Chapter 1
The white is so blinding that many in the cab could barely see anything out of the small, port sized windows of the Sno Cat. Of the five people in the vehicle, three had never been this far away from the Arctic station and both of the experienced adventurers were injured. So, they would be no help in the group’s current situation. Colby, the current driver of the Sno cat, had never driven this type of vehicle and it was becoming more apparent with every jerk of the vehicle.
“Slow down man!” Lisa, one of the two females that were a part of the expedition, yelled while trying to maintain her balance.
“Nevermind that Lisa, give me a fucking hand back here.” The last of the group, Natalie, said as she tried to hold the body she was working on, still.
“Hold him down!” She screamed when Lisa got close to her.
An injured man lay writhing with one of Natalie’s hands wrists deep in his body. Natalie tried to hold the flashlight she held up high in her other hand but soon recognized that it would be impossible because of her position.
“I need more light but if I move higher, I will lose the puncture.” She said, thrusting the flashlight at Lisa. “Hold this.”
Lisa took the flashlight and held it as high as she could while holding the writhing body.
“Damnit.” Natalie said leaning back on her haunches.
Reluctantly, Lisa released the jerking body and stood as high as she could in the cat’s cab.
“Is he going to be ok?” She asked, trying to see what Natalie saw but being unable to because of her angle.
Natalie wiped her brow with her free hand before looking up at Lisa.
“I don’t know, I hope so.”
She took a look at the body before snatching off the gloves she was wearing. She sifted through the medical pack the group kept in the Sno cat for emergencies.
“I need something to close this wound.” Natalie said, a look of resignation on her face.
Lisa looked at the body then back at Natalie.
“There’s nothing in the fucking pack for that?” She asked looking at the prone body lying next to the one Natalie worked on.
“How’s Mac doing?” She asked nodding toward his body.
She could see his chest rising slowly; which meant he was alive.
“He’s better than Daniels.” Natalie said, tossing several items out of the medical pack.
“That thing punctured his stomach.” She pointed toward a nine-inch needle that lay next to Daniels’ body.
“If we don’t find a way to close that hole, he’ll die of septicemia. If it isn’t too late already.” She threw the bag down and yelled.
“We’re going to have to figure out something.” Natalie said moving back to the body. She looked from Daniels to her backpack then back again. Thinking of something that might help, she snatched up her backpack and began to rummage around until she found the thing she wanted. She grabbed one of the blades used to cut her patient and burned the end of it with the lighter that she took from her pack, until the blade was black. She then stuck the blade into Daniels’ body, causing smoke to rise from the hole.
“Ok, I think that may work for now.” Natalie said, sitting back again.
She exhaled a deep breath then looked toward the front of the Sno cat.
“Where are we going?” She asked Lisa. Clearly exhausted, Natalie didn’t wait for Lisa’s answer, she fell asleep almost immediately.
Looking at Natalie, Lisa felt sorry for the young girl. She’d worked hard to save the two guides that brought them out for the expedition and deserved a second to rest. Lisa looked toward the front window of the Sno cat herself before considering just how the group had gotten into this situation. Everything that happened was still fresh in her mind but she couldn’t recollect the first sign of their impending doom.
****************
“Make sure you guys are zipped up completely before we leave, because people often forget and end up with frost burn within seconds.” Jason MacDonald instructed as he assisted the group.
He tugged on Colby’s jacket before checking Lisa’s, then Natalie’s. He nodded before returning to his spot in front of the group.
“Very good folks. That’s one thing done.” He smiled at the trio before continuing. “Now we need to discuss the expedition that we’re about to take.”
MacDonald began to pace as he spoke. Emphasizing certain rules, he felt would lead to their success on this romp into the white cold of Antarctica.
“The arctic is not our friend. People who are trained for the sub-zero temperature of this area, can only last a few minutes outside this building.” He stopped in front of Natalie, who seemed extremely calm about going outside.
Lisa, a self proclaimed “hipster” from Vegas, didn’t think she would ever be ready for what she was about to do. She checked her jacket again before bending to test the length of the protection for her legs. Satisfied with her insulation, Lisa began to pack the things she would need, while absently listening to MacDonald. Blah, blah, blah. Stay in view of each other or the cold will swallow you before we can find you. Give me a break. Lisa thought as she slung her pack onto her back, she turned to look at MacDonald, who stared at her as if he could hear her thoughts.
“What, what did I say?” She asked cinching the straps on her backpack.
MacDonald stared at her for a moment longer before resuming his important speech, that Lisa was sure must be repeated every time he had to venture out. He emphasized each survival point, with a smack of one hand into the other. Lisa felt like she was going on a trek through the amazon instead of ice fishing in Antarctica. Admonishing herself for getting distracted again, Lisa tried to focus on what MacDonald was saying.
“There have been some changes to the area, since last year’s expedition. so, I can’t account for everything we will encounter.”
MacDonald showed the group the iPad he’d been holding.
“This is what the area looked like last year.”
An image of a large swath of ice covering everything was shown on the screen. He swiped left on the screen and a new picture appeared. This picture was undoubtedly of the same area but the ice was not as prevalent.
“The ice is still a formidable force in this area but we believe there are pockets in the snow where the ground isn’t as solid.”
He pointed to a black dotted line that weaved its way across the map.
“We will take this course but I’m going to need you guys to keep an eye out for anything that may look suspicious.”
He clicked the top of the iPad, putting the device in sleep mode. MacDonald walked over to the Sno cat and opened the door to the passenger compartment.
“Let’s get this job done.” He said stepping to one side.
The group filed into the Sno cat, while Daniels, the sno cat driver and MacDonald entered the two seats in the front.
The Sno cat jerked forward with a speed that didn’t fit the big truck. It pushed through the snow easily, moving piles of it to one side or the other of the vehicle. The cat churned forward, the grind of its treads making it hard to hear anything else. MacDonald was screaming something about the Sno cat but Lisa couldn’t hear him. She slid forward, hoping she could hear what he was saying more clearly but the sound was deafening.
Natalie and Colby seemed to hear everything he was saying, nodding their heads in unison while MacDonald kept talking. Colby started talking but Lisa couldn’t hear that either, she instead watched his lips as he spoke, trying to discern exactly what he was saying. She could only get every other word but she got enough to know that Colby was bragging about his awards. He turned to smile that cocky smile, now associated with Colby, then continued talking to MacDonald. Lisa turned away from him and stared out the window, hoping that anything important would be relayed to her later.
An hour later
It took some time to reach the area they normally used for ice fishing and when they did the group looked different from the images on Mac’s device. After checking the ice’s thickness, the group was allowed to leave the vehicle. Natalie grabbed the sensors, Colby was lugging the ice auger, which would drill the hole automatically. Lisa carried the research equipment and tackle box filled with supplies. She also had the fish used to catch their target, the Trematomus pennellii.
“We will have to rely on each other to guarantee a safe return.” MacDonald said following the group to the frozen over fishing hole.
“Are there things that we should be worried about out here Mr. MacDonald?” Colby asked as he began to grind the auger into the ice. Even in the cold, beads of sweat began to break out on his forehead.
“Call me Mac.” MacDonald said walking over to where Colby stood.
He pushed Colby out of the way and began to grind the auger with more force and speed than Colby could muster, his experience with the drill evident.
“There are things in every part of this world that people should be worried about, but out here the things you see on television and at the zoo are dangerous.” With the hole dug, Mac pulled out the auger and dragged it back to the cat.
“Are we talking about killer penguins or some other animal that’s always viewed as docile?” Natalie joked, pulling sensors from her pack.
“Penguins are dangerous without being called killer.” Mac said, taking a seat on a stool that he slammed into the ice.
He took a cigar out of his pocket and lit it. Taking a few deep pulls. He blew out a plume of smoke and regarded the three scientists.
“The creatures under this sheet of ice are more dangerous.”
He tapped the side of his cigar causing the ashes at the tip to fall into the snow creating tendrils of smoke, that drifted towards the air.
“Some of the things in that dark cavern are waiting for the slightest misstep from any of us, to pounce.”
That got all of their attention. Each of them looked at the ground, then up at MacDonald. He chuckled at the frightened looks on their faces before tapping the cigar again.
“That is why we chose this area for your research.” He took another pull. “There haven’t been many dangerous animals in this area for a few weeks now.”
Colby looked at the Sno cat then the fishing hole that MacDonald had created. Indecision plain on his face, he looked at the two women he came on this exhibition with, then down at his utensils.
“Oh, come on Cole. He’s joking with us, you big baby.” Lisa joked.
She dropped the cords of her bio-sensors into the hole with a plop, while Natalie began pulling icefish out of the freezing water. She placed the Trematomus in her preservation container then stuck the rod back into the water.
“Why are you folks collecting these Tremato fish?” Mac asked tossing the remains of the cigar far into the ice.
He stared straight into Lisa’s eyes before turning his head to regard Natalie and Colby. Being the lead, Natalie spoke up first.
“It’s probably something you wouldn’t understand.” She answered, placing another fish in the container.
Lisa looked up at Natalie from the ice fishing hole, shock clear on her face. Mac didn’t seem bothered by it, instead he smiled
“I know that those fish can’t be used for much, so what’s your reason for being here, harvesting them?” He asked, as cool as the snow that surrounded them.
“Well, there have been some fish that can fight the early onset of dementia and we’re interested in what pennellii’s impact is on the disease.” Natalie answered before dropping the lure back into the water.
Mac stared at her for a few minutes before he stood. He was about to take a step when the ice underneath them trembled violently, causing him to tumble over the stool.
“What the hell was that?” Colby asked when the shaking stopped.
He looked around for his diode sensor, a look of fear on his face.
“Is this ice going to hold, man?” He asked.
He reaching over to pick up the silicon diode sensor he dropped when falling. He looked at Mac, who seemed relaxed, while Colby was already labeling the shakeup, an earthquake.
“This ice is several feet deep.” Mac stated picking himself up. “There’s nothing to worry about Colby.”
Mac walked over and held his hand out to Colby, who took it and used it to stand.
“Are you sure Mac?” Colby asked, tinkering with his sensor. “Oh and thanks for the help.” His focus returning to the device.
“It’s ok Colby. Are you ladies, ok?” Mac asked, coming over to stand near them.
“We’re fine Mac. What was that?” Lisa asked as she pulled the cables out of the water.
She checked to see if anything happened to them before dropping the cords back in. Mac took a second to scrutinize the freshly made cracks in the ice.
“I don’t know, it may have been an earthquake but I think it was a seal.”
Their heads snapped up quickly, each staring at Mac in disbelief.
“Seals can make the ice shake like that?” Natalie asked looking up from her fishing rod.
“A specific kind of seal, leopard, can do more.” Mac said walking back to his seat.
He picked up the stool and stuck it into the Sno cat.
“We may be in trouble if it is a leopard seal.” He said staying near the Sno cat and watching the research crew. Daniels poked his head out. “
Was that a leopard?” Daniels asked before stepping out of the vehicle.
“Don’t know yet but if it was, we’ll know soon enough because they don’t leave the area quickly.”
Retreating back into the comfort of the cat, Daniels slammed the window shut and waited for the crew to finish. He’d seen what the creatures were capable of from previous expeditions and didn’t want to exit the Sno cat unless it was absolutely necessary. He watched the group, worried that they wouldn’t be able to respond in time to an attack but he didn’t want to go tell them that.
Daniels almost struck out at Colby from the surprise of the back door of the cat opening.
“Sorry, Daniels but I don’t feel real safe out there.” Colby said, taking the seat he’d sat in during the trip. “Besides, I can do my portion of the research from here.”
He took out an iPad and started tapping the foot long device. A few minutes later he looked up and smiled at Daniels.
“See?” He showed the screen of the device to Daniels. An image of the area and several gauges appeared on the screen.
“Nice.” Daniels nodded while viewing the screen. “What’s That?” He asked, pointed to a red meter with a needle that continued to bounce.
Colby turned the screen to look at it. “Oh, that’s the temp in the water. It’s saying that getting into that water would be dangerous.”
Daniels slapped his knee and laughed. He rocked back and forth in the seat, clearly enthused by something.
“What’s so funny?” Colby asked.
He looked at the iPad then back at Daniels.
Daniels continued to laugh until he was grasping the side of his stomach.
“Because Colby.” He barely got out before another bout of laughter caused him to grab the wheel. “I don’t need any fancy iPad gauges to tell me that.”
Colby stared at Daniels with his mouth open for a minute before he too broke into laughter.
“Fuck you Daniels.” He said between chuckles.
He tapped the screen a few more times before he sat the device on his lap. The two stared at each other before bursting into laughter.
“Oh man, I needed that. Thanks Daniels.”
Colby wiped his eyes then picked the iPad back up. He tapped the device and frowned at the screen.
“Uh…Daniels?” With a worried look on his face, he showed the device to Daniels again. “What the hell is that?”
He pointed at a satellite view of their surrounding area. On it, a large dark object floated beneath the surface. Whatever it was, moved with incredible speed towards the group that stood outside the Sno cat.
Daniels squinted towards the device screen then out at the group.
“Shit!” He jumped out of the Sno cat screaming. “Guys!”
Daniels rounded the Sno cat running. He was inches away from the group when something came bursting out of the cracked snow beneath their feet. Unable to slow down, Daniels was the first to get dragged under the cold of the water.
“Jerry!” Mac yelled but couldn’t move to help his friend, because a large leopard seal stood blocking his way.
The creature let out a loud growl before using its legs to pull itself towards MacDonald. Mac backed away from the women slowly, while reaching for the climbing hammer that swung from his belt loop. The creature saw this action and moved perceptively fast to snag Macdonald’s leg in its maw. Mac screamed out in pain before smashing the hammer against the creatures’ head a few times.
The seal yelped then snatched Mac off of his feet. The animal jerked Mac’s body back and forth before hurling him toward the Sno cat. Mac slammed into the side of the Sno cat and fell in a heap to the soft snow. Natalie, who had been working to get Daniels out of the zero-temperature water, screamed when she saw Macdonald’s body.
“Is he dead? Is he dead!?” She asked pulling Daniels’ body toward her.
Bleeding profusely from the wound caused by MacDonald, the leopard seal, began to scoot away from humans. It continued to emit a horrid howl while sliding across the sheet of ice, its flippers moving slower with the effort. The seal hadn’t made more than twenty feet when the ice burst open again and the poor creature screamed a howl that was more human than animal. The creature struggled against the water as something pulled it under.
“What the fuck is going on.” Lisa asked as she helped Natalie put Daniels, then MacDonald into the Sno cat.
The seal leopard howled again, when the women turned to look, they saw spurts of blood spitting out of new holes that appeared on its body. Colby, who’d got out of the Sno cat when Mac was slammed into the vehicle, let out a scream then turned and ran for the driver’s seat of the vehicle.
“My hero.” Natalie said, helping Lisa put the research equipment into the Sno cat.
The women were almost done packing their things, when the leopard seal let out a howl. Lisa and Natalie turned to see that new holes had begun to appear on the seal’s body. The spots the women had mistaken for snow were gone, in their place were red craters that dripped blood, staining the snow red. The women both screamed and ran for the Sno cat, their need to research could not force them to get closer to the wounded animal.
The leopard seal whined again, causing the women to stop and cast their eyes in the animal’s direction. The changes in the creature are immediately visible. Its sides, where at first holes of blood oozed, were almost eaten away completely. The leopard seal’s bones and sinews lay exposed in some areas. Its flippers were now bone, unable to move the creature at all.
Natalie stood staring with a hand covering her mouth, tears streamed down her face at the horror that occurred before her. Lisa on the other hand screamed then tried several times to pull Natalie to the Sno cat, but the woman stood glued in place. It was as if her feet had melted into the snow and she was unable to be moved. Lisa placed her hands on either side of Natalie’s face and screamed until Natalie turned her eyes away from the scene. The fear on her face confirmed everything that Lisa needed to know. She shoved Natalie toward the Sno cat without sparing a glance back.
“Drive!” Lisa yelled after slamming the door of the Sno cat shut.
Colby fidgeted with the controls of the cat before it began emitting a grinding sound.
“Oh, shit.” He said shifting the gears again.
The cat jerked a few times but it moved forward a few feet before shutting off.
“Sorry.” Colby shifted again before restarting the cat.
“Can you drive this thing or not, Cole?” Lisa asked taking the seat next to him.
“I don’t even know where I’m going Lisa.”
“Away from here Cole, just fucking drive!” Lisa interrupted.
Colby shifted gears again and pressed down on the gas pedal, his face scrunched, eyes closed tightly. The cat made the grinding noise again but surged forward. It did not shut off and soon, the Sno cat with its frightened occupants, escaped the terrors of the fishing hole.
*********
“How’s he doing?” Lisa asked, motioning toward Daniels.
Natalie placed a hand on his forehead before turning to answer her.
“Not good. I think something happened to him when he fell into the water, he has a fever that I can’t explain and look at this.”
She pulled up the cover, used to warm Daniels, to show bleeding holes in his body. Lisa pulled away with a gasp. She glanced down at the wounds before looking back up at Natalie.
“What the hell is going on here Nat?”
Lisa asked as Natalie gently laid the blanket back over Daniels’ legs. She made sure the blankets covered his lower half completely before answering.
“I don’t know Lis, but this looks suspiciously like the same thing that happened to that seal.” She glanced toward the front of the Sno cat before turning to look back at Lisa. “We any closer to the base?” Natalie asked, while checking MacDonald.
His stomach wound needed serious attention but he would survive. It was Daniels that worried her. His wounds were degenerative, progressing at a rate that Natalie once believed was impossible. She wanted to study them more but instincts warned her of an imperceptible danger lying deep within those wounds. She could swear that just thinking about them was causing the strange feeling of bugs crawling on her skin. Small, prickling appendages that scurried over the small hairs of her legs.
Natalie swatted her leg unconsciously; the feeling was so real it was maddening. She looked over at Lisa, who stared blankly at Daniels’ body.
“We should have made it back to camp by now. It didn’t take this long to get to the fishing hole.” She said, stepping past Lisa to talk to Colby. “
Where the hell are you taking us Cole?” Natalie yelled over the roar of the engine.
She sat in the passenger seat and pressed a few buttons on the digital device housed in the console.
“This is base camp.” She said pointing at a blinking blue dot on the screen. “This is us.”
She said tapping the screen until the view of the distance between the camp and the Sno cat was available, the two appeared as dots on the screen.
“I don’t know what any of that means Natalie.” Colby responded.
He stole a glance at the device before returning his eyes to the snow.
“It means turn right Colby and we will make it in two hours.”
Natalie pointed toward the intended direction. Colby did as he was asked, then snuck a quick peak at the people in the back.
“Everyone alright back there?” He flicked his head toward the back section of the Sno cat.
Natalie took a second to think before responding.
“I don’t know Colby. The way Daniels looks is more than a little worrisome and MacDonald isn’t that much better.” She turned to look back at Lisa. “I think she may be going through shock.”
She didn’t say her name, knowing Colby, Natalie knew that she didn’t have to say it. Colby took a deep breath then nodded.
“Well thanks to you, it appears that the dot is getting closer.”
Natalie looked at the device and agreed. They were maybe an hour away from camp. She left the passenger seat of the Sno cat and began to check Daniels, then MacDonald. Daniels hadn’t changed, so there was no worry with him but Mac’s condition caused more worry.
“Oh no.” She said as the same marks that were on Daniels’ body, began to appear on Macdonald’s.
“No! Shit!” She said moving the tarp they used to cover Macdonald.
“You think that’s bad Nat, take a look at this.” Lisa said holding up her own arm, which now had the same holes as the two laying unconscious.
