MELT: A Psychological Thriller

by Shane M Brown

'Did you leave him a message on Megan's phone?'

  Carl shook his head. 'He has a family. He’s moved on. We haven't spoken in years.'

  Chrissie nodded. ‘Probably for the best. Sounds like you’ve stolen enough from him.’

  'I've never stolen anything from him.'

  Chrissie raised an eyebrow. 'You took away his brother. You took away his children's uncle. You probably wrecked your entire family.’

  Carl usually avoided thinking about Joshua. Now he knew why.

  Chrissie returned to work. ‘It’s no wonder he hates you.’

  Carl stood thinking for a moment. Chrissie was right. But she’d also done him a favor.

  He found Megan.

  'I'd like to record my message. I know what I want to say now.’

  She handed him her phone. 'Push here to start recording. Look in here. Just two minutes, okay?'

  Carl nodded. He took the umbrella for privacy. He carried the phone to the drain and knelt down with his back to the wall.

  He pressed the button as Megan instructed.

  Don't think. Just talk.

  'Hi Joshua. It's Carl here. Your brother. I've only got two minutes. This could be the last time we talk. I'm in a bad place. I've found myself trapped with a group of people. This is day three. We started with seven people. We're down to five. But that's not why I'm recording this.

  ‘I want you to know that when we were kids, when we were proper brothers, well, they were the best times of my life. I'm sorry I wrecked that. You don't know this, but I've read everything on your website. I've seen all the photos. I'm proud of you. Mom and Dad would be proud. You’ve turned into a good father.

  ‘Anyway, I've got to stop now, but I'm thinking about you and your family. If I get out of here, if it's all right, I'm going to get in contact. If I don't get out, well, then I hope you get to hear this message.'

  Carl fumbled with the phone to stop it recording.

  As he stood up, he felt lighter.

  I should have done that sooner. Much, much sooner.

  #

  The box came free in Carl's hands.

  It wasn’t a cigar box.

  Everyone tensed up.

  'Don't let it open,' warned Victoria.

  No shit.

  'It has leather hinges,' said Carl. 'They're badly deteriorated. It’s barely holding together.'

  'Look, a string clasp,' said Alex. 'Oops — shit. Sorry.'

  The string fell apart as Alex touched it.

  'Clean the lid, Alex.’

  Alex used his fingers.

  'Where's your hoodie?'

  'Didn't need it,' answered Alex.

  No one mentioned the rising temperature.

  'It's beautiful,' said Victoria.

  She meant the box. Its surface resembled swirling honey. Amber patterns shifted before Carl's eyes.

  'Is it safe?' asked Chrissie. 'Can we open it?'

  'Don't rush them,' said Alex.

  'I can't tell,' admitted Megan. 'Parts of it are crumbling apart and other parts look fine. I'm not sure what to look for.'

  'Shake it,' suggested Chrissie.

  'Don’t shake it!' everyone chorused together.

  'Just shut up, Chrissie,' Alex said. 'Your stupid ideas could kill us all.'

  Chrissie ignored him. Her eyes were glued to the box. Carl imagined her stomach yelling orders to her brain.

  She thinks it's food. Maybe it is. Or maybe it will spit fire or spew poisonous gas or eject a hail of razor blades.

  Victoria reached for the box. 'My mother had a brooch that exact color. Can I hold it?'

  Carl carefully passed her the box. 'Don't drop it.'

  Victoria nodded and inspected the surface.

  'Tortoise shell,' she said. 'I'm sure of it. My father brought my mother a tortoise shell brooch back from Japan. From the war. Hers was already an antique. This box is much older.'

  'How old?' asked Megan. 'Two thousand years?'

  'Is that where our timeline is?' asked Alex. 'Two thousand years ago?'

  Megan nodded. ‘If Victoria’s right about the abacus.’

  Everyone looked to Victoria.

  She looked stumped.

  'Tortoise shell isn’t very significant.'

  'What about the leather hinges?' asked Carl.

  'They were around long before the abacus or porcelain,’ replied Victoria.

  'If it's so old,' began Alex slowly, 'why hasn’t the surface deteriorated?'

  Victoria scratched her fingernail over the box. 'It's lacquered. Lacquering is old technology too. I can’t see any way we can date this box.’

  'Then we can’t open it,' said Carl.

  'Let me smell it,' said Chrissie.

  Victoria handed it over. Chrissie sniffed the box.

  'I know that smell,' she declared. 'It is food.'

  'You're smelling the old leather,' warned Alex. ‘You’d have to be crazy to—’

  Chrissie opened the box.

  Alex ducked. Megan and Victoria froze.

  Carl tensed, ready to dive away, waiting for Chrissie to explode or melt or God knew what.

  Chrissie smiled.

  She turned the box around. 'It's tofu! I knew I smelled food.'

  'Shit, Chrissie,' swore Carl. 'You could have killed yourself.'

  'Wait,' said Megan. 'Does tofu fit?'

  'Let me think for a second,' said Victoria. 'I think tofu originated in China about two thousand years ago. So, yes, it fits.'

  'Should one of us try it?' asked Megan.

  Alex pointed at Chrissie.

  Chrissie was chewing a tofu square.

  'Still a bit frozen,' she mumbled around her tofu. 'But good.'

  Carl had never eaten tofu. He understood it was soft though, and that agreed with his damaged teeth.

  Everybody took some.

  'It tastes how it looks,' said Alex. 'But I want some more.'

  They stood in a tofu chewing circle. This time, everyone ate their full portion. No one rationed. After two cubes each, Alex sliced up the remaining two cubes into equal portions. Just as quickly, these disappeared.

  Carl’s nausea tripled.

  He hadn't eaten tofu before, but he knew it shouldn't make him nauseas.

  'I don't feel right,' he said, scanning the others.

  'Don't joke around,' said Megan, sounding worried.

  'I'm not,' said Carl.

  ‘It’s not poison,’ declared Chrissie. 'I ate first and I'm fine.’

  Alex turned toward the drain. 'Screw this. I'm purging. I'm getting this stuff out of me.'

  'How?' asked Megan, sounding worried.

  'Finger down the throat.'

  'It's not that,' declared Carl, raising a hand, hearing the group about to panic. 'It's not the tofu. I've had this for hours. Bad dizzy spells too.'

  'Radiation poisoning,' said Victoria.

  Carl nodded.

  'Is it getting worse?'

  ‘Much worse.’

  'That lock,' cried Chrissie angrily. 'That stupid lock is poisoning us!'

  Everyone spread out as though the radioactivity was contagious.

  'Are you sure?' asked Megan.

  Carl lifted his shirt.

  'You're bright red,' declared Victoria.

  'You're bleeding,' said Alex.

  Carl hadn't realized. 'Must be from scratching so much.'

  Megan reached toward Carl but didn't touch him. 'My God, Carl. Why didn't you tell us?'

  'We've got enough problems,' replied Carl.

  'Who else touched the lock?' asked Chrissie.

  'Glen did,' said Alex. 'Glen touched it first.'

  'We were all standing around it,' Victoria said.

  Alex nodded. 'We were all exposed, but Carl carried it around the ice. And he spent the most time near the mound because we made him carry the ice to bury Glen.’

  'I knew that lock was evil,’ said Chrissie. ‘Thank God I didn't touch it.'

  'But we buried it,' said Megan.

  'Not de
ep enough,' explained Alex. 'We can't bury it deep enough. And we can't run away from it. Our shielding is melting. It's just a matter of time.'

  Carl nodded. The movement made his head spin.

  'Until what?' demanded Chrissie.

  Alex discreetly waved at Carl. 'Ask him.'

  Everyone stared at Carl.

  'Itchiness,' explained Carl. 'Like ants are constantly biting me. My hands feel like I've been digging into a fire ants’ nest. Then dizziness that comes from nowhere. Now my guts are rolling like I'm seasick.'

  Carl clutched his stomach. 'I've never felt so sick.'

  Chrissie buried her face in her hands. 'Oh my, God. And that's just the start.'

  Victoria covered her mouth with her hand. 'How long before we all get sick? '

  'I'm going to vomit,' Carl warned loudly.

  He took a step and stumbled.

  'Get him to the drain!' yelled Chrissie.

  Alex and Megan grabbed his arms. With help, Carl stumbled to the drain barely in time.

  The tofu reappeared.

  His gut heaved long after ejecting the tofu. His body purged so thoroughly he might have lost a shoe size, as his father used to say.

  'I need to lie down,' he mumbled, but he already felt hands guiding him toward their rest area.

  He managed to lie down just seconds before he collapsed.

  CLAAAAANG!

  What now?

  Carl opened his eyes and turned his head.

  What's trying to kill us now?

  The object came to rest on the floor in his line of sight.

  He recognized it instantly.

  An astrolabe. They've given us an astrolabe. Now all we need is a sailing ship and the ocean and we'll all be fine.

  He closed his eyes, feeling the room sway around him. They must already be on a ship. He'd forgotten somehow. That was why he was feeling so sick. He was seasick. Lucky they'd found the astrolabe. Without that, they really would be lost.

  VICTORIA

  Chapter Nineteen

  Victoria woke up and wondered if Carl was dead yet.

  She eased herself up on one elbow, peering over Chrissie and Megan.

  Is he breathing? I don't think so. If he isn't dead, it's only a matter of time.

  After Carl collapsed, Victoria warned the others to keep their distance from him. As usual, they ignored her.

  Alex and Megan slept huddled around him.

  Fine, Victoria decided. But I won't be inhaling his radiation.

  She'd rested on the outskirts.

  It was warm enough. She didn’t need Ericsson’s fancy watch to know that.

  Even with their young bodies shielding her from Carl, she'd barely slept.

  She'd felt the radiation scratching at her skin and seeping into her pores. She almost tasted it.

  Wearily, she rose and left the group, passing Megan's collection of artifacts. If the collection held hidden meanings, she couldn't fathom them.

  She reached the Mayan calendar. Yesterday Megan adopted the calendar as her private work area. The plate, the abacus, the astrolabe, Carl's newspaper clipping and Glen's email all rested on the calendar, all part of Megan's attempt to 'find a way out'.

  That's what we do, isn't it? We keep busy to avoid thinking. Especially in here.

  The astrolabe, their latest find, weighed down Carl and Glen's secrets.

  Not secrets anymore. The ice reveals everything.

  Carl had viciously tortured a young woman. Glen had murdered his own father.

  Why am I in here with these animals? What have I done to deserve this?

  Nothing she'd ever done compared to torture and murder. The only thing she could think of was that awful teaching accident. And that really was an accident.

  She pushed away the horrible memory.

  Just make the best of this time before the others wake up and start arguing.

  Victoria always woke early. At home, she worked in her garden. In here, without her medication, it proved the only time her mind felt truly her own. As the day progressed, more and more she felt like somebody else occupied her body. Somebody nasty and bitter. Her doctor had prescribed her antidepression medication after Graham died. Well, that wasn't true. She'd used them long before that, but she'd depended on the higher dose after Graham’s death.

  She’d missed her dose four days in a row now. Little wonder she felt so wretched.

  What choice do I have?

  She hadn't planned on being abducted and held captive by psychopaths.

  She'd also risen early today to prepare for Carl's death. The radiation sickness must have killed him during the night. If by some miracle he'd lasted the night, he wouldn't last the day. Megan would cry. Alex would swear and yell. Chrissie would want help moving the body.

  Glen’s corpse would be exposed again. The ice kept spitting his body back at them. If the ice didn't want Glen, it certainly wouldn't want Carl.

  Victoria shuddered.

  She had to isolate herself from the group. She couldn't help move Carl's body. She didn’t even want to think about it.

  I need a distraction.

  She picked up Glen's Rubik’s cube. Once she'd taught a class of eleven year olds. By year's end she’d confiscated a drawer full of these stupid cubes.

  She twisted the cube.

  I remember when Alison snuck one of these into her bedroom.

  Graham found it. He’d punished her.

  Victoria dropped the cube and thrust away the memory. She wouldn't let thoughts of that lying creature taint her memories of Graham. Never again.

  I need to get back to work.

  Working distracted her negative thoughts. Mindlessly moving the ice calmed her.

  Where will those idiots dig today?

  She turned and suppressed a shriek.

  An arm was reaching toward her from the ice.

  #

  The arm reaching toward her was blue.

  It’s not moving.

  Victoria stared, horrified, then realized her mistake.

  The arm was too small to be human.

  It’s a statue.

  Heart still thudding, she approached close enough to study the statue under the ice.

  She recognized an elephant's head on a human body. The body had many more arms.

  'It's Ganeesha,' she breathed. The Indian god of removing obstacles. The patron of art, science, intelligence and wisdom.

  This Ganeesha statue looked about two feet tall.

  She tapped the arm. 'Stone.'

  I wonder what else emerged while we rested.

  The next artifact jutted from the ice above her head. Victoria reached up and barely brushed the object with her fingertips.

  Bamboo? A bamboo container? It looks ready to fall.

  She used her apron to slap at the bamboo.

  Crack!

  The bamboo container slid into her hands.

  Victoria shook it.

  Definitely something inside. How does it open?

  Ah-ha. She found a tiny metal latch. The latch looked intact.

  Should I open it?

  She thumbed open the latch.

  'What's that?' asked Alex.

  Victoria shrieked and threw the bamboo container. It spun through the air toward Alex. As it flew, Victoria saw its lid fly open.

  Alex saw it too.

  'SHIT!'

  Alex lurched backward, trying to avoid the mystery flying object.

  The container landed at his feet.

  A yellow hissing blur flew from the container and engulfed Alex's shoes.

  My God, what have I done? thought Victoria. It’s a trap.

  Alex jumped.

  The stuff clung to his shoes, spreading everywhere.

  Before Alex landed, Victoria knew what they were dealing with.

  'Keep still,' she ordered.

  For the first time in three days, Alex obeyed her.

  'It's just paper,' said Victoria, relieved. 'Rolled up paper.'

  Alex
kicked it away. 'Why the fuck did you throw that at me?'

  'Don't kick it,' admonished Victoria. 'I didn't throw it at you. You frightened me.'

  Angry, Alex pointed at the open bamboo container. 'That could have been...I don't know...killer bees or something. You could have killed me!'

  Victoria replied, 'I told you it was an accident.'

  'Did you open that?' asked Alex.

  'No.'

  Alex picked up the container, checked the latch, and shook his head. 'You're lying. We have a system. We all agreed on that. You can't just open things up.'

  'It came open when I threw it.’ She locked eyes with Alex. He's not convinced, but I don't really care what he thinks.

  Victoria checked the papers.

  'These are Chinese.'

  Everyone came to investigate the yelling.

  Everyone except Carl.

  Victoria asked, 'Is Carl...?'

  'He's not dead,' replied Megan.

  Thank goodness, thought Victoria. One less corpse to deal with today.

  She arranged the papers right-side-up.

  'What's all this?' asked Megan.

  Victoria shuffled the papers around, finding their correct order.

  'Instructions.'

  'Instructions for what?'

  'For making paper, I think. The Chinese invented paper. This looks like diagrams of the process.'

  'Who opened it?' asked Megan.

  'It was an accident.'

  Victoria noticed Alex raise an eyebrow at Megan.

  To hell with both of them, thought Victoria. I don't give a damn what two kids think.

  'What about that blue statue, Victoria?'

  'What about it?'

  'Isn't it Indian?' asked Megan.

  Oh, so now she needs my help again. Her little project is useless without me.

  'I haven't a clue,' Victoria said.

  Without me she's as confused as that Rubik’s cube.

  Megan knelt to study the age-yellowed paper. 'See anything helpful?'

  'I can't read Cantonese,' replied Victoria curtly, feeling some peculiar satisfaction at being unhelpful.

  'Look at this!' called Alex.

  Victoria rolled up the papers. I think I'll keep these. They’re beautiful.

  Around the ice, Victoria recognized the artifact. Everyone did.

  'A Roman helmet!' said Alex.

  For once the fool is right, thought Victoria. It’s a legionnaire’s helmet.