Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
I awoke from the nightmare shivering in my bed, the blast of heat from the volcano and the intense rumbling of the ground still fresh and terrifying.
Realistic enough that I fought the blankets to escape the bed, and stumbled to the window, yanking aside the blind and curtains.
A dense fog outside hid everything from view.
Not exactly reassuring, however, the fact I didn’t hear any alarms and no one pounded on my door screaming to evacuate probably meant Erebus hadn’t erupted overnight.
Needing to make sure, I skipped a shower that morning, choosing instead to wipe myself down with a wet cloth. Stuffed in my heavy snow gear, it wasn’t as if anyone would be able to smell me. I’d shower before dinner.
On my way down to the first floor, I passed a few people, none of them seemingly panicked. I still went right outside for a sniff to ensure the grayish mist smelled of fog and not ash.
“Dare I ask what you’re doing?” The low drawl from behind startled and I whirled to see the captain with a cocked brow eyeing me.
“I had a dream Erebus blew its top,” I muttered.
“Is that better or worse than the eyeball bigger than you?”
“Better, I guess, since you’ve indicated we can easily escape a volcano.”
“One yes, but all four might be hard,” he muttered.
“Four? I thought the other three were dead.”
“You’re not the only one who had a dream.” He scrubbed his face. “Ignore me. I’m tired. Didn’t get much sleep, and the cat nap I managed proved toasty, rather than restful.”
“Did you manage to locate the missing helicopter?”
“Yes and no.”
“Meaning?”
“While we didn’t manage to retrieve it, the radar tracked it to Mount Erebus, where it disappeared.”
“Into the volcano?” I gasped.
He nodded. “And it never emerged.”
“Are you sending a recovery team?”
“Fuck no. Not for a machine.” Left unsaid: or for the person who’d been dumb enough to pilot there.
“Accident or suicide?”
“We’re not sure what happened, although we’re pretty sure we know who took it.” A pause. “Dr. Greenfield appears to be missing.”
The comment rounded my mouth. “Oh wow. Did he go nuts?”
Noah’s lips flattened. “I wouldn’t have thought he’d been here long enough to be seasonally affected; however, he did seem to struggle to fit in.”
“How did he manage to steal the chopper? Aren’t they secured?”
“If by secure you mean kept under cover until it’s needed.” Noah shrugged. “Guess we should have done more, but we’ve never had something like this happen before.”
“Because who would be crazy enough to steal a chopper?” I hugged my upper body, a weird thing I did when my brain whirred to solve a problem. “Greenfield didn’t seem like the type who’d know how to fly a helicopter.”
“It is surprising, especially since it is more complex than flying a plane.” Noah raked fingers through his hair. “I’ve got people digging into the man to see if they find anything.”
“Like what? Worried he was a spy?”
“A spy for who and what? We’re fairly open about what happens here. It’s not like we’re hiding military secrets.”
“Says the military guy stationed here,” I pointed out.
“Only because our presence provides structure and stability.”
“And our government doesn’t want anyone else to establish a military presence without our knowledge.”
“Antarctica isn’t exactly an ideal base of operation.”
“And yet the USA is only one of many countries that have pretty much banned exploration.”
“To preserve but mostly protect. Which is also why you’re here, isn’t it? I thought the whole point of your documentary was to dissuade some of the idiots who show up every year thinking they’ll uncover some deep dark secret and then end up requiring rescuing because they’re unprepared.”
“And stupid,” I added hearing the word in his tone.
“Yes stupid. This place kills even the strong and experienced.”
“Did you need any help digging into Greenfield?” I had contacts, some less than legal, that could uncover the doctor’s secrets, assuming he had any.
Noah shook his head. “No need. I doubt there’s anything of interest. Besides, the fellow is likely dead and of no threat.”
“What if he jumped before the helicopter went into the volcano?”
“For someone who prides herself on debunking crazy theories, I’m surprised you’d even suggest that.”
“So, not possible.”
“Highly unlikely. But even if he did somehow throw himself out, that would put him on the volcano, exposed to the gases, the elements. Even if he managed to not die of poisoning, he’d still have to descend the volcano and walk over twenty miles for safety.”
“You could do it, I’ll bet.”
“If I survived the gas, probably, but I’m a trained marine used to harsh conditions.”
“Think the doctor left behind a note explaining his actions?”
“Not that we’ve managed to find, although it does appear premeditated. He pretty much cleared out his room. His computer and most of his gear are gone.”
The ground underfoot shook, the third time since I’d roused. “Would the chopper crashing in the magma be the reason why we’re getting more tremors than usual this morning?” As if asking triggered it, a fourth one hit. A tiny shiver, but still worrisome.
“Could be the fuel agitated the magma. It will likely calm down.”
“Likely is not the word I want to hear,” was my wry response.
His lips curved. “I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Guess you won’t be babysitting me today while you investigate.”
“I’m sorry. I know we’d planned to visit Blood Falls.”
“Wouldn’t have seen much with this thick fog.”
“It won’t last. Forecast shows a strong wind will clear it out.”
“Good, because this thick fog is reminding me too much of that Stephen King movie.”
“For a woman who likes to debunk, you seem to watch a lot of movies about the supernatural.”
“I think of it as research.”
He arched a brow and I laughed.
“Fine. I like them because I know they aren’t real. The evil in them is one hundred percent make-believe, which I prefer over real news and movies grounded in reality.”
“I can understand that.” A gust of wind blew past, tugging at the hair I’d hastily pulled back in a clip.”
“What will you do now that our plans have been postponed?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m sure I can find something.”
“I might suggest not straying far from the station today, as the whipping snow can quickly disorient.”
“Guess it’s going to be an interview day, assuming there’s anyone left.” I’d already hit the people of most interest.
Noah hesitated before blurting, “Or you can come with me to take a peek at what Greenfield was doing before he died.”
“I thought it didn’t matter because he was probably dead. Not to mention, you said he took his computer and stuff with him.”
“His personal laptop, yes, but he would have also logged onto the mainframe computers in the seismology department.”
A chance to sleuth like my namesake? My lips split into a wide grin. “Lead the way, Captain.”
Alas, we didn’t get far in our investigation because it turned out the console Greenfield had been using wouldn’t boot up.
“I don’t get it,” said Ralph, the local tech guy, a balding man in his forties who pressed the power button a few times as if it would suddenly work.
I glanced behind the computer to confirm it remained plugged in. I then knelt and tugged on the casing, sliding it off to reveal the guts.
“Hey,” exclaimed Ralph. “Be careful. The motherboards are sensitive and these older models are hard to replace.”
“I know what I’m doing. I built my own gaming computer back before it was trendy,” I muttered, frowning as I eyed the setup. Video card. Ram. The green motherboard that had Ralph in a panic. System fan. Network card. But… “Where’s the hard drive?”
“What do you mean? It’s right… Oh, that’s weird.” Ralph frowned at the empty spot. “Someone removed it.”
I glanced at Noah, who stood behind me with arms crossed, scowling.
“Guess there was something he didn’t want us to see,” I murmured as I rose from my crouch.
“Ralph, I want any backups you have of this machine asap,” Noak barked.
“Yessir. I’ll see what I can do.”
Which turned out to be nothing because someone had disabled the nightly backup for Greenfield’s computer. Likely Greenfield himself.
Noah got the news while we scoured the missing doctor’s room, which, like mine, contained only the basic necessities and one strange item of note. A hunk of rock, slightly curved and jagged, the appearance of which reminded me of a cracked eggshell if the egg were the size of someone’s head.
“No backup available,” Noah groused. “The man didn’t leave a trace of his actions behind.”
“Still so sure he wasn’t here acting as a spy?” I asked, sitting on the stripped mattress.
“Could be he was mentally imbalanced before arrival.”
“The little voices in his head told him to disable the backup, remove his hard drive, pack up his room, steal a chopper, and fly it into a volcano? Seems a bit intricate for a suicide. Why not simply plunge into the water? He’d freeze in minutes.”
“Seconds,” Noah absently corrected before sitting heavily beside me. “I have to admit, his actions don’t make sense.”
“Is this the wrong time to mention I ignored you earlier and have someone digging into Greenfield?”
He glanced at me and chuckled. “Of course you do. And?”
“Nothing, yet. I mean, my guy is good, but even he needs more than an hour to do a deep dive.”
“Greenfield wouldn’t have been allowed here if anything showed up in his background check.”
“Assuming it wasn’t fudged.”
His lips pursed. “Are you always this suspicious?”
“Yes. In my line of work, you discover people like to lie, and many do so intentionally.”
“Why?”
“Attention, mostly. The grifters posting conspiracy videos don’t do it to spread the truth, they do it for the clicks. For the payout. Because the more their videos are watched and commented on, the bigger their payout.”
“Meaning there’s no incentive for honesty.”