The Ronne Ice Shelf

I write this letter in hopes that the truth reaches the outside world. Know that these words aren’t mine but were given to me by Him. Though to fully understand, I must take you to the beginning. It was an early morning when Wilbert, our newest scientist, came bursting into the mess hall. He was waving a photo. Wilbert was practically sliding toward our sleepy group in his snow-caked boots.

“What?” Eliza, one of our geologists, said.

“Look at this!” Wilbert said before thrusting his photo in Eliza’s face.

The four of us huddled around the photo. Under fluorescent lights we saw something. Try as I might, I cannot recall what Wilbert captured. My mind becomes fuzzy whenever I try to remember that photo.

“I think it’s a new animal. Doesn’t it kinda look like a seal?” Wilbert said.

Greg, a biologist, scratched his beard. “Picture ain’t too good. But it does look odd.”

Wilbert’s eyes sparkled like stars. “I saw it near the Ronne Ice Shelf. Let’s go track it down!”

Eliza frowned. “Please tell me you didn’t walk that far alone."

“Of course not! My camera just has a good zoom feature.” Wilbert’s gaze fell upon us. “So what do you think? Want to try to find it?”

It was Sunday. If we left within the hour, we’d be able to get back at a decent hour. We agreed to go. I think Eliza went out of a sense of responsibility, since she was the oldest in our little group.

The trek to the Ronne Ice Shelf started off well enough. Sunlight streaked across our frozen home. Our boots crunch against packed snow. Snowmobile tracks guided us forward. I glanced back at our homestead. In just a short time, it had become a speck. I wondered what our colleagues would say. I shared the same skepticism that I saw in Eliza’s eyes. Wilbert could’ve very well seen an animal, but I doubted the probability of it being an undiscovered species. Very little can live inland. Which is why most of Antarctica's species reside near the coast. The Ronne Ice Shelf had also been well documented. I doubted any of the previous explorers could’ve missed something that lived near there.

My ears began to throb once the snowmobile tracks stopped. It wasn’t caused by frigid air. It felt like my ears were being scraped away from the inside out. I pressed a hand to one of my ears. Despite wearing gloves, I could feel an intense heat pulsing from my ear. I looked at Eliza. She was swaying. Blood trickled out of her ears. I rested a hand on her shoulder, but she kept moving. I glanced at my other two colleagues who were ahead. Greg adopted the same swaying as her. The snow behind him had specks of red, but I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. Wilbert was the only one who didn’t seem affected. He was walking straight ahead to the Ronne Ice Shelf, which was looming ahead. I tried to speak, but my tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth. I didn’t know what was happening. Dehydration? A rare form of sickness? Panic clawed at my stomach, yet I continued on. Never once did it occur to me to turn back. That thought only surfaced after I returned.

As we neared the Ronne Ice Shelf, I saw a split in the ice. It was only a few meters tall. I doubted Greg would be able to fit through the opening. I blinked. The four of us were standing right in front of that crack. No, the three of us. Where was Greg? I glanced around us, but there was no sign of him. I also didn’t find any footprints. How did we get here so quickly? I tried to think back, but there was a haze. It was like someone recorded static over my memories. I went to grab Wilbert. However, he slipped through my grasp. I saw him disappear into the mysterious split. Eliza followed suit. I stood still, unsure what to do. Before I could think of a plan, a buzzing exploded inside my mind. I swore, doubling over. It felt like a swarm of gnats was inside me. I could feel those things crawling over my organs. Desperate for relief, I followed my teammates into the crack. As soon as darkness engulfed me, the buzzing receded. Yet I could still sense something crawling inside me. I put a tentative hand to my ear. There was a strong pulse, yet the heat had cooled.

Ice scraped against me. My breathing was the only sound I heard. I continued to move forward. In some parts I had to expel all the oxygen from my lungs to continue. If it weren’t for the ice pressed against me, I would’ve sworn that I was walking in space. No, not even space was that dark. Occasionally I could feel something slithering over my boots, drawing me closer. Yet when I blink, that sensation would disappear.

I can’t recall how long it was until I stumbled into what I thought was a cavern. After who knows how long I could finally stretch out my arms. There was shuffling to the far left of me. Its echo bounced around the room. Without thinking, I headed toward the noise. My legs ached. I attempted to use my flashlight, but the light was useless. It couldn’t pierce the darkness at all.

I tripped over something. My hands reached downward. There was something stringy. It felt like clumps of hair. Though with my gloves on, it was difficult to tell. Through the hair was something solid. A wetness seeped through my gloves. Bile burned at the back of my throat. I tried to move my tongue, but it was still stuck to the roof of my mouth. Where were my colleagues? I withdrew my shaking hands. For once I was glad for the darkness.

I took a tentative step forward. My ears picked up movement somewhere in front of me.

“Hello?” A raspy voice bounced throughout the room.

My hope soared. It was Wilbert! I picked up my pace. Thank goodness Wilbert was alive. Now we could get out together. However, just when I thought I was within reach, my head smashed against an icy wall. I fell onto my back in a daze. My vision swam. A pounding in my head reverberated throughout my body. Blood poured from my forehead. Its metallic tang suffocated my nostrils. I remember lying there, thinking it was the end. Within my fading consciousness I felt something slithering over me. It was the same sensation I felt when I first entered the crack.

There was a pressure on my forehead. It felt like snakes were writhing in my wound. There was a terrible itchiness. Then a numbness blanketed me. I could still feel those snakes digging around in my wound. I was tired. Oh, so tired. Why was my death so slow? There were many regrets I had. Yet, I think the most prudent one would be that I would die in darkness. Oh, how I wished I could see the sky once more.

“What color is the sky?” That same voice said.

My mind must’ve been playing tricks on me. What did that voice mean? The sky was blue. Or did it want a more scientific answer? Technically speaking, the sky only appears blue to us due to Rayleigh scattering. Therefore, it isn’t truly blue. Was that the answer that voice wanted? I didn’t know how it expected me to answer. I couldn’t even work up the energy to open my mouth.

“There is no sky.” The voice said.

What did it mean? Of course there’s a sky. All I had to do was look up into never-ending darkness. A haze settled in my mind. That space above us was too expansive: too blue. An odd feeling came over me. Was the sky really the sky? I could feel tendrils caressing my brain. I simply believed it was the sky because that’s how I was brought up. If what this voice is saying is true, then what was above us? No, why was I questioning this voice? I had no reason to believe it was lying. In fact, could this voice be the embodiment of truth?

The instant that thought formed, I felt my strength return. My tongue detached itself from the roof of my mouth. This voice was God. No, it was a higher being. He was purer than the divine. As I left the cavern, I stepped back into a desolate landscape full of ice. My feet crunched on snow. I didn’t know how long I was out. Looking up was pointless, for there was no sky. A desire to spread His knowledge took hold of me.

He still whispers in my mind.