CHAPTER 107
Snow Camp Alpha
Drill Site #7
East Antarctica
A surge of relief swept over Robert Hunt when he saw the snowmobile parked outside the small, white-walled barracks at Drill Site Seven. He parked his snowmobile and ran inside. The men were warming themselves beside the wall heater. Both rose when he entered.
“We tried to wait, but we were freezing. We couldn’t stay.”
“I know. It’s ok,” Robert said. He surveyed the room. Exactly like the last six. He glanced over at the radio. “Have they called—”
“Three times, on the hour. Asking for you. They’re losing patience.”
Robert thought about what to say. “What did you tell them?” The answer would tell him where they shook out in all this.
“We didn’t answer the first call. The second said they were sending backup. We told them you were working on the drill, and we needed no assistance. What did you see?”
The last question sent Robert’s mind racing. What if they’re testing me? What if they talked to the employer and they have orders to kill me? Can I trust them? “I didn’t…” Winters started.
“Look, I ain’t no genius, hell, I didn’t even graduate high school, but I’ve worked an oil rig in the Gulf my whole life, and I know we ain’t drilling for oil, so why don’t you tell us what you saw?”
Robert sat at the small table with the radio. He suddenly felt so tired. And hungry. He pulled his hood off, then his gloves. “I’m still not sure. There were monkeys. They killed them with something. Then I saw kids, in a glass cage.”