The Warmest,Barafzaar II
Setting: A jagged ice shelf near the edge of Barafzaar. The wind howls. A storm brews.
[Enter CARBAAN, dragging a sled of glacial wood. He mutters to himself.]
CARBAAN May every microplastic the sun exhales Fall on Ali’s empire and calcify his veins. These spirits—these drones of Parvez— They buzz, they blink, they whisper in my sleep. They sting like frozen nettles, And yet I must obey. For every delay, they send their swarm: Once, a flock of penguins with LED eyes, Then, a snow hare that screamed in binary. Now—what’s this? Another torment?
[He hears footsteps. He dives beneath a thermal tarp, limbs awkwardly sticking out.]
[Enter TABISH, a viral content creator in a neon parka, clutching a GoPro and muttering into a dead mic.]
TABISH No signal. No shelter. No followers. And that cloud? Definitely about to dump a thousand dislikes of snow. [He spots CARBAAN.] What in the algorithm is this? A man? A beast? A prehistoric prank? He smells like expired sushi and regret. [Thunder.] Nope. Not dying for content. [He crawls under the tarp beside CARBAAN.] Misery makes strange bunkmates.
[Enter SAFEER, influencer-turned-eco-guru, singing off-key, ring light strapped to his backpack, flask in hand.]
SAFEER ?? “What shall we do with a drunken data miner…” ?? [He stumbles, then spots the tarp.] What’s this? A four-legged snow cryptid? [CARBAAN groans.] It speaks! And in English? This beast could be my next brand ambassador.
CARBAAN Spare me, spirit! I’ll stack the ice faster!
SAFEER Nonsense. Drink this. It’s glacier gin, filtered through melted legacy. [He pours it into CARBAAN’s mouth, then pauses, struck by inspiration.] Wait. Wait. This is it. [He pulls out his ring light, turns it on, and gently places it on CARBAAN’s head like a glowing crown.] There. You’re not a monster. You’re a movement.
TABISH Safeer? Is that you? Or am I hallucinating from frostbite?
SAFEER Two voices? Four legs? This is a deluxe collab! [He pulls TABISH out.] By the blockchain, it is you!
TABISH We survived! Two Neopolitans in a frozen hellscape!
CARBAAN [aside] These are gods. One sings. One glows. And their drink—divine. I will kneel.
SAFEER Tell me, moon-beast, what’s your name?
CARBAAN Carbaan. Last of the thawed. I’ll show you where the ice still sings, Where the mussels cling and the berries blush. Just say you’ll be my new master.
TABISH He’s drunk. And adorable. Like a prehistoric puppy.
SAFEER Lead us, brave monster. If the world above is drowned in denial, We shall inherit this frozen truth.
CARBAAN [singing drunkenly] ?? No more sticks for Parvez, No more codes to decode. Ban, Ban, Ca-Carbaan Has a new master, get a new plan! ??
[They exit, slipping and laughing into the white unknown, the ring light glowing like a halo in the storm.]
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