Ice Rift (25 page)

*****

Jane and Jack slowed their sprint along the corridor and listened. They heard no sounds of anything in pursuit and assumed correctly that the Hunter monsters were busy feeding on the Clickers Jane had killed.

They paused at an intersection to ponder their next move.

“We have to go back for Lucy,” said Jane, breathlessly.

Jack rested his hands on his knees while he caught his breath. “I know, and I promise we will, but not yet. It's too dangerous while those monsters are back there. When they've finished feasting, they should move on. Until that happens, I suggest we meet up with the others and try to fashion some weapons from the gear we left in the cavern, and then we come back for Lucy.”

Though reluctant to leave her friend alone on the ship even for a brief time, Jane knew Jack's plan made sense. “The others are probably already outside as they took the most direct route.”

“Then let's go find out.” Jack's head throbbed, his chest hurt, he was tired, hungry and desperately needed a beer. “I've had enough of this place.”

They headed off in a direction they thought would lead them to the back of the ship and the engine room.

*****

Richard paused to catch his breath, cocked an ear back along the corridor and was he relieved when heard no sounds of pursuit― only the creaking ship and his rapidly beating heart. He glanced around at his surroundings. He was even more lost than before. His blind rush through the ship to escape the monster had left him disoriented, and now he'd no idea which direction the engine room was, or even the back or front of the ship.

Disheartened that he might never escape, he leaned back against the wall to rest. Startled by the door sliding open beside him, he backed away. Though he expected some nightmare creature to leap out, none did. He noticed the button beside the door and realized he must have leaned against it.

The headlight aimed inside the dark room revealed a shelving rack bent at an angle and leaning forward slightly. Objects that had fallen from the shelf were scattered across the floor. Curiosity moved Richard nearer and he peered inside. Metal racks, stocked with strange items, were laid out in neat rows that ran the full length of the room. Temporarily forgetting his predicament, Richard smiled. He'd hit the jackpot. There had to be something technologically advanced in here he could smuggle out and sell. It would be back-up in case the small alien died, or he failed to smuggle the creature out of Antarctica. He stepped inside to inspect the merchandise on offer.

Richard's eager eyes roamed over the array of strange items, of which there seemed to be an eclectic mix. Food canisters labelled with strange words and images of their strange contents, material that might be clothing or bedding folded neatly and stored in what seemed to be clear plastic wrapping, canisters of what might be chemicals, unusually shaped objects fashioned from various materials, and many other items whose use he couldn't guess. He ignored all of these. He desired something technical. Advanced weaponry, communication devices, medical equipment, or something he couldn't even imagine.

He ignored the first two racks filled with items that held no interest for him. It was in the third row he found something that might suit his particular specifications. He snatched the strange, curved triangular object from the shelf. A handle slightly too large for a human hand to grip comfortably, protruded from the base of the unit. The small screen and the few buttons around its edge informed him immediately that this object, whatever its function, was suitable for his needs.

A type of screen, contoured to the shape of the triangular device, filled most of the top area. Below the screen were three, small, round, red buttons etched with strange symbols. Positioned on the right side was a slightly larger square button. Believing the square button might be an on, off, switch, Richard pressed it. Immediately an image faded into view on the screen. Green thin lines of light glowed brightly against a ghostly grey background. It seemed to be a simple map of some kind. When he moved the device he was amazed to find the image altered. He swept it toward the door. The image changed to show the new position of the walls, shelves and doorway. It even depicted the outside corridor and parts of nearby surrounding rooms ahead of the device.

It must be a scanner of some sort
.

To find out what the buttons below the screen did, Richard pressed the one on the left. The image zoomed out to reveal a slightly larger area of the ship. It now depicted rooms, corridors and nearby stairways. One more press achieved its maximum reach. He could now see the layout of the ship a few rooms distant from his position. He turned in a circle and viewed areas of the ship on all sides of the store room. He paused when red dots appeared. Two close together―one behind the other―moved through a small tunnel. Another, a short distance away in a side turning, was motionless, and a fourth was moving toward the other dots in the small tunnel.

It didn't take long for Richard to work out the dots represented things moving through the ship― monsters and his companions, though it was impossible to tell what dots belonged to which. He continued directing the scanner around and again paused on seeing a collection of dots near a doorway. Other dots, both singularly and in groups moved through various parts of the ship within the scanner's reach. Two dots moved quickly along a corridor not far from his position. He thought they might be two of his companions, possibly Jack and Jane. He aimed the scanner in the direction they headed. Caught in the far edge of the readout was a large room containing the outlines of strange shapes, including rows of circular objects― the engine room. Richard traced a route back to his position and found it free of any dots.

Curious to find out if one of the other buttons would give him a more detailed view, Richard pressed the next button in line. The scanner screen went blank. He turned it left and right, but nothing appeared on the screen. He waved a hand in front. A blurred image crossed the screen. He moved his hand slower and then held it still. He was astonished to see an image of his hand minus the layers of skin. His blood vessels and muscles were clearly depicted, including blood flow. He moved the device along his arm. The image changed to depict each new internal part of his body. He aimed it at his leg and raised and lowered it. He could see the muscles working. He pressed the same button again. The view changed to show only his bones.

He stared excitedly at the scanner. The medical functions alone made it an invaluable piece of technology to the medical profession. Coupled with the radar-like capabilities, it would ideally be suited to the emergency services to find people trapped in collapsed or burning buildings, or the armed services to hunt down their enemy― they would pay the most.

Richard wondered if it would work in open spaces. He saw no reason why it shouldn't. In some ways the device reminded him of the scanner Ripley and the crew had used in the Alien movie to hunt down the murderous creature hunting them, although this seemed far more advanced and was actually a real piece of technology.

Richard stared thoughtfully at the scanner. Though too large to fit in a pocket, if he could smuggle it off the ship he'd be able to conceal it in his bag. He had best do that straight away. If he hurried, he would be able to beat the others to the engine room, climb the ice shaft and conceal the scanner in his bag. He switched to the radar view and checked his route back to the engine room was still clear. It was. He circled to check nothing was creeping up on him and froze when a red dot appeared on the scanner. It was in the corridor outside and slowly approaching the room he was in. It was too close for him to be able to run from the room and escape. He was trapped― again.

Richard cursed his luck and backed farther into the room. He tripped on something on the floor and fell against a rack. The objects knocked from the shelf clattered loudly on the floor. Richard stared at the scanner. The red dot paused for a moment before moving closer to the open door. Richard backed into the furthest corner of the room, switched off his headlamp and with the ghostly glow of the scanner's small screen highlighting his terrified face he listened to the scratch of clawed feet on the metal floor moving closer. His legs began to tremble. His heart pounded. He turned off the scanner and prayed it would pass on by.

With the scent of the creature’s trail fresh in the air, the old Hunter paused outside the door it wafted from. Though its desire to feast almost overwhelmed its strict cautionary habit gained from years of experience, it wouldn't rush into the unknown. It bent at the waist, cautiously stuck its head into the room and directed his gaze at the almost overpowering stench of fear.

*****

Jack and Jane reached the engine room without encountering any other monsters or any sign of their companions.

“Is anyone here?” Jane called out after the door slid shut.

Her voice echoing through the large room was the only reply.

Jack glanced over at the hole in the ship's hull, but saw no sign of anyone outside. “Perhaps they already climbed out. I know I wouldn't wait in this ship a moment longer than necessary with those monsters roaming about.”

“Then I guess we should too.” Jane followed Jack across the room.

They stepped through the hole and glanced up the ice tube. No one waited at the top.

Jack picked up the rope trailing down the hole and handed it to Jane. “You go first.”

Jane took the rope and smiled. “Jack Hawkins, forever the gentleman.”

Jack smiled back at her. “Or, it might be that I want to watch your bum when you climb up.”

“Watch away. You're not going to see much while I'm wearing all this gear.” Jane began her climb.

“It's alright, my imagination will fill in the blanks,” he called after her.

Jane smiled.

When they were both at the top, there was still no sign of the others. They walked back through the ice tunnel, alongside the lake and into the large cavern to find it also deserted. A steady stream of snowflakes and ice particles drifting through the hole in the cavern roof had formed a small pile on the ground beneath. Snow and ice carried by the howling wind rushed across the small opening― their window to a different, normal world.

Jane sighed with disappointment. “The blizzard seems as strong as ever, unfortunately.”

“Is there no way we can make it to your base camp when the others arrive and we've rescued Lucy?” Jack asked. “It's so near.”

“Not with that wind. We'd be blown off our feet and maybe even carried away. Also, the wind chill must be about minus seventy or more. Even with all our layers of warm weather clothing there's a chance we'd freeze to death long before we reached base camp, and you don't even have that.” Jane glanced around the cavern. “I'm afraid we're trapped down here until the blizzard is over, or it dies down enough for us to risk facing it.”

“Don't you have a Sno-Cat up above? Surely if we could reach it we can drive to your base camp before the cold froze us.”

“I agree. If the wind gusts, which have already blown one Sno-Cat into the rift, which you have first-hand experience of, died down, and if we managed to climb out of the ice rift without being blown away or smashed to our death against the ice, and if we managed to get the Sno-Cat started, and if the whiteout I believe is presently above our heads suddenly cleared so we could actually see which direction the base camp is without driving into the rift, or miss it all together, then, yes, there's a chance we could make it.”

Jack smiled weakly. “Okay, I get the point. For the moment we're stuck down here with the monsters.”

“At least we stand a slim chance against them. The weather that's presently up there is a killer.” Jane was famished. She crossed to the storage containers and searched through them until she found the sandwiches Pike had prepared for the team. She glanced over at Jack, who still gazed forlornly at the hole in the cavern roof. “Jack, do you want something to eat?”

Jack dragged his worried gaze from the opening and nodded. “I don't suppose there's a beer in there?” He joined Jane by the crates.

Jane pulled out a large thermos flask, unscrewed the lid and sniffed its contents. “No beer, but there's coffee, or hot chocolate if you prefer.”

“Coffee will be most welcome.”

They sat down, ate sandwiches and sipped hot coffee while they waited for their friends to arrive.

“I hope Lucy's okay,” said Jane.

“She should be fine as longs as she stays in the room. Maybe the Hunters have finished eating by now, so if the others aren't back in a minute, I'll go and get her.”

“I'm coming too,” said Jane, even though setting foot aboard the spaceship again was the last thing she wanted to do, she wouldn't abandon her friend.

*****

The Hunter howled when it sighted its prey and increased its speed to reach it.

Henry and Theo saw their chance to escape the monster, a grill in the vent floor. Theo crossed to the far side, pulled it open and urgently ordered Henry to drop through.

With the sound of the monster's devilish screech washing over him, Henry slipped through the opening and dropped to the floor. Theo raised his gaze at the loud scrape of claws on the metal tunnel. The monster appeared in his flashlight beam. Its slavering jaws eager to receive flesh dripped with anticipation. He cursed. It was too close for him to escape. He thrust the grill in front as a shield when the monster grabbed for him. It crashed into the grill. The force knocked him away from the opening. The monster tried to claw at him, but the grill that almost filled the width and height of the tunnel prevented it from doing so. Theo was pushed along the vent by the force of the monster's fervent attempts to grasp its meal.