Bite Me

by Jenika Snow

  Fame isn’t what I want. All I want is to better the world.

  “Come on, we’re wasting time and daylight,” Clint shouted over the hum of the Snow Cats and the wind that whipped past them.

  There was so little sun during this time of year and in this part of Alaska. When the sun did decide to grace them it was in short intervals before the clouds covered it, and was gone within a matter of hours as night started to creep in. This lifestyle wasn’t for everyone, but Ruby never had an issue with it.

  Ruby and the others loaded up their supplies, and then she was in the machine, sitting beside Clint as he prepared himself for the long journey to the mountains.

  “Are you ready for this?” he asked, eagerness in his voice.

  She glanced at the man she’d known for years, a person she’d respected—up until he’d pulled the shit about Henry’s find—and could only nod. Truth was she didn’t know if she was ready for this. She wasn’t frightened, per se, but she was definitely aware that going to those mountains would change something with her. Ruby didn’t know why she felt that way, or what it all meant, but it was as clear to her as the man sitting beside her.

  “I’m as ready as I’ll be,” she said honestly. But it was clear Clint was in his own world as he grinned and stared out the front windshield.

  For the next several hours she sat in silence beside Clint as he maneuvered the beast of a machine through the angry winds and vicious snow. Visibility was near to none at the moment, but fortunately all of them were experienced enough that, although the trip was very dangerous, they had remained safe so far.

  “We need to set up camp before the sun fully drops and the weather gets worse,” she suggested. The rest of the team was behind them in their own Snow Cats.

  “I think we can make it a little longer.”

  She looked at Clint with shock. “Clint, it’s dangerous to travel in this weather, especially at night. Pull over so we can get a camp set up. We’ll reach the mountain first thing in the morning.”

  He gave a nod, his face set hard, his annoyance clear. Ruby didn’t give a shit. All of their lives were more important than anything else.

  Clint picked up the radio and started speaking with the other members of the team, instructing them they’d be camping here for the night.

  Once parked, they all started getting their gear and quickly setting up before the temperature dropped even more.

  The tents, once set up, would only hold two people, but it was better that way, and would lock in more heat. Ruby had been on several expeditions with Clint, so sharing the tight confines with him, although intimate to some, wasn’t unusual or awkward. They were strictly professional.

  It took a good hour before everything was set up and ready, but the temperature was so low, and the wind blowing so hard, that starting a fire was impossible.

  “Let’s call it a night, everyone,” she shouted over the weather that whipped by them. “Everyone has their gear for the evening, food, water, and their heating mats?”

  There was a murmur of agreement, and then everyone headed into their tents for the night.

  Even only being outside for the time it took to pitch her tent had Ruby numb. She wasn’t cold, per se, just tense, her muscles sore. Once in the tent she eyed her bag. Instead of changing into something to sleep in, because she was so exhausted, she slipped under her sleeping bag and sighed. She lay on a heated pad, one that was usually provided for expeditions such as these. Ruby was tempted to get rid of it because it was rather warm, and she felt sweat start to bead between her breasts, but she pushed out of her mind anything that wasn’t sleeping.

  She turned her back toward Clint, hearing him moving around behind her.

  “You don’t want to eat anything?” Clint asked.

  “No, I had something in the Snow Cat, and am too tired even if I was hungry.” The tent fabric rustled from the wind force, but it helped to lull her to sleep and right now that was all she wanted.

  ****

  Ruby didn’t know if it was the howling wind, or the fact she was shaking that woke her. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times, but everything was pitch dark. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, the dream of her mystery men playing through her head. Her teeth were chattering, but it wasn’t because she was cold, not even when she realized her sleeping bag was pooled at her feet.

  But the dream had been too real, so potent, and she couldn’t shake it.

  I don’t want to shake it off, though.

  “Ruby?” Clint mumbled her name, his voice thick with sleep. “Are you okay?” She couldn't see him through the thick veil of darkness, but she could feel his body heat radiating off of him when he moved to sit beside her.

  “I’m fine.” She reached blindly for her bag and started to pull it back up when she felt Clint’s warm hands settle on top of hers. She froze, too surprised by his touch to push him away.

  “Hell, you’re shaking.” She was. And then she felt him starting to rub her back, his hand warm, heavy. “Come here.” Clint wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

  He started to vigorously rub her back until she finally felt her shakes subside. Her dream had rattled her so much this time.

  “Feeling better?” Clint asked.

  She nodded. “Thank you, Clint.”

  “Let’s just hope you don’t get sick because of this. It would be lousy timing.”

  Ruby didn’t bother telling him her shaking had nothing to do with her being cold, and everything to do with her realistic and erotic dream.

  Chapter Four

  Ruby woke to the sound of a couple of the guys from the team speaking right outside of her tent. She blinked several times until her surroundings came into focus. It was still semi-dark outside, but not pitch black that she thought she was drowning in it.

  It must be early as hell.

  She knew they would need to get moving toward the caves if they wanted to make good time.

  It took her a suspended moment to realize that Clint was still right beside her, his arm dropped over her waist, his hand perilously close to a part of her body she’d prefer he not touch. Obviously at any other time she would have seen how inappropriate this situation was, but given the fact he’d been trying to keep her warm, and the fact they had fallen asleep like this, she knew it was no one’s fault, and wasn’t intentional.

  She shifted under the sleeping bag, but her movements had him shifting closer to her. His arms tightened around her waist, and she stilled. A glance over her shoulder affirmed he still slept, but she couldn't help but start to feel the awkwardness of the situation.

  “Clint?” He didn’t move. She gripped his hand and lifted it from her body and then slipped out from under the sleeping bags. He did wake then. She quickly threw on her boots and jacket, a scarf, and her hat, and looked over her shoulder at him. Clint blinked several times, rubbed his eyes, and then reached beside him to grab his glasses.

  “What time is it?” he asked and pushed himself into a sitting position.

  “I’m not sure, but early.” She looked in her bag for her watch. “It’s going on five in the morning. We need to get a move on.”

  He cleared his throat a few times and nodded. “Yeah, we need to pack up and move out.”

  “Thanks again for last night. You saved my life.” Most likely literally.

  He stood and threw on a few more layers. “No problem. I know you would have done the same.”

  She nodded, but even knowing all of that, she still felt weird. The way he’d held her seemed … different, like maybe it had been about more than warming her up. No, she wouldn’t think like that, because they weren’t up here for any other purpose but to get samples and find new life.

  She just hoped she could shake off the awkwardness, because she didn’t want to feel this way for the whole expedition.

  ****

  They’d reached the caves within a few hours, the sun was up, and they had their gear set up. Once they
were making their way into the caves, she navigated through the tight confines of the opening, and excitement started to pound within her veins.

  “This is it, Ruby. Whatever we find could make us famous,” Clint said from in front of her, and she could just shake her head.

  The headlamps they wore provided light, but it didn’t reach very far ahead. With Clint leading the way, her behind him, and the rest of the team following, it was slow going, and they were all on alert.

  She didn’t care about becoming famous or getting rich. She wanted to help out their research and the surrounding communities with whatever they found. Ruby wanted to help the world, even if it was just helping discover a new form of life that lived in a part of the world thought barren.

  The deeper they descended into the mountain, the more the air around them grew frigid. Her excitement was still there, but there was also apprehension. She had never felt this way about field research, but she couldn’t seem to shake the sensation that something was coming.

  “Let’s pick up the pace. Time is wasting.”

  “Clint, we need to be smart and safe about this.” She had her hands on the rock wall beside her, her head downcast, and focused on the back of Clint.

  Clint didn’t respond, but he was moving pretty swiftly. Ruby took a deep breath, adjusted her pack, and continued to move forward.

  The terrain was uneven and slicked over with ice. Despite the numerous layers covering Ruby, the chill seeped into her bones.

  They had been walking for nearly an hour, going deeper and deeper into the cave until even the light from the flashlights couldn’t seem to penetrate the darkness. The sound of their boots scuffling along the rocky and icy ground seemed deafening in the tight, tight confines.

  “The tunnel branches out up ahead. It widens, too,” Clint said.

  The narrow tunnel soon opened up to where they weren’t hunched over, and walking in a line.

  There were three separate tunnels right in front of them.

  “So, which way will it be?” She pointed her light into each tunnel. “Where did Henry find the samples?”

  Clint pulled out his map and took a few moments to go over it.

  “Henry’s field plan would take us this way.” He pointed to the tunnel to the left.

  She moved toward Clint and looked down at the map and the filed plan provided by Henry. “Yeah, that’s the correct tunnel. Let’s move.”

  “I think we should pick a different tunnel,” Clint said, and she stopped and knitted her brows at him.

  “Why go a different way when we know which way Henry got the samples?”

  Clint put the map away. “You saw the samples Henry brought back. There might only be the hair fibers in that tunnel. If we head down a different one, we might actually find what we are looking for.” Everyone looked at one another.

  It was logical reasoning, but it wasn’t smart either.

  “How many of these other tunnels have been searched?” she asked.

  “None, aside from the one Henry and his team went into.” Clint looked hopeful. “That’s why going down an unexplored tunnel would be beneficial.”

  Ruby didn't think she wanted to chance going down a different tunnel when they didn’t know for sure there would be anything there, or what they could find. They knew for a fact there was life in the north tunnel, or at least samples of life that had been there.

  “No, I think we should stick with the north tunnel. If nothing comes from that then we can always backtrack and try another one.”

  They all looked at her, and a moment of silence passed before Aaron, one of the men on their team, spoke.

  “Ruby’s right.”

  She looked at Aaron, who adjusted his pack.

  Clint exhaled, looked at the tunnels, and then finally nodded. “Okay, but if we just find more hair samples we try another cavern.”

  She nodded.

  They entered the north tunnel and walked for another hour before they finally came into a large, cavernous opening. Ice stalagmites and stalactites littered the floor and ceiling.

  “Wow,” one of the team members muttered.

  They might have seen photos from Henry’s notes, but they didn’t do this place justice. It was beautiful in a barren, ice-filled way.

  “Look at this place.” She walked in a circle, trying to get her bearings. A moment later luminous lights filled the opening. Ruby turned and looked at Alex and Jason, two of her team members, who were setting up the powerful lanterns they’d brought. Jacob and Aaron were setting up the sample collecting paraphernalia other items.

  “Alex and Jason, why don’t you start collecting samples in the east corner? Ruby, you can try the west, and I’ll start at the south.” Clint barked out the orders, his voice higher as his clear excitement came from him.

  They all went to their respective places.

  Ruby squatted and grabbed her sample collecting gear and a small, foldable bench from her pack. She placed her lantern beside her and sat on the bench, staring at the thick wall of ice in front of her. Where the hell should I start? She grabbed her ice pick and started chiseling at the thick, frozen rock in front of her. They could find something monumental here or nothing at all. Just because their colleagues found incredible things in the cave, didn’t mean they would.

  Several hours later and Ruby was dead tired. Their team had practically chiseled away at the entire opening of the cave, yet aside from a few fossils that weren’t very spectacular, they hadn’t found anything. She stared at the broken and cracked ice in front of her and breathed out. A puff of white air filtered around her before dissipating.

  “Let’s break for lunch,” she said to the team, but as the other guys broke away to eat, Clint still sat hunched over a microscope.

  The makeshift table they had erected held numerous microscopes and samples that they had already collected, but nothing that gave them a clue to the animal that had been here.

  “I don’t understand why we aren’t finding at least the specimens Henry did,” Clint said and pushed the microscope away. He sounded and looked frustrated.

  “Henry and his team were out here a month. Just because we haven’t found anything in the short time we have been here, doesn’t mean it’s not here, hidden within the ice.”

  Clint looked over to the excavation site where Henry and his team had gotten the hair. Part of the team had been working there right away, but they hadn’t found anything.

  “We’ll find something. Just give it time.” She turned and headed over to her pack to grab something to eat. She sat down just a few feet from him and watched as he looked around the cavern.

  “I think we need to explore the other tunnels. We only have a short window of time for this exploration.”

  The idea to go deeper into the mountain and see what life they could find excited her, but they had to be patient. They may not even find anything.

  “If by tomorrow we still haven’t found anything, we can search another tunnel.”

  Clint glanced at her but didn’t respond.

  “Are we pitching camp here?” one of the men asked. “If not we’d have to cut the excavation short just to trek back through the mountain to the outside. By then it’ll most likely be dark.”

  Damn, they hadn’t even discussed that, which should have been a priority.

  “Camping here is fine.” Clint was the one to respond.

  There were hushed whispers as the team ate and spoke of the expedition. Everyone on this trip was anxious to be here, and had a science background, but they were all at different stages of their careers.

  Clint moved toward her, his sandwich in his hand, his focus on the cave. “I think the next tunnel is the option, Ruby.”

  She didn’t bother responding, because she’d come to realize during this whole situation, that when it came to something like this, fame, fortune, recognition, Clint was a totally different person.

  “Clint, I know you’re excited about this expedition. We all are. But you
have to think rationally and take one day at a time.”

  He didn’t look pleased with what she said, but he also didn’t argue.

  “I came on this trip because you asked. I’m asking that you be patient and treat this as any other time we’ve worked together. Trust me to help make decisions.”

  He exhaled, removed his glasses, and rubbed his eyes. “Tomorrow we’ll try a new tunnel. Tonight we’ll finish here, set up camp, and go from there.”

  She nodded, thankful he was being logical, but hoping he’d come to understand his behavior was bordering on frantic at times. That was something she didn’t want to be associated with, and not why she joined the group in the first place.

  They finished eating and were setting up camp when she felt her skin tighten. She glanced around, not seeing anything but the team in the massive cavern, but feeling like she was watched, like eyes were on her. A shiver worked its way through her body. She rubbed her arms and told herself since agreeing to go on this expedition she’d felt … off. She needed to get her head in the game, because not being focused on the task at hand could end up getting people hurt, especially in these conditions.

  Chapter Five

  Ruby couldn’t sleep, so she lay in her tent and stared at the material above her. There was a light that they’d agreed to leave on in the cavern, because not having it would make seeing anything impossible. They didn’t feel comfortable being dropped in pitch-blackness. After last night with Clint sharing a tent, and the way he was acting all day, Ruby had politely explained she wanted her own tent. Fortunately he hadn’t made a scene or issues, and instead shared with one of the team members that had been bunking alone.

  Scrubbing a hand over her face, she knew she needed to get some sleep because they’d be up early to head to one of the other tunnels. This alone time, with the silence around her, had Ruby thinking a lot. She thought about the mystery men that she dreamt about constantly, and about her life in general.

  Maybe it was something that had happened to her when she was younger, a repressed memory or situation, that had her having the dreams? With only memories of moving from foster home to foster home, Ruby didn’t know anything about her life before that. She, at one time, had wanted to know about her past. She’d wanted to know anything, any little detail that could give her a piece of her background. But there hadn’t been anything for them to share. So Ruby had gone on with her life, pushing her questions aside, and not worrying about where she’d come from. Her family obviously hadn’t wanted her, and she held no ill will toward them for that. For all she knew they could have been teenagers and didn’t have any other options. For all she knew she could have been left at the doorstep of a police station. For all she knew everything she thought she knew about herself wasn’t even the truth.