Curious to find out if one of the other buttons would give him a more detailed view, Richard pressed the next button in line. The scanner screen went blank. He turned it left and right, but nothing appeared on the screen. He waved a hand in front. A blurred image crossed the screen. He moved his hand slower and then held it still. He was astonished to see an image of his hand minus the layers of skin. His blood vessels and muscles were clearly depicted, including blood flow. He moved the device along his arm. The image changed to depict each new internal part of his body. He aimed it at his leg and raised and lowered it. He could see the muscles working. He pressed the same button again. The view changed to show only his bones.
He stared excitedly at the scanner. The medical functions alone made it an invaluable piece of technology to the medical profession. Coupled with the radar-like capabilities, it would ideally be suited to the emergency services to find people trapped in collapsed or burning buildings, or the armed services to hunt down their enemy―they would pay the most.
Richard wondered if it would work in open spaces. He saw no reason why it shouldn’t. In some ways the device reminded him of the scanner Ripley and the crew had used in the Alien movie to hunt down the murderous creature hunting them, although this seemed far more advanced and was actually a real piece of technology.
Richard stared thoughtfully at the scanner. Though too large to fit in a pocket, if he could smuggle it off the ship he’d be able to conceal it in his bag. He had best do that straight away. If he hurried, he would be able to beat the others to the engine room, climb the ice shaft and conceal the scanner in his bag. He switched to the radar view and checked his route back to the engine room was still clear. It was. He circled to check nothing was creeping up on him and froze when a red dot appeared on the scanner. It was in the corridor outside and slowly approaching the room he was in. It was too close for him to be able to run from the room and escape. He was trapped―again.
Richard cursed his luck and backed farther into the room. He tripped on something on the floor and fell against a rack. The objects knocked from the shelf clattered loudly on the floor. Richard stared at the scanner. The red dot paused for a moment before moving closer to the open door. Richard backed into the furthest corner of the room, switched off his headlamp and with the ghostly glow of the scanner’s small screen highlighting his terrified face he listened to the scratch of clawed feet on the metal floor moving closer. His legs began to tremble. His heart pounded. He turned off the scanner and prayed it would pass on by.
With the scent of the creature’s trail fresh in the air, the old Hunter paused outside the door it wafted from. Though its desire to feast almost overwhelmed its strict cautionary habit gained from years of experience, it wouldn’t rush into the unknown. It bent at the waist, cautiously stuck its head into the room and directed his gaze at the almost overpowering stench of fear.
Jack and Jane reached the engine room without encountering any other monsters or any sign of their companions.
“Is anyone here?” Jane called out after the door slid shut.
Her voice echoing through the large room was the only reply.
Jack glanced over at the hole in the ship’s hull, but saw no sign of anyone outside. “Perhaps they already climbed out. I know I wouldn’t wait in this ship a moment longer than necessary with those monsters roaming about.”
“Then I guess we should too.” Jane followed Jack across the room.
They stepped through the hole and glanced up the ice tube. No one waited at the top.
Jack picked up the rope trailing down the hole and handed it to Jane. “You go first.”
Jane took the rope and smiled. “Jack Hawkins, forever the gentleman.”
Jack smiled back at her. “Or, it might be that I want to watch your bum when you climb up.”
“Watch away. You’re not going to see much while I’m wearing all this gear.” Jane began her climb.
“It’s alright, my imagination will fill in the blanks,” he called after her.
Jane smiled.
When they were both at the top, there was still no sign of the others. They walked back through the ice tunnel, alongside the lake and into the large cavern to find it also deserted. A steady stream of snowflakes and ice particles drifting through the hole in the cavern roof had formed a small pile on the ground beneath. Snow and ice carried by the howling wind rushed across the small opening—their window to a different, normal world.
Jane sighed with disappointment. “The blizzard seems as strong as ever, unfortunately.”
“Is there no way we can make it to your base camp when the others arrive and we’ve rescued Lucy?” Jack asked. “It’s so near.”
“Not with that wind. We’d be blown off our feet and maybe even carried away. Also, the wind chill must be about minus seventy or more. Even with all our layers of warm weather clothing there’s a chance we’d freeze to death long before we reached base camp, and you don’t even have that.” Jane glanced around the cavern. “I’m afraid we’re trapped down here until the blizzard is over, or it dies down enough for us to risk facing it.”
“Don’t you have a Sno-Cat up above? Surely if we could reach it we can drive to your base camp before the cold froze us.”
“I agree. If the wind gusts, which have already blown one Sno-Cat into the rift, which you have first-hand experience of, died down, and if we managed to climb out of the ice rift without being blown away or smashed to our death against the ice, and if we managed to get the Sno-Cat started, and if the whiteout I believe is presently above our heads suddenly cleared so we could actually see which direction the base camp is without driving into the rift, or miss it all together, then, yes, there’s a chance we could make it.”
Jack smiled weakly. “Okay, I get the point. For the moment we’re stuck down here with the monsters.”
“At least we stand a slim chance against them. The weather that’s presently up there is a killer.” Jane was famished. She crossed to the storage containers and searched through them until she found the sandwiches Pike had prepared for the team. She glanced over at Jack, who still gazed forlornly at the hole in the cavern roof. “Jack, do you want something to eat?”
Jack dragged his worried gaze from the opening and nodded. “I don’t suppose there’s a beer in there?” He joined Jane by the crates.
Jane pulled out a large thermos flask, unscrewed the lid and sniffed its contents. “No beer, but there’s coffee, or hot chocolate if you prefer.”
“Coffee will be most welcome.”
They sat down, ate sandwiches and sipped hot coffee while they waited for their friends to arrive.
“I hope Lucy’s okay,” said Jane.
“She should be fine as longs as she stays in the room. Maybe the Hunters have finished eating by now, so if the others aren’t back in a minute, I’ll go and get her.”
“I’m coming too,” said Jane, even though setting foot aboard the spaceship again was the last thing she wanted to do, she wouldn’t abandon her friend.
The Hunter howled when it sighted its prey and increased its speed to reach it.
Henry and Theo saw their chance to escape the monster, a grill in the vent floor. Theo crossed to the far side, pulled it open and urgently ordered Henry to drop through.