“Did you retrieve a sample?” Dr. Keene asked.
“No, I thought it was more important to get Tyler back here for a medical evaluation.”
“Of course. Of course,” Dr. Keene said quickly. “Sorry, I get so focused on the science that I sometimes forget everything else. Tyler, are you okay?”
Tyler nodded, though his earlier bravado had dimmed. “Yeah, just bruised and embarrassed. But hey, at least I provided dinner entertainment.”
“Dr Volkova cleared him.” Rue realized then that she hadn’t seen Volkova since the woman had examined Tyler. “Speaking of, where is Irina?”
“Probably still in the lab,” Noah said. “I saw her in there on my way back from the showers.”
Doing what?Rue wanted to ask, but kept her mouth shut. Her gaze drifted to Elliot, and she read the same question in his eyes. Irina was a medical doctor. She was here to ensure everyone’s health and well-being, so she shouldn’t have any research concerns keeping her in the lab at all hours.
Rue’s attention drifted back to Dr. Moretti. The man had recovered from his momentary pause, but his shoulders remained tense. He held his coffee cup like a shield, and his eyes kept darting toward the door as if calculating an escape route.
“This... substance?” he asked, his tone carefully casual. “Where did you find it?”
“About fifteen miles southeast of here,” Tyler answered, completely oblivious to Moretti’s tension.
The man’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, and she filed that detail away for later examination.
“I’d be very interested in seeing that spot and taking some samples,” Keene said. “Perhaps we could go back out tomorrow, if the weather allows.”
“Nah, that won’t be happening,” Jess interjected. “Weather’s taking a turn tonight. Visibility will be close to zero tomorrow, so no outside work.”
A collective groan rose from the table, loudest from Tyler. “Stuck inside? But we just got here!”
“Antarctic reality.” Jess shrugged. “You spend more time waiting for the weather than actually doing anything. Welcome to our lives for the past four months.”
“Which is why I’m more than ready to leave,” Moretti said, and suddenly looked exhausted.
“Ah.” Koos waved his big hand. “Nothing back home for me. I’d happily overwinter here, but I wasn’t selected for the winter shift this season. I’m still trying to sneak onto a crew at another base.”
Mia stared at him, wide-eyed. “You love it that much here?”
“Antarctica gets in your blood,” Koos answered with a wistful smile. “The silence. The isolation. The purity of it all. Once you’ve experienced a winter here, nowhere else feels quite right.”
Rue watched the genuine passion on his weathered face, understanding it better than most. She’d fallen for extreme environments early in her career—the places that tested your limits, that demanded respect and caution with every breath. Places where a single mistake could kill you, but where survival brought a clarity unmatched anywhere else. But even she wasn’t sure about spending six months in perpetual darkness.
The conversation shifted to what they’d do during the weather delay, with Tyler suggesting an elaborate tournament of card games and Mia countering with the more practical option of reviewing their data. Through it all, Rue kept thinking about that black substance and Moretti’s momentary slip when she’d mentioned it.
Elliot leaned closer, his voice pitched for her ears only. “You’re still thinking about it.”
She didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “Something’s off. Moretti’s reaction... it was weird.”
“I noticed.” His eyes scanned the room, ever vigilant. “What’s your gut telling you?”
“That whatever’s in that ice isn’t just mineral deposits.” She sipped her coffee, using the mug to hide her lips. “And they”—she nodded toward Moretti, Jess, and Koos— “know it.”
The station creaked around them as a particularly strong gust of wind hit the exterior walls, and the lights momentarily flickered. It was a stark reminder of how isolated they were, how dependent they were on the metal shell that protected them from the killing cold outside.
The sound momentarily silenced the room.
“Sounds like the real Antarctica is finally introducing herself,” Koos said. “That’s her knocking to remind us who’s boss down here.”
“Does she always knock so loudly?” Mia asked, hugging her arms around herself.
“Only when she’s feeling friendly,” Koos replied with a wink. “When she’s angry, you don’t hear her coming at all. She just freezes everything she touches.”
