Chapter 19 - Winter Snow

Meow peered into the opening between two slanted ice crystals.
"It looks like a small cave." She said.
"Are you going to go in?" Adam asked her. Meow stepped into the cave.
"Hello!?" She called out, and her voice echoed deafeningly loud.
"Do you have any idea how loud that sounded from in here? Don't do that again." Adam said angrily.
"I'm sorry." Meow said, stroking the face of the Kitten Soul Mirror.

"Who goes there?" Echoed a male voice. In moments, they were met by a middle-aged man wearing glasses and a brown fur coat.
"Uh, hi!" Meow stammered, not expecting to see another person so soon after arriving.
"Can I help you there, young lady?" The man asked, adjusting his glasses.
"Uh, well," Meow stammered, "Um, I'm looking for a doctor." The man adjusted his glasses again, and looked at her quizzically.
"A doctor, is it? Well, we have quite a few doctors here. I’m Dr. Raphael DeFredo. Follow me back to headquarters and I'll introduce you to some of them." The man turned abruptly and walked quickly back the way he had come. Meow hurried after him.

"Uh, wait!" She called. "The doctor I'm looking for, well, he's supposed to be an expert on something called the 'Crystal Shadow Virus'. I need his help."
"Crystal Shadow Virus?" Dr. DeFredo asked, quickening his pace. "A colleague of mine knew a great deal about that virus. He even learned of a cure."
"Great!" Meow smiled delightedly. "Can you please take me to him?"
Dr. DeFredo stopped.
"I'd sure like to, young lady. But Dr. Arrow disappeared almost eight years ago. We had two young chaps come looking for him, but they soon went the same way." The doctor began walking again.
"Toron and Roshi, I'll bet anything!" Meow said into her brooch.
"You knew them, did you? Well, please don't tell me you're here to look for them."
"What could have happened to them?" Meow asked desperately.
"Hold on a minute.” The doctor said as they reached the end of the cave. On one side of the cave wall there were a series of horizontal steel bars, leading like a ladder up into a hole, just big enough to fit a person through.

“I’ll go first,” Dr. DeFredo said, putting his foot on the first rung. “You follow.” He disappeared through the hole. As soon as he was out of sight, Meow followed. The steel rungs were icy and Meow’s hands felt numb, even through her gloves. Through the hole was a vast cavern, and Meow followed the doctor as he climbed up the wall. The climb was a long one. Meow struggled not to look down, and instead tried to make conversation with her guide.
“And do you know how Dr. Arrow disappeared?” Meow asked.
“I’m not sure,” The doctor replied, “But I’d wager it has something to do with the Winter Snow.”

"Winter Snow?" Meow asked. "What's that? Is it like the snow that falls in winter?"
"Snow doesn't fall here on Fuyunoyuki." The doctor explained. "True, our planet is icy. But we are surrounded by stars, so our atmosphere is quite warm."
"Then where does the snow come from?" Meow asked as she climbed.
"We don't know." The doctor said gravely. "But we avoid the snow at all cost."

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