by JC Ryan
Summers found himself in the peculiar position of wishing that Daniel and Sarah would cut their visit short, and leave, so that he and his team could make their last trek. Maybe once Daniel left, JR would straighten up again as well. Summers was an optimist, but it was not to be.
On the next to last day of their plan to visit, Daniel encountered JR and Misty emerging from their room, with JR clearly impaired. Summers hadn't told him of the drinking, so Daniel was thunderstruck.
"JR, I hope I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing," Daniel said.
"And what would that be?" JR demanded, too drunk to moderate his tone.
"I don't believe it. You are drunk. And Misty, have you been drinking too?" Misty eyed him boldly.
"We're not on duty, you have no business trying to control what we do in our off hours," she said. The impertinence staggered Daniel for a moment, and then he narrowed his eyes.
"You have no off-duty hours while on this expedition." He said, ice dripping from his tone. "JR, I need to see you privately, immediately. Miss Rivers you may return to your room." Misty looked at him incredulously and then flounced back into the room, slamming the door.
JR rounded on Daniel and shouted, "Why do you always have to be such an asshole? We weren't doing any harm."
Through gritted teeth Daniel answered. "The harm you're doing is to our credibility with our hosts. You’re putting the entire expedition in jeopardy with your selfish and mindless behavior. I can't believe you'd embarrass me this way, no matter how sick you are."
"Sick? You think I'm sick? I'm not sick, I'm pissed off. Tell me, when did dad die and leave you in charge of the family? I never asked you for your help, and I certainly don't need your attitude. Leave me the fuck alone." JR turned and started to walk away, but Daniel stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. It was the wrong move to make. JR swiveled on his back foot and came around with a swing that narrowly missed Daniel's face, only because he dodged backward as soon as JR started to move. Startled by the hate in JR's eyes, Daniel withdrew his hand, freeing JR to run for the airlock. Dressed only in street clothes, and boat shoes that he wore for house slippers, JR raced outside into the bright but cold sunlight. In a matter of moments, he was out of sight of base personnel, running at top speed and heedless of his direction.
Inside, Daniel was stunned. He knew JR had been traumatized, and being on the receiving end of his outbursts had become commonplace. But, this was worse than anything he'd seen before. Daniel worried that this time he had pushed JR too far. Troubled, he went in search of Sarah to talk it out, not realizing that JR had run straight into potential trouble when he got out of sight of the base.
The trouble wasn't that the air was too cold for survival, given what JR was wearing. At the height of summer, daytime temperatures were about 50°F, so although he might be chilly, as long as JR could find his way back to base, he would not suffer from exposure. However, finding his way back to base was the issue. On the windswept plateau, and with the sun beating down from almost directly overhead, the glare from the snow prevented long-distance visual orientation. Not only was he not within sight of personnel at the base, neither could he see it to return. But, as he ran, JR was not thinking about getting back. His only thought was to get away.
JR had screwed up again, he had to admit it. He’d thrown away all the good will he’d built up with Summers and the rest of the expedition members, but worst of all was screwing up in front of his brother. Daniel was his hero, the big brother who could do no wrong. It was horrifying that he thought JR was sick, worthless, nothing but a failure. He couldn’t face that judgment from Daniel, but he heaped it on himself. I’m just a worthless piece of shit, he told himself. He wanted to die.
After half an hour, the thin, dry air was no longer sufficient to fuel his run. Though he was still in top physical condition, he was thirsty, tired and had to stop. Still unaware of the danger he’d put himself in, he flopped down to sit on the ice, ignoring the cold that seeped through the seat of his pants. Now that he was no longer running, he had time to think and his more logical side woke up to how ridiculous it had been to fight with Daniel. The fact was, that he was enjoying this adventure. Even though he had resented Daniel's interference in forcing him to come, he had nothing better to do at home, and being at the bottom of the world was kind of cool when he thought of it.
JR knew he had a problem, one that he’d been denying for a long time. But he had no idea how to overcome it. Loneliness overcame him as he thought, wasn’t there anyone out there who could just accept him? Acceptance would help. To ask for understanding, or for someone to like him might be too much, but if they could just accept him, maybe he could begin to heal himself.
Gradually, it entered his consciousness that his bum was getting rather cold, in fact, it was completely numb. It was only then that he stood up and turning slowly with his eyes on the horizon, realized he was lost.
"Well, shit. Doesn't that just ice the cake? Where the hell is the base?" He stood stock still, to consider his dilemma. He had about an eight to one shot at walking in the right direction, even if he could maintain a straight course. Then, he thought that he could probably retrace his route by following his own tracks, but he soon discovered that his soft boat shoes had not left much of an impression. He couldn't even sit down, because there was nowhere to sit that wasn't covered in ice, for which his jeans, even over thermal underwear as they were, were not equipped to protect him.
"You asshole, JR," he said to himself. "You've screwed the pooch this time." His only hope was that someone would miss him. A little of his self-pity crept in, leading him to conclude that no one would miss him, or that if they did, they’d be glad to be rid of him, as much trouble as he was. Still, he couldn’t help but hope they’d soon send a search and rescue mission.
But without knowing how far he'd run, he couldn't imagine how many square miles they would have to cover to be sure of finding him. Then, he had a brilliant idea. It was now near the end of January, almost 6 weeks beyond the summer solstice, when the sun was truly at zenith. That meant that his shadow should be able to tell him which way to go, if he could only think about it correctly. Then he had it. Because the sun was now describing a circle around the pole from a relatively shallow angle below zenith, no matter what time of day it was his shadow should point toward the pole. At least, he thought so. All he had to do, then was to follow his shadow. It could have been a fatal miscalculation, but because it was now well past noon, he actually started in more or less the correct direction.
By now, Misty had come out of her room looking for JR, and, not finding him began to ask others if they had seen him. When it became apparent that no one had, she went to Daniel.
"What happened after you sent me to my room?" she challenged.
"That's none of your business," Daniel answered. "But why?"
"He's missing," she said, simply. Her reward was the look of consternation on Daniel's face as he seized her shoulders.
"What do you mean, missing?"
"Just what it sounds like," Misty sniped. "I can't find him. No one on base has seen him."
With that, Daniel snapped into action. At his request, Cmdr. Anderson ordered a thorough search of the base. His absence corroborated, JR's status became official. It was then that a helicopter was dispatched to run a search grid. No one knew how long JR had been out of the base, but Daniel suspected it had been two or three hours, at least. Overcome with remorse, he wished he had never spoken harshly to JR. An inventory showed that no snowmobiles were missing, and JR's outdoor gear was still in his room. He had gone out onto the ice ill-equipped for the climate, and if Antarctica killed him, Daniel would never forgive himself.
Daniel wanted to join the search effort himself, but Anderson put his foot down. "We've already got one tenderfoot out there," he said. "We don't need another." Daniel had to content himself with pacing in the lounge, Sarah's eyes following him anxiously, and the other members of the expedition also waiting nervousl
y. It occurred to Daniel as he paced, that the demeanor of the others suggested that JR was well-liked. What was it about their dynamic that brought out the worst in both of them? As soon as he had JR back safe, Daniel intended to sit down with him and try to have a pleasant conversation, take accountability for his own ill temper, and try once again to re-establish the loving relationship the brothers had shared in their youth.
It was two long hours later, when a shaken JR was delivered into his brother's arms. The helicopter had found him traveling in a direction that would have taken him right past the base without ever seeing it, had he continued. In that case, he might have walked until he dropped from exhaustion and died on the ice in a trackless wilderness. He was also ravenous, having missed both breakfast and lunch, but at least he was now sober. In respect of his near disaster, Bart obtained permission from Anderson to go into the closed cafeteria and prepare a meal for those who had been too distressed to eat.
No one wanted to question JR about his reasons for leaving the base so ill-prepared. Misty, of course had an idea, but neither Daniel nor JR were eager to corroborate her suspicions.
While the others ate, Daniel pulled Rebecca aside and asked for her assessment of the situation.
“Daniel, JR has had some moments of extraordinary courage and leadership out here. He always seems to conduct himself like a man after them, only getting into trouble when he’s under Misty’s influence or the influence of alcohol. I think maybe he just needs to feel competent, and that people look up to him, or at least respect him. A little trust from you would go a long way, and maybe you could take it easy on him when what he’s done isn’t such a big deal.”
When everyone had been fed and the commotion died down, Daniel spoke quietly to JR, asking him to remain behind when everyone else went to bed, so that they could talk. JR sat, his shoulders hunched against the lecture he was sure Daniel was about to deliver. However, he had dropped his defensive attitude, knowing he had pulled a stupid stunt, and feeling he deserved the lecture. He was surprised when Daniel, instead of yelling at him, sat down and put his face in his hands.
"Damn, JR, I thought I'd lost you." The anguish in his tone made tears start in JR's eyes, which he angrily dashed away. This was the side of Daniel he hadn't seen in years, and thought was gone in the drama and new prominence Daniel had gained with his discovery of the pyramid code. His heart softened toward his brother a little, then.
"To tell you the truth, I wasn't so sure I hadn't lost myself," JR said, with a hint of humor.
"Listen, kid don't do that again, okay?"
"Fuckin' A," breathed the ex-Marine fervently. "Next time I decide to have a hissy fit, I'll do it after I've put on my outdoor gear, and stolen a snowmobile." But, his boyish grin belied the truth of his words. Daniel was fairly confident that there would be no more incidents, and no stolen snowmobiles.
"Sarah and I are leaving tomorrow, you know," Daniel said. "If it weren't for the plea bargain with that judge, I'd take you with me. You know that, don't you?"
"Yeah, bro, I know. But, I need to admit something to you. I’m actually kind of enjoying it here."
“That’s good, JR. You know, some of the crew members have let me know that you’re a valuable asset to the expedition. They like you, even when you’re acting like an idiot. Most of them, anyway. Promise me you'll stay safe."
"I'll do my best, Danny boy," said JR. He was still processing what Daniel had just said. He was valuable? Really? He held his head up a little higher. Maybe he wasn’t such a screw-up after all.
Chapter 15 – In The Storm
By noon the next day, having seen off those who were leaving in the helicopter, Summers and LeClerc had the rest of their crew headed out for their last mapping journey. They had further to go this time than ever before, and the race was on to finish their task and get back to Amundsen-Scott before the winter storms were upon them. The outward bound trip was uneventful for the first couple of days. But then, disaster struck once again.
Even though it was still late in January, an early storm trapped the group on the ice, forcing them to stay put and wait it out. By now, their earlier experience with heavy storms was well behind them. But, they had grown complacent to the dangers of the continent with familiarity. Robert Cartwright had noticed something interesting at the edge of the last mapping data, and he wanted to explore it more thoroughly. Therefore, they had brought the mining experts, along with Roosky, on this trip. The men had been left behind on the previous trip, due to the lack of the second Sno-Cat.
Before the storm struck, they were taking their turn on the snowmobiles. But, when the group hastily made camp, these two abandoned their rides without securing them under wraps. LeClerc was directing Roosky in affixing guide ropes between the Sno-Cat and the tents when he realized that the snowmobiles were at risk. Angrily, he shouted at the mining engineers to come out of their tent and secure tarps over the snowmobiles so that wind driven sand and ice particles couldn't make their way into the motors. He then continued his task with Roosky.
As it happened, the mining engineers had settled down for the evening, and were attempting to enjoy storm rations, along with tea they were brewing over a small alcohol stove. They assumed that LeClerc meant for them to cover the snowmobiles after they had finished their meal. When they were done, they started heating water for more tea, while one decided to go out and find the tarps on the sled. No sooner had he stepped outside, then a strong wind gust took him off his feet before he had the chance to clip onto the guide rope. He shouted as he was swept across the ice, but no one heard. Unable to gain his footing he was swept further and further from camp, until, bashed against the ice and battered by the gusts of the storm, he lost consciousness.
Inside the tent, his companion finally realized he had been gone too long, when the water began to boil. He took the water off the stove but failed to douse the flame. As he got up to look outside and see if he could see his companion, he knocked over the alcohol stove, spilling the fuel, which ignited. The nylon tent, highly flammable, was immediately engulfed in flames. Though the man frantically beat at the flames beginning to consume his clothing, he was overcome before he could escape the tent. His screams of anguish went unheard because of the howling winds outside.
It was morning before anyone discovered the disaster. As they slept the storm died down, and when Bart and LeClerc rose to organize breakfast, LeClerc spotted the ruined tent, with one body entangled in the melted nylon. Horrifyingly, they were unable to determine which of the two men who had shared the tent was the burned one. The other mystery was where the other man had gone. They couldn't imagine that he would have simply walked away from his companion's body, assuming he even got out himself. However not a trace of him remained.
Baffled, shocked and confused, LeClerc and Summers could not agree whether to go on, or to return to Amundsen Scott to raise a search party. But, with no idea where to search, Summers was in favor of going on. The others were aghast. Rebecca sided with LeClerc, and the others persuaded Summers that they must return to base, no matter how unlikely that they would find the other man alive. Accordingly, they wrapped a tarp around the remains of the miner who had burned in the tent, loaded the grisly package on the sled, and turned back.
The two day trek virtually guaranteed that anyone alone on the ice, if he had been alive to begin with, would not have survived. However, everyone felt it was imperative to return the man's body to his family if possible. By the time they got back to base, LeClerc and Summers could not utter a civil word to each other. Summers’ leadership was in question, and everyone else was very disturbed by his perceived callousness. Summers felt he was being judged unfairly, because his priority was to finish the last mapping project that they could. He alone knew the outrageous cost of their expedition for this year, so much that it was doubtful that they would be able to return. And for nothing.
While Summers sequestered himself in his room to brood, LeClerc approached Anderson as the expedi
tion leader for the first time.
"Cmdr. Anderson, I must ask for your assistance in locating the body of our confrere." After telling Anderson as much as he could about the circumstances of the man's disappearance, LeClerc reported to the others that Anderson would send a fixed wing plane to fly a grid from the position of the burnt tent, which they had left as a marker, in the direction that the wind had been blowing. It was his guess that the man had been caught by a wind gust and swept away, as that was unfortunately not an uncommon occurrence. Usually, they were able to recover the victims, especially if a witness raise the alarm. But often, they were seriously injured. Anderson had no hope at all that the missing man would be found alive, and little that his body would be found. Nevertheless, he fulfilled his promise and sent the plane to search. Some hours later, it returned to base with no results. Anderson flatly refused to waste further fuel on the search, citing their need to conserve it for the coming winter.
Even though the two men had been closer friends with each other than with any of the rest of the group, a deeper pall was cast over the remaining members of the expedition when Anderson made his announcement.
~~~
Morale among the expedition members reached an all-time low. After a few hours, Summers came out of his room and called them together.
"My friends, I'm sorry if you felt my intention to go on was unfeeling. No one regrets the loss of the team member more than I, however, stopping the work to recover a body did not seem to me to honor the sacrifice that our colleagues made. It is my intention to finish the last segment before we return home. Who is with me?"
LeClerc waited until a few hands reluctantly went up. Then he stood. "I'm afraid that this will not come to pass. I have requested of Cmdr. Anderson that he stop this foolishness, before more are lost. Furthermore, I have sent word to the Rossler foundation that we must be extracted early. There will not be time to complete another mission."
