Frostbite

Kooper

We simultaneously turned our heads to look at each other. Kooper spoke first. "Did you hear what was written in that journal? Do you think..." He paused mid-sentence, horrified at the thought, and I hesitantly piped in to finish it for him.

"That Griffin could have been infected by that bacteria?" We both just stared at each other, not knowing what to say or do. Our silence was cut short by footsteps downstairs. My blood immediately ran cold and I could see the color drain from Kooper's face. He did not stay dumbfounded for long however, he immediately sprang up to shut and lock the door before quietly pressing one ear into the cold steel that separated us from Griffin, or at least what once was Griffin. He held a finger up to his lips as he listened, and I sat in silence, feeling my heart pound as though it were trying to escape my chest while I waited to receive instruction on what we were to do.

Kooper motioned me over to the door. Rising up slowly, I walked heel-to-toe over to him, being more cautious then I had ever been in my life to remain silent. He leaned into my ear and whispered, "Did you shut the door to the quarters?"

"I left a crack in the door." I shakily whispered back, my nerves causing the words to get caught in my throat for a moment.

Kooper stared at the floor in thought before his head shot back up, his eyes full of determination. "Listen, here's what we're going to do: I'm going to run down there, and grab the axe off the wall by the door. You need to be right behind me and make a break for the door to the quarters and shut it; he has to still be in there because I only heard a few steps. Sound good?" I nodded in approval at his plan, and after a count to three, Kooper swung the door open to put that plan into action.

The door swung open with a bang and Kooper booked it down the steps, and I behind him. His boots struck the concrete floor with a thud, and at the sound Griffin ran out of the quarters faster than I had ever seen any man move, and tackled Kooper to the ground. Kooper used the hand that was not pinned to the ground to grab Griffin by the neck, in an attempt to keep Griffin's teeth away from his throat.

"EVAN, THE AXE!!!" He strained to yell out over Griffin's snarls. I stood paralyzed and watched as Griffin clawed at Kooper's face, I've always frozen up whenever the pressure is on. After one more terror laced cry of my name I finally ran to the axe, grabbing it off the wall and turning just in time to see Kooper get his throat ripped out in one bite. He made eye contact with me as he let out one final gurgle and went completely limp.

Griffin turned to look at me, his blackened lips stained crimson with Kooper's blood and his face more red than white as his skin cracked as though frostbitten to the extreme. I began to swing the axe as he screamed and sprinted the short distance across the room to meet face-to-blade with the axe. Bits of skull and brain splattered on me and the surrounding area as the axe spilt his head in two down the middle. His cold body became as lifeless as a ragdoll, still suspended in the air due to my grip on the axe firmly wedged in the space between his eyes.

I let the axe go and the corpse collapsed to the floor. I looked at Griffin's head that resembled a split watermelon leaking onto the floor, and then at Kooper, his faced scratched up and his beard dyed red with his blood. I threw up. Hands shaking, I silently went up to the radio room and sat down.

I stared out the second story window, gazing at the pristine canvas that was the arctic landscape, and the snowflakes that were beginning to fall much more gently as the storm calmed. Their silent dance through the air bestowed to me a serenity that I was yet unfamiliar with. This calm was not fettered when I noticed 3 figures moving through the snow, at first appearing as though they were small blotches on a great white canvas. As they got closer they gradually became recognizable as humans, specifically Jenkins, Johnson, and Mendoza.

Noticing them, I decided to get up from the window and sit at the computer and type this out. Sitting here now, I notice just how cold it is. Very cold. It's getting a bit hard to type. I hear them, the three men, they're pounding at the door. But I can still hear Kooper calling my name. I can still see the look in his eyes as blood spurts from the severed veins in his neck.

They're screaming now, that same hellish scream I heard from that Swede on the video and from Griffin.They won't stop. I think I'd better let them in, after all, it is awfully cold out there. I'm not too cold yet, I'm sure they could use a warm meal after all that time in the snow. I'll be with you soon enough, Kooper