The situation was outrageous, Theo was aware. He knew Minik only from internet conversations, having been introduced by a friend of a friend of a friend. He didn't know if the man possessed a driver's license, let alone a pilot's... but this was what Theo lived for! He grinned at Gillian, "The adventure begins!"
Gillian had turned deathly pale, but was reluctant to stay alone with the amorous goat. She began to climb into the helicopter but Minik stopped her.
"How much do you weigh?" he demanded.
"One hundred twenty pounds," she replied.
Minik looked at her skeptically.
"One thirty-four," she said firmly.
Minik allowed her aboard. She was followed by Theo.
"Aren't you going to ask what he weighs?" Gillian said, blocking Theo's entrance.
"No," said Minik. "I don't care."
"Then why did you ask me?" Gillian asked.
Theo looked her in the eye and said, "One eighty-seven."
"Don't tell me," said Gillian. "Tell him!"
"He said he doesn't care."
"I don't care either!"
"Well then, move and let me in my seat."
Gillian huffed and then sat down on the bench seat directly behind the two bucket seats in front. She busied herself untangling the seatbelt and strapping herself in while Theo did the same up front and Minik fired up the machine.
* * *
From the air, Greenland was nothing like the frozen wonderland Theo had seen in pictures. Amazing, Theo thought, how one climactic event could change so much of the landscape of a continent. On the one hand, it was terrifying to think of that kind of devastation. On the other, it was an archaeologist's dream. The top ice sheet that had covered this part Greenland until just two weeks ago was estimated to be more than 100,000 years old, older than recorded history. There was still snow to be seen, but here where the glacier once was, thousands of rocks dotted the flat landscape. And everywhere, water flowed in little rivulets and larger streams.
God alone knew what might be revealed now where the ice was gone. If Theo could have asked the Lord Almighty, he would have. But he was more likely to get an answer from a more local source. Theo pressed a button on the side of his helmet, activating the communication system. "Were these streams always here?" he asked as they passed an area where a shack of some kind stood door handle deep in the middle of flowing water.
"Nope," Minik answered with a frown. "When the inlandsis—the ice sheet—melted a couple weeks ago, many coastal villages flooded. Bridges washed out, roads were undercut and erased off the map, things like that. There was a village over by Sisimiut that's no longer there. The authorities are still trying to account for everyone. Went over there not too long ago to help. Not good."
Gillian remained silent in the back seat of the chopper. Theo didn't know if she was stunned into silence by the scope of the natural disaster or if she was simply paralyzed by fright. Either way, he appreciated the break and tried not to let the aerial view of the dozens of camps belonging to other explorers ruin his good mood. Some of them had been here for at least a week and some of them had some very sophisticated set ups... but he reminded himself that none of them were going where they were going.
After another hour or so, Theo heard Minik tap one of the gages on the control panel and say, "Humph."
A moment later, this was followed by the announcement, "Folks, I got good news and I got bad news..."
Then the helicopter began to drop.
Gillian found her voice—a high soprano that blended with Theo's tenor and Minik's baritone the machine dropped sixty feet straight down, hiccupped when the skids hit the ground, rose again as the chopper bounced once and then trailed off as they finally settled in a cloud of dust and ice.
"We're here...Helheim Glacier!" announced Minik. "That's the good news," he added.
Before he could speak, Theo was interrupted by a flurry of activity from the back seat as Gillian tore off her seat restraints and helmet and scrambled over him to exit the helicopter and run. She turned around and looked back at them after thirty feet. "Get out! Hurry before it blows," she shouted.
"It won't blow," said Minik. "Fuel tank is empty. That's the bad news. Or maybe that is also good? It depends how you look at it." He grinned and got out of the helicopter. Theo followed him.
"Wait, did you say Helheim Glacier?" Gillian demanded, still keeping a wary distance. "Helheim, like the story, Helheim? And out of fuel? Are you fucking kidding me?"
Minik walked around the helicopter to check the fuel tank. "Yes, like the story...and No, I am not fucking kidding anyone," he said.
Gillian charged up to Minik, raving. "You knew where we were going!"
"And we are here," Minik said calmly as he inspected the machine.
"You didn't think we also wanted to go back? We don't have any equipment!"
"We have some..." Theo said, hoisting his backpack out of the passenger compartment.
Gillian continued, "We have no food, no water..."
"Ah," said Minik from underneath the helicopter, "I'll tell you what we do have, a fuel leak."
"Bummer," said Theo. He pulled three bottles of water from his backpack and offered one to Gillian.
She glared at him, but she took it. "Well, there's certainly no gas station out here! It's going to get colder by the minute. It's a good bet there's no phone reception..."
Theo checked his phone. "I've got a pretty decent signal. Want me to call you a cab? Gonna be pretty expensive this far out... and they probably take only local currency, right, Minik?"
"For sure," he said.
"Did you visit the money exchange at the airport?"
"You know damn well I didn't..."
"Minik—you got any cash?"
"I got maybe three krone." Minik had climbed out from underneath the helicopter and was now rooting around inside the passenger compartment.
"You two think you are so fucking funny!"
"No," said Minik. "I think you are too fucking fast to panic." He emerged from the passenger compartment with a toolbox. "I got in here a patch for the fuel tank. I got ten gallons of reserve fuel in the compartment—plenty to get back to your favorite goat." He took the toolbox and climbed back under the helicopter. "It takes three hours for the patch to cure. Why not enjoy the scenery?"
"And a granola bar," Theo offered. "I've got carob-raisin or white chocolate-cranberry."
"Shut up," said Gillian, finally defeated.
Theo grinned at her. "Welcome to the world of field work."
"One of your holes is twenty meters that way," Minik pointed east with one of his feet. "I told you we were here."
He was right. Theo was amazed that he hadn't noticed it before. Minik had nearly landed in it.
He walked over to the edge of a hole in the ground. It was a near perfect circle cut into the rock they stood on, with rounded edges and smooth, wet sides. Clear evidence of water erosion. A moulin had bored this hole down into the earth. Theo leaned out over the edge, looking down into a shaft that was quickly swallowed in darkness. So if the hole was here, that meant... He turned to look up at the early evening sky.
"Minik, this hole must have been carved out over a few centuries. Are you telling us the ice sheet was standing where we are right now? For that long?"
Minik nodded. "Helheim was tall here. Icebergs have been breaking away all summer. The inlandsis was at least fifty meters high, right in this spot. Been there all my life. Longer. Now," he shrugged, "just gone."
Theo set his pack down near the hole's edge and zippered it open. He pushed through the contents, looking for a—
"Flare?" Gillian said, bending down to hand him one taken from the top flap of her own pack.
He hadn't even noticed that she'd followed him. He took it, not bothering to hide his surprise.
"I told you this isn't my first field expedition," she said.
"Obviously not." Theo uncapped the phosphorous flare, rubbing the striking pad on t
he plastic top against the ignition surface on the end of the long, red paper-wrapped tube. When it caught, the end sprayed red sparks everywhere before becoming a bright yellowish flame.
He dropped it down the shaft. He and Gillian watched it go, carefully leaning in to watch it fall further and further, until it clattered against a gentle spiraling bend that swiftly carried the flare away and out of sight.
"How far do you estimate?" Theo asked Gillian.
"Fifty feet down before it curves."
"Yeah, just about what I thought. Let's set some pitons and see how far down we can follow it."
"Now?"
He looked up at her. "Yes, now. What else are we going to do for three hours?"
"You've noticed the time, right? The sun will be setting soon."
"Yes, I've noticed the time. But you're forgetting this time of the year Greenland gets nearly 24 hours of sunlight. Besides, I'm not planning on staying the night. Just a couple hours' worth of exploring, and we'll come back up."
"Fine. Let's get it over with."
"What, you afraid Minik's monster will get us?" he asked sarcastically.
"I will wait for you, my friend." Minik called from underneath the helicopter. "If you do not come back, then I will know you stayed down in the tunnel. With your partner. Or that Nidhogg got you."
Theo expected Gillian to argue but she was oddly silent for a moment. Then she said, "Very funny. The sooner we start this then the sooner we'll be done. What kind of pitons do you use? Knifeblades? Angles?"
Theo pulled out two heavy coils of blue nylon rope from the open duffel bag, and then took out a belt hung with two-dozen pitons. He held one up to show her. "Bongs."
"Bongs?" She actually crinkled her nose at the sight of the large metal spike. Theo noticed how it brought out her freckles when she did. "That's kind of old school, isn't it?"
"Well in case you haven't noticed, I am old school."
"Yes. I did notice, thanks."
Minik laughed as he watched them. "You two are like an old married couple!"
Gillian rolled her eyes and stepped away. But Theo thought he might have seen her cheeks color. Probably just the cold, he thought, as he hefted his hammer and prepared to set the first piton in place.
What else could it be?
Chapter 4
BONGS WERE LARGE, angled pitons made from aluminum sheet metal. They got their name from the sound they made when they were hammered into place. A loud, resounding 'bong' like striking a gong or a hollow pipe. Theo found a good-sized crack in the rock near the hole's edge and hammered in the first one. The sound of it reverberated across the empty plain. He put a second one in place for Gillian, and then uncoiled the ropes.
After settling harnesses into place on themselves, and checking each other's rigs for loose connections, they clipped the ropes through the hooks at the front of the harnesses at their waists. From their harnesses they hooked six pitons apiece, flashlights, and water canteens. Tomorrow they would bring other equipment for a more thorough descent. He had his trusty camera in the side pocket of his khaki pants, however, and a few other odds and ends around his person. Theo took one last look at the afternoon sun then set his feet to the edge of the hole, and started walking down into the dark.
With a heavy sigh, Gillian followed.
The water-carved hole was maybe fifteen feet in diameter. Enough space for them to climb down side-by-side and then some. The sunlight was quickly cut off by the curving walls, however, and Theo stopped with his feet braced to take his flashlight off its hook. He pulled apart the two ends of the Velcro strap around the handle, and wrapped it tightly around his left wrist so that the beam could shine over the top of his hand. Thumbing it on, he shone it downward.
They were now only about ten feet away from where the tunnel began to curve. It looked almost level enough down there for them to walk on. But he wouldn't know until they got there.
"How are you doing over there?" he asked Gillian.
"Fine." Her teeth were clenched and her knuckles were white.
"You don't look fine. You've done this before, right?"
"Yes."
"How many times?"
She didn't answer at first. Then she said, "Twice."
"Oh good. For a minute there I was beginning to think you might not have enough experience."
"Shut up, will you? I'm trying to concentrate over he—" She broke off with a squeak.
They had reached the bend in the tunnel. Her feet had suddenly planted themselves firmly against the side of the shaft, which was now the floor, and it had surprised her.
Theo placed his own feet carefully, smiling over at her.
"Shut up," she repeated, turning her head in embarrassment.
"Okay, let's set some pitons here at the curve and attach our ropes before we start down any further."
They set to work with hammers, finding only the smallest of cracks in the wall to set their safety bongs into. "Be careful," he warned her. "The shaft is still slick with water."
She nodded, hooking in her rope and testing it with a few hard tugs, not speaking.
"Hey, you're doing fine," he said to her. He found himself reaching over to rest a hand on her shoulder, and he felt her push into his gentle encouragement.
She nodded finally. "Thank you, Theo."
Then they were off again. They were able to walk down the shaft now as it sloped and curved first right and then left. But they held onto their safety lines as they went, just the same.
"So how far down do you think this goes?" she asked him, playing her flashlight's beam around just like he did.
There was some kind of mineral veins running through the shaft everywhere in irregular lines. They sparkled and reflected back under their lights. "I really have no idea. This is just a short little jaunt to see what we can find, remember?"
She scoffed. "You want to see what kind of scraps are here first?"
"Exactly. And look out for monster foot prints."
He thought he heard her smile.
They continued on after that in silence, following the natural tunnel as it began to spiral, becoming a gentle downward corkscrew. Every step took them around a new twist. As they went, they stopped twice more to set safety bongs in place. It was beginning to look to Theo like the shaft had no end. For all he knew, it went straight down forever, down to the earth's core.
He snickered. It was just so cliche.
"What?" she asked.
"Haven't you ever read Journey to the Center of the Earth?"
"I watched the movie."
"The book was better."
"Well you would think that, being old school and all. How long are these ropes?"
"Probably not much longer than this. We should go back."
"Works for me. Nothing here but rocks. And more rocks."
"Did you see these veins running through the rocks and more rocks?" He adjusted his grip on the rope and started back up.
"Yes, I saw them. It's probably quartz. Maybe zirconium." She set her feet carefully to turn back.
"Amazonite, maybe," he offered. "Might be some platinum here. Maybe even silver?"
"I think you're dreaming, Theo. Look. Look here." She bent down on one knee and pointed to a particularly shiny vein, a thin line of reflection across the dark rock of the shaft. "Just because it's shiny doesn't mean that it—"
She stopped talking as the rock around them groaned.
And snapped with a loud crack.
Theo looked at her. She looked back at him.
"Oh, damn," he said.
The crack repeated, louder, and dust and small rock fragments rained down around them.
"Hold onto your lines!" he yelled to her, grabbing her by her wrist and starting back up as fast as he could on the slippery rock.
She grabbed hold of him and to his surprise drew him against her, their bodies pressing together tightly. For a moment he couldn't remember where they were or what kind of trouble they were in...then the soun
ds of the creaking rock all around them rushed back in on his senses. "We need to go," he said to himself as much as to her, "we need to go now."
She nodded, her head pressed tightly into his neck. "We are not going to die here!" he told her, and put his mind to believing it.
Until the whole floor of the shaft gave way beneath their feet.
Chapter 5
GILLIAN LOST HER grip on Theo and they dangled separately in space.
All around them was emptiness. Theo stretched his legs down as far as he could without feeling anything. He spun on the end of his rope. The sharp snap it had given the harness when the safety catch engaged had jarred his hips and back. But it had most likely saved his life.
He fumbled for the switch on his flashlight, still strapped tightly to his wrist, and finally got it switched on again. The beam spun in the darkness, revealing nothing until it washed over Gillian.
She had a stranglehold on her rope. Her eyes were tightly shut and she was obviously scared to death.
"Gillian? Gillian are you all right?"
She shook her head stiffly.
"Gillian, it's okay. We're safe. The lines held, and you need to remember that we set four separate bongs in place. We aren't going to fall."
When he said that word, fall, she hunched up and fisted her hands tighter around the rope.
"No no, no, bad choice of words. Look, the ropes are holding, and we're okay."
"For how long?" she whispered.
He didn't answer. He didn't know.
Instead he played the beam of the flashlight up as he tried to keep his body from constantly spinning around like a yo-yo at the end of a string. He could see the rocky ceiling and the jagged edges of the hole that they had broken through when the shaft had caved in. Both of their ropes swung tightly against the edge.
If that continued, the rock could saw right through the nylon ropes.
Theo swore very eloquently to himself. This was not good.
He tried pointing the flashlight down again. Nothing. Just more emptiness. He couldn't remember ever seeing so much darkness. There was no way down.
Forgotten Love: An Action-Packed Adventure Romance (The Forgotten Chronicles) Page 3
