Ice Rift - Siberia

by Ben Hammott

  “That’s a helicopter,” stated Crookshank.

  Gilmore looked at David. “I didn’t know we were expecting visitors or supplies?”

  David shook his head as he stood. “We’re not.”

  The thrumming increased as the helicopter drew nearer. The plastic tent cover protecting the dig site flapped so violently from the rotors’ downwash, they feared it might be yanked from its moorings. David and a couple of his colleagues stepped from beneath the cover and observed the large unmarked helicopter swoop in a low circle and hover. A man leaning out the rear door roamed binoculars over them and then at the few team members working a short distance away. Another man tapped the one with the binoculars on the shoulder and pointed towards the cliff. After refocusing his gaze at the indicated position, the helicopter headed for whatever had caught their attention. It hovered across the crater, and three men slid down on ropes.

  “Wait here,” ordered David. “I’m going to see what this is all about.” He strode away towards the helicopter.

  RICHARD CLOSED THE lid of his laptop and clasped it to his chest when the helicopter swooped nearer and hovered a short distance away. Wondering what the damn fools were doing, he shielded his eyes from the downdraft kicking up swirling dust and ice particles and gazed up at the man staring down from the open door. When three ropes were dropped, and three men slid down them, he knew something bad was about to happen. Thinking they had come for his meteorite, he glanced at the rock he believed was about to stolen from him. As the helicopter turned away and hovered above a raised piece of ground, Richard scrutinized the man leading the other two towards him. Recognizing his face, he groaned. It was worse than he had thought.

  “Hello, Richard.”

  “What the hell are you doing here, Colbert?”

  “We came for you.”

  “Me? Not my meteorite.”

  Colbert’s eyes flicked to the green rock and back at Richard. “You can keep your pretty rock, but you’re coming with us,” ordered Seal Team Commander Colbert.

  Richard looked past Colbert at the other two SEALs, armed and menacing. “And why would I do that?”

  “You don’t have a choice,” replied Colbert curtly. “You either come willingly or by force.”

  “Hang on a damn minute,” argued David, barging past the two SEALs.

  One of the armed soldiers thrust a hand at David’s chest, halting him. “That’s near enough.”

  David pushed the arm away and focused on Colbert. “Who are you and what gives you the right to barge in here and harass a member of my team?”

  Keen to hear the answers, Richard looked at Colbert expectantly.

  “That is none of your business,” said Colbert. “Richard, get on the helicopter.”

  “He will do no such thing,” argued David, stepping closer to Colbert.

  The nearest armed SEAL held his weapon menacingly.

  Richard held up a hand, calming the man. “It’s okay, David, I don’t believe I have a choice.” He looked at Colbert. “I assume this has something to do with the alien spaceship our governments categorially deny exists.”

  “Just get on the damn helicopter, Richard, before I drag you onboard.”

  “Stay where you are, Richard,” ordered David, stepping forward to block Colbert’s path. “I demand you leave immediately.”

  Colbert smiled. “Happy to oblige.” He looked at Richard. “Move!”

  David went to protest but found himself restrained by one of the SEALs.

  Richard walked over to David and handed him his laptop. “Don’t worry, brother, it’s not the first time I’ve been kidnapped. I’ll be fine.” He glanced back at the rock. “Can you gather up my equipment and I’ll finish off when I return.” He glanced at Colbert. “I will be returning, won’t I?”

  “As soon as you’ve completed what we want you to do, you will be brought back here.”

  “How long will that take,” asked David, reluctantly accepting the situation.

  Colbert shrugged. “A few hours at most.”

  “Let’s get this over with then,” said Richard. He headed for the hovering helicopter, climbed onboard and glanced around at the serious stares the men gave him. He smiled at Ramirez and Sullivan. “Did you miss me?”

  Ramirez scowled. “Not for as long as I hoped.”

  Richard was pushed along the seat when Colbert climbed in and sat beside him. As soon as everyone was back onboard, the helicopter lifted into the air and flew away.

  Richard looked down at the worried and confused expression his brother wore. He obviously wondered what the hell was happening. Richard smirked. Welcome to my world, brother.

  After putting on his own headset, Colbert grabbed another hanging from the ceiling and thrust it at Richard.

  Richard slipped on the headset and adjusted the mic until it was near his mouth. “So, Colbert, who’s responsible for my abduction this time?”

  Colbert smiled at him. “Me.”

  Richard’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “I didn’t think you liked me?”

  “I don’t, but you have this uncanny knack of surviving against the alien creatures we encountered in Antarctica and the mission I am currently in command of might need all the help it can get. Like me, you have also faced this type of creature before and survived.”

  “So, it is to do with the spacecraft. Has it been salvaged from the ocean floor?”

  “No, it’s still there, though I believe a feasibility study is being carried out to determine if salvaging it is even possible.”

  “It’s not Little Lucifer you took from me is it? Has it grown into a hideous, vicious monster you want me to calm with my loving personality?”

  Colbert scoffed. “It’s to do with that black alien we encountered on the boat.”

  Richard’s thoughts briefly relived the moment. “I thought we destroyed it.”

  Colbert nodded. “We did, but it seems there was another one the Russian salvage team captured and brought back to Russia with them. It also might be a completely different but similar type of alien. Details are sketchy, and we’ll only find out when we meet it.”

  The penny partly dropped for Richard. An alien creature was in Russia. Of all the places he had chosen to come to, it was the one where an alien creature resided. Though he supposed the SEALs could abduct him from anywhere. “What exactly is the mission you so desperately want my help with?”

  “The alien was taken to a secret underground facility about two hundred kilometers from here. All we know is what we’ve gleaned from an intercepted call for help from the only survivor of the five-man team of Russian soldiers that went inside. It isn’t much. It seems that a black creature able to reform into different species is running loose and has probably killed everyone that worked there. Our mission is to enter, seek out the creature and destroy it. Failing that, we will destroy the facility to prevent it from escaping.”

  “And you need me, why?” asked Richard. “You know I’m not a team player and will do anything to ensure I survive, even if that means sacrificing some of you. Yet you still want me on your team. It makes no sense.”

  “I guess it’s a case of better the devil you know,” answered Colbert. “You have encountered more of these alien creatures and survived than anyone else on the planet, which makes you an expert. I and some of my men were chosen for this mission based on our experiences with the alien creatures, and I believe your unique brand of self-preservation strategy may enable us all to successfully complete the mission with minimum loss of life.”

  It was Richard’s turn to snort. “Good luck with that.” He glanced around at the men staring at him. “From my experiences with alien creatures, you are all dead men walking. You should blow it up with one of your big bombs instead of all this foolhardy nonsense, which I assure you will not end well.”

  “Remember, Richard, it’s only one creature,” said Colbert. “You, and some of us, faced much worse.”

  Richard wasn’t convinced. “Do I get a weapo
n this time?”

  Colbert grinned. “What do you think?”

  Richard shrugged.

  “In case you need to scream for help, I’ll introduce you my team,” said Colbert.

  Richard rolled his eyes.

  “You, Ramirez and Sullivan are old buddies, so no intro needed. At the end there is Mason, then Buckner and opposite you, Dalton.”

  Richard looked at each man in turn. There wasn’t a smile amongst them. However the mission turned out, it wasn’t going to be fun. He gazed out at the tundra passing below while he wondered if he would survive his third encounter with the spaceship’s alien monstrosities.

  CHAPTER 16

  Ingress

  PEERING THROUGH BINOCULARS, Mason scanned Checkpoint Siberia 3’s compound and swept them up to the top of the lookout tower. He focused on the man training his gaze upon the secret facility half a kilometer away. The Russian lookout had to be Sven Kulikov, the soldier who had called for help earlier. After he had scanned the area a second time and spotted no evidence of anyone else present, Mason headed closer.

  Though Mason was confident from Sven’s intercepted conversation with his superior that the Russian was alone, his comrades killed when they entered the underground base, it had taken SEAL Team 5 a little over eleven hours to get here. Aware of the other checkpoints stretched along the road that may have sent soldiers to reinforce Sven’s soldier-depleted post, Mason switched his gaze back and forth from the door of the hut that light shone from and the sentry in the tower.

  Mason moved past the simple road barrier and took position in the covered garage. He glanced at the twin set of tyre tracks that led out and stretched along the road, evidence the truck that had taken Sven’s comrades to their deaths was once stored here. He lifted the edge of the thermal cover to discover a motorbike beneath. It looked old but well maintained. He moved to the edge of the building to observe the sentry. Climbing the tower without being detected by the Russian wasn’t possible. Though he could easily pick off Sven with his rifle from here, their orders were clear; unless it was unavoidable, they were to avoid killing any Russians.

  His eyes flicked to the latrine and back to Sven. However, the clock was ticking away the limited time they had to complete the mission before reinforcements arrived. If Sven didn’t come down for a piss or visit the hut to get warm or eat soon, he’d have no option but to take him out.

  SVEN SHIVERED AGAINST the cold that somehow found its way under his layers of clothing to crawl across his skin and suck the warmth from his body. He paced around the small exposed platform in an attempt to reinstate some warmth into his body, but again it failed to chase away the chill that seemed to have seeped into his bones. He glanced down at the inviting light seeping from the windows of the hut and then at the smoke the icy breeze whipped away as soon as it drifted from the confines of the flue. Sven pictured the coal fire at its base and the promise of warmth it offered.

  Sven placed the binoculars to his eyes and again focused on the facility’s entrance. It hadn’t changed. No activity and no evidence to tell anything had passed through it. He had retired to his bed when darkness fell, bringing with it a drastic drop in temperature, but thoughts of the creature attacking him while he slept had caused him a restless night. He glanced at the moody sky. Gray clouds blocking the sunlight would make for another typical day on the Siberian tundra, cold and gloomy, matching his mood.

  Convinced whatever the thing was that had killed his comrades wasn’t about to venture forth into the cold, Sven decided to wait a few more minutes before he climbed down the tower to get warm and fix himself something to eat.

  MASON GLANCED AT HIS watch. Their twelve-hour deadline to complete the mission was ticking away. He couldn’t wait any longer. He raised his rifle and aimed at the sentry’s head. As his finger pressured the trigger, the Russian moved to the ladder and began climbing down. Mason lowered the weapon, moved back a few steps so he wouldn’t be seen, and waited.

  When Sven reached for the hut’s door handle, he gasped at something cold pressed against his neck.

  “Remain calm, do as I say, and you will live,” ordered Mason firmly but quietly in Russian. “Try anything, or disobey me, and you will die. Understand?”

  Sven nodded.

  “Is anyone else inside?”

  Sven shook his head.

  “Open it.”

  Sven turned the handle and pushed the door open.

  Keeping his Sig Sauer P226 pistol pressed against the man’s skin and using Sven’s body as a shield, Mason peered into the gloomy interior as he disarmed the Russian. He prodded the man inside and swept his gaze around the room. Keeping Sven between himself and anyone who might suddenly appear, Mason crossed to the only other door and searched the bunkroom. Satisfied they were alone, he shut the bunkroom door, and herded Sven over to the table, the evidence of an interrupted card game spread across its top. “Sit.”

  Wondering why the American soldier was here and if he was about to die, Sven sat and anxiously watched the American move to the other side of the table, the weapon aimed at him never moving from his chest.

  Mason sat across from the Russian and stared into the man’s eyes when he spoke to him in Russian. “Now, Sven, I am going to ask you a few questions. Some I already know the answer to, so don’t lie or I will cause you pain.”

  Surprised the man knew his name and worried he might be tortured if he resisted, Sven nodded anxiously. “I will tell you truth.”

  “Good. Are there any soldiers in the facility?”

  Sven shook his head. “Nyet. All dead.”

  “What about the people that work there?”

  Sven shrugged and answered in English. “I think also all dead.”

  “Good, you speak English. We know reinforcements are coming, but do you know when they will arrive?”

  “Last night I was told they come in next twenty-four hours, but this Russia. Anything possible. Might arrive in ten minutes or one week.”

  Mason touched his radio mic. “Mother Goose, you are clear to proceed. Facility is clear of soldiers. Civilian presence unknown but believed dead. Likelihood of reinforcements arriving early high. Suggest you proceed with all haste. Will advise with updated details on the creature when I have them.”

  “Understood, Eagle 4, proceeding to facility,” affirmed Colbert.

  Mason refocused on his prisoner. “Now, Sven, tell me everything you know about this creature that killed your comrades.”

  THE HELICOPTER, AS nondescript as the camouflage clothing the SEAL team wore, passed over Checkpoint Siberia 3 and turned towards the distant structure bathed in gloomy daylight. To bring light to the shadows, the pilot, Ethan Kelly, switched on the forward spotlight when he circled the compound. Windblown dust passed through the bright beam that swept over the unassuming cluster of agricultural buildings. The only hint that they might be used for a purpose other than some type of farming was the security fencing around the perimeter.

  Colbert focused on the truck parked by the entrance. The soldiers who arrived in it yesterday were now dead. Though concerned he might soon face another of the alien creatures he had battled with on the ship, Colbert focused on the mission and ordered the pilot to land. As soon as the helicopter touched ground, the doors slid open and SEALs piled out with weapons ready to fire.

  Sullivan and Kessler split off from the pack and moved to the smaller building attached to the side of the larger structure. Inside they found a diesel generator and a large diesel storage tank raised on a metal platform. One of the fuel feed pipes leading from the tank was attached to the generator while a slightly thicker one disappeared into the concrete floor.

  Sullivan crossed to the silent generator, laid a hand on it and glanced at Kessler. “Cold.”

  “Might be a backup for a main generator located in the facility,” offered Kessler, looking at the fuel pipe that went through the floor.

  The two men returned to the group outside.

  While Kelly, t
he pilot, remained with the powered down helicopter, Commander Colbert, Richard and the other four members of the SEAL team headed for the entrance.

  While Ramirez examined the key card lock, Richard seized his last chance to try and convince Colbert to change his mind. “I really don’t see the point of including me on your reckless mission. Let me wait here with your pilot, and if you need my advice, contact me over the radio.”

  Colbert glared at Richard. “You’re coming with us. If you plan on surviving, I suggest you help us defeat what we find down there.” He nodded at Kelly standing by the helicopter. “Because if we don’t and you return above ground on your own, you won’t be leaving.”

  Richard looked at the pilot, who shot him a knowing smirk and tapped his rifle. “That’s hardly fair with the dangerous nature of this suicide mission. I can hardly be held responsible if the alien kills you all, can I?”

  “That, Richard, is why you are here. To help ensure that doesn’t happen.”

  Richard shrugged. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you when the shit hits the fan and slaps you in the face.” He glanced around at the powerful assault rifles the soldiers held. “I really think it would be better if I had a weapon.”

  “You’re not getting one because I don’t trust you not to shoot us all in the back.”

  Richard smiled at Colbert. “Good, you’re learning. There might be hope for you yet.”

  “They’ve left the key card in the lock,” uttered Ramirez in surprise, pulling out the card and turning it in his hand. “You’d think a secret underground base would be better protected.”

  “I suppose when you’re fleeing from an alien monster, pausing to lock the door isn’t a consideration,” offered Buckner.

  Ramirez reinserted the key card. The door buzzed, and Sullivan pushed it open. With weapon raised, he cautiously entered, and the others followed him inside. After a sweep of the room revealed it to be empty, they focused on the elevator at the far end of the room.