Corky’s eyes widened in alarm.
“I’m just kidding,” she chuckled. “My quarters are pretty isolated,” she added and received a playful swat.
“Ha, ha,” Corky said childishly.
“You never told me,” Malory asked curiously. “Anyone tease you about that?”
“I took some ribbing.” Corky said mildly. “But surprisingly, it wasn’t as horrible as I imagined.”
“I kinda figured,” Malory said knowingly.
“You did, huh?”
“Sure, these guys have been down here a long time. Unless some of them are butt buddies, I would think they all indulge on a regular basis,” she speculated jovially. “Of course, you don’t hear them scream out in the middle of the night like they’re being fucked with a chainsaw. They’re much more discreet, unlike someone who shall remain nameless,” she added with an irritating cackle.
Corky favored her with a displeased frown. “Do you ever listen to yourself? Your language is appalling and your terminology is offensive,” she said indignantly.
“What did I say?” Malory asked innocently.
Brown eyes narrowed. “You’re not meeting my Mommy until you clean up your act,” she said sternly, crossing her arms over her chest.
———
Malory took her time getting to the lab, arriving just before lunchtime to pay heed to the gathered scientists. Judging by the expressions on those in attendance, she expected it to be a short meeting. Prior to hearing them out, she decided to inspect the second container and found it identical to the first with the exception of an empty interior and missing panel. She choked down a sudden feeling of uneasiness but kept a face of utter impassiveness, not entirely convinced that the vacant cube wasn’t an omen of sorts.
“Okay,” she said finally. “Let’s hear it,” she added, turning an expectant look on Dr. Lenard.
The man cleared his throat. “It seems there’s no evidence or theory we can provide that would convince you that the find does not present a danger,” he said unenthusiastically.
“That’s pretty much what I expected.”
“However,” Lenard continued. “We believe we found out how to open it.”
Blue eyes narrowed. “That’s besides the point and you know it. Under no circumstances would I allow the contents to be exposed to the populace here without some pretty goddamn convincing assurances,” she rumbled quietly.
“No one is suggesting removing the crystal, just exposing it to a more informative study,” he explained hastily.
“Out of the question,” she said strictly.
Lenard opened his mouth to reply but paused thoughtfully, slowly nodding his consent.
“Very well,” Malory said with a nod of her own. “I want both containers secure in cold storage within the hour.”
“Alright, Commander,” Lenard said quietly, watching her turn and tread from the room.
“Damn it,” Grey hissed as the door shut behind her.
“We knew hours ago what she would do,” Lenard sighed. “Let’s get them moved, we have a lot more to do in excavation.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Grey offered reluctantly. “Could someone send Cohen in to give me hand? Have him grab one of the flatbeds so we can haul ‘em away.”
Lenard nodded as he shuffled to the door to grab Cohen, waving for the rest of his companions to join him and eventually leaving Grey in the room alone and unguarded.
As the last body filtered out of sight, he immediately turned and ran his hand along one of the top seams, his fingertips deftly locating the small indentations. Knowing he didn’t have much time, he rummaged through a nearby desk for two unsharpened pencils and gingerly pushed them, eraser first, into the small holes.
A second went by, then two without result and he began to think that they had been mistaken after all. Disappointed, he removed the pencils and was in the process of turning away when the clear top panel began to color a strange gray hue and then separate, retreating liquidly into the seams of all four sides.
As if sensing the change, the material inside the crystal began to churn within itself violently and then calmed as abruptly as it started; the color, once a brilliant blue, fading to a muddy red. Fascinated, Grey put the pencils in his pocket and leaned over to inspect, pulling his face away in surprise when the top of the crystal opened with a separation that made triangles out of the upper four sides of the octahedron.
Cautiously, he leaned over to look inside.
———
Malory was only a few potato chips into her lunch when the alarm klaxon brought her aggressively out of her seat. She shared a quick look at McNeely and got an unknowing shrug in return.
“I have a man down in the lab, request assistance,” Cohen nervously reported over the intercom.
She tried to ignore the fear that clung to her spine and broke into a run, aware of McNeely’s heavy footsteps pounding behind her. As she raced down the hall that led to her destination, she found several people already milling outside uncertainly and she brushed past them to enter the lab. She came to a complete halt as she met Cohen standing in front of the glass door and staring inside, her eyes followed his gaze to see both alien containers empty and Grey face down on the floor in front of them. Her fear strengthened its hold on her spine and for a second she was unable to find her voice. When she finally did, her tone was furious.
“Mother fucker!” she exclaimed. “What the hell happened?” she asked turning a glare on the young Airman.
“I went to get a flatbed so we could transport the cubes,” he said oddly. “When I got here, the cube was empty and Dr. Grey was on the floor.”
“Why didn’t you go in?” McNeely asked gruffly.
“He was screaming,” Cohen said hauntingly. “He was screaming like nothing I ever heard before. It was…it was…”
“Alright, son,” McNeely interrupted. “We need to get him out of there.”
Malory nodded absently, her eyes frantically searching the interior of the room.
“Commander,” McNeely prompted.
She took a deep breath and held out a hand. “Airman, your rifle,” she ordered quietly and he handed it over inattentively.
“Commander, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” McNeely said stiffly and turned to yell out into the hall. “Hanson, Terrel, get in here,” he barked.
“No,” Malory said softly. “I won’t risk anyone else, just keep the door open and shut it as soon as I get back in here.”
“Absolutely not,” McNeely said sternly. “I’ll go in your place.”
“I’m not going to argue with you, Sergeant,” Malory said distractedly.
“Malory don’t,” Corky said quietly.
The Commander turned in surprise, unaware that Corky had entered the room and was staring at her fearfully, fretfully wringing her hands.
McNeely spared a confused glance at the doctor. “Commander, I insist,” he said just as Hanson and Terrel burst through the bodies crowded in the hall.
“Commander, your rifle, please,” McNeely requested, holding out a hand.
She spared Corky another glance and handed the Sergeant her rifle. “Cohen, clear the hall and get Percy or Coy in here with a stretcher. Move,” she ordered harshly, turning her attention to McNeely as he raced into the hall.
“I’ll hold the door,” she said. “Get Grey out of there as quickly as you can, don’t stop to sightsee.”
“Understood,” McNeely said. “Move it, I’ll cover,” he added with a gesture to Hanson and Terrel. “Just grab him by the arms and yank him out of there.”
They nodded and Malory moved to open the door. “Ready?”
She received nods in response and quickly wrenched the door open, allowing Hanson and Terrel to race through, followed closely by McNeely who stood by the door, his rifle raised to protect the scrambling men.
It was a quick exercise as both men roughly grabbed Grey by the arms and dragged him hastily across the floor, dumping him u
nceremoniously as they passed the threshold, McNeely jumping back in after them. Malory slammed the door and locked it, missing the darting Sergeant by a hairsbreadth in her haste.
Corky dropped to the body, rapidly checking his vitals as Percy and Coy rushed in with a stretcher. “He’s alive but his pulse is weak, let’s move him, now,” she said urgently and Grey was hastily loaded onto the stretcher and rushed from the room.
Malory watched them go. “I want an armed guard posted exactly where I’m standing until I say otherwise. No one is to enter the lab under any circumstances and have Cohen and Lenard report to my office and then join me there, Mr. McNeely.”
“Aye, skipper.”
———
The Commander sat behind her desk glaring at both the young Airman and Dr. Lenard as she waited for McNeely to arrive. Her eyes kept straying to Cohen who was still pale from his earlier experience and seemingly unaffected by the irritated and upset scrutiny being cast upon him by his superior. On the outside she hoped she was portraying a countenance of confidence but was all too aware that on the inside, she was perilously close to an unreasoning fear. It was a feeling that had been growing exponentially since the discovery of an alien within the ice and had intensified itself dramatically upon recent experiences.
Finally, the Sergeant Major arrived, closing the door behind him and standing quietly just inside the room.
“Grab the chair out of my quarters, Sergeant,” Malory offered and he gave her a slight nod. Entering her room and returning a second later to seat himself.
“Alright,” she said after a deep breath. “What the fuck happened?”
Both men remained silent so she turned a glare on Lenard. “Well?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know, Commander,” he said honestly. “Grey stayed behind after you left the lab to transport the cubes to storage. He instructed one of us to have Cohen grab a flatbed, which he did, and that’s all I know.”
“So he was alone in the lab?” she asked.
“I would assume so.”
“Airman, how long were you away from your post?”
“No more than five minutes, Commander,” he said quietly.
Malory leaned back in her chair. “Doctor, you told me you believed you could open the cube. Do you think Grey might have taken the opportunity to try?”
Lenard hummed thoughtfully. “I want to say no, but he was disappointed about your decision to shelve it. I’d like to think he’s more responsible than that.”
“Could he have opened it in five minutes?”
“Possibly,” Lenard said. “Along the seams of the top panel there are two small holes. The depressions are sized and spaced to accommodate what we theorized was one of the alien’s hands, or to be more precise, fingers. However, I stress that our assumption was just a theory.”
She ground her teeth angrily. “Then our beloved Dr. Grey had more than enough time to test the theory.”
“All he had to do was find something small enough to fit in the depressions,” Lenard admitted. “But that, of course, isn’t a guarantee to open the container. It was pretty much a guess on our part that it might be that simple.”
“Airman,” Malory sighed, “what exactly did you see when you returned with the flatbed?”
“He was lying face down on the floor, screaming,” he said distantly. “Screaming, like… like…it was indescribable.”
“Is that all?” Malory asked reluctantly.
“Yes, Commander,” Cohen answered. “He was just scre…” he paused, “…wait, I think… never mind.”
“Please, continue,” Malory said firmly.
“It was hard to make out, his voice was so… so strained but I think he might have said worms,” Cohen admitted shakily.
“Worms?” McNeely finally spoke.
“Yes, I think so, Sergeant,” Cohen confirmed.
Malory stiffened in an almost panic and sprang to her feet to grab her radio. “Dr. Rivers, respond immediately!”
A second that lasted ten years.
“Go ahead.”
Malory almost swayed in relief. “Doctor, does Grey have any signs of being infected by an intruder?”
“What?” Corky asked sharply.
“Cohen believes that Grey might have said worms before losing consciousness.”
“Worms?”
“Yes.”
“Not to my knowledge, but I’ll reexamine his blood sample,” Corky said confusedly. “Dr. Grey seems to be uninjured although comatose. His blood pressure and body temperature are extremely low, I can’t find a reason for it.”
“Please, let me know as soon as you learn anything.”
“Alright,” Corky said slowly. “Rivers, out.”
Malory sat the radio on her desk. “Mr. McNeely dispatch an armed guard to Medical and round up Reynolds, Alvarez, Hanson, and Terrel. We’re going to go into that lab,” she ordered and he stood to grab his radio.
“Oh, and Sergeant,” she added before he could speak. “We’ll need a couple of flamethrowers. Dr. Lenard, you’ll be joining us.”
———
McNeely tore off his gas mask and kicked it down the hall in frustration, they had spent the last six hours searching every square centimeter of the lab and had come up empty. Malory echoed the man’s sentiments as she slid down the wall she was leaning against and rested her rifle upright between her legs. She sighed and rested the back of her head against the wall.
“I don’t get it,” she murmured quietly.
“I don’t either,” McNeely agreed.
“Commander,” Reynolds said as he emerged from the lab and tore off his mask. “The cubes have been stored, any further orders?”
“Contact the appropriate authorities and inform them of the situation we’ve encountered,” she ordered. “And you might as well let everybody loose for the evening except those on guard duty.”
“Very well, Commander,” he replied. “Have a good evening.”
“You too, Chief,” she said sparing a small smile.
McNeely took a seat beside her in the hall as the rest of the men filtered past, waiting until everyone was out of earshot to speak. “What do you make of it, skipper?”
“I don’t know, but I got a case of the crawling creeps.”
“You think Grey opened the damn thing?”
“Yeah,” Malory sighed. “Yeah, I do. I feel like an ass for not watching over it with my own eyes until it was stored. The idiot had to have done it right after I left the goddamn room.”
“None of this is your fault,” he said seriously.
She spared him a glance. “It feels like it,” she admitted.
“That’s because you’re the skipper and a damn good one,” he said honestly. “You’re not responsible for the people that disobey your directives. Just as you’re not responsible for the unstable conditions in excavation and you’re most certainly not responsible because some jackass decided to open that damn box.”
“But I am,” Malory said tiredly. “I’m responsible for the actions of everyone under my command and that includes the civilians.”
“Yes, to a point you are,” he agreed. “But you’re beating yourself up over something you’re not expected to have complete control over.”
“Maybe,” she admitted hesitantly.
He sucked on his teeth. “Tell me, Commander,” he said casually, “why a sailor with no climbing experience would go over the edge of a lethal drop in order to save a life? While you’re at it, tell me how a twenty-four year old junior Lieutenant with a gunshot wound and ruined arm could manage to keep herself and a man roughly twice her weight afloat in the ocean for almost two days? And please tell me how a woman who was obviously scared shitless found the courage to prepare to go alone into that lab earlier today?”
She turned a thoughtful look in his direction. “Adrenaline?” she offered lamely.
He chuckled. “Don’t hand me that shit.”
She shrugged. “You obviously had a look at my fil
e.”
“Of course, I did,” he admitted nonchalantly. “I expected a Colonel or above, not a female 0-4.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” she said sarcastically.
“On the contrary, I don’t think they could’ve picked a better person.”
Malory smiled. “You trying to get a blush out of me or cheer me up?”
Another chuckle. “I would’ve liked the blush but I’ll settle for a pick me up.”
“You sly dog,” she said happily. “Looks like you’re not gonna let me feel sorry for myself.”
“Nope,” he agreed cheerfully. “But I’ll sober you up.”
“I didn’t know I was drunk.”
“You keep an excellent poker face but your girlfriend doesn’t.”
Malory tensed. “My girlfriend?”
“The good doctor,” he said offhandedly.
“Well, yes,” Malory said slowly. “We’re friends.”
“Don’t bullshit a guy that has fifteen years on you,” he chided. “I’m just pointing this out to you because if it became common knowledge, they’d pull you out of here at the first opportunity. I don’t want that to happen.”
Malory grunted. “Does anyone else know?” she asked curiously.
“I imagine I’m the only one.”
“How did you find out?”
“I caught the first clue today when she called you by name and looked about ready to cry to keep you from going into the lab. I knew for sure when you sent me into your quarters to get a chair and I found a set of medical scrubs draped over the back,” he explained easily.
“Busted,” she admitted resignedly. “I take it you don’t have a problem?”
“Please,” he said dismissively. “I was actually kinda hoping you would share your technique with me.”
“What?” Malory said around a surprised laugh.
“Now that I realize that the doctor wasn’t alone in her quarters the other night, I’d like to know how you get a woman to scream like that. An aging stud like myself is always on the lookout for new pointers.”
Malory had started laughing before he finished. “That is one discussion we will never have.”
He laughed with her. “You won’t even throw me a bone?”
Malory shook her head amusedly. “Try going without for thirteen years while spending half of each day thinking about it.”
Icehole Page 14
