Ice Cold

Day 12

          The mess was quiet. Not empty, but no one was talking. Even Chris and Shelly were silent. Mardon had stopped the exterior watches, against his better judgment. The crew just didn't want to go out there in case whatever Chris had seen was still out there. Instead of the watch, Mardon, himself,went out and walked the perimeter of the base daily. Sometimes he went alone, sometimes Grace went with him. Nothing. The mysterious person, or creature, or whatever never returned. If Chris actually saw something, maybe it was scared off by the shot.

           That wasn't the big issue,though. The biggest problem was Kevin. Since their fight, he had vanished into the base. If there was anyone who knew the base even close to as well as Mardon did, it was Kevin. As such, there was no one who would be informed enough to go find him, and Mardon couldn't spare time to go looking. So he just had to worry. The troubling part wasn't what might happen to Kevin, though. Instead the worrying thought was what Kevin would do.

           It was easy to think of Kevin as a friend, after everything they had been through together,but now... Kevin was panicked, desperate, couldn't blame him. But that made him unpredictable. And dangerous. A person as skilled as Kevin could do some major damage. But what would the point be?

           Just two more days now and they would have their answer. Mardon scanned the faces of his men,taking in their pain. Grace was doing well at hiding her fear now. The shock of the situation had worn to a dull edge, and she was coping better, even smiling some. But Mardon was adept enough to seethe screaming behind her eyes. Well... It was about time to talk again. Mardon stood up from his place at the table, and cleared his throat.

           "I want to say thank you, everyone." All eyes turned toward him. He gave his half smile. "I know it has been a rough couple of weeks, but here we are now. We will know by this time, day after tomorrow. In the meantime," He had to clear his throat again, "You have all done well, all things considered. I am proud of you all for keeping it together." It seemed a hollow sentiment, considering some of them barely managed, but it was true. Mardon stooped, placing a hand on the table. "We don't know what message will come, if any, so I want you all to know that we will be abandoning this post if the news is bad. It will be unsustainable in a few months, and I will not risk any of your lives." There was a collective nod around the mess. After Offal left them, Mardon had been sure he would lose another the same way, but... perhaps Grace was right. Maybe he was a good leader.

           "Today I want some of you to make sure the evac is prepared, make sure there is supplies for us, and that nothing is frozen." Mardon finished. He went to sit back down, but was stopped by Will's voice.

           "What about Kevin?" He looked at the Corporal. There was a moment when he wasn't sure what Will meant by that question. "He's one of us. We can't leave him here." Mardon gave a chuckle at this.

           "Don't worry, Will, he will come back. Or I will personally track him down and drag him onto the evac." He explained.

           "But how will he know?" Will asked.

           "If it will make you more comfortable I will make an announcement. There are speakers allover the base, he is bound to hear the message." There was another collective nod. Mardon smiled again and sat down to his lukewarm coffee.

***

           "Attention." Mardon cringed at his own voice as it echoed through the halls. "Attention,Kevin." The announcement system went through the entire base, even outside. There was no way he wouldn't hear it. "We have decided that, if we receive bad news or no news, we will be evacuating. Meet at the mess morning after tomorrow. We will have the news by then. We don't want to leave you behind." There. This way he would be able to meet with the crew and they could all leave. But he wouldn't be forced to join them before then. Or he could chose to stay behind if he wanted...

           Mardon sighed. It was almost time for his daily walk outside. Part of him wanted to stay,just forget about it, until the message came. But, no. He had to at least put up the pretense that everything was okay. He pushed away from the desk and nodded to Megan as he left the radio room. Just one more day and a wake up, he reminded himself. So close...

***

           The same as everyday,nothing. The walk felt good though, if for no other reason than it got him away from everyone else and made him feel like he was doing something. It was a lie, but at least Mardon felt better that way. He was alone today as he trudged over the tundra, his eyes constantly moving.

           It was painful to think about where they were now. Just a few short days ago, everyone was content. If a little bored. But that was the nature of life really,complacency and contentment rarely last. Mardon looked up as he passed under one of the exterior cameras. Might not take much to upset it, but life was at least resilient.

           Even counting Offal checking out the way he did, Mardon felt the worst part of this was Kevin. He was... well, the closest friend he had had since he was a child. To think that their relationship was so... flimsy, as to fall apart at this. Maybe Kevin was right though. Maybe Mardon was being delusional. After all, he did know how expendable they were. He abandoned that train of thought. Just a day and a half... two at most.

           "Captain." Will's voice cut through his thoughts. He sighed. This wasn't going to be good.

           "Don't call me that." He replied, curtly

           "Sorry, sarge. Um there's something..." Mardon cut him off.

           "Hang on, I'll be right there." With a groan, he shouldered his rifle and started walking back. "Well this is going to take a minute, what happened?" There was no response. "Will?" He gave it a moment. Still nothing. He cursed under his breath and picked up the pace. These suits were not built for running, but he pushed it as hard as he could.

***

           The door hissed as he entered the armory. The lights were off. A click, and the low light filter activated. Mardon listened intently to world around him. In the darkness he could hear the distant hum of the heater. That was the only sound. He stepped into the room, usually the motion sensor would have turned the lights on by now.

           Mardon went to the door,and left the armory. The cavernous main entrance was empty, silent and dark. Every instinct he had was telling him to run. No. The others were still here somewhere. The pulse practically yelled as it echoed into the room. It couldn't go beyond the room, but that was all he needed. There was someone else in here.

           "Kevi-" was all he managed before his armor was struck, the power drained from the suit and he was falling back into a dark void in his mind...