Ice Rift - Salvage: An Action Adventure Sci-Fi Horror in Antarctica

by Ben Hammott

  The men listened. No sound made by the creatures drifted through the door. No squeals, shrieks or scraping at the barrier.

  That the creatures weren't trying to break through the barricade worried Brusilov. He shot his gaze around the huge, disarrayed room. It was too large not to have more than one entrance, and the creatures were so small they could fit through a small gap. He feared they hadn't seen the last of them and urged his men on, “Head across the room. There has to be an exit on the other side.”

  Leaping, climbing and dodging around the many obstacles, they rushed past ornately carved columns stretching up to the arched ceiling covered in paintings too faded and gloom-shrouded to make out their details. The rolling, trembling ship popped free metal panels and girders that clanged to the floor around them, one narrowly missing Nikolay. The men continually dodged the falling debris as they tried to keep their footing on the violently shaking floor during their rush to the far side. All felt the increased rocking of the ship and all guessed if they didn't get off soon they would never leave.

  When they reached the middle of the room, the vibrations softened, giving them time to briefly admire the monument standing proudly upon a raised plinth. It seemed to depict a battle between the crew and another far more monstrous species. The arrays of figures were expertly rendered in frozen brutal acts of killing or being killed.

  Shrieks and scampering directed their attention away from the artistic, but gruesome sculpture. The vicious Alien Rabbits rushed towards them and spread out.

  Brusilov looked around for a place where they could set up a defense. “Climb on the statue,” he shouted. It wasn't ideal, but other options and time to find a better defensive position weren't available.

  The men climbed.

  The creatures arrived.

  As if aware they had their prey trapped, the creatures surrounded the plinth and seemed to be contemplating their best method of attack. As if to test their quarry, a small group climbed towards Babinski.

  Sat astride a monster that was in the process of being decapitated by the sword held by an attacker that had two, strange, arrow-like objects protruding from a leg and a shoulder, Babinski shot the first creature, the second pull of the trigger alerted him that he had run out of bullets. As the dead creature dropped, he spun the rifle and smashed it on the nearest creature's head. The remaining attackers split up and came at him from all sides. One clamped its sharp teeth on his shin; another leaped onto his arm and sunk its teeth in as he battered another to the ground. As he kicked one away he grabbed the one on his arm around its neck and squeezed until it snapped. The creature nibbling on his leg received a hard blow from the rifle and fell.

  As if learning their prey's weaknesses from the brief attack, the others surged forward en masse and the Russians depleted their final bullets by shooting as many as they could.

  *****

  On hearing the gunshot, Lucy peered into the open door she had planned to pass and swept her flaming torch around the dark room. Where there were gunshots there were humans―perhaps a rescue team sent aboard the spaceship to find her? Though it had come from the room, it had sounded too far away to have come from inside. When more gunshots erupted, she crossed to where it was loudest. The floor creaked beneath her feet and dropped slightly. She cautiously kneeled and placed her face by the gap in the floor. Flashes of gunfire lit up the darkness far below and highlighted the hoard of creatures attacking a small group of men, whose uniforms indicated them as soldiers. If she could reach them and they survived the attack, she would be saved. She glanced at the pistol in her hand. She could help. She poked the pistol through the opening, but the gap was too small to see past her arm. If she fired blindly she might hit the men that could save her.

  She tucked the pistol into her belt, grabbed the edge of the floor panel and pulled. It bent slightly, but not enough for her to get a good shot at the creatures. She pressed her back against the wall and kicked at it. It bent more with each blow. One more would do it. When her foot slammed against the panel, it broke from its mountings and spilled Lucy to the floor. The floor groaned and fell out from beneath her. She grabbed out but her fingers found nothing to halt her fall.

  Cables drooping from the ceiling to the wall were directly beneath her. She grabbed at them and hooked an arm over one while watching the flaming torch fall to the floor. When the swaying stopped, she hooked her legs over and looked below. The firing had stopped. The soldiers fought off the creatures using rifles as clubs and some used knives. It wouldn't be good enough against so many. She had to help.

  She pulled a pistol from her belt, aimed it at the cable where it met the wall and fired. The light ball melted through the cable before exploding in a bright burst on the wall. Lucy dropped. She aimed the weapon at the creatures and clamped her finger on the trigger. Deadly balls of light shot from the weapon in rapid succession as she roamed it over the mass of small horrors. The lethal light balls grew to about two-feet in diameter by the time they reached the hoard and each one killed many of the creatures compressed together by their numbers.

  The cable's swing took Lucy around the side of the statue. She continued firing as she swung in a circle, killing creatures on all sides as the four men continued to fight and shoot surprised and shocked glances at her. When her momentum slowed, Lucy slid down the cable and dropped to the floor. She pulled the remaining weapon out and firing both, ran around the fountain picking off the vermin.

  All the men had suffered wounds but they couldn't relax as the creatures' attack was relentless. They leaped, bit and scratched at them from all directions.

  Lucy didn't trust her aim to shoot the creatures too close to the men, so when she noticed one of them staring at her, she turned the dial on the weapon and tossed it to him. Brusilov stretched for the weapon and caught it. He nodded his surprised thanks and aimed it at the creature about to take a bite from his thigh. The small red ball of light passed through it and killed another climbing up. He quickly killed all those within his sight and then gazed around at his men. Sergei seemed to be having a hard time on the opposite side.

  “Sergei,” Brusilov called out.

  Sergei grabbed a creature from the air, slammed its face into the statue and glanced at the voice. Brusilov threw something at him, a strange pistol. He smiled as he caught it, slipped his finger over the trigger and started picking off the creatures.

  Brusilov climbed down, kicking and stamping on any creature that wandered within range, and crossed to the woman who had magically appeared to save them.

  Lucy shot two more creatures with the second pistol and glanced at the approaching man. “I'm worried about hitting someone. Can you kill the creatures near them?”

  Brusilov nodded, took the offered weapon and aimed it at the creature that had just leaped at Nikolay. The creature's head vaporized when the small red ball of light struck.

  “Nice shot,” Lucy commented. “I'm Lucy, by the way.”

  Brusilov fired three times before answering, “Captain Brusilov.”

  “You're Russian!” Lucy exclaimed, on recognizing the man's accent.

  Brusilov smiled. “My mother will be relieved.”

  “Sorry, it's just that I thought you were American.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you.” Brusilov stepped to the side and shot two more. He noticed Babinski approach, sharing his gaze between the creatures and the pistol he held. “Babinski, take over for me.”

  A big grin appeared on Babinski's face when he took the weapon. “Yes, sir, Captain.” He started firing.

  Nikolay noticed the surviving monsters had grown cautious and then, as if deciding they had lost the battle, turned and scampered away. He climbed down as Babinski fired a few shots after them.

  “Oh, that's not fair,” moaned Babinski. “I get hold of the alien gun and they run away.”

  “Life's a bitch,” said Sergei, spinning the alien pistol like a cowboy gunslinger on a finger. “I shot many.”

  “Who's the angel
who swung down from the heavens to save us?” asked Babinski, running an appreciative eye over Lucy, who thirstily gulped water from the bottle Brusilov had given her.

  Nikolay slapped him on the shoulder. “If only God had given us something to make sounds with so we could communicate with each other, we would be able to find out the answer.” He crossed to Sergei and examined the alien weapon as Babinski approached the woman.

  Lucy held her hand out to Babinski as he approached. “I'll take that pistol, but you can keep the other one.”

  Babinski reluctantly relinquished the weapon.

  Lucy stuffed it in her belt and took a bite of the Russian's equivalent of a power bar. The sweet calorie-embedded snack was the best thing she had ever tasted.

  Nikolay gazed up from the alien weapon. “This is amazing. It's so light, more like a toy than a weapon. I wonder what the power source is.”

  “There will be plenty of time to ponder that later, when we're off this damn ship.” Brusilov turned to Lucy. “Thank you. We are all grateful for your timely entrance, but where did you come from and why are you here?”

  Lucy swallowed the final piece of the power bar and briefly explained how she had come to be aboard the spaceship, the finding of the weapons, and her sudden arrival.

  The soldiers were stunned.

  “I can't believe you survived so long on your own, unarmed, with all the alien monsters roaming about. We are trained men and had lots of firepower until our bullets ran out, but still most of us died,” said Babinski.

  “I'm not sure numbers are an advantage in this place,” Lucy said. “They attract too much attention. Have you seen any of the other scientists?”

  “Why would we?” said Nikolay. “Those that survived left days ago.”

  Lucy, surprised so much time had passed, was about to ask about the survivors, when the spaceship shook again and parts of the walls and ceiling crashed to the floor around them. It seemed like the whole room was about to collapse.

  “I suggest you tag along with us, Lucy,” said Brusilov.

  Lucy smiled. “I was planning on it.”

  Brusilov glanced around at the men's wounds, but none looked serious enough to prevent them from moving, not that there was any alternative. “Babinski, take the pistol from Nikolay and lead us out of here.”

  Babinski grinned. “Yes, Captain.”

  They followed Babinski across the room and exited through the door they found on the far side.

  *****

  The Hunter watched the humans he had heard approach run across the room and head through the ice tunnel. Though it noticed some had weapons, its desperation to escape from its doomed world forced it to ignore caution and follow after them.

  As it neared the end of the tunnel, the ice trembled and pieces fell from the walls. It shot its gaze to the ceiling when a crack rang out and tried to dodge the large patch of falling ice but without avail and was knocked to the ground. By the time the ice stopped falling, it was completely buried.

  *****

  The howling wind funneled through the tunnel had battered and pushed at the SEALs, Jane and Jack as they rushed for the exit as if it were trying to prevent them from leaving.

  When they emerged onto the ice ledge, strong gusts threatened to sweep them off their feet as they looked up at the approaching helicopter. As it drew near a loud crack rang out. They turned to the sound and witnessed a large chunk of ice slip from the cliff above. They dodged to the side out of its path. It struck the ledge and exploded into fragments that shot out in all directions. One piece struck Stedman in the chest and another crashed into the side of Jack's head, dropping him to the ground like he had been poleaxed.

  Jane rushed to his aid and knelt beside him. She ignored the blood seeping from the head wound and felt for a pulse. She let out a sigh of relief when she detected one. She nodded to Colbert when he rushed over. “He's alive, but unconscious.” She glanced at the men gathered around their injured comrade, who groaned in pain. “Is your man okay?”

  “A few broken ribs by the look of it, but he'll be fine. We were lucky.” Colbert looked at the helicopter as its rotor wash swept over the ledge: it wasn't the CH-47F but the smaller UH-1Y Venom. “We'll put Stedman on first as he can go in a seat, but we'll have to lie Jack on the floor between us.”

  Jane nodded. “I'll wait with him.” She turned her attention to the cut on his head.

  Fearing more ice falls, the pilot balanced the helicopter with one skid on the ledge. The rear side door opened and the co-pilot peered out and shouted, “Hurry! If the wind gets any fiercer we won't be able to land on the ship.”

  After the SEALs quickly handed the co-pilot the larger alien weapons and he stored them in any space he could find within the cramped cabin, Ramirez and Sullivan carried Stedman onboard and strapped him into a seat.

  While Ramirez remained with Stedman, Sullivan helped Colbert lift Jack by the feet and shoulders and carried him over to the helicopter. With the co-pilot and Ramirez's help they laid Jack on the floor between the seats.

  Sullivan and Colbert climbed aboard and Colbert held out a hand for Jane. As she reached out a strong gust lifted the helicopter up and over the ledge. Jane was struck by a skid and knocked to the ground as the helicopter swept over her. Just before the rotors touched the ice wall the pilot pulled it away, back over the ledge and into the air.

  “Stop,” Colbert yelled.

  The pilot, who had his headphones on, didn't hear. Colbert grabbed a headset and slipped it on. “We have to go back down―Jane's still on the ice!”

  The pilot fought the controls as the increased wind tossed it from side to side and glanced down at the prone unmoving figure on the ice and the chunks of ice breaking off from the unstable ice wall that could collapse at any moment. They had already pushed their luck to its limit and the woman looked dead. “Sorry Commander, if I do there's a good chance we'll all die. My orders are that once the alien weapons are on board, everything else is expendable.”

  “Including lives,” challenged Colbert.

  “My orders are very explicit, Commander. Compared to the safety of the alien weapons, everything and everyone is expendable.”

  As the pilot guided the helicopter out over the churning sea towards the ship, the others looked down at Jane lying on the ice, but saw no sign of movement.

  “The helicopter gave her a good whack…” said the co-pilot, leaving the rest unsaid.

  Colbert continued staring at Jane until the windborne snow hid her from view.

  *****

  The Russians sped through corridors, up and down staircases and once had to retrace their steps and search for another route when they came to a blocked corridor, before arriving back at the maintenance room.

  Babinski entered first and swept the alien pistol around the room. Though he was eager to fire the weapon, he was pleased the room was free of monsters. “It's clear.”

  They crossed to the hole in the hull, climbed out and moved through the ice tunnel. When they emerged from the far end, they saw the strong waves tossing the barge up and down and slamming it against the ice.

  Brusilov glanced out at the equally storm-tossed salvage ship, little more than a dark blur amidst the wind-borne snow and sea spray whipped across the ocean. The barge was their only chance to reach it. Thanks to Lucy, their mission hadn't been a complete failure. One alien weapon was better than going home empty handed. He hoped his superiors felt the same way, or he and his men might be holidaying in a gulag for the foreseeable future.

  “On the barge, everyone,” shouted Brusilov loud enough to be heard above the storm.

  No one wasted any time jumping onto the wave-tossed barge.

  Nikolay crossed to the wheelhouse and brought the powerful engine to life.

  The cables tethering them to the iceberg were disconnected and Nikolay reversed, timing his retreat to a lull in the waves. The passengers held on to anything within reach as the barge was rocked violently by the waves that lifted i
t before slamming it back down and pouring over the bow.

  When Brusilov noticed Lucy shivering, he grabbed a waterproof jacket from the small cabin behind the wheelhouse and placed it around her.

  Lucy nodded her thanks, slipped her arms into the overlong sleeves and pulled it tight around her.

  Even though Nikolay knew it would be an almost impossible task to transfer from the barge to the Spasatel Kuznetsov in the raging storm, it was their only option. He turned the vessel on a heading for the ship and gazed back at the slowly receding iceberg. Whatever the outcome, it was preferable to remaining inside the doomed spaceship.

  Brusilov entered the wheelhouse and grabbed the radio. “Captain Brusilov to the Spasatel Kuznetsov, are you receiving me?”

  He received a reply almost immediately. “Captain, you're alive. We had all but given up hope.”

  Brusilov ignored the man's lapse of protocol and replied, “Drop the over-side netting lee of the wind so we can climb aboard.”

  “Yes, Captain. Good luck.”

  As the storm-battered barge approached the equally chaotic dance of the ship, Nikolay shouted to be heard over the wind and the noisy diesel engine that throbbed through the floor. “It's going to be a risky crossing, Captain. I'll bring the barge alongside, but I doubt I'll be able to hold her there for long. As soon as we're close enough you'll have to jump. I'll go around again for those that don't make it the first time.”

  Brusilov nodded and left the relative shelter of the wheelhouse to explain the boarding plan to the others.

  Lucy watched the ship grew closer. She wasn't looking forward to the transfer.

  “Will you be okay?” Brusilov asked, leaning close so his words could be heard above the storm.