Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
I blinked as I found myself outside. Not alone, either. I stood with Noah, Vernon, and Joslyn, who all wore a dazed expression. How had I gotten here? Last I recalled, I was in the Italian station, in bed with Noah. No wait, we’d gone outside to—what exactly? I couldn’t quite recall.
“What the fuck happened?” Noah rubbed his face.
“Good question. Any idea how we got up here?” Joslyn glanced around with a frown.
Weird how none of us could remember. For some reason, I glanced to the sky, then to the mountain that was now just rubble, taken down by an earthquake, or had the heat from the volcanic eruption weakened the ice that held it together?
“Must have been the adrenaline that made us forget the race to higher ground. Good thing that alarm alerted us to evacuate,” Vernon supplied.
I almost asked what alarm when I remembered. “We had to escape before the tidal wave caused by the earthquakes struck.”
Noah nudged me and pointed to the sky. “I hear jets. Likely checking out the scene before allowing any recovery planes and boats to come.”
“Better hope they arrive soon. Looks like there was some damage.” A few smaller structures had toppled, and indentations on the ground held water, but the main building appeared intact. Whether it would be usable remained to be seen.
“Dragons aren’t real,” Joslyn suddenly blurted.
“Of course, they’re not,” I laughed. “What a strange thing to say.”
Joslyn’s expression creased. “Sorry. I didn’t mean for it to slip out, only that phrase won’t stop running through my head.”
Oddly enough, me too. Dragons aren’t real.
“I’d say it’s likely safe to go check out the station.
If we still have comms, I’ll put in a call to see the status on evacuation.
” Noah took charge and, following his lead, we trekked down from the high ground, huffing and sliding.
A climb we’d somehow made in haste and yet didn’t remember.
Then again, much of this trip felt like a dream.
Or, should I say, a blur. Parts of it remained clear.
Like visiting the pyramid, and Blood Falls.
Even my terrifying fall into that chasm.
But I also felt like there were holes in my memories, a nagging discomfort that I did my best to ignore.
The building we’d been hunkering in somehow managed to stay mostly dry inside thanks to its weather-tight design. Just a bit of moisture by the main door required mopping.
Noah immediately jumped on the comms, whereas I aimed for a much-needed cup of coffee. As I sipped, I checked my phone and saw messages from Giles.
Can you resend the video you tried to send earlier today? It didn’t upload properly.
Today? I’d not sent anything. “Hey Joslyn. Giles needs you to resend whatever you were filming today.”
“Good luck with that.” She held up her camera. “It’s fried. Luckily, I have a spare.”
“What were you recording?”
“I’m not sure.” Her lips pinched. “Maybe I was trying to capture the tidal wave as it rolled in. Hopefully the memory card survived, but I wouldn’t count on it.”
“What about you?” I glanced at Vernon.
“Guess I smashed it when we fled.” His lips turned down. “Sorry.”
“Not your fault. This trip has been a clusterfuck. I cannot wait to be back home,” I grumbled. Only, that would mean leaving Noah behind.
He emerged from the office shaking his head. “You won’t believe why they cancelled the rescue flights. Apparently, the military thinks some mega monster with wings was attacking Antarctica.”
“What?” I snorted. “Who fed them that bullshit story?”
“Remember how they had some anomalies on the radar? They sent some jets for a peek, and apparently a giant monster took down two planes.”
“And we missed it?” Joslyn huffed. “Figures we’d be on the wrong side of the continent.”
“Actually, they claim it happened like a mile or two off this coast. But I don’t recall seeing anything. Do you?”
For a second, I saw a dark island rising from the cold waters.
Dragons aren’t real.
“Their equipment likely recorded some kind of blip because I’m pretty sure we would have noticed,” was my retort. “Any word on when they’re picking us up?”
“Not for a few days until they can be sure there’s no threat in the area.”
The only threat was I might die of pleasure—or never want to leave.
I put those days with Noah to good use, making love every chance we got, which turned out to be a few times a day since there wasn’t much else to do other than dive down a few conspiracy holes.
Lying in bed with Noah, I showed him a trending thread on X. “People are convinced a mega dragon awoke in Antarctica.”
“I heard. The pilot that started that rumor is going to be court martialed.”
“What do you think he saw?”
“Who knows. Wouldn’t be the first time a pilot imagined something. Although usually they claim it’s UFO’s.”
“A dragon would have been cool.”
“Dragons aren’t real,” he stated as the same phrase echoed in my head.
A sudden commotion led to us leaving the bedroom, half-dressed, to find Vernon at the main door, arguing with a man.
Not just any man, Greenfield, Aka Malone, looking the worse for wear. His clothing was torn and stained. His face chapped and showing signs of frostbite.
Noah slipped away from my side.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Looking for you.” He turned crazed eyes on me. “Where is he?”
“Noah? Probably getting a sweater.”
“Not him. The dragon. The one I woke up in the mountain. Where did he go?”
“Dragons aren’t real.” The mantra slipped from my lips.
“Don’t lie. I saw him emerge from the mountain,” Malone screamed, spittle flying. “And I know he was looking for you.”
“Why would a dragon be seeking me out?” I asked, unable to hide my amusement.
“To make babies.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Ah, yes, because I’m such a dragon baby mama. I think you’ve been breathing volcanic fumes a tad too long.”
“Don’t mock me. I know he’s awoken. Tell me where to find him.”
Malone lunged in my direction, but Joslyn stuck out a foot and tripped him. Down went Malone, and before he could rise, Noah had returned, zip ties in hand. He knelt on Malone, pinning him with his knees while wrenching his arms behind his back to tie them together.
“Release me at once. You cannot contain me. I’m too close to showing everyone I was right. Dragons are real,” Malone shrieked.
“No, they aren’t,” I said, and I wasn’t alone. Noah, Joslyn, and Vernon all joined me in saying it, too. A little creepy, but not as fucked up as this imposter seeking me out.
A man who wouldn’t stop ranting about dragons. We ended up gagging him and locking him in a room, not for long, though, because a few hours later, rescue finally arrived.
But did I get my dream of a luxurious hotel once the military rescue team dropped us in New Zealand?
Nope.
I ended up in an interrogation room being asked over and over about the monster that didn’t exist. It didn’t matter how often I repeated, I saw nothing. They kept hammering and might have detained me indefinitely if Giles didn’t raise a huge stink online.
Thank you, social media, for shaming the military into releasing us.
And thank you, Giles, for arranging a flight back home.
Alone.
Because Noah stayed behind.
I’ll admit. I was bummed for five days.
Why five? Because on day six a knock at my door revealed a dashing captain.
“What are you doing here?”
He offered me a smile that hit me between the legs. “I had some accumulated vacation time and thought I’d visit Jersey. I don’t suppose you’d show me around.”
I sure did.
I dragged him inside and showed him my bedroom. My couch. My kitchen counter.
You get the point.
While I might not remember all the parts of my adventure in Antarctica, I did recall how this man made me feel.
Special. And for once I didn’t want to dissect why.