Katya's Arc

Chapter 2 of 3

Katya locked the supply cabin door behind her and turned toward the lodge. Three contestants stood waiting outside her cabin. More came down the path, limping or cradling frost-damaged hands. Word had spread fast. She planted a wooden sign outside her door and stepped back. The words said what needed saying: Line Starts Here. The first contestant stepped forward, a woman with blackened fingertips who offered a crumpled hundred-dollar bill. Katya pocketed it and got to work, using just enough supplies to stabilize the damage. The next two paid the same. Then came a man with nothing to offer but a watch that wouldn't last a week in Siberia. She turned him away. He argued, then limped off when she didn't budge. By noon, her payment box held more cash than she'd made in a month back home. But three others still waited, and her antibiotic supply had dropped to half. She looked at the line, then at the locked chest inside her cabin. Every treatment brought her closer to the prize money. Every refusal kept her supplies intact. She couldn't have both. She treated one more, charged double, and sent the rest away. The box felt heavier in her hands than it should have.