It was nothing short of astonishing to see how Hans not only arrived before anyone else, but also pitched his tent and explored the immediate vicinity. Everyone felt a little better and regained their self-confidence. A feeling as positive as it was false, since what they failed to notice was the way that Hans was staring at the professor and captain.
They pitched the rest of the tents and broke down into groups of two to take shelter in them. All except for the captain, who had no one to share his tent with. He remained outside with Hans and Professor Olaf a little longer than the others, using the excuse that they needed to plan the next day's march and to ensure that no danger lurked there. It was a lie. The truth was they wanted to discuss something Hans had found and didn't want to mention to the others.
"You don't look too good," the captain remarked.
Hans paid no attention to him and just rubbed his hands together to warm them up.
"Is everyone in their tents?" he asked.
"Yes. You can count on no one coming out to bother us. And I don't even know if it's a good idea for us to stay outside too much longer, either."
"Have a little patience, captain," Hans commented.
The professor still hadn't said a word. He knew that what Hans wanted to tell them wasn't anything good and every precaution should be taken. If he was proven right, the killer was as ruthless as he was arrogant, always prepared to do whatever it took to get what he desired and be the center of everyone's attention.
An evil circus clown was how he often thought of him.
"Here you go!"
Hans handed over a digital camera to them and crossed his arms.
"Very cute," the professor said sarcastically.
"What did you say?" asked Hans in amazement.
He looked over and saw they were looking at a photo he took as soon as they landed. When no one was looking, he had lowered his pants and taken a selfie of his naked butt, with the ship sailing away in the background and the storm rolling in.
The captain brought his hand up to his mouth and tried not to laugh.
"No! That's not what I wanted to show you," he cried. "Look at the next ones."
The expression on both men's faces changed in a flash.
"You can't see very clearly," the captain advised.
"Take a look at the next ones, I took several shots."
The four frozen bodies, lying beneath a thin layer of ice, resembled fragments of rock that blended in with the rest of the landscape. The faces of the dead men, devoid of any expression or color, stained by their own blood, tormented the thoughts of the adventurer who thought he understood what had happened right away.
"Their own comrades executed them. They didn't expect it."
You goddamn bastard. What are you trying to do? the professor thought.
The three men continued looking at the photos for a while longer and then shifted to observing the area around them. Perhaps someone had them under surveillance or even worse, some trigger-happy gunman might have them in the sights of his automatic weapon.