by Ben Hammott
“So…what do we do? We'll freeze to death sitting in this tin box.”
It was the first time since he'd had his pilot's license that Jack wouldn't have minded if one of his passengers had died. “Be quiet, I'm thinking.”
“Well, think a little faster, my feet are getting cold.”
Jack was just about to remind him whose fault it was they'd ended up here, when the plane trembled.
The passenger's fear quickly returned. “Shit, we're falling!”
Footsteps moved along the plane, buckling its metal skin where weight was placed on it. The handle turned when someone tried to open the door. Failing to do so, a gloved hand cleared away a patch of ice to allow a face to peer in. The man's eyes flicked to the two men staring back at him. “Hi. Landing a bit rough, was it?”
Jack recognized the voice. “Hi, Eli, is the plane secure?”
“Secure? I should say. You'll need heavy equipment to move this the way it's wedged in.”
Jack released his harness, dropped to the side of the plane and moved over to the door.
“The door's jammed,” Eli told him. “I'll try and free it with my ice axe.”
Jack nodded. “Okay.”
Loud booms filled the plane when Eli tried to force the tip of the axe blade between the door and its frame. On his third try he succeeded. Snow drifted through the small gap that appeared at the side of the door.
“Try pushing it from your side, Jack.” Eli shouted.
Jack put his shoulder to the door and pushed.
While the men battled to open the door, the passenger supported himself against the side of the plane, released his seat buckle and slid from the seat. Instead of helping the men with the door, he crawled to the rear of the plane and dragged a large blue bag forward. He then crouched and waited.
Jack slammed his shoulder against the door, moving it slightly. The door burst open on his second try. The wind brought snow and ice swirling into the plane. Jack shivered as he held out a hand. “Thanks, Eli.”
Eli shook the offered hand. “No problem. I was passing by and thought I'd drop in.” He glanced into the plane and nodded to the man inside. “Only the one passenger?”
“Yes, just him!” Jack glared at his passenger. “Leave the bag. We can collect it after the blizzard passes.”
“The bag's coming with me,” he insisted.
Jack shook his head. “Okay, but you're carrying it.”
“You think I'd trust it to your care after a flight like that?”
“Errrgh. I've never felt like murdering someone until I met you.”
The man smiled. “You're not the first to say that.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Jack opened a cupboard, pulled out a thermal Parka jacket and some gloves and slipped them on. “I'll go first and you pass your bag out, that is, if it's okay if I touch it?”
“There's no need for sarcasm.”
Jack glared at him again. “Believe me, pal, there is.” Eli helped Jack climb out.
“Difficult passenger?”
“You don't know the half of it.” Jack grabbed the blue bag, glanced at the ground a couple of yards below and threw the bag down. He smiled at Eli.
“You're hoping there's something breakable inside.”
Jack grinned. “Hoping― I'm praying there is.”
“I could do with some help here.”
Jack rolled his eyes and helped his passenger out of the plane.
The man noticed his bag lying on the ice below and glared at Jack's smirking face.
“It slipped,” Jack said.
“You lie as good as you fly, very badly.” The man slid down the ice and retrieved his bag.
“See what I've had to put up with?” Jack slammed the door shut to prevent the plane from filling with snow and ice.
Eli laughed.
Jack glanced up. Snow and ice whizzed over the top of the rift. “How do we get out of here?”
“We don't. Not until the blizzard passes.”
“Okay…” Jack sensed the man had an alternative option. “…where do we go?”
“We go down. Follow me and all will be revealed.” Eli slid to the bottom.
Jack wondered why Eli was being so cryptic and followed him down.
“This way, gentlemen.” Eli, walked off.
Jack watched his irritating passenger hoist the large bag onto his shoulder and follow Eli. Before Jack joined them, he took a last look at his plane and sighed. Even though it was a write off, he was obliged to remove it. The Antarctic Treaty decreed no litter or contamination of any kind was to be left on the ice. It would be an awkward and expensive undertaking. He prayed his insurance would cover the cost.
During their journey they passed pieces of Jack's wrecked airplane littering the rift, all of which would have to be retrieved.
Jack stopped when he saw the Sno-Cat wedged on its side between the two sloping ice walls. “So that's what hit me?”
Eli looked at Jack. “Sorry. The wind blew it into the rift before I had chance to anchor it.”
“See, it wasn't my fault you crashed,” said his passenger, smugly. He nodded his head at Eli. “Get him to pay for it.”
Jack ignored the man. His teeth were beginning to chatter. He wasn't dressed for prolonged exposure to the Antarctic weather like the other two. He stamped his feet and clapped his hands together to force the blood to circulate and hold off frostbite. “Is it much farther, Eli?”
“I don't think so. It should be around here somewhere.” Eli led them a few steps further along the rift.
Each of them looked at the Sno-Cat perched precariously above them when they passed beneath.
Ropes leading down the side of the rift flapped in the wind. Two ropes fastened to spikes anchored into the ice stretched a few yards before disappearing into a small hole.
Eli turned to face the two men. “We're here.”
The three men peered into the hole.
“It's an underground cavern,” Eli explained. “The others are down there exploring.”
“I'll go down first,” said Jack's passenger, bumping Jack with his blue bag when he turned to choose a rope.
Jack teetered forward, almost falling into the hole before he regained his balance.
“We could throw him in,” suggested Eli. “Say he slipped.”
Jack glared at the man who pulled on a climbing harness and attached it to one of the ropes, oblivious or unconcerned with what he'd just done. “I'm tempted, Eli, soooo tempted.”
The man moved to the hole and sat with his legs dangling into the void. “Once I'm down, pull up the rope and send down my bag. I'll leave the harness attached so you two can use it.” Without waiting for a reply the man slipped into the hole.
Max opened the storage container holding the flashlights and handed them out until they all had one. Henry had suggested they all switch them on at the same time so they could all share in what the brighter lights revealed.
“Okay,” said Henry. “I suggest we all face in the same direction before we switch them on.”
“Let's point them at the lake first,” said Lucy. “I want to see how big it is.”
Henry counted down. “Three, two, one, on!”
Five light beams banished the darkness previously shrouding the expanse of water. The moment was too astonishing to spoil with words. Their eyes took in all the newly revealed details. The lake stretched out for about fifty yards until it reached an ice wall about ten yards high that sloped up to the cavern roof. Stalagmites formed of ice grew out of the far shore and reached for the stalactites directly above them. Some had already met to form a forest of thick ice columns. Their wet gleaming surfaces glinted in the lights moving over them. Two drips of water splashed into the pool, sending out twin ripples of luminous blue light that reflected off the ice formations and the faces of those staring at the wondrous event.
“I don't believe I've ever seen a more amazing sight than that which my eyes behold at this very moment,” said
Henry.
Jane placed a hand on Henry's arm. “It truly is wonderful.”
“And we're the only people ever to have seen it,” said Lucy, her excitement hard to miss.
Max moved his light off to the side of the lake that didn't butt against the cavern wall. The beam highlighted a tunnel trough ice. “The cavern seems to go further in that direction.”
“It's difficult to know where to start,” said Theo. “I know of nothing like this that's been explored under the ice before.”
“But how was it formed?” asked Lucy.
“It's difficult to say without more information,” said Jane, “but perhaps a thermal vent is responsible.”
“I suggest we explore the area first, to determine its true size and what's down here, and then we can divide into teams and start taking samples, measuring, documenting and recording everything with photographs and on film.”
“It's a lot to do in five days,” said Max.
“And we still have to find the cause of NASA's anomaly,” reminded Jane.
“Then we'd better get a move on,” said Henry. “Max, lead us down the tunnel to see what new wonders await us.”
They walked along the front of the lake to the ice tunnel until voices brought them to a halt. They turned to see someone wearing a blue thermal snow suit rappel down the rope.
“Who's that?” asked Henry. “None of us has a blue suit.”
When the man slipped out of the harness, it was pulled up and a blue bag lowered down a few moments later. The blue suited figure detached the bag from the rope and placed it to one side before walking over to them. He slid his hood back, removed his goggles and grinned. “Hello, Jane.”
Jane was stunned. “Richard!”
“In the flesh.” He smiled. “You didn't think I'd let you have all the fun?”
Henry looked at Jane. “You know him?”
Jane sighed. “Yes, unfortunately, we work together.”
Richard held out his hand to Henry. “Richard Whorley.”
Henry shook the man's hand. “Henry Sandberg. But why are you here? We already have a full team.”
Richard glanced around the cavern. “From the look of this discovery, you need all the help you can get.”
Jane groaned. Richard was sure to try and claim some discovery or other as his own to make a name for himself and, if possible, a profit. “This is a team effort, Richard. We all share the discoveries equally.”
“Of course, Jane, I'm surprised you felt the need to mention that. You know I'm a team player.”
Jane knew he was not and was just about to voice that fact when Max spoke.
“Someone else is coming down.”
Richard glanced at the man sliding down the rope. “That's the pilot, though how he got his flying license is a mystery. He crashed the damn plane and nearly killed me.”
Jane, well aware how selfish and annoying Richard could be, briefly wondered if the pilot had intentionally crashed the plane. If so, it was like Richard to survive.
“What do you mean, he crashed the plane,” asked Lucy.
Noticing Lucy for the first time, Richard flashed an appreciative smile while his lecherous eyes tried to discern the exquisite body he pictured hidden beneath the layers of thick clothing. “Hello, pretty, I didn't see you there.”
Jane rolled her eyes. “Richard, you're engaged. Making lustful advances at every pretty woman you see isn't fair to your bride to be, God help her.”
Richard glared at Jane. “What I do to whom and when I do it is no concern of yours. You're just jealous I don't pay you the same attention.”
“That's enough, pal,” said Max, stepping forward to confront the new arrival.
“What the hell is happening here?” said Henry. “You, Richard, have only been here a few minutes and already you're upsetting the group.”
“You try being stuck on a plane with him, and then you'll know the true meaning of torment.”
They all looked at the grinning pilot.
Jane flashed him a smile. Though she'd hoped to see Jack again, she had imagined different circumstances.
“The comedian arrives,” quipped Richard.
Henry glared at Richard. “Another person you've upset.”
Richard shrugged and looked at Jane. “At least I didn't have someone drugged so I could steal their place on the team like Miss Goody Two-Shoes there did to me.”
“That's a lie and you damn well know it,” said Jane.
“That's enough of this bickering,” said Henry. “I've only just met you and I feel like slipping you something to shut you up.”
“That's right, all gang up on me.”
Eli joined them. “The blizzard's arrived and it's raging fiercely. I had no time to make it back to base camp, so I thought I'd give you lot a hand.”
“You're welcome, Eli.” Henry refocused on Richard. “No one is ganging up on you Richard. You've brought this on yourself.” He took a deep breath to calm his rising anger. “For the sake of the expedition, I think it would be best if we start again. Forget about everything that has happened before this point. You are here now and we have no alternative other than to put up with you. If you're willing to become an integral part of the team you can join us in exploring this amazing place. If not, you can wait here until the blizzard passes and head back to base camp until transport can be arranged to take you home. The choice is yours.”
“I would like to join the team,” Richard said, sheepishly.
“Good. We don't have enough flashlights for everyone, so you'll have to tag along and make do.” Henry turned his back on the man. “Okay, let's go and explore.”
Max led the group along the right side of the lake.
Theo handed Richard his headlight. “It's better than nothing.”
Richard tagged along at the end. Seething with anger at his recent humiliation, for which he held Jane fully responsible, he was determined to get one over on her and the team. Something in this unique environment had his name on it. When he found it the discovery would not be shared. It would be his alone and the chance for him to make a name for himself. He smiled as he pictured his handsome face on the front of Times magazine.
Jane gave Jack her headlight. “I didn't think I'd see you again so soon.”
Jack slipped the light onto his head. “Keep the ladies guessing, that's my motto,' he said, adding a grin.
Henry glanced back. “Keep up, Richard. We don't want to lose you.”
“Speak for yourself,” quipped Jane.
Richard glared at the back of her head.
*****
Scott sat in the communication room with a worried frown on his face. He'd just received an updated weather report from the McMurdo ice station. It wasn't good news for the team out on the ice. He'd tried to contact them to let them know, but with the combination of the raging blizzard and the team in the cavern below the ice, he'd failed to get through to them. Another worry was he had also failed to make contact with Eli and Byrd Station had contacted him to see if Jack had arrived safely.
Pike popped his head into the room. “Any luck?”
Scott shook his head. “Eli must have joined the others in the rift or he would've been here by now.”
“They'll be okay. At least in the cavern they're sheltered from the storm, and they have enough food and drink to last a while.”
“McMurdo says the storm's going to increase in strength and could last a few days or possibly a week or more.”
“Oh shit!” said Pike. “They could be stuck down there when another tremor hits. The cavern could collapse.”
The Anomaly
UNAWARE OF THE WORSENING storm raging above them, the team's flashlights reflected off the tunnel of glistening ice they passed through. When Max led them around a bend, they arrived at ground that inclined down into darkness. Though its angle was steep, it wasn't too sheer to prevent them from progressing safely.
“It's getting warmer,” said Max, wondering why.
&n
bsp; “Could be coming from a thermal vent,” Jane suggested. She couldn't think of anything else that would cause the heat.
After travalling along the slanting passage for a few minutes, it levelled out and turned to the left. What they encountered around the bend stunned them all.
It was Max who broke the hush that had fallen over the group of astonished onlookers. “What the hell is that?”
They all stared at the large opening with rounded edges fashioned from metal. It had the effect of staring into a skull's empty eye socket.
Max shone his flashlight into the long tube that veered down at a steep angle and noticed something at the furthest reach of the beam. “I think I see the bottom.”
Theo slipped off a glove and felt the air. “Whatever this thing is, it's producing a small current of warm air.”
“It must be what formed the cavern,” said Jane.
“And the melted runoff created the lake,” added Lucy.
Eli, who had moved around the side of the bizarre object, called out, “Come and take a look at this! You're not going to believe it.”
Eli's excitement drew the others to him. They moved around the strange metal opening and stared at the second unexpected sight before them. The curved edge of something protruded from the glacier.
When Eli tapped it with his ice pick, a hollow sound rang out. “It's metal.”
Henry moved forward and with a brush of his gloved hand cleared off a patch of thin ice to reveal the object's smooth, shiny, black surface. “It's obviously man made.” He stepped back to roam his eyes over the unexpected discovery. “What's not so obvious is what it is and how it came to be buried so deep in the ice.”
“To be entombed this deep it must have arrived here about eight to ten thousand years ago,” said Jane, confused by the strange object.
