‘Don’t know why you think it’s so bad. You’re from New York, you’re used to cold winters. I’m an Aussie — anything below twenty Celsius is like freezing for us!’ Nina grinned, then resigned herself to a long wait as the overhanging ice slowly crawled past the camera.
It took well over an hour before the submersible and its cargo finally reached the hole in the ice. The sun was edging down to the western horizon, the sky reddening. Nina reluctantly left the shelter’s warmth to watch the recovery operation as Mikkel and his team moved back on to the lake. They first used the crane to lift the ROV from the water and return it to the pickup on the shore, Matt reconnecting it to the controls in his tent so he could perform systems checks. Then they took the truck back to the hole. The runestone was manoeuvred to a position beneath the opening, and the divers pumped more air into the IBUs, little by little, to bring it up.
At last, the bright orange airbags broke the surface. The runestone’s upper end followed, a rime filling in the inscriptions. Tova joined the group and peered expectantly down at the ancient text, trying to read it. ‘It is so close! This is very exciting.’
Mikkel waved to the crane truck’s driver, who extended its arm out over the hole. ‘It should not take long to bring it out of the water,’ he told the two women.
‘Good,’ Nina said, though her attention was now on the divers as they breached the surface. A familiar face swam to the edge.
‘Fuck me, it’s cold down there,’ said Eddie, pulling off his goggles. He rubbed at his cheeks with a gloved hand. ‘Can’t feel a bloody thing!’
‘We kept the fire going for you,’ Nina told him, kneeling. ‘What were you doing down there?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I wanted Matt to get some photos of the runestone, but you waved back the sub.’
His eyes briefly flicked away from hers. ‘Didn’t want it to get too close in case its backwash knocked the bags around.’ He paddled back to the nylon nest between the IBUs. ‘Just got to hook it to the crane and lift it out, and you can take as many piccies as you want.’
The operator got out of the cab and worked the crane’s controls to lower the steel line. The hook on its end used to lift the submersible had been replaced by several chains, which the divers attached to the lines around the runestone. ‘Okay, everything’s secure,’ Eddie called. Peder and Mathias swam to the edge of the hole and climbed out.
Eddie stayed in the water. ‘Aren’t you coming?’ Nina asked.
‘Just going to give this a last look over. You should get back to the shore before they start winching it up, though.’
‘He is right,’ said Mikkel, to Nina’s disappointment — and also Tova’s. ‘We don’t know exactly how much the stone weighs, so it is dangerous to be too close to the crane. The ice should be strong enough to support it, but you never know for sure.’
‘I’ll see you back there,’ said Eddie as he re-donned his goggles. ‘Chuck a few extra logs on the fire for me, will you?’
‘Will do,’ Nina replied. Still struck by the nagging feeling that there was something not quite right, she followed the others back to the shoreline. The crane driver put on a lifejacket, then on a nod from Mikkel activated the winch. The chains pulled taut, and the runestone began its slow ascent into open air.
Eddie arrived at the camp soon after Nina, having jogged across the ice. Frost crystals glinted on his drysuit in the light of the setting sun. ‘The heater’d better still be on in that tent,’ he said as he unhooked his breathing apparatus and set down the nitrox cylinder.
‘Nah, mate, we turned it off to save power,’ said Matt with a smirk. ‘Gave your underpants a soak in some nice cold water too. That was what you wanted, wasn’t it?’
‘Ice hole,’ Eddie retorted. He pulled off his gloves and warmed his hands over the fire, then detached the toolbox from his belt and dropped it to the ground with a hollow clatter. ‘I’ll be back out once I’ve got all my kit on,’ he said to Nina as he opened the tent — then added, almost in warning: ‘Don’t go on to the lake.’
‘See you soon,’ she said, before turning to Tova. ‘Did you manage to read the runes?’
‘A few lines,’ the Swede replied. ‘I cannot wait to see the whole thing, though!’
‘Me neither.’ She looked back across the lake, watching the runestone’s recovery. The orange sausages of two IBUs had risen above the surface, but the truck blocked most of her view.
Leaving Tova near the fire, Nina tramped a short way along the shore in the hope of finding a better angle, but the result was little better. ‘Mikkel!’ she shouted. The Norwegian, who was keeping watch on the ice beneath the truck, looked around. ‘Is it safe?’
‘It is okay so far,’ he answered, ‘but don’t get too close to the truck.’
Keeping a cautious eye on the frozen surface, Nina made her way towards the hole, circling around well clear of the crane to get a view from the side. The runestone’s top was a couple of feet above the water, encrusted with frost. She could pick out some of the ice-filled runes.
What did they say? What was the secret they had been hiding for over a thousand years? She moved closer for a better look, wishing the crane would go faster.
More of the runestone emerged. One of the now unsupported IBUs drifted in front of the monolith; Nina moved again to keep the runes in view, now almost directly opposite the crane. Something glinted — a metal cylinder the size of a shampoo bottle, held in place against the black circle of the sun compass by the nylon mesh. She almost dismissed it as part of the rigging…
A frown. It looked more like it had been pushed into place after the stone was secured, the webbing stretched around it. What was it?
‘Nina!’
Eddie’s voice from the shore, urgent. He had changed back into his clothes — and was running past the startled onlookers on to the lake, waving his arms. Mikkel also heard the commotion and turned, surprised. ‘Get away from it, get back!’
The Norwegian gestured sharply to the crane operator, who immediately stopped the winch and scuttled away from the truck. Mikkel retreated, eyes scouring the ice for cracks.
But he saw none. Neither did Nina. With the winch halted, an eerie silence had descended — with no alarming noises from the ice. As far as she could tell, everything was solid and stable. So why was Eddie nearly in a panic?
‘Nina, get back!’ he screamed again as he sprinted across the ice. Now suddenly scared, but unsure what to be afraid of, she edged away from the hole. ‘No! Not that way, the other—’
His conflicting instructions caused her to freeze. He broke off in frustration, changing direction as he passed the two Norwegians to head for the crane truck. Nina watched in astonishment as he ran past it — and made a flying leap from the edge of the ice, arms windmilling, to land with a heavy thump on the runestone.
The chains clattered as he grabbed them, the truck lurching with the extra weight. Frigid water sluiced up around the stone — and the Englishman’s boots. He hauled himself higher and clawed at the metal cylinder. ‘Nina, get to the shore! Run!’
‘Eddie, what are you doing?’ she cried.
‘It’s a bomb! Go, go!’
He pulled the object free and hurled it out towards the centre of the lake. Nina was still confused — but the word bomb cut through her bewilderment and she broke into a run.
Eddie leapt after her — but the unstable surface and lack of a run-up made him fall short. He hit the edge of the hole hard, legs splashing into the water. Gasping in pain, he clawed at the ice…
His gloved fingertips couldn’t get a firm grip. He slid back into the lake, up to his thighs, his waist—