The kennels at Rock Fortress had also been reinforced in a hurry. Extra wooden boards and tarps were added to the roof, while bundles of straw were stacked around the sides to cut down on drafts.
Inside, the floor was covered with dry straw and old clothes.
More importantly, most of the guard dogs were not kept in the kennels all the time.
Under Leah's arrangement, guard dogs like Bullet and Duke were put on a rotation system, with time split between indoors and outdoors.
The dogs assigned to outdoor watch stood guard alongside the sentries.
The sentries wore heavy coats, while those cold-resistant breeds relied on their thick double coats to withstand the freezing weather.
But with winter setting in, guard shifts had been shortened, and rotations became more frequent.
The sentries would not let the dogs stand still in the snow for long. They guided them to move around from time to time, keeping their blood circulating.
Once the dogs came back indoors, they were immediately wiped down with dry towels, especially their paws, to prevent cuts from ice shards and frostbite.
Dogs that were off duty were brought into the main hall of the main building.
It was much warmer there than outside. They could lie on the floor, rest, and recover their body heat.
Murphy, who was in charge of dog training, carefully checked each dog's condition, especially areas prone to frostbite such as paw pads and ears.
"Hale, good boy. You did well today." Murphy crouched down and used a cloth to wipe the melted snow from the paws of a German Shepherd that had just come off duty. The German Shepherd named Hale obediently licked his hand.
These silent comrades had been the earliest hunting dogs of Twilight Manor, and they were now an indispensable part of the base.
When night fell, the wind and snow grew even wilder.
The lights shining from the windows of Rock Fortress and Blackberry Ranch looked very faint amid the wildly dancing snowflakes.
The sudden drop in temperature had filled Black Bear Creek with more and more ice floes, blocking part of the diversion channel.
The constant snowfall also drove solar panel efficiency down to its lowest point.
On top of that, only Rock Fortress currently had hydroelectric power. Blackberry Ranch's hydroelectric construction had already stopped because of the weather.
The base's power supply was in crisis.
Most electricity use was now strictly limited, reserved only for basic lighting and critical equipment.
Warmth now came mainly from fireplaces and campfires.
In the hall of Building A, the massive stone fireplace had become the absolute center of Rock Fortress.
Firewood burned in the flames, releasing light and heat, driving back the cold that seeped in from every direction.
Everyone wrapped themselves in every thick piece of clothing they could find, draped blankets over their shoulders, and naturally gathered around that warm source of light.
Duane and Little Jimmy squeezed between their parents, sharing a thick wool blanket.
Little Jimmy was still excitedly whispering to Tom about how he had "bravely" guarded that litter of piglets today.
Tom rubbed his son's hair with his rough hand, while Morgan tucked the blanket more securely around Duane.
Merle had claimed a spot close to the fire and was waving Daryl over to sit with him.
He held a dented metal cup filled with hot water, grumbling to Daryl about the damn weather.
Shane chose to sit a little farther away. His gaze occasionally swept over the people in the hall, passing over Calista's figure.
Calista did not stay in the hall for long.
She pulled her coat tighter around herself and stepped back into the cold corridor for one last inspection.
In the tool shed, Jason and Wagner had been given enough basic cold-weather supplies to survive.
In the medical room, Evans, Felipe, and the others were still busy checking whether the stored medicines had been affected by the low temperature, preparing for a possible surge in frostbite and cold cases.
Calista also made a point of visiting the stables and kennels.
In the stables, Kent reported that everything was normal and the horses were stable.
At the kennels, Murphy also said that none of the dogs had shown any health problems for the time being.
"They're members of Rock Fortress too. We can't neglect them," Calista said to Murphy.
He nodded solemnly.
"I know."
...
After several days of the cold wave, the once impressive stacks of firewood in the base had shrunk rapidly, and more and more bare floor showed in the coal storehouse.
In the command room's stone fireplace, the flames were deliberately kept low, only maintaining enough warmth to keep their hands from freezing.
The flickering firelight cast shifting shadows across Calista, Rickson, and Leah's faces. The atmosphere was heavy.
Rickson pushed a handwritten list across the wooden table. It was filled with alarming numbers.
"Calista, Leah," he said, his voice a little hoarse. He had probably been up all night. "This winter is colder than previous years.
These are our actual fuel consumption numbers from the past five days, compared against our original winter reserves."
Rickson tapped several key items with his finger.
"Firewood consumption is forty-seven percent higher than expected.
Stockpiled coal, twenty-three percent.
Fuel reserves have also dropped fifteen percent.
Because of the current weather, hydroelectric and solar output are both terrible. Most of our electricity is coming from fuel generators."
Rickson looked up at Calista, his eyes heavy. "Fuel has to cover both power generation and heating. At this rate, even if we stop all nonessential use, our current reserves won't last through several winters.
And that doesn't even account for possible extreme low temperatures or prolonged blizzards."
Calista sighed. When she had stockpiled supplies in advance, she had overlooked one thing.
After coming from an era of peace, Calista had no real sense of how cold a winter without air conditioning or heating could be after the apocalypse.
The original storyline had not emphasized the severity of winter much either.
Thinking about it now, that was because Rick and the others only needed to keep a small group alive, while Rock Fortress had to keep an entire base running normally.
That included the daily lives of more than two hundred people and the survival of a large number of livestock.
Next year, once Blackberry Ranch's hydroelectric system was built, they would have to run power lines, develop other forms of energy, and make sure the base's heating was properly set up before the next winter.
But what about this year?
They could not just burn through their fuel stockpile like mad, could they?
Leah leaned against the wall with her arms folded and added, "We can't remove the defensive sentries, especially at night. The watchtowers have to maintain basic heating, or the sentries will risk frostbite, even hypothermia.
The medical room's heating also has to be guaranteed. In low temperatures, the wounded and sick recover much more slowly, and complications may even develop.
Dr. Jenner's lab... his research may be tied to our long-term survival, and the equipment needs a stable temperature."
She paused, then added the most important point. "And the fuel shortage is already affecting morale.
People below are already complaining that they wake up freezing at night, and that their hands and feet are stiff during training.
If this continues, we'll have internal problems."
Calista sat in the main seat, leaning slightly forward with her elbows on her knees and her fingertips pressed together.
She did not look at the list. Her gray-blue eyes were fixed on the flames in the fireplace.
"So the choice before us is this," Calista said slowly. Her voice was calm, but it made Rickson and Leah focus even harder.
"We can prioritize short-term 'comfort' and some non-core functions, betting that the weather will improve or that the search teams will immediately find a large amount of supplies.
Or we can take stricter measures right away, bear the internal pressure and potential risks, and prepare for a winter that may last much longer."
Leah thought for a moment, then offered a relatively cautious plan. "Maybe we can start by moderately lowering the heating standards in non-critical areas, like the dining hall and offices, while increasing the frequency and range of search team deployments.
That would ease the pressure without causing too much pushback."
...
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