Everything Dies | Season 3

by Malpass, T. W.

  2

  Raine and O.B. lay behind a snow bank, white sheets draped over their heads and bodies to blend into the landscape.

  O.B. shifted slightly to adjust the aim of his long-barrelled rifle, and Raine positioned herself beside him so she could whisper in his ear.

  The thick fur of the female polar bear’s back appeared just over the rise. The hyper-carnivore stopped in its tracks to sniff the air. She turned her head and stared in their general direction with her black eyes, and Raine was convinced she had detected them.

  After a few moments of examination, the bear puffed out an indignant snort and continued on.

  ‘Remember to hold your breath in just before you fire like I showed you,’ Raine whispered.

  ‘I know what I’m doing,’ O.B. said, pulling the rifle stock tighter to his shoulder and caressing the trigger. His delivery was cold, apathetic.

  Raine trusted in the training she had already provided and turned her attention back to the majestic mammal, still searching her territory for potential danger.

  Raine took no pleasure in what was about to happen. It sickened her to think about taking down a member of a species already close to extinction, but they were hungry and the bear’s flesh would keep their bellies full for a long time. Besides, nothing that lived was thriving anymore. Every species aside from the dead was on the brink.

  O.B. held his breath and lined up the crosshairs right between the animal’s eyes.

  Before he could fire, a single cub climbed the ridge to catch up to its mother.

  He released his breath and took his eye from the sight, considering the new element introduced to the hunt.

  Raine assumed that, like her, O.B. had lost his appetite for the kill. To her surprise, her young protégé relaxed back into a firing position and lined up the target again. As she watched the cub doubling its strides to chase its parent, the screams of the Iraqi children she’d killed echoed in her mind, and her blood ran cold.

  O.B. knew it was the right moment to fire and squeezed down on the trigger.

  The deliberate nudge from Raine was just enough to alter the shot’s trajectory by two inches. It struck the ground just ahead of the mother’s paws, puffing the snow into her face.

  She grunted, turning quickly in the direction she’d come from. The cub reacted to her alarm and followed her back over the ridge until they disappeared from view.

  O.B. sprang up from his hiding spot, casting the white sheet from his body, leaving the rifle on the ground.

  ‘What the fuck is wrong with you?’ he said.

  Still dazed from her flashback, Raine got to her feet to face him.

  ‘There’ll be other bears—ones that are alone.’

  ‘Are you kidding me? We’re rationing tinned peaches and you’re all for animal welfare now?’

  ‘I made the call. I’m not asking you to like it,’ Raine said.

  O.B. unzipped his hood and snatched it away from his head. His face had altered significantly. It was elongated due to his loss in weight, emphasised greatly by the buzz cut that had removed his spiked, blue-tinted hair. The light of his previous innocence had long since faded from his eyes, replaced by an absence Raine recognised all too well.

  ‘I don’t get you, Miller. You teach me all this shit, and then you do the opposite.’

  She held back on her response while she examined him further, acknowledging what he had become.

  ‘Maybe you’ve misunderstood what I’ve been teaching you,’ she said.

  O.B. reacted with a bitter smirk. Then he turned his back on her and stormed off towards the Snowcat, still carrying the limp from his old gunshot wound.

  Raine collected the rifle and the white sheets they’d used as camouflage. She gazed down to the ridge, the only trace of the bear and her cub the paw print trail in the snow.

  3

  Jason saw the Snowcat approaching from the kitchen window. He set his half-eaten bowl of cereal down, grabbed his fresh cup of coffee, and headed into the main hallway.

  Over the past six months at the outpost, he’d grown an impressive and dense beard that now touched the top of his chest.

  On his way outside, he remembered he’d left his coat in the infirmary, so he went by the rec room to collect a blanket to wrap around his shoulders before he exposed himself to the harsh temperatures of the Canadian Arctic.

  He stepped out onto the concourse and waved towards the vehicle as it turned in the direction of the garage and helicopter repair centre.

  O.B. didn’t wait until Raine had parked, jumping out while the Snowcat was slowing to a stop and walking to the entrance where Jason waited. He’d left the hunting rifle for Raine and just carried his own pack on his back.

  ‘Hey,’ Jason said to greet his return. ‘How’d it go?’

  Blank-faced, O.B. barged past him to get to the door, colliding with his shoulder and causing Jason to spill some of his coffee. A small amount ran over his fingers, reacting against his cold skin.

  ‘What the hell?’ Jason said as he flicked the hot liquid from his hand.

  O.B. never flinched and disappeared inside the station and along the main hallway.

  By the time Jason had composed himself again, Raine was almost at the entrance.

  ‘What’s up his ass?’ he said.

  Raine shook her head.

  ‘He’s sick of living on rice and beans, like everyone else.’

  ‘So, you found nothing?’

  ‘Not a thing,’ Raine said.

  ‘I thought things would be better after the thaw,’ Jason said.

  ‘Yeah? Tell that to the local wildlife.’

  Jason shrugged and took a sip of his coffee.

  ‘Rice and beans it is, then.’ He offered some of his drink to Raine in the hope that it would warm her up, but she declined.

  ‘Salty back yet?’ she asked.

  ‘Nope. Haven’t heard from him since he set out this morning.’

  ‘No need to worry yet,’ Raine said, rolling her coat sleeve up to check her watch. ‘It’s still pretty early, and he likes to make the most of the light. What about the good doctor?’

  ‘She hasn’t poked her head above water. That’s four days by my count,’ Jason said. ‘You’d think she’d need a change of scenery, wouldn’t you? Based on what she has to deal with every—’

  ‘If you bump into her before I do, tell her we need to talk. I want a progress report ASAP.’

  Raine pulled the rifle and pack from her shoulders and ducked inside the door to the compound.

  ‘Yes, ma’am,’ Jason said under his breath. He gazed down at his black coffee, now almost turned lukewarm by the icy winds. He flicked his wrist so the liquid poured out onto the snow. He took one more look at the murky nothingness that surrounded their home and followed her inside.

  4

  In the darkness, Salty and Anna climbed the steps to the tower situated less than a hundred yards from the main building.

  Crawford had claimed it as her own once they had reached the compound. The wind was stronger up there, rattling the boards of the sturdily built cabin, but Salty knew Crawford wouldn’t have it any other way.

  He knocked on the door, the bottle of vodka he’d found on his morning trip in his other hand.

  The light and warmth from inside hit them when Crawford opened up. Anna gazed up at her and murmured a greeting.

  ‘We come bearing gifts,’ Salty said, showing his salvage.

  Crawford acknowledged the bottle of liquor before either of her guests. She tried to view it with nonchalance, but it was clear from the widening of her eyes that the sight of the bottle stirred something within her.

  She’d not really taken good care of herself during her time working for the Lazarus Project, allowing her hair to grow out. It was even worse now. Her tight curls had matted together in clumps like the fur of a rescue dog. Her favourite leather cap could hardly contain it anymore. Her skin looked washe
d out, lips almost purple, dark craters etched under her eyes.

  She forced a smile and reached down to ruffle the fur on Anna’s head.

  ‘Hey, girl. Are you a sight for sore eyes. Looks like your partner in crime is tryin’ to sweeten me up with the cheapest-assed vodka I’ve ever seen.’

  ‘Knock it off. I visit you often enough to know your stash is runnin’ low,’ Salty said.

  Crawford nodded and held up her hands in submission.

  ‘You got me. Come in. Take a load off.’ She stepped aside so her visitors could escape the cruel weather.

  She’d done her best to recreate the homely feel of her cabin at the facility. The furnishings were more like what you would find in an office and not nearly as welcoming, though she did have a large poster of Jane Fonda on the back wall above her bunk.

  Salty took a seat on the cheap-looking hard-backed leather couch and handed the vodka to Crawford.

  Anna turned once in a circle and then lay down next to Salty’s feet.

  Crawford rotated the bottle so she could read the label.

  ‘Well, all right then,’ she said. ‘But don’t think it hasn’t escaped my notice that this is exactly how McCaffrey used to bribe me when he needed something done.’ She moved to the nearby table to collect two tumbler glasses.

  ‘Don’t worry. I ain’t gonna ask you to hold people against their will so some crazy scientist can dissect them,’ Salty said.

  ‘He was a good soldier,’ Crawford said defiantly as she poured the vodka. ‘Knew how to follow orders—unlike me.’

  ‘If he’d not been such a stickler for orders, perhaps he’d be drinkin’ with us right now.’

  ‘Never would have happened. He was too loyal to Grant—to the cause,’ Crawford said. She gave him one of the glasses containing an ample amount of vodka.

  Salty nodded.

  ‘To absent friends,’ he said.

  ‘To McCaffrey—stubborn son of a bitch.’ Crawford raised her glass and took a big gulp, screwing up her face in discomfort as the liquor hit the back of her palate. ‘Jesus! That’s so much worse than even I expected it to be.’

  ‘I can’t argue with that assessment,’ Salty said, also reeling from his first taste.

  ‘You sure you’ve not been siphoning off some of the fuel from my bird?’

  Salty chuckled at her comment.

  ‘Don’t pretend you haven’t thought of doin’ it yourself,’ he said.

  Crawford laughed and sat down on her desk chair.

  ‘How’d you do out there today?’

  ‘Aside from this gasoline pretending to be vodka and a few cans of fuel, not great.’ Salty knocked back the rest of the alcohol in his glass, and his drinking partner knew he wasn’t taking the hit for the sake of enjoyment.

  ‘Something else happen?’

  ‘Hmm,’ Salty said, clearing his throat. ‘I came across one of the dead. I was sluggish, didn’t react fast enough, and Anna had to come to my rescue.’ He reached down to run the tips of his fingers over the husky’s back and then shifted awkwardly on the couch. ‘I wasn’t ready for it. It’s been so long since I last encountered one, I reckon I convinced some part of myself they no longer existed, like some fucked-up dream I had months ago. I tell ya, Crawford, holdin’ up here like this is takin’ the edge off all of us.’

  ‘Take my advice. You’d do well just to let it happen.’ Her expression grew grim, and she poured herself an even larger measure of booze.

  ‘Not somethin’ that comes naturally to me,’ Salty said.

  ‘Right, you mean it’s easier for me because I’m just carrying on from where I left off,’ Crawford said.

  ‘That ain’t what I said and you know it. Not sayin’ it wouldn’t be a good idea for you to show your face around the camp every now and again though.’

  ‘They don’t need me anymore. They tolerate me still being around, and I live way out here because it makes things easier for everyone. They might have a use for Foster, but not for me.’

  ‘Cry me a river, Crawford. You’re the only pilot we have.’

  ‘Jason and Miller are getting more competent with every lesson I give them.’

  ‘Maybe so, but when it comes to flyin’ in weather or if we need to get out of here quickly, we’re all countin’ on you,’ Salty said.

  ‘Poor bastards,’ Crawford said.

  ‘Now the snows are clearin’, it’s only a matter of time before someone else lookin’ for shelter comes across this place, and we ain’t got either the room or the reserves to share.’

  Salty held out his glass for a refill, and Crawford duly obliged.

  ‘Besides, outsiders ain’t the only threat we need to worry about,’ he continued. ‘The warmer weather will mean we’ll start seein’ the dead again.’

  ‘There’s something else too,’ Crawford said.

  ‘What?’

  ‘What I said before about McCaffrey and the project. It’s not over. The work is still continuing through Foster and the treatment she’s providing to your friend.

  Salty’s expression turned stony as he stared at the clear alcohol coating the bottom of his glass.

  ‘I know it,’ he said.

  ‘Then you also know that some of your compadres are looking for any excuse to end the experiment once and for all,’ Crawford said.

  ‘Maybe if you came down from your ivory tower and spoke your mind, Twilight might have someone else in his corner besides me. You can’t hide up here forever. Bottles like this one are gonna run dry sooner rather than later,’ Salty said.

  Crawford chose to ignore his suggestion, instead gazing at Anna lying on the floor, the primal other-worldliness of her eyes reflecting the light from the cabin.

  ‘I guess we don’t need the dead to tear us apart. We always do a pretty good job of that on our own,’ she said.

  5

  Foster fumbled around in the dark of the strange room and carefully pushed the door shut behind her. As she twisted to face the rows of shelves, she stubbed her toe against a steel bracket that was fixed to the floor. She cupped her mouth to muffle her cry, bending over to massage her foot.

  ‘Shit, shit, shit,’ she whispered angrily.

  Once she’d held her breath and listened for any movement in the corridor outside, she clicked on the beam of her pencil-thin medical flashlight to find her way to the supplies she came in for.

  She began to grab whatever she could find: bandages, pills, blood bags, syringes. Such was her panic to get what she needed and get out that she collected some things she didn’t need.

  A few items fell through her arms and onto the floor. She didn’t stop to pick them up to return them to the shelves.

  ‘Burning the midnight oil again?’

  Raine’s voice startled Foster and caused her to spill the remainder of the contents she was holding.

  Raine switched on the light to see the medical supplies tumble across the floor.

  ‘Yes,’ Foster said, taking to her knees to collect what she’d lost. ‘Busy day.’

  ‘You’ve been working late a lot lately. I take it this means you’re making progress,’ Raine said. She also knelt down to help her.

  ‘You could say that. I hope to have another serum ready in a matter of weeks.’

  ‘And your patient?’

  Foster stopped gathering the supplies momentarily, avoiding eye contact.

  ‘Better. I think I’ve managed to stabilise his blood cell count, and the night terrors are lessening in severity and frequency.’

  ‘Good,’ Raine said, nodding. ‘That’s good.’

  They both rose to their feet again, and Raine placed the final box of bandages onto the pile Foster was balancing.

  ‘He asks about you,’ Foster said. ‘You and O.B.’

  Raine considered what she’d said, and Foster searched her face for any flicker of emotion, but there was none to be found.

  ‘Does he?’ she replied. ‘You
can tell him I asked about him too.’

  Uncomfortable with the mood of their conversation, Foster half smiled and tried to step around Raine so she could take the supplies and return to the lab, which was separated from the main building.

  ‘The next time we speak, I’d like you to show me something more tangible regarding your research—something that serves a practical purpose for us,’ Raine said.

  ‘Understood,’ Foster said.

  ‘This isn’t part of the Lazarus Project anymore. I trust you understand that. No secrets.’

  ‘No secrets.’ Foster paused for a few seconds, as if she had a mind to say something more, then took her leave and headed out into the snow.

  6

  Salty exited the compound through the tractor garage and pushed his snowmobile outside with Anna in tow.

  The cheap vodka from the night before was haunting his head, making him regret his visit to Crawford’s cabin. He closed his eyes and massaged his forehead with his thumb and finger. He shook himself from top to bottom like a wet dog, slung his pack over his shoulder, and continued out into the snow.

  ‘Hey, Jake.’ The shout from the garage rattled his fragile head. ‘You heading out on a search?’ O.B. asked.

  ‘That sure is what it looks like,’ Salty said.

  ‘Hold up for five minutes. I’ll come with you.’

  ‘I already have a road buddy and there’s no more room on my ride for you.’ Salty clicked his fingers, and Anna responded by moving closer to his side.

  ‘Then I’ll take the Snowcat and follow you.’

  ‘You’d never be able to keep up with me in that thing. Besides, it’s dangerous to leave the rest of the group without a vehicle,’ Salty said.

  ‘They have a perfectly good chopper sitting there if there’s an emergency,’ O.B. said.

  Salty finally turned to face him and stopped him in his tracks.

  ‘Listen, pal. I know you’re keen to get out there and kill somethin’, but you’re gonna have to wait for your commanding officer to get her ass out of bed, ’cause you ain’t travellin’ with me.’