CHAPTER 120
2 miles below Immari Research Base Prism
East Antarctica
The iron basket wobbled as it hurtled down the ice shaft. It drifted over and cut into the smooth ice wall, spraying shards of ice all over Kate’s suit and visor. She raised her arms to cover her helmet just as the basket lurched back, almost throwing her out. The heavy cable that had bunched above the basket was weighing on it, tipping it end over end. The basket steadied for a moment, then tipped in one quick motion. Kate grabbed a bar at the top of the basket and dug her feet into the iron mesh floor, locking herself in like an astronaut in a zero-g training hoop that flipped end over end and side to side. The motion was sickening. She closed her eyes and pushed against the basket with all the strength she could muster and waited. More ice sprayed around her as the basket bounced against the sides of the tunnel. The impacts were slowing the fall. Then the walls disappeared and two long seconds passed and… crunch. The basket dug into a mound of snow, and Kate was plowed into the ground, knocking the wind out of her.
She fought to suck a breath inside the suit. It was like breathing through a tiny coffee straw. When she had regained her breath, she rolled over and took stock of her situation.
The basket had dug several feet into a mound of snow and ice, just below where the drill had punched through the chamber. It must have been the ice that had fallen down the shaft as the drill was extracted back to the surface. The bed of snow had saved her life.
The soft mound of snow looked more like a snow globe — bright lights glowed deep within. Kate stared at them for a moment. They looked almost like a flock of fireflies, but they were no doubt the LEDs that had been dropped. They had sunk deep into the snow, and their light refracted out of the snow and into the large chamber. They also revealed Kate’s situation.
The basket was about half-buried, and the part above the surface of the snow was covered in iron mesh. She was trapped, but there was a small opening — not large enough to crawl out of… but… she could make it larger if she dug under it.
Kate began digging with her hands, like a dog trying to get under a chain-link fence. Finally, she thought the opening was large enough, and she dove head-first under it. Her head and arms were through, but the bulky suit caught against the jagged iron mesh. Kate tried to pull back, but the sharp mesh ripped the suit and held her tight. Cold air rushed in through the hole in the suit, assaulting her back as she wiggled to get free. She pressed her belly into the snow as hard as she could and pushed back with her hands, and she was back in the cage.
The cold seemed to be numbing her body, bit by bit, starting with her back and radiating out. With each passing second it claimed more of her body. Her hands began to shake. The suit had provided more warmth than she realized. It was deathly cold down here. She would freeze to death if she didn’t act fast.
She began scooping the ice with both hands, frantically trying to enlarge the hole. She felt her legs grow stiff, and she fought to balance as she heaved another handful of ice into the basket. The hole was almost there.
The cold air burned her lungs now, and her breath was an icy fog against the clear glass helmet. Soon the cold would overtake her lungs — she would suffocate to death before she froze. The fog — it had almost covered the helmet. She wiped it with her hand. Nothing. It was still there. She wiped again. Still there. Why wouldn’t it go away? Of course — it was on the inside of the helmet. She knew that. Why did she even try to wipe the outside of the helmet? What was happening to her? The cold. Shutting down her body. She could barely think. What was she doing before the fog? The sheet of ice inside the helmet was complete now — she couldn’t see a thing. She turned around, searching for some kind of direction. Like a dog in a cage, on all fours, searching for a sound in the night.
A dog. A cage. The hole. Yes, she was digging to get out. She had to get out. Where was the hole? Kate felt desperately at the snow below her. She scampered around the cage. Nothing but mesh, everywhere. Was there a hole? Then her hands felt something, yes, it was there. But she couldn’t dig any more. She couldn’t feel her fingers.
She dove into the hole and pushed with her feet. She felt the sharp metal mesh on her back, but she ignored it, pushing even harder with her feet. The mesh was on the backs of her legs now. She was moving. She dug her elbows into the ice and pulled, one elbow over the other, like a soldier crawling under a barbed wire obstacle course. How far had she gone? She kicked a leg up. She was free.
She rolled over and got to her feet. She could only see the wall of fog that had turned to ice on the inside of her helmet. Which way was the structure? She started to run, but her legs felt like they were made of lead. The suit, plus her frozen legs — she would never make it. She was getting nowhere. Which direction should she walk? It was all the same — ice, and beyond, the faint glow of lights.
She felt the ground rushing up. She was lying on the ground, rolling. The ice touched her back, sending a new wave of cold into her body, shocking her system. She arched her back and her eyes opened wide. She sucked in a breath and bounded onto her knees, breathing heavily.
She had to think. She got to her feet and spun around. Lights. There were more in one direction than the other. She spun around again. Where would there be more lights? The domed chamber was massive. The lights — the snow globe, the fireflies inside… where the drill had come through… it would be on the opposite side of the entrance.
Kate turned and waddled away from the light. She was so cold. Then there was a boom. The drone of metal on metal. It was ahead, but slightly to her right. Kate adjusted her vector and kept pressing forward. She fell again, but pushed up, putting both hands on one knee and dragging her other leg up. She couldn’t feel any part of her body anymore. She was simply swinging her limbs, hoping for a break.
The crunch-crunch-crunch of snow below her feet stopped. The footsteps were quiet, but it was still cold. She was lightheaded. She took another step, then another. Keep walking.
Behind her, metal-on-metal. The door closing.
She was still so cold. She fell to her knees and then to the ground, face first.