A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Teeth In the Ice

Photographer Unknown

Dear Magnus,

I never really understood the term "biting cold" until now.

I will admit that is a strange way to start a letter but this is a strange circumstance to be writing a letter in. I do not expect you will ever even receive this letter. But I fear that I will lose my mind completely if I do not continue throwing myself into futile tasks.

Although I suppose, most tasks at this point are futile, if you think about it.

Truly, I never wanted to venture out this far into the north and unknown. You ought to be aware that I grew up on sunshine and crystalline ocean views. I am not one for the cold by any stretch of the imagination.

But when the Foundation declares that they need someone on location, you simply do not refuse. You cannot. So when they decided that I was the best man for the job, well I agreed of course. I'll admit the specific reasons were never made clear, but then again I hadn't thought to ask.

I was simply called in one day and brought to a quiet meeting room. I think I should have known something was off when the director himself did my briefing.

Did I tell you that before I left? No, I don't think I did. I'm sure it must have been confidential. Well now I have just ensured that you will not get this letter, haven't I?

You know I think my biggest regret must be that we did not say goodbye properly before I left. I think if I could only see your face once more this fate would not be so bad. It is hard to think you will have a life after me when I have not had a life before you.

I am losing my thoughts again.

Right, the briefing.

I was told I was going to Russia. Of all the people to choose, I think I might have laughed.

Russia? I said, this must be a joke, I know nothing of Russia. I do not speak Russian and I do not look Russian and I do not know Russia. But by then they were already rushing to get rid of me.

Gallows humor. It's okay, you can laugh.

They told me none of that mattered because I was going somewhere with very little people. It was to be just me and a single guide. We set off the second I landed my flight. I barely had a moment to gather my thoughts and my belongings before we were whisked away.

My guide spoke to me quickly and in a heavy accent I barely understood, but his message was clear. We should get moving because he isn't being paid enough to keep me comfortable. I could sympathize with that.

I should clarify that I don't think waiting would have made any difference. Our arrival was expected, not coincidence. And I come now, to the point.

As we ventured out into the frozen tundra, a snowstorm began to kick up.

Did I tell you why we were there yet? No, no I haven't. I was to investigate a disturbance in the ice. People were going missing, so they say. The guide confirmed that. I should have seen this coming shouldn't I have? But I thought I had the training I needed.

Classic supernatural business that I could document before someone else came in to contain it using my research. Simple. How foolish I seem now in hindsight.

I saw it through the snow.

The snow that was so sudden and came down so heavily that the guide wanted to leave. He said no money was worth dying for and that we should just go. I think I would have listened to him too if he hadn't said one fateful thing in his rambling protest.

This was the first warning that someone was going to go missing.

Well, now I couldn't not see this through. I had been chosen for a job and I was going to do it right. So we carried on. And through the blinding white I saw it. Or rather I heard it. A horrible clicking sound, like breaking bones.

It's my fault. I pushed us to go towards it, I had to know. I had to complete my mission.

The guide was gone the moment he stepped over the cliff. Neither of us had seen it, so thick was the snowfall. And as if his death was the price for sight, the blizzard cleared up in an instant.

Teeth, Magnus. In the ice were teeth. Massive teeth like you wouldn't believe, belonging to some creature of a size I could not begin to fathom. And when the terrible mouth opened, I found myself drawn forward. Compelled to put one foot ahead of the other and follow the fate of my poor guide.

Before I knew it I was falling.

Wind howled past my face and in my descent I had time to count each tooth rushing towards me. Then past me as I fell through the ice and into its stomach.

That must be where I am now. I cannot imagine any other explanation for this strange enclosure of ice that does not melt but shifts beneath my touch. Most days when I look up I do not see the sky, save for when the mouth opens up once more. I have not met any other victims though, and I can only guess at why.

It is so unbelievably cold in here. My breath crystalizes into icy clouds before my eyes. My own teeth are sore from chattering so hard and my bones ache with every movement.

Magnus how long has it been since I last spoke to you? How long has it been since I've seen another human? It feels like weeks but that doesn't seem possible because I have not eaten or drank or slept since I've been in here.

Am I losing my mind? Though most likely I already have.

I am going to die here, aren't I?

Remember me always,

Jack

A letter recovered from the body of Jackson Maris, discovered frozen in a lake, 45 days after his disappearance.