireplace.
"It\'s… amazing," Anna replied.
Maybe a little bit of cleaning here and there and the cabin would feel more like home. The cabin was perhaps three times bigger than the house that Del previously owned in Elbanian. It would serve to be the perfect place for their base of operation.
"There should be a mop in the storage room, anyone can bring it?" Walter asked.
"I\'d go there." Del walked to the front door and got out of the cabin.
The cabin itself was located on the west part of Sneggor. It was very remote, and it was located next to the training ground. The academy was in the northern part of Sneggor. The academy looked more like a castle than a school from afar. It was a majestic building covered in a thin layer of snow.
In the middle was Sneggor itself. The town looked lively, with many vehicles moved back and forth, whether a carriage or a car. There was no train station in that town, though. Maybe it was because the road to Sneggor wasn\'t as good as connecting Lullin and its surrounding region.
The storage room should be on the side of the cabin. Del searched for the storage room, and he found it. He opened the storage room, but he couldn\'t. The door was locked, and the lock was rusty and freezing. Well, if that was the case, there was no purpose in asking for the key. It might be better to just shoot the lock and be done with it.
Del pulled out his pistol from his holster and aimed it at the lock. He shot his gun, and the lock broke open. Del threw away the lock, and he opened the storage room. The room itself felt more like an armory than a storage room.
Rifles were lying down on the floors. Wrenches and gears were lying down on the table alongside several other tools. There was a mop and a bucket, though, on the corner of that storage room. Del grabbed it, and he headed inside the cabin again.
Anna had started dusting the whole place up since she wanted to take a rest as quickly as possible. Walter had begun to do the same thing. Del wondered where he could get the water. He hadn\'t seen any bathroom in that cabin. It might be a good idea to ask Walter.
"Walter, where can I get water to fill the bucket?"
"Go to the end of the hallway, you\'ll find a bathroom."
"Thanks."
Del walked through the hallway. He went right past the kitchen, the dining room, the bedroom, and other areas. He eventually reached the bathroom and started filling the bucket up with water. He also washed the mop first before he started cleaning the house up. After the bucket was filled, he returned to the living room and began cleaning the floor.
The amenities turned out to be more than enough for them. The sooner they cleaned the cabin, the better it would be.. After all, who didn\'t want a good sleep after a six-hour-long journey? Del didn\'t know who didn\'t wish to sleep, but he definitely hoped for some rest after the trip.