Robert Masello - Blood and Ice

“Well, she shouldn't be moved directly inside,” Danzig said, thinking out loud, “because if the thaw was too rapid, it might do some damage.”

Yes, Michael could see the wisdom of that.

“So it might be a good idea to keep her in the core bin, behind the glaciology lab. Betty and Tina could even use some of their tools to cut away the excess ice.”

“Sure,” Michael said, “that sounds fine.” He was glad to have someone there who was thinking more clearly than he was.

There was a commotion among the dogs, and Danzig hollered, “Hey!” and moved off to put a stop to it. The huskies were a rambunctious lot-Michael had already seen them in action more than once-but usually they obeyed any command as soon as it was given. Only this time, several of them were struggling at their leads, backing away from the block of ice, and their pack leader, Ko-diak-a massive dog with eyes like big blue marbles-was actually barking and snarling. Danzig was using a firm but even voice, coupled with hand signals, to quiet the dogs down, but even he looked surprised at the rebellion.

“Kodiak!” Danzig finally shouted, repeatedly shaking the dog's lead. “Down!”

The dog stayed on his feet, barking madly.

“Down! Kodiak-down!”

Danzig had to put a hand on the dog's squirming neck and press him toward the ice. Once down, he held him there, impressing his authority. The other dogs, though still whining, gradually took the cue and quieted down. Danzig unsnarled some of the harnesses and leads, then stepped onto the back of the sledge, and shouted, “Hike!”

The dogs jerked forward to get the sledge sliding, but not with their customary exuberance, and the sledge hardly budged. Two or three of them were still trying to look behind them, as if afraid of something coming up close behind, and Danzig had to snap the reins and shout his orders again and again.

Michael wondered if the load was simply too great.

“Hike! Hike!” Danzig shouted, and the dogs again leapt forward, this time getting the runners sliding on the ice. As the sledge gained momentum, it went more smoothly, until the dozen huskies were racing in unison, and the slab of ice, with its frozen cargo, was on its way back toward the base. While Calloway closed up the dive hut, Michael hitched a ride on Franklin's snowmobile, and they followed the barking dogs back to camp.

No matter how long Michael stood there, head down, the hot water running off his scalp and down his body, he felt like there was still some part of him, deep inside, that still harbored another shiver or two. When the steam in the shower room had achieved epic proportions and he could hardly see his hand in front of his face, he shut off the water and rubbed himself down briskly with the fresh towels that were always in abundant supply. He had to take special care with his shoulder, the one he had dislocated in the Cascades. It still gave him trouble from time to time, and diving in such heavy gear, in frigid waters, hadn't helped. He used the towel to wipe clear a section of the fogged mirror, then disentangled some of his long black hair. He'd taken care of nearly everything before leaving Tacoma, but getting a haircut had slipped his mind. So it was looking more shaggy than usual. He could, he supposed, get it cut-one of the base personnel doubled as a barber-but it didn't seem like anyone else at Point Adelie cared a whole lot about personal appearance. Betty and Tina stomped around in men's clothes, with their blond hair hastily gathered into loose clumps, and most of the men looked like they'd just stepped out of a cave. Nearly all of them had beards, moustaches, even long woolly sideburns that hadn't been seen since the Civil War. Ponytails were popular too, especially among the balding beakers like Ackerley the botanist who was so seldom seen outside his lab that he had earned the nickname “Spook.” As for Danzig, in addition to his necklace of walrus teeth, he wore a bracelet of bones and a pair of pants he'd made himself out of reindeer hide. Michael was reminded of a joke he'd heard from a single woman he'd met in a bar when he was on assignment in Alaska: “The odds are good,” she'd said, surveying all the men, “but the goods are odd.”

Before heading over to the commons-man, could he use a hot meal about now-he ducked into the SAT-phone room and called his editor, on his home line. In the background, he could hear a basketball game on TV, but when Gillespie knew it was Michael, and not some phone solicitor, the game went off immediately and he said, “You okay? Everything okay?”

Michael took a second to savor what he was about to tell him, then said, “Better than okay. Are you sitting down?”

“No, and now I don't plan to. What?”

And then Michael told him, in as calm and deliberate a manner as possible-he didn't want Gillespie thinking he'd gone off his rocker at the South Pole-that they had found a body, maybe even two, frozen in an iceberg, and that, furthermore, they had recovered them. Gillespie had remained silent the whole time that Michael had been talking and he stayed silent now, too. Michael had to finally say, “Are you there?”

“You're not joking?”

“Not joking.”

“This is for real?”

Michael heard a timer go off on a microwave.

“Totally. And did I mention that I'm the one who made the discovery?”

It sounded like Gillespie had dropped the phone on a counter. Michael could dimly make out, through the static, a series of whoops and hollers. When Gillespie picked up the receiver again, he said, “Oh my God. This is phenomenal. And you've got photos?”

“Yes, and I'll get more.”

“Michael, I'm telling you, if this is for real-”

“It is,” Michael assured him. “I saw the girl with my own eyes.”

“Then this is going to get us a national magazine award! If we handle this right, we could triple our subscription base. You could go on Sixty Minutes. You could get a book deal, and maybe even sell some movie rights.”

He went on for another minute or so, during which time the reception occasionally broke down, and Michael had to wait patiently for it to return. But when the line cleared, and he could explain that the phone was operational only for certain hours every day and that someone else was waiting to use it, Gillespie let him go; it sounded like he needed a stiff drink, anyway. And Michael was going to keel over if he didn't get to the commons.

Once there, he filled his plate with chili con carne, steam coming off it, and corn bread, and sat down with Charlotte Barnes. She nodded approvingly at his plate, and said, “Follow that up with some hot cherry cobbler.”

“I just might,” Michael said, digging in at last. “I haven't seen Darryl all day. I hope he's not sulking because you wouldn't let him dive today.”

“No, I think he got over that pretty quick. He's been holed up in his lab.”

Michael picked up a piece of corn bread, slathered it with chili, and shoved the whole thing in his mouth.

“I do want you to raise your core temperature,” Charlotte said, “but please don't make me do the Heimlich maneuver. It's really pretty gross.”

Michael slowed down, and when he had finished chewing and swallowing, he said, nonchalantly, “So, have you heard about the dive today?” He wasn't sure if Murphy had included her in the inner circle yet and didn't want to give anything away.

Charlotte sipped her coffee, and nodded. “As chief medical officer at the base, he thought I should know… everything.”

“I'm glad he did,” Michael said, relieved, “but I don't think there's much you'll be able to do for her.”

“He wasn't worried about her,” Charlotte said. “He was worried about you. He was afraid you might want to talk to me about it and I'd think you'd flipped out.”