by Aline Riva
“Sod dying out here...it's like hell frozen over.”
“Then don't,” Jason replied as the sunlight caught on his face mask, “Just make sure you survive. I plan to. No mutant leader or his horde are taking me. I'll be coming back from this, so will you.”
“Maybe not...” Toby muttered, looking about the landscape, getting that feeling again as if nature was between its most beautiful and its most terrible here in a sea of ice and snow.
As they headed for the hostel on the hillside, the Captain and her soldiers went ahead after explaining the whole area had been searched, sectioned off and the hostel had been cleaned and repaired.
Flossie was walking along beside Rick and Lois as they went up the hillside, her icky stick in her gloved hand as she looked about with wide, black eyes at the sight of a world covered in snow. When they reached the top and she caught sight of the thick white blanket that covered the area beside the path that led to the door of the hostel, she made a run for it.
“AH!” she yelled joyfully, and bounced more than jumped, landing face down in the snow, the stick still in her hand.
Rick and Lois exchanged a glance.
“Did she just...”
“I think she did!” Lois exclaimed, “She tried to speak!”
“She made a noise,” David replied as he caught up with them, “just like the giggle growl she makes – it's just a sound.”
“Really?” questioned Rick, indicating to Flossie, “Look at her, she's happy! She's as happy as any normal kid playing in snow!”
David looked over to see Flossie disappear in a flurry of white as snow scattered, then she jumped up and dived into it again, as Lois called to her.
“Flossie, get back here! I mean it, right now! Don't eat it, Flossie...it's too cold...stop eating the snow, come here...”
As Lois called to Flossie, Vince was looking about in wonder.
“You said this place would be amazing,” he said to Marie, recalling a chat they had shared on the flight, “It really is...what an incredible landscape!”
Marie looked around, in the distance the vast desert of ice and snow stretched on forever in shades of white and blue, its odd and seemingly alien landscape rippled by the wind and the chill, shaping the snowy terrain in a way that made it look like nowhere else on earth.
“It certainly hasn't changed,”she replied, “I mean...physically. Everything else is gone of course but this place, it will always be the same. The dead won't last here forever. Nothing can quarrel with nature and get away with it, not for long...there's always a solution.”
“Let's hope the gas works,” Vince replied.
She nodded.
“It works in theory, or so I've been told. Practise might be a different matter, but we have to try it – there's nothing left to lose.”
They were nearing the door of the hostel now, as she reached it the Captain was saluted by waiting guards who opened up the door for her and the rest of the group, then one by one they went inside, as David glanced to Tara and they exchanged a look that needed no words: They were both remembering before, both feeling the same sense of loss for those who hadn't made it back...
“Fuck! Fuck, oh fuck it!”
The door had just closed, shutting out the deadly chill. In this repaired building the heating was on and the rest of the group had welcomed the warmth and security it brought with it, as Rick ripped off his hat and clutched at his scar, cursing loudly.
“Shit!” he exclaimed, “Bloody cold just went right through my head! It's killing me!”
Lois shot Tara an icy glance, a silent accusation that it was her fault for coming up with the idea that had brought him here, as she placed her hand on his back and gently rubbed as he whipped a blister pack from his pocket and popped out a strong painkiller.
The Captain was speaking now, but she had to say his name twice before David heard her as he stood there, swamped by memories he wished he could block out. He looked to the flight of stairs that led to the accommodation area, in his mind's eye seeing Justin Frazer standing there in a balaclava...
“David?”
He blinked and looked back at Captain Swan.
“We're going to rest here overnight, we leave in the morning – before nightfall I'll have someone take the three remaining members of the group through to the communications area through there,” she said, indicating to the room beyond the reception desk, “I'll have them shown how to use the equipment.”
“I remember that room,” David replied, “It's where I first heard the news report about the outbreak.”
“I think we all remember where we were on that day,” she agreed, “Now we all need to get some rest – this will be the last chance we get before we start tracking the mutant and his army.”
Then she called to the soldiers who accompanied her and they went up the stairway, to rest and prepare for the start of the mission come daybreak. David looked to the others, still feeling as if this place was full of ghosts of a horrible past.
“We should all get some rest,” he said, “This could be the last chance we get...”
The sun had sunk low, the sky outside looked remarkable in its shades of violet with a low strip of gold shimmering on the horizon as night slowly beckoned. The snow looked dazzled with its colours reflecting the sky, it looked so cold, so deadly in its natural wonder – to think of the undead out there deep in the frozen wasteland seemed to dishonour its natural splendour in that moment as David lay beside Tara on top of the covers of their bed, trying not to think of the past. Then Tara spoke up and switched his mind to other matters he still preferred not to think about.
“I do love you. Don't ever think I don't care because I do – but she makes me feel insecure.”
He gave a sigh, trying not to think of tomorrow and the ice and the risk and all that went with it – he had wanted to enjoy this last night of comfort, but Tara was making it impossible.
“She's my ex. There's nothing between us. If we get through this I want us to have a future, without mention of my past. Can you cope with that, because I can't take these echoes of the reason why my marriage broke up. I don't need another partner pushing me around, okay?”
Her eyes widened, hurt registered in her gaze at his comparison to his former wife – he hadn't said much about his failed marriage, but what she had heard had been awful.
“I'm nothing like her!”
“So don't remind me of her, okay?”
David shifted closer to her, kissing her cheek as he tried to settle into sleep beside her, reserving his strength for the struggle ahead.
“I love you,” she said quietly.
“Go to sleep, we need to rest for tomorrow.” That was all he told her in reply as he closed his eyes, trying to shut out all but the tiredness that for now, promised to block out reality, at least as long as he slept.
A short distance down the hallway behind a locked door, now the painkiller had kicked in swiftly, Rick had taken off the thick outer layers he had worn from the plane to the hostel, now as he stripped off his shirt there was a look in his eyes that very much reminded Lois of the man he was before the head injury – he was recovering faster than she realised, times like this reminded her of that fact...
“I'm even getting good with buttons now,” he remarked, tossing his shirt aside and pausing to flex his metallic hand, before taking it off and placing it on the bedside table.
As he playfully bounced on to the bed with energy she had missed, Lois laughed. He pulled her into his arms, as close as he could as his gaze darkened to bedroom eyes that made her legs go weak. He had drawn her so close their lips were almost touching as he held her in his gaze like a hypnotist.
“The cold hurts my scar a lot,” he said, “But apart from that, I feel fine - honestly, I'm okay. Stop worrying so much! I love you, Lois.”
“I love you too,” she replied, frowning as a thought crossed her mind and she glanced to the doorway that led the adjoining room.
“What's
wrong now?” he asked softly as he stroked her shoulder with his fingertips, toying with the strap of her black silk nightgown as they lay together on top of a soft, deep quilt.
“If it's about the radio controls, I know I'm a bit forgetful but the military personnel who showed us how to use everything made it clear.”
“Yeah... with sticky notes everywhere for you and one sheet of paper for me!”
“I like sticky notes, I've always used them...I just need them a bit more these days. So what are you worried about, Lois?”
“I was just thinking about Flossie...”
“She will be fine,” Rick promised, “David's going to look after her out there – and we have contact on the radio, any real problems and he'll bring her straight back. He won't put her in the line of fire. He wouldn't dare.”
For a moment her thoughts stayed on the mutant child sleeping on the stinky blanket she had insisted on bringing from the base, but as Rick stroked her shoulder and then brought up his wrist to her face and brushed her cheek with it, one touch was enough to get caught in his gaze once more, and seeing strength return to his expression was all the reassurance she needed.
“It's going to be fine,” he promised her.
“You sound like you again.”
He smiled.
“Good days and bad ones...that's all I can promise for now but at this moment, it's a good day. Come here.”
She leant a fraction closer, closing her eyes as their lips touched, then Rick slid his hand to the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her soft hair as their kiss deepened as for a brief time, they shared their love and the day seemed nothing less than ordinary as the sinking sun sent rainbows of colour across the snow, through the window and on to the now exposed bodies of the two lovers as they lay locked in a passionate embrace, safe in warmth and togetherness, with no thoughts looming yet of what the coming dawn would bring...
Morning came around too soon, a dawn that saw an early start with those who were leaving up early and grabbing breakfast before the long trek across the ice. The mood was heavy and there was little conversation as all thought on the journey ahead, and wondered if they would be returning from it.
Captain Swan had used the radio that morning and David had gone with her, learning that troops were in position to rendezvous and the caged animals were ready for release once the trail was located. The troops moving in from the other landing points were heading for a meeting point far out on the ice away from the station, where soldiers, weaponry and even tanks were waiting.
“Are you sure the tanks can handle this kind of terrain?” David had asked as they turned from the radio.
“We grabbed every available piece of transport, equipment and weaponry,” Swan replied, “This is the last British effort to end this global war, with the last of our firepower. The tanks will stay to the roads as close to us as they can get when we locate the mutant and his army. My men have been armed with regular weaponry as well as the new NV-16 gas guns, we have the kind that blows out the chemical and the kind that propels cannisters into large groups. Your people will be given this weaponry too. We don't use it until the horde are large in number.”
“And if it fails, we're all dead,” David replied.
“But if it doesn't, the Arctic was won by the British,” she reminded him.
“It's not about who gets to plant the flag!”
The Captain turned away from the radio, looking at him sharply.
“It's not a global effort until someone succeeds first,” she reminded him, “Every country is desperate to fight back but they can't concentrate all their resources on one test – there's no point in everyone dying and leaving their nations without remaining defence if this experiment fails.”
Before he could answer, Rick and Lois entered the room. Flossie was with them, she was wrapped up against the cold in her padded clothing and bobble hat, her icky stick was in her gloved hand. Lois paused to speak quietly to her and hug her, then Rick hugged her too. With each hug the mutant child struggled and growled, then she looked up at her new parents and, still clutching the icky stick, made a heart shape with her hands.
Lois looked worried. Rick's voice was heavy with emotion as he spoke up.
“Go with David now, go on, Flossie – go and help David.”
She ran over to David, looked up at him and as he looked into the child's black eyes, he smiled.
“I'll look after you today, Flossie.”
He glanced up again, feeling Rick's intense glare burning into him as a silent warning to protect her.
“I will keep her safe,” he promised, “Nothing will happen to her.”
Then Lauren came into the room, she looked about the communications post at the many yellow sticky notes all over it and then glanced down at the piece of paper in her hand.
“Why all the notes? I just needed a piece of paper!”
“It's for me, in case I forget,”Rick explained, indicating to the scar on the side of his head.
“I'll see you all soon.” David said, “And I will keep Flossie safe.”
“You'd better,” Rick warned darkly.
Then the Captain left the room, David followed and Flossie scampered after him.
“I'm so scared for her!” Lois said tearfully, and Rick pulled her into his arms as she wept.
“She's coming back,” he said softly, “She has to – David knows I'll kill him if he lets that girl come to harm. It's okay, Lois.”
From across the main reception area, they heard the Captain address the group about the route across the ice. Then the door was opened, a blast of freezing air came in that for the time it was present, cancelled out the powerful heating system, then the door closed once more and the place was silent save for the sound of Lois as she sobbed, her weeping muffled against Rick's shoulder as he held her in an embrace that felt every bit as strong and protective as the days when he had been known as the Mall King.
“It's okay,” he whispered, “I've got you, it's okay...”
“I''ll keep an eye on the radio controls for now,” Lauren said, standing in the doorway and feeling awkward as Lois wept for the mutant child and Rick looked close on weeping too.
“Thanks,” Rick said in a hushed voice, then with his arm around Lois, he led her out of the communications area and through the reception, over to a window where they stood together and watched as the group set off, heading for the bottom of the slope where soldiers patrolled with guns and a truck stood waiting. Flossie ran on ahead, stick in hand, looking about in excitement as the others made their way to the transport point, hearts heavy, aware of the great risk this day carried.
“I'm afraid she's not coming back,” Lois said as she blinked away tears.
“She is,” Rick assured her, watching as the group climbed into a waiting truck and David paused to lift Flossie and carefully place her in the back before climbing in to join her, “We have to hope they all come back. I'm trusting him. You should too. David won't let Flossie come to harm. Even if some of the others don't make it out alive, he'll protect her.”
“I know he will,” she said, finding comfort in his words.
Then they remained at the window, watching as the truck drove away, taking a road through the ice, out into the barren wilderness of the Arctic.
As the radio crackled into life, Lauren answered it at once.
“Base here.”
“Captain Swan speaking. Based on yours and David's account of where you last saw Justin Frazer, I'd put us about eight miles from the location. We're travelling on the road right now but will have to take the last two miles on foot across the ice – the road won't go any further. This is rough terrain ahead, hills of ice and snow, caves, in places the sea comes inland, we have bergs and freezing water. The last mile could be hazardous, that's before we start tracking Frazer. But do tell Rick and Lois that Flossie is just fine. She's riding in the back with the others, David's keeping a close watch on her.”
“I'll tell them,” L
auren replied, then the Captain ended the call.
Lauren sat there in silence, waiting for the radio to burst into life once more, thinking on all the Captain had just said – they faced a treacherous journey to even reach the location, then it would be the dangerous task of tracking Justin Frazer, who had the power to command the undead. She thought back to that flight out of the Arctic after the dead had arisen, recalling how she had looked from the window of the plane and seen him on the hillside, looking down, arms outstretched as the dead came towards him...There had been so many of them...
She thought of David and the others and the huge task they faced.
“Good luck, guys,” she whispered, “Stay safe...”
Chapter 7: Tracking the Dead
The truck had pulled to a halt at the first rendezvous point, here other vehicles waited, and the soldiers had brought a supply of guns – new guns, which greatly interested the group as they were handed out.
“The weapons with the long slender barrels and the cannister fixed to the bottom below the trigger are not bug sprays,” said Swan, as Toby and Jason exchanged an excited glance and admired the weaponry, “The spray concentrate is very powerful and each cannister contains enough gas to keep you going in battle for more than three hours. We will have extra supplies of the gas at the main rendezvous point when Frazer has been tracked. The larger guns...” she paused to hand one to David, who clutched the heavy weapon in both hands, surprised at the sight of the large barrel, “These are for firing off cannisters of gas that are capable of taking out several undead at the same time – we don't know how effective that will be, or how effective the spray guns will be in battle until we test them. The cannister launchers are packed with six gas cans which must be launched one at a time, you simply point to the centre of the horde and squeeze the trigger...”
Marie had a spray gun. She was checking her weapon with ease, as Vince took hold of the cannister launcher and looked to Toby and Jason, who were fooling around pointing the weapons at each other.