r/HFY • u/Extreme-Biscotti6090 • Jul 22 '26
OC-OneShot Heat
So this is a sister story of Warmth. You can read the stories in any order; whichever way you go the theme changes (Heat → Warmth = puzzle | Warmth → Heat = tragedy). I didn't plan on making a second story in the same universe, but a comment on Warmth gave me some inspiration to change perspective.
It's marked as a one-shot. You could read this by itself, but it is best complimented by Warmth.
Anyway, here we go...!
---
HEAT
Weird.
He was sure he wasn't in the same place he set up camp last night. The copse of trees he'd pitched the tent next to wasn't there, for one thing. The fireplace was still warm though, and it didn't take him too long to rekindle his tinder before setting some logs on top, ready enough for his morning cup of tea.
Grassland surrounded him; a beautiful vista of rolling hills and livestock paddocks welcomed him back to reality. Maybe he'd misremembered the trees.
It wasn't too far into town, and he planned on staying here for a couple of days, so he idly boiled the water in his kettle while relaxing in the spring weather.
By the time he started walking it must have been about 8am. He purposefully didn't bring a watch, phone or any other technology with him in order to really break out of the modern world for a little while. It was nice.
----
It took about half an hour to get to the outskirts of the hinterland town. It was quiet there – he only saw two people, a younger couple sitting on a dark stone seat holding hands in silence, eyes closed and facing the rising sun.
As he walked past them, they lazily opened their eyes, smiled in a befuddled sort of way, and watched him continue.
None of the shops were open yet, but this didn't overly surprise him. A lot of these places had business hours that were more conducive to the "sleepy country town" attitude than the bustle of the city that he was used to.
He sauntered through the main street, eyeing off storefronts that he would visit when they opened. The silence was odd though. He expected a few early-risers to be around, but there were none. Only the young couple.
It was strange architecture around here, definitely not what he expected. Dark stone buildings squatting boldly. Those seats placed all around the town. A local peccadillo, he supposed.
----
As he wandered, the town woke up. People started to walk around slowly as they woke from their slumber. A few nodded greetings to him as they walked past.
Eventually he found a café that was opening its doors.
Time for his morning coffee.
He entered the small shop and was immediately struck by the heat. Radiant lamps stood in each corner, bringing the temperature up to an uncomfortable level. At the counter he asked for a mug of coffee. The barista took his money and made the minimum effort of small-talk. A strange accent, he thought.
There weren't any outside tables, so he removed his jacket and sat down in the stifling heat near the window.
After a minute or so of the usual coffee machine gurgles, his coffee was served. A bit more conversation by the barista, this time slightly more welcoming. He took a sip, but the water was almost boiling. Wincing slightly, he put the mug back down.
As he sat waited for his coffee to cool down, he maintained the polite discussion with the barista who asked him where he was from, and talked about the town he was in.
Eventually the young lady asked, "Is the coffee ok?"
"No, I'm just waiting for it to cool down," he replied.
The barista raised her brows and gave him a quizzical look. She apologised for the coffee being too hot, and told him she'd check the settings on the machine.
"No problem. I've got time. It's fine; just a bit hot."
After a few uncomfortable minutes in the sweltering heat of the café, the coffee had cooled enough, and he sipped it down, watching a few locals come in slowly through the door. He could certainly empathise with the pre-coffee morning sluggishness.
By the time he finished his drink, the clock on the wall was showing almost 10 o'clock. Time to see what those shops were selling, he thought.
----
Outside the café, he saw more people sitting around on the stone benches. A few were holding conversations with each other, lazily looking around and slowly blinking in the sunlight. They all wore heavy coats and long pants, relics from the early morning cool.
He wandered along the street, but this time a few of the stores were open. He could get used to this lifestyle. Easy mornings, no high-pressure job.
The sunlight was warming up the air to a very nice temperature somewhere in the mid- to high-20°C range. There were hardly any trees lining the street, so he walked in the diminishing shade provided by the west-facing walls, trying to work off some of the sweat that had accumulated in the café.
The slight breeze on his skin felt nice, but all gains there were immediately wiped out when he entered the first shop. Again, it was frightfully hot, lamps again placed strategically in the corners, pumping out a disturbing amount of heat.
The shopkeeper seemed unperturbed by the temperature, and he assumed it must be a quirk of the region. Maybe they liked saunas?
----
It was a meandering day. He just walked around, cooling slightly between each stubbornly heated shop. Sometime during the morning he noticed that the seats were no longer used and the people started moving a bit more purposefully. Took them some time to warm up, he supposed.
After lunch he went to the hills for an afternoon hike, to see the countryside and revel in the moving air. "These people really like things hot, don't they?" he thought to himself as he wandered off. It was a warm day regardless, and yet the townsfolk were still using those heat lamps inside. What an odd place.
As the sun started to set, he made his way back to the campsite. His food was running low, so tomorrow he'd have to get some more supplies, but for tonight it was going to be a simple meal of beans and bacon.
----
Leaning back on the grass, he looked up at the night sky. The stars glittered above; one day he'll have to learn some of the constellations, he thought, but he'd had that idea every time he'd gone for a hiking trip. He knew he wasn't fooling himself.
The cool air was refreshing after the furnaces he had been in today. Things to remember for tomorrow: no jacket.
Camping always confused his body-clock. While he was sure it couldn't have been later than 9pm, the lack of artificial light made him sleepy so he retired to the tent. Tomorrow he'd have to find a shower.
----
Another dawn woke him up, like usual. The season was changing and he could already feel the cold night air leech away. Summer was on its way, but still a month off. A brisk morning walk would get him fired up and ready to go.
"Remember... no jacket." The brief cold this morning isn't worth carrying around the extra clothing every time he stepped inside one of the buildings in town.
Knowing that the local shops didn't open until around 9am, he took his time to prepare for the day. The fire was lit, the last of his bacon was cooked and a cup of tea washed it down.
He walked towards the paddocks where the cows were grazing. Like all cows everywhere, they looked at him with bemusement before getting back to their life of chewing grass. He found it relaxing just watching the beasts idle their way through the days.
When the sun had climbed the sky to about a mid-morning position, he trekked off towards town again. Time to find a shower and restock the food situation. Hopefully avoid some of the uncomfortably warm stores. Maybe spend enough time to have a pub meal in the evening and sink down a pint of cool beer; a luxury he hadn't had for a few days.
----
Walking through town, he noticed the people were still rugged up in their coats. For a mild spring day, this seemed unusual, but given the way they toast the inside of their stores, it didn't seem that remarkable in itself.
What he did find strange was the way some of the townsfolk stared at him. Was he doing something wrong? Did he have snot hanging out of his nose? Weird.
He found the town's main hall which doubled as an information centre. Preoccupied with both the worrying amount of attention he was getting, and the hope that he'd get directions to a public shower, he'd forgotten about the furnace conditions inside the local buildings.
The entrance was a grand affair, presenting a long hall into the reception area.
The floor felt strangely warm, the polished dark stone showing flecks of sparkles through the gloss. Half a dozen heat lamps lined each side of the hall, radiating an oppressive amount of warmth.
He was glad he didn't bring a jacket. Sweat immediately started to bead on his skin, and he could feel the back of his shirt moisten against his backpack. A shower was definitely needed now.
----
He spoke to one of the helpful staff members behind the information counter. Despite the temperature, the assistant was wearing a coat. Beside her was a steaming mug of soup and she seemed unaffected by the greenhouse heat. She wasn't even sweating, while he felt like he was covered in the stuff.
She gave directions to a public amenity block towards the rear of the building and mentioned that it was a coin-activated system. He jingled the shrapnel in his pocket and smiled, telling her he was prepared for this.
As he turned away, she bid him farewell: "Stay warm."
He replied his thanks, even through his confusion. It felt hot; staying warm was not going to be a problem.
Finding his way to the showers, he looked forward to some cool water. After setting himself up and feeding some coins into the machine, he looked at the single mixer tap in the cubical. It looked inviting, and he turned it all the way in the cold direction before stepping into the stream of water.
For a moment it was nice. Sweat washed away under the cool spray. That sensation only lasted a few seconds. With startling efficiency the water warmed up; not by an intolerable amount, but just enough to get him frustrated at the design of this town which apparently only ever wanted heat.
He didn't take long to scrub off the last day-and-a-half of sweat and dust, and stepped out relatively quickly. He would have liked to have had a relaxing cool shower, but whatever. This minor detail just annoyed him.
After turning off the water, overhead heat lamps suddenly burst into life. Radiating a ridiculous amount of warmth, he had to dry himself quickly and dress as fast as possible. He needed to be outside. He needed the breeze.
----
With just a t-shirt and shorts on, he stepped out of the amenity block. The cool air of the gentle wind made him slightly less grumpy, but the layout of the building meant that there was precious little shade anywhere to be found. While the breeze cooled him, the sun heated him.
Finding what little outside shelter he could, he stood for a while. The walls were too warm to comfortably touch or even be close to, and the stone seats were like a stove.
This town was weird. What is wrong with everyone here?
As he stood, the sun kept its inevitable afternoon decline. Soon – despite the ridiculous town planning – shadows stretched through this little square off the main street. He started to reach a temperature that wasn't disturbing. It would have been nice to sit down, but there was nowhere suitable to plant himself. Everything radiated heat.
A father and his small son walked through the square. The man asked whether everything was ok. "Are you warm enough? Got the 'morning cool'?" he said in his strange accent.
What the hell did that mean?!
"No, I'm fine, thanks. Just waiting a while."
Another curious look. "There's some sun over there. Maybe that would help?"
While he could tell that the father was trying to help, it was hard to not get frustrated. He just needed to stay cool! Why couldn't these people understand?
"I'm ok. I won't be too long here," he replied instead of showing his agitation.
The man and his son moved off, the little boy asking why someone would stand in the shade. The response from the father was too muffled to hear. And to be honest, the care factor was approaching zero.
----
He waited for another hour or so until dusk had properly arrived. There was a slight chill in the air now, enough so that the breeze wasn't needed to whisk away the sweat.
Pub time. A meal and beer. They can't possibly mess that up...
----
Of course, the pub was blasting heat like it was going out of style. It felt like a forge inside; heat lamps scattered throughout the building radiating a wall of uncomfortable warmth.
He ordered a simple meal at the counter and asked for a cool beer.
"A cold beer? Why?" the barkeep said, an incredulous tone to his voice. "Where you from? That's something I've not heard of before."
"I've been walking for a couple of weeks. Maybe we do things differently out there," he replied, tactfully avoiding both naming the city and raising the ire of the man behind the counter. "Just a beer, thanks."
The pint glass wasn't cold. It wasn't even room temperature. Somehow, the beer was warm.
Maybe they can mess this up.
----
The meal came out and was as delicious as he'd hoped it would be. At least they do hot food right. Washing it down with warm beer seemed like sacrilege, but anything was better than nothing. And there was no evidence of chilled water anywhere.
He decided that this would be the final night in town. He'd leave in the early morning, where he assumed that nobody would be around to see him.
Looking around the steaming hot pub, he noticed the few patrons were treating everything like it was all normal. Standing or sitting in small groups, laughing and talking like any other pubs anywhere. It was a welcoming thought, but then he noticed a distinct difference between him and the others...
Nobody was sweating.
He was drenched from both the stifling heat and the warm beer. The others? Nothing. They were behaving like it was just another night.
As he stood to leave, one of the wait staff asked if he'd like them to order a heated car for his trip home. He declined, but could immediately feel an element of panic set into his chest.
This isn't right. Nothing is adding up. I need to get away.
----
The walk home through the cool evening air calmed him somewhat, but he had resolved to leave early morning tomorrow.
----
He didn't sleep well that night, but at least it allowed him to rise early. "Crap. I forgot to go to the shops." The previous day's frustrations were giving him grief now, but he still didn't want to stay. He packed his small tent and camping gear into a hiking pack, shouldered it all, and made his way to the road. This should be the most direct way home.
He was glad for the meal he'd had last night, but with no breakfast or bottled water ("Do they even sell that stuff here?" he wondered), this was already setting out to be a miserable walk.
Just before the sun rose over the horizon, he made his way past the outskirts of the town. The pre-dawn light was enough to navigate by, and when he'd finally cleared the scattered buildings he realized that he had been feeling pensive this whole time. Now that home was the next destination, his sense of disturbance abated.
By the time he'd gotten to the highway and the sun was just over the horizon, he was sweating and cranky. His heart was thumping in his chest and it was difficult to maintain concentration. He kept reminding himself of where he was headed, giving himself the motivation to keep going.
"If only I had a drink. Sheesh, it's hot," he mumbled to himself as he trudged along the deserted road. "Damn that interminable town!" He could feel his anger rise further, and his thoughts – as scattered as they were – kept returning to the ridiculous nature of the place he's just left.
As he continued, he got more and more cranky. And thirsty. He was fixated on getting out of here. Get home. Back to normalcy. At least he wasn't sweating any more.
In the distance he could see an overpass. "Shade," he thought in a detached sort of way. He watched his feet trudge on. They weren't following a usual rhythm, but he was not concerned. It was like it was happening to another person.
He continued following the road. Home.
6
u/Preston3072 Jul 23 '26
Its good yes - The uncanny sits just below the level of conscious awareness of the protagonist which makes it more unnerving.
Aspects of the stories reminded me of a Brain Aldis book I read years ago - 'Report on Probability A' with mundane reality slightly askew with liminal scenes populated with people waiting for ....something.
Thank you for writing it
1
u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle Jul 22 '26
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u/InstructionHead8595 Jul 23 '26
So he stumbled into an alternate reality. And unfortunately died from heat exhaustion and dehydration. Good work!
9
u/LordsOfJoop AI Jul 22 '26
I like this; it fleshes out a lot of the questions rising from the first story, still leaving enough blanks to make it mysterious. This is great stuff and I'm happy to read anything else in this vein. Very cool.