Jamie Hardrock stood looking at the wall before him. “It looks like it is alive,” he commented as much to himself as the person next to him. “It seems to be moving back there. Perhaps you should stand back.”
The younger man moved away without another word. He had brought this strange sight to his superior as he should, but he wasn't anxious to see what might lie beyond.
Jamie stood before the wall and picked up his heavy double pick. His muscular physique had wielded this tool millions of times over his 300 plus years. He took aim and firmly, but gently, struck the top of the wall.
Immediately the ice at the top began to crack and rivulets of water flowed toward the floor. The crack began spreading in all directions and Jamie yelled, “Get everyone out – NOW!” As he got his own feet moving, he heard the rumbling and cracking behind him and felt sick to his stomach.
He and the other miner caught up to the others and Jamie just kept yelling, “Get out! Get out now!” They sprinted up the shaft toward the opening but were quite a ways from the opening when they heard a large boom and then the sound of a torrent of water coming rushing toward them. The water overtook them and soon the band of miners were swept away like logs in a flume. They were banging against the walls uncontrolled as they went rolled in the freezing water.
It spat them out of the mouth of the cave and the water flowed through the streets of the village. It began to taper off, but looked as if someone was draining a fire hydrant.
Jamie picked himself up, coughed out some water and shivered a bit, “Is everyone alright?”
“I think Whistler has a broken arm, and a few of us are pretty banged up, but other than that everyone seems okay,” replied one of his crew bosses.
“Get him over to the infirmary. I need to report this at once,” said Jamie, “This may have more serious implications than a flooded mine.”
The younger miner that had been standing by him also coughed out water and replied, “You'd best get out of those wet clothes first before hypothermia sets in. Otherwise you'll be at the health center, too. That water is only 29º Fahrenheit.”
Jamie nodded and walked off toward the Woodlands.
A half hour later he knocked on the door of the Kringle's home. The lovely Mrs. Kringle opened the door and said, “Hello Jamie, this is a surprise. Won't you come in?” Jamie's height was about two thirds of the lady before him and he tried to muster a smile.
“I'm afraid this is not a social call and I need to see both of you right away,” Jamie said solemnly.
“I'll go get Nick. Why don't you wait in the study?” As Mary placed her hand on his back to lead him and she said, “Are you wet?”
He chuckled and said, “Only my hair and beard, I changed before coming. This is what we need to talk about.”
“I'll get him and we'll be right in. Can I get you something warm to drink?” Mary now was concerned about both her guest and his news.
“Ah, no thanks, I had water before I came by. I'm fine right now.” He moved to the room she indicated.
Mary walked to the workshop where her husband was working on a variety of projects and said to him, “Nick we have a visitor and it seems important. Could you please join us?”
As Nick rose he asked, “What's up?” He moved to Mary, and as was his custom, he gave her a little peck.
“Jamie is here and he's soaking wet, and I don't think it's from a shower,” she said softly.
“Oh not again,” Nick said in exasperation.
“I'm afraid so, but this is the first time it has involved the mines,” she responded.
They both hurried to the study to hear Jamie's report.
Jamie stood when they walked in and Nick motioned him to sit down and be comfortable. As Nick looked him over he could see the beginnings of a couple bruises on Jamie's face and arms. And indeed he still looked water logged even in his dry clothes.
“Are you okay Jamie?” Nick asked concerned.
“I got a little banged up, and Whistler broke his arm, but we'll live,” said Jamie.
“Okay, let's hear it,” said Nick fearing the news but needing it nonetheless.
“We were working in the new shaft that is heading east. Jinxy came up to me and said he had come against a strange looking sight and was afraid to go any further without my permission. When I came to the spot I could see it moving behind the wall, so I gave it a little tap toward the top to see how bad it might be, and the whole thing gave way.” Jamie shivered again as he finished.
“Has it stopped?” asked Mary.
“I'm not sure,” replied Jamie. “The water was flowing when I left but not as fast or much. I'm afraid either way, it is what we have feared. I believe the whole North Pole is melting.”
Nick raised his hands. “Now hang on a second, Jamie. We don't know that for certain. Could it be that this was an isolated pocket?”
“We've never come across one before.” Jamie shook his head. “And there is no reason to think this would have been one, and in the middle of winter as well. That water was below freezing and it should have been frozen, but it was anything but. Plus if you add this to some of the other goings on, it seems to point to the fact that this whole area is becoming unstable.”
Several buildings over the last year had begun to have foundation issues, and a few had started to list a bit. They knew that the North Pole was losing its ice shelf at an alarming rate, but each winter the Pole had refrozen and they hadn't developed a problem. Until now. Many articles written from the States and Britain had spread the word that the ice shelf was less than 50% of what it had been in the past, and they were saying that the North Pole would be ice free within another decade or so.
This was extremely bad news for the residents of the North Pole, as there was nothing below the ice but ocean. Though the elves had brought tons of dirt, sand and other materials up in order to grow trees, plants and the like, it certainly wasn't enough to keep the village from being swallowed whole and disappearing forever beneath the surface.
The protective dome couldn't keep the ice from melting underneath their feet. Santa Claus had a big problem and the elf before him now proved how serious it was becoming.
He looked up at Mary. As the Chief Elf Organizer or CEO, it was her responsibility to keep the village and villagers safe. She looked at Nick and said, “We will have to reconvene the Council, right away.”
Nick nodded his head and said, “We also need to bring in anyone who could advise us further.” He suggested elves like Topo Geosphere, who was their primary geologist, and Whitey Slippenfall, who was in charge of the town structures and security be brought in. Whitey was already a member of the Council and would be there anyway.
Mary said, “I'll set up a meeting for the earliest possible time this week. Although I am not sure what can be done to hold back Mother Nature.”
“I think the crux of the meeting will be more as to what alternatives we can come up with,” said the current Santa Claus, “Aeon Millennium hinted that someday the North Pole, such as it is, might have to move.”
“How and where would we move?” asked Jamie. “We have been here for hundreds of years, and our longevity is tied to the magnetism of the North Pole.”
“These are questions and discussions for the Council,” answered Nick. “And as always, with the combined intelligence of everyone we will figure out the answers.”
Jamie correctly assumed that Nick did not wish to discuss the topic further right now, so he excused himself from the Kringles.
In another part of the North Pole Whitey Slippenfall was dealing with a different problem. “What happened in here?” he asked as he surveyed the damage in Egrid Shortpockets' Light Shoppe.
Egrid was steadied himself against one wall and said in a shaken voice, “The whole building starting rocking back and forth like I was in some crazy fun-house! The lights fell everywhere and it sounded like firecrackers going off at my feet.”
Egrid, afraid to move an inch because the house was so wobbly, clung to a shelf with one hand, his other plastered to the wall. “I think it happened to Priscilla's house, too,” he nodded toward Priscilla Huffenpuff's Ornament Shop and home next to his. “She wasn't home when it happened, but I heard some loud crashes coming from there.”
Whitey said “I think it is okay now. You can move out of your corner.”
Egrid looked unsure and said, “What if it starts again?”
“I don't think that shelf is going to hold you if it does,” answered Whitey. “Best you move outdoors for a little bit until I can check this out.”
Whitey looked in and around the structure and was relieved to see it wasn't permanently damaged. He walked over to Priscilla's home and called her name. There was no answer so he walked through the shop door. Sure enough, shattered glass lay all over the floor and most of the normally full shelves looked empty.
Whitey moved through the building making sure Priscilla wasn't injured and laying somewhere in need of help. He found nothing but more broken ornaments and personal belongings strewn across the floor. He noticed a structure crack in the back of the house and didn't like the way it extended up the corner of the wall. That's a load-bearing wall, he thought to himself, Not good, not good at all.
He moved to the outside. He looked down to see another crack in the ice that ran through the back of the house and off toward the hills behind the house. When he returned to Egrid's, he found the same thing going in the opposite direction from the farthest corner of that home.
He had seen these cracks before in various places around the village. More often than not, they were associated with damage at or near any buildings close to them. This had happened too often in recent days. He had not witnessed the events, but the results were always the same. Damage, and lots of it. The worst so far had been at Britney Clearwaters' plant. Britney was in charge of the water flow through the North Pole. She and her staff controlled the amount of melt and the treatment of the water for purity, for the entire village.
A few weeks ago her plant experienced what was at first thought to be an earthquake. The pipes broke lose and water tanks ruptured. There remained a few places that were not getting any normal flow of water, still. And though no damage was done by the flooding, it was a major disruption that hadn't been fully repaired yet.
Whitey scratched his head and wondered why this was happening now. After centuries of peaceful existence in the farthest reaches of the world, away from tallfolk and their endless conflicts, now their peaceful village seemed to be cracking right under their feet. And how can we stop it? he asked himself.
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