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MYSTIC:
Josh paces across the bridge, frustrated there is nothing he can do or see with the thirty-foot wall of ice looming above the ship. I should call someone, but who do I know that’s important enough? Mike never brought people onboard, not even people from his company. Who would Alex call? Donner! The national security guy. What’s his first name? M, something. Mitchel? No, ah. Martin! Yes!
He reaches over the edge of the console and grabs the satellite phone, wondering how to get Donner’s number, then enters the question into the computer terminal above the controls. He types in various options, and the number appears on the screen. He enters the digits, and a moment later, a woman’s voice answers.
“Director Donner’s office. How can I help you?”
“I’m a friend of Alex Cave and I’m trying to get a message to Mister Donner.”
“He’s in a meeting at the moment. I can give him the message when he’s done.”
“Tell him we had a setback and Alex is stranded on the ice north of my position. I’m texting you my phone number and GPS coordinates. I would appreciate a call back so I can explain what happened and tell him not to go north of my position. Something up there interferes with all the electronics.”
“I’ll make sure he gets this as soon as he comes out.”
“Thank you.”
Josh sets the phone back in its bracket and stares up at the wall of ice. It’s much lower than the one he saw up north. Maybe the device is running out of juice. Even alien batteries must run out of power, eventually.
He sighs and sits on the chair. For now, there is nothing he can do but wait.
***
THE ICE SHEET:
Alex brings the sat phone out of his coat pocket again and stares at the screen, but still no signal. He makes a mark on the ice with his foot, then holds his hand up as a visor and slowly turns in a circle. He lost sight of the boat and does not know if he’s walking in a straight line or a circle. Without a point of reference, it’s impossible to tell.
He turns back in the direction of his mark and continues on to where he thinks the Mystic might be located outside the ice. Josh would leave no one behind, and he’s sure to be waiting somewhere close.
It’s hard to distinguish the ice from the gray sky, and he cannot see an end to the ice sheet. For now, he can only hope he’s walking in the right direction.
He hears the sat phone beep and brings it up to look at the screen. Finally. The signal is weak, but he’s getting close and starts jogging while staring at the screen. When four bars appear, he stops and enters the number for the Mystic.
***
Josh reaches over the side of the console and grabs the sat phone. When he sees it’s Alex, he jumps off the chair. “Man, I’m glad you called. Where are you?”
“I’m still on the ice and trying to get to you. My GPS is working now, and I’m at these coordinates.” He reads the numbers from the screen. “What’s your location?”
Josh studies the readout on the computer monitor. “You’re only a quarter mile straight north of me. Here are my coordinates. I should be able to nudge the Mystic close enough to the ice wall for you to jump onto the roof.”
“I don’t understand. Jump?”
“Yeah, the ice is only about thirty-feet-high this time.” The line is silent for a long moment. “Alex? Are you still there?”
Alex takes a moment to relax and enters the Mystic’s coordinates, seeing his destination on the screen. If the ice is only forty-feet-high, there is a good chance his friends are still alive. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Josh sets the phone down and takes Mystic off automatic, then used the thrusters to spin her sideways and slowly moves closer to the ice wall. When he’s within five-feet, he stops and presses automatic again, then waits a few moments to make sure it’s working. Everything is normal, so he grabs the sat phone and binoculars as he walks out of the bridge.
He climbs the ladder onto the roof, and can see over the top of the wall. He looks through the binoculars at a shiny black ball bouncing above two blue moving objects. He remembers Alex has shiny black hair and is wearing a white coat, so he knows it’s Alex running across the ice.
***
THE ISLAND:
Okana looks back inside the spaceship at the expectant faces and shakes his head no. “It’s still on, Doc.”
Henry and David turn and look down at the control pad, trying to decipher the symbols. Those early humans used a different vocabulary, and Henry is still learning the language from Norton.
Henry looks up at the people standing around him. “I am sorry, that was my mistake. It is this one.” He presses the symbol and quickly turns to look at Okana.
The soft whining inside the crater is suddenly silent, and Okana looks inside the ship. “It stopped. It stopped, and the whirlwind is gone, everybody. We did it.”
Henry clasps his hands under his chin and is all smiles. “Hopefully, the radios will be working, and once we upload the shutdown command through the satellite system, we will turn the other devices off as well.”
Okana hears a strange sound from outside the ship and goes out onto the beach to listen. Faint crackling sounds echo in the crater, and he walks over to the gangway and up onto the old ship. The sound is louder, so he climbs up to the notch and looks down at the space between the ice wall and the beach. Some water has thawed and is lapping at the gravel, but the cracking sound is not coming from below, it’s coming from the opening above the ice. Something is happening up there, but he’s helpless to see what’s going on.
He jumps back when fracture lines ripple through the ice, like melting spider webs, and huge pieces crash onto the beach. Within moments, the ice is dissolving around the island.
***
MYSTIC:
Josh watches Alex getting closer, now only four-hundred yards and closing fast. With his help, they might be able to find a way to get their friends off the island. He brings up his sat phone. “I can see you coming, Alex.” He lets the binoculars hang from the strap, since he no longer needs them to see Alex.
He hears something cracking, then watches a massive slab of ice break free from the wall and crash into the water. More cracking sounds pierce the air, followed by huge chunks of ice slamming into the sea.
A massive wave from the falling ice slams into Mystic’s side, driving her sideways away from the wall, and tossing Josh off the roof. He hits the deck rolling, jarring the sat phone from his hand as he slams against the steel deck. He quickly sits up, crawls over to the phone, and grabs it. “Run, Alex! Go back! The ice is falling apart. Run!”
He scrambles onto his feet and runs into the bridge as the water around Mystic begins to clog with large chunks of ice. He flips the thrusters off auto, eases Mystic through the thick chunks until she is free to maneuver, and watches helplessly as the ice disintegrates with Alex somewhere on the surface.