“Wait around the corner. Just in case.” He hefts the gun up and aims it at the door handle.
She glares at him.
“We can’t both catch a stray bullet.”
He has a point, even if she hates it. She wants to ask why it has to be him, but they’re wasting time already, so she does as he asks.
The sound of the shot is louder than she remembers when she used it to scare the bear away. She flinches on reflex before leaning around the corner to find the door to the communications room wide open and Theo still upright.
They lock eyes at the threshold of this new frontier. The glow of the computer monitor illuminates the dark room, blinking again and again with ominous instructions to tap the enter key. It would seem that booting up the overall power did more than turn on the radio. It’s offered them specific directions on what to do next.
Nora takes a step forward, her finger hovering over the keyboard, when her peripheral vision catches sight of a figure in the corner. She springs backward and into Theo. “There’s someone here…there’s…”
Except the reality is that thereused to be someone here.Right now, they’re nothing but a corpse with a knife sticking out of their skull, slumped against the far wall, dried blood coating their face and neck. That would be more than enough for one day, even without the other one against the opposite wall in a similar condition.
“What the fuck happened here?” Theo’s arm shot out to shove her behind him, but it relaxes a fraction when it’s clear their company won’t be getting back up.
The answer to that question might be waiting on the monitor. Without further hesitation, she hits the enter key and watches with rapt attention as Gwen’s face appears on the screen.
If you’re seeing this, it’s probably too late. There’s been a discovery in core sample number four seventy-two. Something we haven’t seen before. There were…creatures frozen in the ice. Some kind of parasite, maybe, I’m not sure. We followedprotocol for containment and removal to prep for transport, and I know how this sounds, but the moment it was free from the ice, it moved. They were alive. Henderson got bitten. Minuscule really. So small he barely noticed. But then the fever came. Communication has been spotty due to the storms. I couldn’t get a signal out. It came on so fast, there was nothing I could do, and then…he was dangerous. He attacked Willis, and I had no choice. He came right at me, like he was going to rip my face off. I had no choice.
They watch as Gwen tries to contain herself and maintain some composure, their attention drifting briefly to who they now know is either Henderson or Willis sitting in the corner.
It took twenty-four hours for Willis to turn. Faster than the first time. You have to get the brain. Nothing else stopped him. As far as I know, it’s transferred from a bite but I can’t be sure how aggressive it is or how far it can travel if it becomes airborne. Can’t be sure how fast it mutates either. The wildlife research center has a stronger signal and more power, so I’m heading there today. She pauses with a sniffle, her voice self-deprecating and hopeless. I’m supposed to meet my fiancé there at the airstrip anyway. We’re supposed to get married soon. Fuck. Fuck. Nora? If you see this, it probably means something even worse happened. That I’m infected too, or that this thing got out into the population. We um, we sent samples to Barrow, which means they’ll be forwarded to Juno and then DC. If you’re already in Alaska, then get to the wildlife center five miles north of Barrow. If this is as bad as I fear it is, then it’ll be the only way out now. The entry code is thirty-seven twenty-nine. Do not go into more populated areas. I’m so fucking sorry I made you come all the way out here for my wedding only to walk into this mess. I don’t think-
And then the video cuts off. The screen goes black and Gwen’s face disappears into the ether, leaving them both frozen as they absorb the information.
“Is this really happening?” Nora whispers.
“I think it is.” Theo swallows hard, fixing her with a stare as troubled as she feels.
They can’t stay here in this cozy little compound waiting for rescue because no one is coming.
“We have to push on and get to the wildlife center.”
“You think Oliver and Gwen…it got them, too? Got everyone?”
“Dunno. I’m trying like hell not to think about them right now. Can’t. I just know that whoever…whatever was trying to get us out there had half a face and still kept coming. Fishing wire wrapped around his leg, dragging the pole, and he didn’t care. He was alive but…not.”
She starts pacing the length of the hallway, thinking out loud. If he wants to brainstorm and plan, then at least they’re being productive. “Looks like they were out ice fishing. Not near the plane. The transmissions didn’t mention anyone showing up to help, so if they’re not connected physically, then is it even the same thing?”
“We thought he was dead, but then he wasn’t.That’s what she said. Sounds a hell of a lot like what we just saw. Dead but not dead.”
“Until you hit them in the head, which turned out to be the right decision.”
“Remember the good old days when our biggest problem was surviving that damn plane crash instead of dealing with this bullshit?
She smiles, sadly. “I do.”
“If we’re going, then we have to be prepared. We’re how far from Barrow now? Twenty miles? Ten?
“Something like that. She said not to go into more populated areas. I know it’s a small town, but—”
He shakes his head, turning to head for the supply room. “We can’t make a straight shot to the wildlife center. It’s too far. We’ll have to stop and find somewhere to rest and warm up. The weather is turning.”
She’s been trying to ignore the fact that the snow is piling up higher and higher by the hour, and the wind chill already chapped her lips from only a few moments outside. They’ve been lucky until now, if any of this can be considered lucky. They crashed right on the edge of the incoming winter and were granted mostly survivable temperatures. Now, that small windfall is fading faster than they can chase it.
“What we need is enough weapons to survive if others in town are infected,” he admits. “We can fend off one, maybe two, but beyond that, fast as they are?”
