The Thing: from the Depths of Hell (16 page)

He was still barely able to realize what the
outcome of such a situation could be!

Reeves removed his communicator and
established contact with Commander Craven and they moved on faster,
and as they approached the place where the nearest of the gunmen
had been he realized that he could not believe that this case could
be solved easily. He just knew something would stop him getting any
information from the gunmen if they captured them! This mission
seemed to be going to be the worst and hardest!

He thought of the earlier battle and the
death of the soldier near him and how ruthlessly they had attacked.
He had never fully realized how desolate, deadly, and beyond
civilization the Antarctic was, and how far from any help it was.
If anything serous happened they could not get help! He wondered if
a war took place there if they could handle it.

When they finally reached where the gunmen
were he hid and examined the place and found it empty, and they
moved in and checked for anything, and he barely found part of a
footstep, which gave him no information.

They gave the information back to Commander
Craven and continued to the other locations, going from one to
another, checking for clues, until they had checked every hidden
location, and they informed the others and they joined them.

Now all they needed to do was get to the ice
station without getting shot, and they decided to use the darkness
and blizzard and go sideways and move there from another
direction!

Chapter 4

The Secret Ice
Station

The next big surprise they discovered was
that the ice station was covered over by deep snow, which they had
spent many hours hunting for in the dark and heavy blizzard.

Once they found the entrance they started
digging it out the snow, and Weaver was confused and bewildered
again! How could they enter it, and he wondered how they managed to
survive being suffocated! Surely places bringing in air would be
blocked by deep snow! Yet he recalled seeing places that had melted
the snow with heat, which were camouflaged and unrecognizable and
looked part of the landscape, where they surely drew in air
supplies. He examined one and realized it was virtual impossible to
enter and it was taking in air.

It was incredible that such a place could
exist in such an environment, and he spotted one of the soldiers
had found something and he sensed that it was the way in! They
thought only of survival and getting in!

The soldier showed them a communicator
device covered in ice and snow and then large entrance doors that
they uncovered.

Weaver realized that there had to be at
least another entrance where they took in and kept large objects
and vehicles.

Commander Craven was soon arguing with
someone inside of his identity, and that they were expected, which
he attempted to clarify, and Weaver realized that some of the
scientists had arrived and that they sounded different, and the
scientists realized the soldiers had clearly been out in the
Antarctic blizzard a long time. They also sounded as though they
had not had any proper communications with the outside in a long
time!

They finally put a soldier in command in the
ice station on and Commander Craven identified himself and they
sent out some soldiers to get them.

Weaver could not blame them for being
precautious after all the mysterious deaths there, and them being
trapped out there, and with the gunmen being there! And he wondered
if they were actually at war with each other, for some reason that
they had not mentioned and that they had made it confidential?

Reeves repeatedly tapped the solid metal
entrance trying to measure its thickness, and realized that it was
abnormally thick, and Weaver realized that the entrance had
recently been fitted and had replaced a smaller weaker entrance,
and he noticed someone had been trying to gain entrance to it or
the earlier entrance!

Weaver realized one main point and that the
gunmen had to have a base somewhere, but he was unsure if it was
faraway or nearby, and he knew that it could be a major clue to
finding them!

Surely when it was light and the blizzard
stopped they would leave footprints near there!

The entrance was slowly opened by two
scientists and two soldiers from inside and Weaver gasped at the
warm comforting air and the effect it had as it caressed his body,
and he immediately rushed in with the other soldiers, and marched
in through a long corridor going downwards, wondering what it would
be like staying in such an ice station.

As he moved in at the front of the others he
saw that there was better lighting further in and he felt delighted
that he would soon be able to rest and be inside and away from the
severe cold and blizzard, and be actually exploring an ancient ice
station and doing his job that he was there for.

He wondered what the real people and
conditions there were mainly like and if they were peculiar with
being in such a place, as he had seen elsewhere. Yet the other
places were old places and people living in harsh environments
without any proper heating or comforts. He realized more than ever
how much he had enjoyed exploring hidden secrets and places, and
basically the unknown and unexplored, and he examined long
corridors, untouched rooms, looking for evidence of anything.

He wondered what being on another world like
it would be like, like being on the moon wearing spacesuits and
what it would be like to be the first humans to visit another
world! What would it actually be like? What would the surprises be?
Could they grow food and create and find all their needs?

What magnificent wonders would exist there?
Would people eventually start changing and altering to the
environment?

At one floor below the ground long corridors
went out to a incredible distance that astounded them, as the size
was at least quarter of a mile in length with corridors and rooms
all along them, with spiral stairs going downwards to the other
floors, and their group explored them as they went along.

Weaver realized immediately that the place
would be hard to explore and there may be far more people there
than they had estimated, and he realized that the plans that he had
seen of it had been wrong for some reason!

He sensed other things of danger and
mysteries existed there from the scientists they met and the
confirmations from the soldiers there! The soldiers were far
different from them, and normal soldiers! He could not tell if they
were carefree from being there or from having avoided doing
anything and being confronted with any action. But they were glad
to see them and have help arrive, and they did believe that they
could be killed there!

They were taken along a corridor to a long
line of sleeping accommodations to stay in with toilets and other
needs, and Weaver took a room next to Commander Craven, and Reeves
took a room next to him, and they started moving into their
accommodations and unpacking their stuff, and Weaver examined his
room and was glad to see that it had electricity and heating and
other needs, and could be locked and had a key.

Their presence seemed to cause confusion
amongst many of the scientists, who could not believe that they had
arrived, and they came along the corridor to see and check them out
in their rooms.

Some of the scientists started arguing with
each other about things he could not grasp, and they stopped
themselves mentioning things that were confidential!

The things that started to confuse him were
what they were all actually working on there! What were they doing
out there in such a large expensive place? There were no
indications of anything!

He had expected there to be less of
everything, and them just occupying a more normal structure! He
wondered if they were funding vast amounts of useless and expensive
science research, and if the place should have been closed?

Perhaps they were monitoring the environment
for things like global warming? Could they be supplying much needed
information about vast amounts of things, as well as looking after
the military ice station? Though they could be working on highly
confidential research that the military wished to be more
hidden!

Chapter 5

The Extraordinary
Encounter

Weaver was ecstatic with getting a good meal
in the dinner room, with all the others there, resting into
comfortable seats, with the scientists and soldiers from there
giving them information everywhere, and things were looking up and
he realized that his mission there could be a success.

“
I know most of this place like the
back of my hand!
”
one of the scientists claimed, and Weaver realized that he
was working his way up to asking them what they knew about the
place, and found on their trip there.

Suddenly a scientist leaped up knocking the
whole table over, making soup fly over Weaver, and his heart leapt
when he saw a figure entering the room in a form of spacesuit,
which shifted out from the darkness outside the door, and one of
the soldiers that had arrived with Weaver reached for his gun and
kept his hand there and ready!

The scientists out of the way from the
figure as it shifted slowly and strangely in, like in slow motion,
and some rushed out the door behind it, and they all stared at the
spacesuit figure and Weaver wondered what the hell they were taking
about! It was as though the scientists there believed that it was
supernatural or something, which he could not ever recall hearing
before! What could possibly make such scientists react in such a
way?

They all watched the strange figure move in
engrossed at what the outcome would be! It shifted around
lifelessly and he watched it pick up a seat and sit opposite him,
and he watched shocked faces of the remaining scientists! Their
reactions were incredible to him, and he still could not explain
anything!

There was something strange going on and as
though he was missing something! Something that he could not grasp,
and he watched Commander Craven and his shocked reactions! It was
like there was something there that should not be there!

He could not place it and he realized that
they needed more rest and sleep, and to get use to the strange
environment.

Weaver studied the spacesuit faceplate and
could not see through the darkness inside, and the figure never
reacted and just sat, like a robot, and he examined the suit it was
wearing with amazement as he had not seen anything like it! It was
far more advanced than he had seen before! It looked like something
from the future!

“
We
’
ll have to check it!
”
Reeves stated to him, after many
minutes of intense silence, to unsaid questions.

It surprised him that he, such a logical
soldier, and after all that he had been through over the past days
could refer to it in the way he had, and he wondered what he
thought it actually was!

“
Who could it be?
” one of the other soldiers asked loudly,
confused.

“
He
’
s not one of us!
”
another finally stated.

“
That
’
s a good one!
”
Weaver replied, considered
a way to get them to give their fantasies.
“
Who or what could it
be?
”

“
He must have something to say if he
traveled here!
”
one of the scientists quickly replied, confusing him
further.

“
It might be one of the killers of
your scientists and soldiers here?
”
Reeves stated firmly.

Weaver watched them all become aware of the
further danger, and start to think of ways of protecting
themselves.

“
What does it want?
”
the scientist replied
first.
“
That
’
s the question! Why does it want to meet us
here? It could easily have kept itself hidden!
”

Weaver had a
shudder rush up his spine!

“
What actually are we talking
about?
”
one
of the silent soldiers asked, who had sat out of the way, and he
moved over to it, getting ready to do something, and was
immediately stopped by Commander Craven.

Weaver studied the figure and realized that
it had not moved or done anything since it had sat down.

“
What do you want?
” the soldier asked it,
confused.

Weaver knew there would be no reply and that
someone might do something, and might do something stupid and fire
their gun there, and he rushed over before anyone could and slowly
lifted the faceplate of the spacesuit, and stood back shocked!

It was the soldier that had been killed when
the gunmen had attacked them, and they stood staggered, and the
others that could not see its face rushed over see there.

The dead soldier was lifelessly dead and sat
without moving in its seat, and they examined him in every detail
and saw that his clothes were identical, and they wondered how it
had moved!

“
We cannot leave
this!
” Commander Craven
finally moaned out loudly, showing his annoyance. “Great! How am I
going to explain this in my report?”

While most of them sat down confused, trying
to explain how the body had moved there, they watched it fade away
and vanish!