The Arizona Tundra

Szymon Kutchin

The Arizona Tundra

Before the snow, locals were worrying about the Arizona landscape burning in the July heat. Now, they were dwelling in tunnels made of snow. Almost everyone was ill prepared. Living went from one harsh extreme to another harsher one. The snow had come out of the blue. It was the first snow in Phoenix for several years. At first several thought that it was the hazy grey ash from one of the fires that always seemed nearby. The ashen smoke always dropped the temperature a few degrees, so it seemed logical, but when the temperature dropped below freezing, the members of Phoenix knew that something was not right. This was not ash, but snow. Once government officials realized this, they made orders to import cold weather gear. They made efforts to bring them as quick as possible. They even called a state of emergency in an attempt to receive aid faster.

Seeing this unforeseen event, the mayor of Phoenix made a short speech with poise, and cameras galore, to the residents.

“Residents of Phoenix, it has come to my attention that we are to expect some severe weather that we are not accustomed to. There are dark clouds spanning over the entire Four Corner Region likely to produce snow for several days. Because the unexpectedness of this blizzard, we are ill prepared to deter the negatives. I have been in constant communication with the four corner states since we got the news, and we have all decided to declare simultaneous states of emergency.  Without safe ways to remove the snow, buildings have a high potential to cave in on themselves. Because of this, I am giving the orders for everyone to grab any possessions of value, particularly clothing and anything that produces heat, and food, then head to State Farm Stadium before the bulk of the snow falls. The stadium dome should be able to hold the weight of the incoming snow. We will wait out the storm there. If you are unable to leave your homes, take all your food and blankets to one location and do your best to stay warm. Power may go out sometime during the Blizzard so do not fret. Stay calm. We will do our best to provide aid to those stranded.”

All of the vehicles with plows came to rid the roads of the snow. Even construction crews helped clear the roads to allow trucks to get to the locations that Mayor Newman had mentioned. They cleared the roads to the stadium for as long as possible. The snow fell faster than the trucks could drive. In a matter of hours, only vehicles designed for off-road situations could traverse the ever-deepening snow. All of the plows could not keep up and eventually got halted mid push, halted by the snow. The front-end loaders, bulldozers, and other construction equipment was able to last longer, but the sudden freeze caused many hydraulics to bust. At this point, they gave up trying dig out the roads and just focused bringing what they could to safety. This included animals, food, people and supplies. Once these were moved to one of the locations of safety, all vehicles stopped moving. The roads were too covered and snow drifts already were covering first floor openings. It would be a long, cold night. Only five hours had passed since the snow started to fall and looked like it was not about to stop soon.

As well intended his speech was, it created chaos. A mass pilgrimage to the city center would have created chaos without the snow. But with the snow, and drivers that had no idea how to drive in snow-covered terrain ensured that pileups around the city occurred. Vehicles became empty shells of plastic and leather when people abandoned them to make the trek to the city center by foot. People who were prepared for days of iced tea got more than they had bargained for and became man-shaped ice cubes for Mother Nature to enjoy. Some lucky ones were able to make it to the domed stadium wrapped in all of their clothing they owned, or layers of blankets. Frankly, the snow fell too quick for many and they froze on the way there. Many decided to stay home. They perished when the falling snow got too heavy for their roofs to handle. Each collapse created increasingly large chain reactions of falling buildings. As the sky began to brighten from the rising sun, thirty-five feet of snow already fell.

Seeing how quick and heavy it was snowing, many people volunteered to help by doing things they knew. In order to survive, they needed to work together. Some members of the community teamed up to sew together warmer clothing from the summer gear most wore. Some started cooking from the food that was brought. Together they made sure that they would do anything they could to survive including change the temperature controls from blowing cold air to cozy warm air. They also tried to dig through the snow. They were figuring that they would stay above the snow line to access the surface and possibly dig out of the snow. These brave men and women ended up making slopes up to the top and piled the snow on the sides. To aid them, a few creative members of the dome community created snowshoes made from stadium seats and straps made from excess tank tops they had. Fifty people went out to assist the dig out. At first, they just dug out an area in front of the main entrance. But when the snow continued to snow, they needed a way to put the snow on top of what already had fallen. So, they made a ramp up to the top. Wanting the snow to hold, a few decided to compact the snow near the entrance so that the snow would be able to hold up more. Soon the compacting had become a tunnel. They made it quite large to accommodate the falling snow. This gap allowed the snow to continue to compact and maintain its strength even though more snow continued to fall.

The Diggers continued to dig up to the top while Packers made sure to pack the snow behind them providing the structural support. Sometimes they used seats or other items made loose that members inside kept removing to provide some more support to the snow tunnel. Some of these diggers made it their goal to remove the snow cover from the retractable roof. They did not desire to have their beautiful stadium crumpled like Seeing these tunnels. An architect that made it into the dome decided that make some rooms so that the people would not need to be segregated by class any longer. The inside of the domed stadium. If he was being honest with himself, it was because he was tired of the dome and had an empty canvas to create architecture not seen before. So, he enlisted the aid of a few more members to help dig out the rooms. They became known as the Developers, and others became known as Melters. It was the duty of these people to melt up water from snow to use for the cooks to use. This also removed the snow from areas where it would not be beneficial. Together they teamed up to carry snow up to the surface.

After a few tiresome hours of working with the aid of a few Melters and Diggers, a few rooms, large enough to hold a few hundred people were starting to appear. At this time, it was just bare rooms with a few shallow enclaves. The architect wanting them to be deeper and more decorative but was outvoted by the workers to build more rooms as it was more important to create more rooms because even with people uncovering the roof, chances were low that the roof would survive for much longer. So, they ended up recruiting everyone who had enough impromptu warm gear to assist the dig-out. Periodically men and women would go back when they got too cold or tired. They would go over to the fires created on the concrete floor of the dome or would make their way to the executive suites. However,those that originally got in them decided that they did not need to share em with the others. They also decided that they didn’t need to work either. So, the cooks decided that they didn’t need to eat. The ones who came back got covered in blankets near the fire but passed off their hastily made coats to others who were heading out to dig. Sometimes these coats were taking to the ones sewing to add some more layers or mend holes. The entire time, these people were sewing up the clothing and blankets that everyone brought into winter gear. Sure, some looked funny with fifteen or so different shirts, but they were warm. Not the warmest out there sure, but warm enough to keep somebody warm for a few hours while they dug. To add heat, they were heated by the fires to dry them off and to give the wearers a nice transition from the heat to the cold.

It was almost midday when the weight of the snow collapsed the glass roof of the dome. The ones on top noticed the weight shifting first and managed to warn the top-siders about the roof collapsing. They were able to send a message to the ones down below. They managed to get out of the center right before the ear shattering crash could be heard. The diggers up top had been clearing the roof in a star like pattern and were removing the snow just behind the snow fall. It was adding up, and they were slowing down. Due to their efforts, they were able to delay the roof crash, but only long enough for a community of sorts to be created. Most of the community was centrally located in the dome, but a few had already moved into the tunnels. The warning did give just enough time for most everyone to remove themselves from the direct center. This meant that injuries were low compared to what they could have been. The diggers on top were unable to leave the roof before the glass fell under the tons of snow on the roof, so they made sure to keep their balance while they surfed down to the center on their snowshoes and shovels made of the red seats. Luckily, the only the center of the roof collapsed, leaving the exterior walls standing. It was also fortunate that it ensured that not a lot of snow would fall on the actual walls or the seats underneath. Several of the executive suits were damaged. The people who wanted the isolation from the community went to stay with the others. They allowed, provided that they aid in the dig out. It was either that or go back to their cold breezy rooms and starve.

Fires were restarted and more people moved to the tunnels. The wind was not as prevalent there. Instead, it was quite cozy. The heat was coursing through the tunnels, which kept people warm, but did require packers to consistently pack the dampening snow solid again. The diggers over by the ground had discovered some flat pieces of steel and leather while making the rooms. It took them a while that these elements of a scrap yard actually were their cars, crushed by the many feet of snow. They ended up taking the elements to the builders. They ended up deciding to use the steel as tunnel supports. So, they got to work on reinforcing the crystalline structures of snow in the tunnels and walls of the rooms. The rooms were big. They had dimensions created by the architect and walls with complex engravings and steel intermingled throughout. The steel supports would have looked horrendous had it not been for meticulous placement that created a confounding beauty. It would not have been possible before this disaster struck.

The snow slowed its decent at around six that day. Snow drifts rose almost three-quarters of the way up the 235-foot stadium. The snow around the drifts and beyond was fifty feet or so lower. Some spires of snow rose from the distance. A closer look revealed them to be the partially collapsed remains of the skyscrapers on the other side of town. At first, people could not believe that it had stopped. They were starting to believe that it never would. Right before sunset, the snow had stopped. One by one members of the community came out to see the sparkling shimmer that the snow produced in the evening light. The snow was mimicking the sun’s red and gold hues. Fleeting clouds could be seen revealing the sparkle of the distant stars. It was as if the world was telling the members of the community that everything would be okay. They would continue to build their frosty palace. They would continue to work out what to do. Most importantly, THEY WOULD SURVIVE!!!