Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Needless to say, I woke abruptly, flailing at the covers in a panic, failing to unwrap the cocoon and instead managing to throw myself on the floor.
Bedroom floor, not an ice cave. No monster here.
I lay there in the tangle of fabric and sighed. “Fucking Captain.” I blamed him for my dream. Him and his comment about a sleeping creature.
Once I managed to crawl out of the blanket mess, I checked the time.
Eight-oh-three am. I’d slept a good ten hours, yet my aching body insisted I’d not rested at all.
Stupid mattress. A hot shower—thankfully empty of other people—eased some of the soreness, but not all.
My body protested as if I’d actually fallen.
Spotting no one lurking in the hall outside my door—and not daring to knock on Joslyn’s or Vernon’s, in case they’d made a ‘friend’ last night—I headed downstairs to find the cafeteria and hopefully some palatable coffee.
I carried one of my lighter winter coats and wore my cute boots.
I wouldn’t be venturing outside the station for a few days, as I planned to start my assignment questioning those who lived here.
The captain appeared as I sat down with my tray of food—better fare than expected. Bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and toast, as well as my much-needed coffee, with powdered creamer and more sugar than an adult my age should consume.
He sat across from me. “Morning.”
“Morning,” I answered in kind taking a sip of life.
“Sleep well?”
“Yes.” I lied because I wasn’t about to admit his words led to me having a nightmare about his monster.
“Your videographer has yet to leave her room, but your other companion is outside with some equipment.”
“Vernon’s been very excited to use his new gear.”
“What’s the plan for today?” The captain jumped right to it.
“I’ve got a list of people I’m supposed to interview.”
“Send me a copy, and I’ll arrange appointment times for you.”
“Not going to let me ambush?” I teased.
“No.” Said without any humor.
“Don’t schedule the first one too early. I’ll need Joslyn present for it.”
“Noted.”
Since he didn’t immediately run off, I took advantage to question. “I noticed when we drove in yesterday, a volcano in the distance. Mount Erebus, I believe it’s called.”
“That’s correct.”
“Is it normal for it to be steaming so much?”
“It’s been active for a while. You might also spot lava, depending on its mood.”
“Are we in any danger? What if it fully erupts?”
“The volcano is constantly monitored. At any sign of increased activity, the station will be evacuated, but I wouldn’t worry too much. It’s twenty-five miles away. Plenty of time to escape if it blows.”
“And you’re sure it wasn’t the cause of the tremor I felt yesterday?”
“That one was most definitely an icequake, caused by the melting and shifting of the ice. Extremely common, but, that said, we do get some seismic quivers because of Mount Erebus. Nothing dangerous though, so no need to panic.”
“I don’t panic easily. If I did, I wouldn’t be good at my job.”
“Since we didn’t have a chance last night, and given your crew isn’t yet available, would you like a more comprehensive tour of the station?”
“After I’m done eating, yes. Please.”
Once I’d sucked back a few calories and more caffeine, the captain led me around, pointing out the various buildings, offering nods to those who greeted him, even introducing me to some whose names I recognized as being on my list. More than a few had heard of me and showed excitement at possibly being part of my segment, all except for one.
“This is Dr. Greenfield.” The captain introduced me to the man who emerged from a nearby building.
He perused me behind thick-rimmed glasses, and I couldn’t help but notice one half of his face had puckered skin, as if he’d suffered a grievous burn.
“Dr. Greenfield is new to the station and is studying those tremors you felt.”
“Hello,” I held out my hand to shake, but the man eschewed my politeness, keeping his tucked in his pockets.
“I’m very busy,” he muttered.
“This will only take a moment. Miss Jenkins will be paying your department a visit as part of her documentary.”
A sneer tugged the man’s lips. “Is that what we’re calling her version of sensationalized reporting these days?”
“I present the facts, nothing more.” I couldn’t help the terseness of my reply as I hated those who turned their noses up at me.
“The fact is, there’s nothing out of the ordinary here,” the doctor exclaimed.
“You sure about that, Doc?” drawled the captain. “Seems to me we’ve been getting a lot more quakes since your arrival. Is Erebus finally getting ready to blow?”
My eyes widened. Earlier he’d told me not to worry.
“Perhaps it will. Volcanoes don’t always provide warning.”
“Not reassuring,” I muttered, drawing his gaze.
“Nature holds many mysteries, and we’ve yet to uncover even a fraction of them. Imagine what might be discovered if Erebus or one of the other three dormant volcanoes did erupt and melted centuries, even eons, of ice and snow?”
“I saw that movie. It didn’t end well for the humans,” I replied dryly. The Thing, a classic, showed the dangers of meddling with organisms from our distant past.
“Humanity has long believed itself to be the superior species. But there was a time when greater beings stalked the Earth.”
“And were thankfully wiped out by an asteroid, or we’d still be living in caves and hunting with spears,” I sharply retorted.
“It’s a wonder we survived.” A lighter riposte by the captain.
Greenfield ignored me to address the captain. “My expected cargo didn’t arrive on the last flight.”
“Likely because it didn’t get processed in time. I’m sure it will be included on the next one.”
“Hmph.” An unimpressed noise. “I need that shipment if I’m to properly do my job.”
“Don’t you have all the equipment you need to monitor the seismic activity?”
His gaze flickered to me. “The items I’m speaking of are custom-built and quite important for my research.”
“A seismologist and an inventor?” I gushed, not openly mocking, but close. “That’s impressive, doctor. I look forward to hearing more about it during our interview.”
“I’m a busy man and have no time to indulge in idle chatter.” Without another word, Greenfield strode off.
“Pleasant fellow.”
“Who won’t last, with that attitude. Shall we move on with our tour?” the captain suggested.
He led me away, but I couldn’t help but glance back at the doctor stalking into a building, leading the captain to remark, “Don’t let his rudeness get to you.”
“Oh, it doesn’t bother me. I just find it curious that he’s not interested in blabbing. Most science types don’t shut up once I grant them an interview. Even the shy ones.”
“Greenfield is a strange bloke. Oddly, despite his credentials, no one here’s ever heard of him, and he doesn’t seem interested in making friends.”
“So how did he end up at the station?”
“Our last seismologist left abruptly, claiming a family emergency, and Greenfield was sent as his replacement. Despite being unknown, his resume is impressive.”
“It should have mentioned his acerbic personality. I swear, he sounds as if he wants the volcanoes to blow. But there’s little chance of that, right?” It shamed me to admit the doctor’s words struck a chord.
“Can’t say for sure about Erebus, but I know the other three have been dead a long time. I wouldn’t worry about it. Like I said before—”
“Plenty of time to evacuate.”
“Exactly.”
“There you are!” Joslyn crowed as she spotted us. She and Vernon headed in our direction. “We are ready to start documenting!”
“Our first interview isn’t until after lunch.
Since that’s not for a few hours, we’ll start with getting candid shots.
” With the captain shadowing us, I retraced our route, this time with Joslyn filming while Vernon dangled a boom microphone over my head.
We captured some footage of our current environment as well as a few videos of me pointing out places of interest, like the volcano steaming at my back.
By supper time, I’d conducted my first interview with a paleoclimatologist, Isobel Townsend, who gave me a scientific explanation of the ice samples she’d been studying.
Details about drilling to extract ice cores from deep within the glaciers and the Ross shelf, even the mountain.
Much of what she had to say would probably be too complicated for viewers to follow, but we’d still put in parts of it because, after all, we needed legit sources for our facts.
Fact being, she found periods of heating that stretched back millennia.
Ash from past volcanic eruptions. Dust and trace metals, possibly from drifting pollution in the air.
Some ancient microbes, but nothing that infected and turned people into raving lunatics or monsters.
Radiation appeared as well, some the man-made result from past nuclear tests. Cosmic rays also contributed.
Of more interest, she told me to speak to one Dr. Latimer who’d been studying and trying replicate the results from the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna experiment.
Nicknamed Anita, and funded by NASA, it was apparently some kind of ballon fitted with all kinds of fancy monitors that had succeeded in capturing ultra-high-energy cosmic neutrinos coming from below the ice.
Don’t ask me to explain what that meant; all I knew was it sounded interesting and appeared to be cause for excitement.
Once Isobel finished explaining Anita’s findings, Joslyn’s eyes widened, and she exclaimed, “Is it aliens?”
Isobel shrugged. “Some would say yes, but we’re more of the mind that it’s caused by a new form of physics we’ve yet to understand.”
Dr. Latimer, the guy who knew more about these neutrinos, was on my list, and, after doing a bit of internet research, I had a list of questions prepared.
One of which would be a repeat of Joslyn’s: could the findings be of extraterrestrial origin?
The audience would love the fact I even contemplated it.