Lasse said nothing. His hair had grown wet in the snow and was sticking to his head and cheeks.
‘Let him go,’ Matthew said, catching Tupaarnaq’s eye. ‘I think he’s got the point.’
‘No.’ Tupaarnaq winked at Matthew, who wasn’t sure how far she was going with this. She walked to the end of the walkway, a distance of about ten metres, and turned around, raising the rifle. Her shaved skull was wet from melted snow. Her black eyes shone in the grey twilight. ‘Don’t move,’ she shouted. ‘And stop shaking. You’re going to drop the can.’
‘Don’t shoot,’ Lasse said. His voice was trembling now. ‘I’m sorry.’
Andreas and Alma looked back and forth between Matthew and Tupaarnaq. Both had instinctively retreated from their friend.
Matthew shook his head as he stepped up to Lasse and knocked the can off him.
The pale boy twitched and ducked.
‘She can hit a seal in the head at a distance of over a hundred metres,’ Matthew said. ‘So don’t even think about crossing her.’
Tupaarnaq lowered the rifle and walked over to them.
‘Is it loaded?’ Arnaq asked.
Tupaarnaq turned around and aimed the rifle at an old Esso oil can some distance away. The shot flung the jerry can several metres backwards, the snow whirling around it.
‘You’re hardcore,’ Arnaq grinned and looked at Matthew. ‘Is she your girlfriend or something?’
Matthew stared at the ground without looking at Tupaarnaq. ‘No, no…We just help each other out from time to time.’
‘That’s all there is to it,’ Tupaarnaq said. ‘Let’s go inside. You kids are shivering.’
‘Come upstairs and see where we sleep,’ Arnaq said. She nudged Lasse. ‘Relax. You’re still alive, aren’t you?’
He shook his head. Then he started to smile again. ‘What an awesome woman.’
Together they walked inside the house and up the damaged staircase, which took them to the first floor of the right wing. The ceilings sagged with heavy, damp stains, brown spots that seemed to have taken over everything that was once white. Bit of plaster and wallpaper lay scattered along the narrow corridor. The huge wooden floor planks were rough, and the varnish had been worn off in most places. The few lights left in the ceiling were broken and dangling from thin cables.
Matthew pointed to two bullet holes in the wall above the doorway to the room where he and Tupaarnaq had once hidden. ‘Look, you missed.’
‘It was dark,’ Tupaarnaq said.
‘He was a pretty big guy,’ Matthew teased her.
Tupaarnaq stopped and inspected the wall. ‘I can’t imagine how I could have missed him.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Arnaq wanted to know.
‘Tupaarnaq and I were out here in August,’ Matthew said. He hesitated and looked at Arnaq. ‘We were attacked in the night, right here, and Tupaarnaq shot at them.’
‘Seriously? Then what the hell are we doing here?’ Lasse said.
‘What happened to us had nothing to do with this place,’ Matthew said. ‘Some people decided to follow us because I had something that one of them was willing to kill for.’
Arnaq frowned and looked at Tupaarnaq. ‘Is that true?’
Tupaarnaq nodded. ‘It was a close call, but it’s in the past; they’re gone now and one of them is dead.’
‘We had to swim back to our boat while they were shooting at us,’ Matthew said. ‘I nearly drowned; the water is seriously cold up here.’
‘The shooter is dead now,’ Tupaarnaq added.
‘Actually, two men came out here yesterday,’ Arnaq said, looking back and forth between Tupaarnaq and Matthew.
‘One of them was called Símin. He was a little younger than you,’ Alma said. She had fetched a towel and was dabbing her hair dry. She smiled.
Arnaq nodded. ‘Símin had just turned twenty-three, the older one said.’
‘Why would they tell you how old they were?’ Matthew wondered out loud.
‘I don’t know,’ Arnaq went on. ‘The older guy just said that the younger guy was his son, and that it was his birthday.’
‘That Símin guy was crazy pale,’ Alma added. ‘His hair was almost completely white.’
‘He looked a bit like an albino,’ Andreas said. ‘It was quite spooky, come to think of it…He kept looking at us as if he’d never seen people before.’
‘And he totally fancied Arnaq,’ Lasse cut in. ‘What a freak.’
Arnaq smiled and looked at the floor.
‘What about the other one?’ Matthew wanted to know. ‘The man?’
‘He was tall and fat,’ Alma said. ‘He was sixty, at least.’
Arnaq nodded. ‘He had a red beard and small eyes.’
‘He looked like Andreas,’ Lasse said with a grin. ‘Except that he was twice as big.’
‘Get lost,’ Andreas exclaimed, elbowing Lasse.
‘Did they head off again?’ Matthew asked.
‘Yes,’ Arnaq said. ‘But before they did, the old man asked all sorts of questions.’
‘That was a bit creepy as well,’ Andreas added.
‘Nah,’ Alma said. ‘He was just curious.’
‘What did he want to know?’ Tupaarnaq said.
‘All sorts of things,’ Arnaq said. ‘If I was from Nuuk, who my parents were.’
‘Yes,’ Lasse said. ‘And he was only interested in Arnaq. He didn’t give a toss about the rest of us. It was like “Hi, my name is Lasse and I’m completely invisible.”’
The others nodded.
‘I told him that I had no idea who my father was, except that he was American,’ Arnaq went on. ‘I didn’t really know what to say.’
‘I think he was just trying to make conversation—’ Alma protested.
‘Then what happened to them?’ Tupaarnaq interrupted her. Her fingers had started to tighten around the rifle.
‘They disappeared into one of the houses down by the water,’ Arnaq said. ‘And soon afterwards they drove off in their boat.’
‘I don’t know who they could be,’ Matthew said, looking at Tupaarnaq.
She shook her head.
‘I guess they were tourists,’ Alma said. ‘They spoke Danish with a bit of an accent, but they didn’t speak Greenlandic.’
‘They’re everywhere these days,’ Arnaq said in a surly voice.
‘But we’re tourists as well,’ Alma said with a smile.
‘That’s different,’ Arnaq said. She turned her attention to Matthew. ‘I think the old guy might have lived here once.’
Matthew nodded slowly. ‘They could be Faroese.’
‘They were certainly weird,’ Lasse said. ‘That Símin mumbled to himself as they left. It sounded as if he said demon, demon or something like that.’
‘No, he didn’t say demon,’ Alma said. ‘I certainly didn’t hear anything.’
Lasse flung out his hands and pulled a face of resignation.
‘You’re just saying that because he fancied Arnaq,’ Alma added.
Lasse stared at the floor. ‘But you have to agree he was mega spooky with that pale face and those clammy, sunken eyes.’
‘I thought he looked nice,’ Alma said. ‘He seemed a little shy, but apart from that, I think he was all right.’
‘Has Lars been here today?’ Matthew interjected.
Arnaq nodded. ‘Yes, he stops by in the morning so that we can get back to Nuuk before it gets dark, if we need to.’
‘Did he know anything about the two men who came here?’
‘No, he just laughed and said that we were exaggerating… Especially Lasse.’
‘That’s true, he does,’ Alma said.
‘Screw you,’ Lasse said. ‘So what sort of cake did you bring?’
THE MASK DANCER
12
USAF THULE BASE, NORTH GREENLAND, 13 MARCH 1990
The light bulbs hummed in the lamps. Tom peered up at their yellow glow, then looked away. His eyes itched; they were dry and irritate
d from lack of sleep. Bradley and Reese were sitting to one side of him on the bench, with Sakkak on the other. None of them wore anything except long underwear. Behind them the two scientists, Lee and Christine, were busy noting down the results of the day’s experiment. A third person was present, too; an old doctor whom Tom knew only vaguely.
Bradley and Reese were both staring vacantly into space. Their bodies seemed locked and rigid. Their skin had resumed its normal colour after just under half an hour in the warm room. Numerous small rubber patches on their bodies sent data back to the monitoring equipment.
Tom pressed his lips together and nodded gently to himself. His temples were throbbing and he felt a shooting sensation down the nerves in his neck. When he was on his own, both outside in the frost and back in the warmth, he found it hard not to think of Annelise and Matthew. He clenched and unclenched his fists. His elbows creaked, though not so loudly that he could hear them. It was more a sensation in his joints; they felt tight and stiff.
Sakkak shuddered. His skin was more speckled than the others and still covered in red patches from the frost. They had discussed Sakkak yesterday because Christine was worried that they might end up killing the Inuit, but there was little data to indicate that it was heading that way. Sakkak’s body temperature would plummet, but he was incredibly resistant to the cold. Even on the placebo drug.
Sakkak looked at Tom. A smile formed around the corners of his mouth and in his black eyes as he met Tom’s gaze.
‘I don’t think this stuff has any effect on me,’ Sakkak said, looking at the others in turn.
Neither Bradley nor Reese reacted to his voice.
‘I’m still bloody freezing,’ he went on.
Tom shrugged. ‘Perhaps it’s all in your genes.’
Sakkak nodded dubiously, then his eyes lit up again. ‘Yesterday I went hunting with Minik, my best friend. We shot three seals with our rifles. As we were dragging them home, Minik slipped and fell headfirst into one of the seals.’
Tom stared out into the air. His throat tightened. It felt dry and cracked. ‘One you’d gutted already?’
Sakkak laughed out loud. ‘Yes!’
From the back Lee hushed them.
Sakkak ducked but carried on, grinning. ‘It was so funny,’ he whispered. ‘Minik’s head pretty much ended up inside the seal… splat. He whined about it and kicked the seal and the lump of ice he had tripped over…he had blood all over his face…he looked just like a mask dancer.’ Sakkak gazed up at the ceiling and shook his head. ‘Imaneq, my father-in-law, is a mask dancer.’ He hesitated for a moment before he turned to Tom, who was staring right ahead. ‘I know how to do it as well…mask dancing and drumming.’
Tom nodded slowly without turning his head.
‘Would you like me to show you?’ Sakkak’s eyes were shining. ‘That major, the one you all call JJ, asked me if I would dance for you one day. I could bring my gear next week? All I have to do is paint my face and bring my drum.’
Tom nodded mechanically. ‘Sure, why not?’ He was struggling to follow Sakkak’s train of thought. Images of Annelise and Matthew kept slipping in front of everything else. The boy was smiling, he could remember that, but the other images in his mind were sad. As though they were crying. He looked down at his forearms. They were tense and the veins stood out proudly. It felt as if the blood under his skin flowed more slowly than normal. Coagulating. He closed his eyes. He could feel throbbing and pressure.
He jumped when Lee placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘Time’s up.’
Tom exhaled slowly, glanced over his shoulder and nodded. ‘Thank you.’
The four of them started peeling off the rubber patches and handing them to Christine and Lee.
‘Don’t forget we have a visitor today, Tom,’ Lee said.
‘Oh yes, that’s right. The guy from the Greenlandic government, yeah?’
‘Yes, he’ll be here in a moment, along with Briggs.’
‘I thought Briggs had dropped out?’
‘It made more sense to let Briggs show him around, so we don’t have to involve more people than necessary.’
Tom pulled a T-shirt over his head.
‘Nice talking to you, my friend.’ Sakkak patted Tom on the shoulder.
Tom smiled. ‘Get home safely, Sakkak.’
Sakkak looked at the other two men. ‘You look so miserable.’
‘Bradley and Reese are men of few words,’ Tom said.
Sakkak clapped a short, monotonous rhythm with his hands on his thighs. ‘I think I better do some drumming for you when I come back…See you next week?’
‘Yes, see you next week,’ Tom said.
‘What you lot need is some drum dancing,’ Sakkak said. ‘It’s a rhythm you need to feel inside; it’s like being at one with nature. It’s called Pulse…we’ll dance it next week, okay?’
Tom rubbed his eyelids. ‘I’ll talk to JJ about it. We could meet in my quarters next time, if you like…after the test.’
Sakkak nodded and made a half-turn to leave. He patted Reese on the shoulder while Tom explained Sakkak’s idea to the others.
Before they reached the main door, it was opened from the outside and a tongue of icy air licked the room.
Briggs entered and nodded politely to everyone.
Sakkak, Bradley and Reese left.
‘This is our guest from the Greenlandic government,’ Briggs said.
Tom looked at the thin man with the dark hair. He had piercing eyes and a narrow face with high cheekbones.
The man dusted a little snow off his coat and walked towards Lee and Christine with his hand extended. ‘Hello,’ he said. ‘My name is Kjeld Abelsen. I’m a senior civil servant…I’m responsible for research, among other things.’
Lee introduced himself and shook Abelsen’s hand. ‘I’m a biochemist and a member of the research team.’
‘Likewise,’ Christine said, greeting Abelsen. ‘I’m Christine.’ She turned her attention to Briggs. ‘Aren’t we getting a week ahead of ourselves?’
‘What do you mean?’ Briggs said.
‘It’s too soon to try it out on civilians.’
Abelsen cleared his throat. The others looked at him. ‘Pardon me for butting in, but we’re ready to try out the drug on people in Qaanaaq.’
‘Who will take responsibility?’ Christine wanted to know.
‘I will,’ Abelsen said quickly with a stiff nod. ‘My department, I mean. We’re ready.’
‘We need to be ready too,’ Lee said. ‘And we’re not quite there yet.’
‘We had a deal,’ Abelsen insisted. A couple of fine lines emerged around his eyes. ‘There’s a lot of money at stake for us so this thing needs to get off the ground.’ He patted Tom on the shoulder. ‘Let’s check your data again. After all, you’ve been experimenting for months now, haven’t you? At this point you must know if it’s working?’
Tom shrugged. ‘We need to analyse today’s data, then combine it with previous readings and review all the results with the medical team.’
‘The medical team?’ Abelsen echoed scornfully. ‘That’s not the reason I flew all the way up here, is it?’ He looked at Briggs. ‘We’re ready, my friend. People are waiting for the wonder drug that will help them fight the cold. So let’s get going. Given that your people have been taking it for ages, it can’t be that dangerous, can it?’
‘I’ve been taking the same dose as the others the whole time,’ Tom said. ‘The issue here is increasing or decreasing the dosage; if we do it too quickly, we risk brain damage.’
‘Brain damage,’ Abelsen grinned. ‘They’re already braindead in Qaanaaq. Bunch of inbreeds. That’s why we’re using them as guinea pigs.’ He threw up his hands in exasperation while looking around at the others. ‘Let’s just get on with it. I’ll take responsibility, don’t you worry about a thing.’
‘What exactly did you tell them in Qaanaaq?’ Tom wanted to know.
Abelsen looked up at the ceiling. ‘They’re really excited abo
ut it and they’ve all signed up.’
Lee shook his head. ‘We’re not ready yet and the buck stops with you, if you haven’t got your trial group in place.’
‘We’re ready,’ Abelsen said icily. ‘I just told you.’
‘This stuff can kill people in minutes,’ Christine said. ‘It’s not a game.’
‘Do I look like a man who plays games?’ Abelsen said, fixing his gaze on her. His voice had grown sharp. ‘We made a deal, my friends. This won’t do.’
‘It is what it is,’ Tom said. ‘If you can’t wait, go back to Nuuk, but then you’re no longer a part of this.’
Abelsen pressed his lips together so hard they glowed like two white lines. He breathed heavily and with control a couple of times. ‘At least give me some pills to try for myself. I need to have something to work with here.’
Tom shook his head.
‘We’ll know more in a week,’ Lee said. ‘You won’t get anything before that.’
‘A week?’ Abelsen sighed. ‘Why the long wait?’
‘We’ll stop upping the dose next week,’ Christine said. ‘We can’t keep increasing it for much longer…not if we want to be responsible.’
‘We’ve upped the dose for all the test subjects today,’ Lee said. ‘It’s the last round, so now we wait and see what happens.’
Tom looked at Abelsen. ‘You need to understand that this is dangerous stuff. If we cut corners, you’ll end up with a village full of dead people. We’ve seen a steady increase in aggressive behaviour and if we can’t find a way of managing that, then it’s too dangerous to start testing it on civilians.’
‘But it works as it was supposed to, doesn’t it?’ Abelsen raised both eyebrows in quizzical grimace.
‘Yes, there’s no doubt that we’ve successfully enhanced the human body’s ability to withstand very low temperatures,’ Christine said. ‘The problem is the aggression.’
Briggs placed a hand on Abelsen’s shoulder. ‘Let’s look at it in a week. And if you choose to wait for the news here on the base, we’ll make sure you’re looked after.’
Cold Fear Page 6