Дэниел Смит - Below Zero

‘What if we can’t get inside?’ Zak panted.

‘What? Why would . . ? What do you mean?’

‘They can control the doors; they’ll stop us from getting in.’

‘No.’ May slowed down. ‘No way.’

‘Or they’ll be waiting for us, like before.’

‘They won’t be. We’ll get inside and find a place to hide and… just come on.’ She grabbed him and pulled him with her, dragging him the final few metres to the edge of The Hub and out into the open.

May didn’t waste any time. As soon as they emerged from beneath the building she hurried to the steps and climbed to the front entrance. Zak was right on her heels as she pulled the emergency lever and the door swished open.

The light and the blast of warm air were a welcome relief that lasted less than a second. In an instant, Zak caught a snapshot of the interior of the base, and put out a hand to stop May who was about to blunder inside.

At least fifteen of the red-jackets were standing by the spiral staircase. They were in a line, facing the entrance, eyes closed. As soon as the door opened, their eyes flicked open to stare at the two intruders.

‘Join us.’

The room was different from the way Zak had seen it before. Instead of being pale blue, the floor was now covered with large patches of shining black insects. They were on the furniture, on the walls, smothering the kitchen, covering the staircase. The smell coming from The Hub was musty and rank.

Almost immediately, the insects rose into the air as one – as if a silent communication had passed among them – and they began to twist and flicker in the light.

Zak pulled May back, and together they tumbled down the steps on to the ice.

Whatever those things were, they were overrunning the base.

They scrambled to their feet and sprinted into the night, heading away from The Hub. Zak could only think of one other place where they might be able to hide. ‘The plane!’ he shouted. ‘Head for the plane!’

So they tore across the open ice, terrified, running for their lives.

Zak didn’t look back. He didn’t dare. Instead, he concentrated on the shape of the wrecked plane on the dark airstrip. If they could reach it without being seen, they had a chance.

But, as if something had read his mind, the strip lights flared into life along the length of the runway. All at once, the powerful beams shone into the clear sky, glaring in Zak’s vision. Now it felt as if he and May were running towards a wall of bright light, but once they broke through it, the plane was within reach.

They raced past the bent door lying beside the discarded pilot’s chair, and hurried to the place where the cockpit was torn open. They clambered inside and scrambled along the metal floor, keeping out of sight.

When they reached the place where Zak had been sitting during their flight to Outpost Zero, he stopped and risked a peek out the window.

The Spider that was chasing them had now made it right around the base to the front of the Hub, where a black cloud of insects was pouring from the open door. They spun and twisted as if they were one creature, and as they moved, fluorescent yellow spirals flickered in the centre of the swarm.

‘They’re coming,’ May said. ‘They know we’re here.’

Zak watched them with horror, and the events of the past few hours burned through his head at a thousand miles an hour. There was something he had missed. Something important. Something that—

And then it came to him. As crazy as it sounded, it suddenly made sense. ‘They know what I’m thinking,’ he whispered.

‘What?’

Zak kept his eyes on the swirling mass. ‘When we first came here, and the lights were off, I was sitting right here, in this exact seat, wishing the lights would come back on… and they did.’

‘We were all wishing for that.’

‘But later, in the base, when we needed the power to come back on, the same thing happened. And just now, when I was thinking about coming to the plane, the lights came on, like they knew .’

By The Hub, the Spider stood beside a swirling mass that was growing more and more agitated. The bugs were probing out into the cold, moving one way then another. And as Zak watched, a group of red-jackets passed through them, coming down the steps and standing on the ice.

‘It’s a coincidence,’ May said.

But the red-jackets were coming in this direction, and Zak was more and more convinced there was something to it. They knew he was here. ‘I’ve been seeing things too. And it’s not my imagination. It’s real. It’s like something’s trying to get into my head. To tell me something… and… I think it’s the bugs. The visions are stronger when they’re close.’

‘The bugs, Zak? The bugs are talking to you?’

‘Not talking. They’re… look, I know it sounds crazy, but don’t some bugs have, like, a hive mind or something?’

‘A hive mind?’

‘Yeah, like one big mind made up of loads of smaller minds. Like a swarm of bees working together. They move at the same time, all go in the same direction… they all know what the others are going to do. You know – a hive .’

‘I know what a hive mind is, Zak. But bees use smells and funky little dances. They’re not actually—’

‘OK, so maybe these bugs do it in a different way. They use their minds to join together or… I don’t know, but we’ve seen what they do. They’re smart. So maybe they got into my head and now they know what I’m thinking…’ He shuddered. ‘Maybe I’ve got one inside me right now.’

‘If you had one inside you, you’d be like them .’ May looked at the red-jackets approaching across the ice. ‘And you’re not a bug, Zak, so why would they try to communicate with you ?’

‘I’ve thought about that.’ He raised a hand to the side of his head. ‘Maybe it’s because I’m different. My brain is different. It’s sick.’

‘Oh, Zak.’ May shook her head.

‘Don’t look at me like that. I’m not making this up. It really feels like—’ He looked at the red-jackets advancing towards the plane, surrounded by a swarm of insects, and he had an idea. Maybe there was only one way to find out for sure. So he closed his eyes and emptied his mind. He pushed away his fear, and pictured himself and May in Refuge. It wasn’t difficult; they’d been there a few minutes ago. He was careful not to think about what had happened there, and instead imagined him and May going into the office. He imagined they were tired from running, feeling clever for having outsmarted the red-jackets. They went into the office and locked the door, ducking out of sight in the shadows.

‘They’re going away,’ May said.

Zak kept concentrating on the image. Him and May in the office. Safe. Warm.

‘They’re leaving.’ May nudged Zak and he opened his eyes.

It was difficult to keep hold of the image in his mind while he was watching from the window, but May was right. The swirling cloud of bugs was moving back inside The Hub. Some of the red-jackets were heading back inside too, while others were making their way around the base. Zak could see the Spider that had bashed itself dizzy. It was steadier on its legs now, scurrying back the way it had come.

‘Where are they going?’ May asked.

‘Refuge,’ Zak said. ‘Because that’s where I just sent them.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘I’m imagining us being there, so that’s where they’re going. It really works. They really are reading my mind.’