by Jon F. Merz
He exhaled a stream of smoke that vanished in the wind. "One of your guys says there's no one home."
"That's right."
He shrugged. "You want to come back? Doesn't matter to me. We're heading home anyway."
"You think we'd be crazy sticking it out here?"
"Nope. Not crazy. Might get a little lonely. Might be a little scary. But you're not crazy."
"When you get back, you'll tell them what happened down here, won't you? Maybe you can arrange for a fresh team to come down?"
"I can pass the word, sure."
"We're not really fit to run the station. We were coming down to do adjunct work to their efforts here."
"I'll bet they have new folks down here within a week. Provided the weather cooperates." He ground the cigarette butt under his boot and then bent down and retrieved it. "Which reminds me." He removed a sheaf of papers from his parka. "Got the latest weather report here."
"Bad news?"
"Not for us. For you, maybe."
"The storm?"
"Be here tonight what they're saying. Going to be a big one, too. You might be snowed in a few days. Or it might pass and leave you unscathed. How's that for accurate forecasting?"
"I've got a meteorologist on the team. The station's got instruments. We can monitor it and see how it hits."
"What about food?"
Julia frowned. "You brought some more rations down with you, didn't you?"
"A resupply, yeah."
"How much?"
"For the station? Ought to last them about a month, until we can get another flight down here."
"And the station's equipped with an emergency stockpile as well."
"They've got a greenhouse in there, I hear. They grow some fruits and vegetables, that sort of thing."
"I think we should be all set for food then."
The pilot smiled. "Plenty of water."
"Yeah."
"Guess you're staying then."
"I guess we are."
"In that case, I'm out of here. I don't want to have to fly into that front. As soon as my chief's got that bird pumped full of gas, we're out of here. I've got a crew to get home safely." He stuck out a gloved hand. "Good luck, Miss Devereaux."
"Thanks. Have a safe flight."
She turned as the pilot hurried up the ramp and into the plane. Havel came over as she continued to walk.
"We will stay, yes?"
"You want that?"
"It is a long time for me to be wanting to come to this place. Now that I am here, I have no wish to depart so soon."
"I know the feeling." Julia waved the rest of her team over. "Listen up."
Kendall frowned as he stepped into the circle. "Bad news, Boss?"
"Not likely, Kendall. Here's the poop: we're staying. If we don't someone else will just have to come down here and sort this whole thing out. We're here, we've got supplies and the expertise to keep things running until we get a fresh team down here."
Vikorsky cleared his throat. "What about the mission?"
"The mission profile stays the same. We've just added a few more responsibilities, that's all. If we can get to the bottom of why there seems to be no one around this place, we will. If not, then we won't."
"Sounds promising," said Kendall.
"Plane's right there, if you want to back out of this and go home," said Julia. She waited for Kendall to say something.
He didn't.
Julia took her cue again. "I'd prefer you stayed, however. I need every one of you and your knowledge. We've got a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it in."
Kendall bit his lip but said nothing.
"There's more good news," said Julia. "We've got a storm heading straight for us that's due to hit within a few hours. It's going to be a big one. That means we need all that equipment and supplies unloaded from the palettes and stored inside the station. Are we clear?"
All of the men nodded. Julia smiled.
"Right, I need Vikorsky and Nung to get inside and give me a check on the station itself. Check the instruments and communications gear. Make sure the greenhouse is up to snuff. I don't want us losing fresh greens to this storm. Powdered broccoli makes me sick."
A few laughs. That was good. "The rest of us will get the gear unpacked and stowed. If we hustle we might even get it done quick enough so we can relax this evening while we're getting buried alive.
"Well, shit," said Wilkins. "That's the best thing I've heard all day." He turned to the team. "Okay, you heard the lady, let's get the lead out. Kendall, Darren you're with me and Mick. Let's get it on, people."
Julia stepped back and let Wilkins take the lead from here on out. He was better at motivating. She'd chosen him for his ability to instill confidence in the team, among other things.
Mick smiled as he dashed past her. "Nice job, chief. I think you'll make this work after all."
"You had some doubts?"
He grinned. "Be lying if I said no. But I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong. I'm glad I was."
"Thanks."
She turned and grabbed Havel. "Come on, buddy. We've got work to do."
Chapter Three
The storm hit them harder than anyone expected. A seething swirl of blinding snow and ice that thundered against the pre-fabricated cylindrical units of the station - it reminded Julia of being inside an oil drum and having someone pound on the outside with a hammer.
Peering out of the windows made Wilkins shudder. "Glad we're in here. Helluva night to be out."
Kendall snorted across the room. "You scared of a little snow?"
"That's not snow," said Wilkins. "That's Mother Nature reminding us that we're nothing but tiny pimples on the backside of life."
Kendall pushed his dinner away from him. "Nifty visual. Thanks." He yawned. "If no one objects, I'm turning in for the night. It's been a long a day."
Julia took a sip of coffee. "Thanks for your help today."
"No sweat, Boss."
She watched him go. Wilkins shook his head. "Guy's a piece of work, that one is."
"Too bad he's one of the best damned technicians and jack-of-all-trades I've ever seen. I wish to hell we could have left him behind."
"He's here just like we all are," said Nung.
"And why's that?" Darren spoke around a forkful of spaghetti.
"Because we're being paid to be here," said Nung. "Ain't that right, Julia?"
She smiled. "Sure. I mean, I guess so. Yeah." She frowned. "Well, maybe it's more for me."
"More what? More money?"
"No. No. I meant more than the money for me."
Wilkins lit his pipe. "Well sure. I mean this is the bottom of the goddamned world. Who wouldn't want to come down here for a spell and see this kind of natural beauty up close."
Julia looked at him. What was it about that statement that made her think there was more to what Wilkins had said than just those words alone? She shook her head. "I've dreamed of this place since I was a teenager."
Darren looked up. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. It's not something that I could really explain, I guess." Julia sipped her coffee and listened to the wind beat out a discordant rhythm against the research station. "It's just I've always know I'd come down here eventually. I didn't know what kind of effort it was going to take on my part. I just sort of knew I'd be coming here." She looked up. "Sounds silly, I know."
Silence draped the room. Wilkins cleared his throat and exhaled a smoke ring. "It's not silly. It's not silly at all. It makes a whole lot of good sense, actually."
"Thank you."
Havel put down his mug of coffee. "I too, have dreamed of coming here before this day."
Julia smiled at him. She felt good the team was rallying around her idea. Maybe they really did believe in her after all. "Thanks Havel."
He shook his head. "It's not...agreement. The same thing happened to me. When I was a boy. A dream. And ever since I also dream of coming to this place. Now, I am here. At
last."
"A nice coincidence," said Julia.
"Must be contagious then," said Darren. "Because I dreamed of Antarctica a long time ago, too."
"When?"
"In college." Darren grinned. "Must have been after one of those late night drink-fests. I stumbled home and had the funkiest dream of my life. I couldn't really tell you what it was all about, but the thing ended with me being surrounded by snow and ice and cold and shivering like a damned hypothermic case. And somehow, I just knew it was Antarctica that I was at."
"What was the dream like?" Nung’s voice sounded quiet over the din of noise outside.
Darren frowned. "It's not important-"
"It IS important!" Nung slammed his hand on to the tabletop. Dishes jumped and clattered back against the steel.
Wilkins came alive and grabbed Nung by the shoulders. "Calm down, buddy. Calm down. We're just talking."
But Julia could see Nung's eyes. She could see the intensity of his outburst. The pounded-down memories prying their way out of his subconscious. She could sense the fear. Her fear. She'd had dreams, too.
Nung slumped back down in his seat. "Sorry."
Darren leaned back. "Hey, man, it's cool. If you want me to talk about the frickin' thing, I will. I just didn't think anybody'd be interested."
"I'm interested," said Nung.
Julia nodded. "Me too."
"And me," said Havel.
Wilkins and Vikorsky agreed. Julia looked at Mick who was staring at the ceiling his eyes half-closed as if deep in thought. What makes him tick, she wondered? What's his story?
Darren got up and refilled his coffee, stirring in a heaping pile of sugar before sitting back down. He took a sip, sighed and leaned back. "Okay. Just don't think me totally freaked out or anything when I finish, okay? I mean, this is some pretty freaky shit, as far as I'm concerned. I mean, I haven't even discussed this with anyone before tonight, that's how freaky this shit is. I shit you not."
"That's three shit in a row," said Wilkins. "You shit any more and you'll dehydrate yourself."
A small chorus of chuckles filled the room. Havel smiled. "I like this. Is like a ghost story around the campfire, yes?"
"Well, except for the campfire bit," said Julia. "Our stove here will have to do."
Darren took another sip. "The dream starts out with a mess of bright lights. All sorts of colors. It was sort of like being in some funky dance club with all those swirling strobes flashing and blinding you. Almost like those old stop-animation films. A million lights. Blinding stuff.
"The fucked up thing is that I think I'm awake while the dream's going on. I'm convinced that I'm in my dorm room. That I'm under the covers and the lights are all around me. I mean one minute they're outside my window and the next they're surrounding me.
"I never felt as scared as I did that night, you know. It wasn't like there was some kind of monster attacking me. Dracula wasn't sinking his fangs into my jugular. But there was something...ominous about the lights. They weren't friendly. There was no warmth." He looked into his coffee mug. "They were cold. Cold lights."
"What happened after the lights?" asked Wilkins.
"The lights never left. I couldn't see. But then my body felt really light. Like I was flying. I read somewhere about astral travel and how people think it's like the sensation of flying or being really light. I don't think I astral traveled that night. Because I didn't really get the feeling like I went anywhere until the end when I was suddenly standing in the middle of all this ice and snow and somehow just knowing it was down here."
He sighed and took a long deep drag on the coffee. "I woke up the next morning with the worst fucking headache I ever had in my life. I swore off tequila after that night. I've never had another glass of the stuff."
"So, you think it was just the alcohol?" asked Julia.
Darren grinned. "Sure."
"You ever have any other dreams like that again?"
"Never as bad as that first one, no."
"But you've had others?"
"Sure. Every few years or so since then. I think I've had probably five in total since that first time. I'm never really as scared by them. I feel more like I'm observing something."
Darren looked up and frowned. "Shit, see? You're all looking at me like I'm some sort of psycho case. I knew I shouldn't have mentioned anything. Thanks a lot Nung."
Nung looked at him. "I don't think you're a psycho case, buddy."
"Gee, thanks."
"I'm being serious. I don't think you are."
"Why so?"
Nung frowned. "Because you just described the exact same dream I had as a teenager."
"The exact same dream?" Darren shook his head. "That's kinda far-fetched to think two people could have the same dream."
"You're right," said Vikorsky. "It is far-fetched. And I think three would make it even more so?"
Julia snapped her head up. "You too?"
Vikorsky nodded. "The lights, the weightlessness, the trip down here. All the same. Same order, same amount of subsequent dreams. All the same."
Wilkins cleared his throat. "Me, too."
"And me," said Havel.
They all looked at her. Everyone but Mick who still had his half-closed eyes on the ceiling. Julia swallowed. "Me, too."
Nung's jaw was tight. "What the hell is going on here?"
Wilkins shook his head. "We can't jump to any conclusions about this guys. There's something weird about us all having the same dream, sure, but we're here now and we've got work to do."
Nung shook his head. "What if this is something more? After all, we still haven't figured out where the hell everyone else is yet. What if it's connected somehow?"
"How?" said Vikorsky. "We're on one of the most inhospitable land masses on the planet. It's not like some giant creature came in here and grabbed everyone. There'd be a lot more evidence that something had gone really wrong. There's nothing. This place is just a ghost town. Whatever happened it doesn't seem to have been especially violent."
"Unless whatever happened here was like our dreams," said Darren. "Weightless and powerless to do anything. They could have been carried off."
Wilkins snorted. "Christ, by what?"
"I don't know, " said Darren. "All I know is it is really freaking me out that we've all had the same damned dream. We've all got that connection and it's just really really weird."
Wilkins shot Julia a look that said she'd better move to restore some calm to the situation. She nodded and pushed her coffee away from her.
"It's late. We're all tired. Yeah, we all had the same dreams. We can discuss it some more tomorrow maybe. For right now, we've got to get some sleep. Tomorrow's a brand new day and we've got a mission to get underway."
"Not to mention fifteen staff members too find."
"Vikorsky!" Wilkins looked pissed.
Julia held up her hand. "It's all right. It's all right. He's correct. Finding out what happened here is definitely a priority also. But we've got to maintain our composure."
She looked at Nung. "How are communications?"
Nung shrugged. "Can't make much out of the rig right now. The way it looks, everything's cool. We've got satcom and UHF but I couldn't test either one of them this evening with the storm coming. These snows will drown out the strongest signal I can shoot off. Until this storm passes, we're isolated. That's the poop."
Darren frowned. "Wonderful. Stranded down here without the ability to reach out and touch a rescue team."
"Calm down," said Julia. "The pilot said the front wouldn't last all that long. Once the snows break, we place a call to home base and see if we can get a plane down here ahead of schedule. We explain what happened and that we're going ahead with our primary objective. Nice and simple."
She glanced around the room. The faces of five men stared back at her. They looked like they'd bought into her plan, at least for right now. She hoped she'd been able to quiet her own inner concern about the dreams. She hoped it
didn't show on her face.
Wilkins clapped his hands. "Right then, beddy-bye time."
Everyone rose. Julia looked at Mick who hadn't moved. "You coming along?"
His eyes rolled over toward her. Even in the diminished light she could see how blue they were. "I might stay up a while."
"You need some sleep."
"I'll be fine."
Julia looked at him. She glanced at Wilkins who simply waved at her. The other men had already filed out. She waited until Wilkins disappeared down the corridor.
Then she looked back at Mick. "You didn't say much when Darren told us about his dream."
He smiled. "That's right. I didn't."
Julia leaned against the table. "So?"
"So what?"
"So, did you have the same dreams as the rest of us?"
Mick leaned in toward her. "If I say no, will you kick me off of the team? I mean, I won't be the same as everyone else."
Julia smiled. "I won't kick you off. I've got no place to put you, anyway."
Mick nodded. "Nice to hear."
"Of course, if you didn't have the same dreams, that would be a good thing."
"How's that?"
"It means there's just coincidence in that we're all here despite those dreams. You not having them means it was just happenstance. Not some sort of divine direction."
"And the guys on the team would be more relaxed?"
"Exactly."
Mick nodded. "I wish I could help you out."
Julia's heart sank. "You mean?"
"Yeah." Mick nodded. "I had the dreams, too."
"Damn."
"It's not necessarily bad," said Mick.
"How's that?"
"We don't know if Kendall had the dreams, too."
Julia grinned. "Kendall's enough of a nightmare just being around this place. It doesn't matter much if he did or he didn't."
"Good point."
"What do you think it means?" asked Julia after a minute.
Mick went back to staring at the ceiling. "I don't know. But a big part of me seems convinced we're going to find out before too long."
Chapter Four
"The most curious thing," said Wilkins, "is that both the Snowcats are fully gassed up."
"Meaning what?" Julia stomped her boots into the snow. She didn't want to have to stay outside in the blazing sun and cold any longer than necessary. The quicker Wilkins finished his explanation, the better.