It Came from the Ice (Creature Encounters, #5)

by Boris Bacic

Adam Wilberg stood in front of McMurdo Station’s entrance in nothing but a sweater and a pair of pants.

Ryan’s heart pulsated steadily, his ears throbbing from it. A small eternity passed as the crew waited to see what would happen next. What would they hear? The doorknob squeaking as Wilberg tried to turn it, only to find out it was locked? More knocks? Or maybe Wilberg’s voice begging them through chattering teeth to let him in? It was Miles who broke that silence with a curt, “Turn on the speakers.” Ryan didn’t want the speakers to be turned on. He could tell that Weston was squeamish about it, too. They both thought the same thing. They were afraid of what they would hear at the entrance. Perhaps ignoring the entire thing was the best solution. Best pretend it wasn’t there and wait for it to pass because then they wouldn’t need to deal with more problems that threatened to arise.

A crew member is standing in front of the door, asking us to let him in. Yes, but he’s been missing for six weeks. How did he survive for so long? He must have been really resourceful. It’s ten miles from the outpost to the station. And he’s without the ATV. Did he walk all the way back in those clothes? He’s lucky to be alive. Or is he?

“Come on, boss. Let him in. He’ll freeze to death,” Weston said. Ryan couldn’t tell when the change of heart had so silently occurred. “I wouldn’t do that,” Ryan found himself saying aloud before he could stop himself. The two others in the room turned to face him, looks of shock draping their faces. “He’s going to die like this,” Weston curtly said. “Something’s wrong with him,” Ryan insisted. “He’s probably just delusional because of hypothermia.” Weston shrugged. Miles ignored the remarks of the crew. Clearly, the opinions were divided, and reaching a consensus would be difficult.

“I’m the only one here who knows how to reach the other stations. And if you think I’m going to let you take me over so you can get that information, you’re in for a surprise.” Miles grinned. “What are you talking about, Ryan? Look, you’re being ridiculous. Let’s just—” But before Miles could finish that sentence, Ryan drove the tip of the shard into his flesh. Pain erupted in the side of his neck. Warm blood gushed out of the wound like oil out of a tuna can. An involuntary cough escaped Ryan’s mouth, but he wouldn’t let that, nor the pain, stop him from finishing the job.

don’t think HQ predicted we’d be in a Thing-like scenario. Plus, why would you need eighteen bullets? It’s not like the team leader would ever need to kill the entire crew,” Anna said as she stuffed a few Snickers bars in the pockets of her jacket.

Even with the light coming from the hallway, visibility was low, and Anna couldn’t see more than a few feet outside. Worst time for a blizzard. And if it continued like this, they could get snowed in fast. That meant that rescue would need time to clear out the entrance, which would only give the infected more time to get to them. “I hope snow-shoveling Saturday is canceled,” Anna said. “Even if it’s not, I’m not doing it,” Jennifer remarked. “And I’ll be asking for overtime for tonight. And a raise—because fighting dick worm parasites is not in my current job’s description.” “They’ll definitely need the role of an exterminator after this, that’s for sure.” “Or at least a flamethrower like in The Thing. Can you imagine how easier this all would have been?”

“It’s working! It’s sending it up. Oh, thank God!” Connor let out a sigh of relief. Anna smiled, happy that they were able to get at least one other crew member out of the station alive. Her eyes drifted to one of the side monitors, and the smile dropped from her face. She slammed the button that Jennifer had pressed moments ago, and the sound of machinery whirring stopped. “What the hell, Anna?” Jennifer snapped. “Uh, guys? Is everything okay over there?” Connor asked. “Look,” Anna whispered as she pointed to the monitor. Jennifer gave it one bemused look and then shrugged, too impatient to examine the screen with more scrutiny. “What about it?” Anna jabbed the monitor with her finger, particularly the line that said OXYGEN SUPPLY 0%. She traced the finger lower to the red message SUIT CRITICAL FAILURE DETECTED and the one under that said SUIT INTEGRITY COMPROMISED. Darkness washed over Jennifer’s face. She looked at Anna as if to ask if what she was seeing was true. Anna squeezed her eyes shut. “He’s already dead.” “Anna? Jennifer? I’m freaking out over here,” Connor said. “We can’t really trust the monitors. Maybe they’re buggy because of the power outage.” Jennifer shrugged.