Frozen Hope

This story contains violent imagery and references to suicide.

The skin of his face was frozen to the machine gun he’d slumped over. He had a long claw slash across his back, which had shorn right through his armored vest. He was the lucky one. All around him the ground was littered with shredded bodies and severed limbs. One officer had still been alive by the time Captain Kinkade had arrived on the scene, but he wasn’t able to talk from a punctured lung, and died before EMS could stabilize him. Kinkade could only gather what had transpired by investigating the scene.

The first, and most significant thing she noticed was that something big had broken through the perimeter fence. There was a massive hole. At least ten feet wide, and distressingly large footprints leading into the compound. In addition to this, the gatehouse had also been overrun. The barricades were knocked over and broken, and the glass windows of the guard hut were shattered, leaving shards intermingled with the blood and gore strewn about the ground. None of the creatures seemed to have gone very far into the compound, which led Kinkade to speculate it had only been a probing attack, and that the creatures had learned just how fragile the perimeter really was. The guards hadn’t been useless, the corpses of no less than a dozen creatures lay in the snow, most of them blown apart by heavy machine gun fire, but based on the sheer number of tracks, the dozen or so they’d killed hadn’t made much of a difference.

Kinkade radioed in a security alert before reaching the inner perimeter, and was met by the other heads of security as she crossed the gate.

“What’s the situation?” Lieutenant Dover asked.

“Not good.” Kinkade replied. “There was a full breach, no one at the gate survived. They didn’t continue inside the perimeter, which worries me. I think the only explanation is that they were just testing us. If that’s true, we should expect a full-scale assault at any moment. Put everyone on alert and activate all officers.”

“Jesus Christ,” said Dover. “How are they even getting this far south? I thought the south pole was supposed to be too cold for them.”

“It doesn’t matter how, it matters that they can. Cut the chatter and get to work.” Kinkade replied

Dover and the other officers saluted, then dispersed. After a few moments Dover’s voice blared over the intercom, putting the whole base on alert.

The South Pole International Research Base had been constructed on the south pole for two reasons. One of those reasons was because the creatures had, up until now, not seemed to handle the cold very well. The second reason was that the south pole was one of the best locations on earth for monitoring cosmic background radiation. The cosmic background radiation was where it started, the first sign that something was wrong. Kinkade was no scientist, but as far as she understood, CBR was some sort of universal constant. It had always been around, and it became weaker at a very slow, very consistent rate. Then one day that changed.

The CBR radiation had spiked suddenly, which at that time was not considered possible. The general conclusion among the scientific community was that the only way it could spike like that was if there was suddenly another source of that kind of radiation coming from somewhere else, which was again, impossible. Then the rifts started. At first they were small, and all they did was create localized disruptions in the atmosphere. They were treated more or less as scientific novelties. Finding and documenting them became a favorite hobby of the types of people who did amateur astronomy for fun. It was something very few people cared about, until they did. When the first creature emerged, everyone started paying attention. While up to that point everything had been progressing slowly, that first emergence was followed by a rapid escalation. The danger they represented was also instantly apparent. They were like living weapons, every square inch of them designed to kill. Within a couple of weeks they were everywhere, literally everywhere. All differences were put aside by most of the international community, and everyone became focused on solving the threat. The scientific community, who had already been studying the early signs, was quick to respond. However, their findings did not inspire confidence. They learned that if the current rate of emergence continued, it would become utterly unstoppable in a matter of years, even under the best conditions. That was when the South Pole Project was conceived.

David Croger was chosen as the director of the project, and he was the man Kinkade had to find next. He was very active, to the point of micromanagement, in the function of the base and the project. But he mostly communicated remotely from his office, not actually being seen much by the staff. To most people he seemed austere, and they didn’t like being told how to do their jobs by a disembodied voice. They did their jobs though, because they weren’t the kinds of people to disobey orders. Kinkade herself was actually one of the only people to see Director Croger face to face with any sort of regularity. He relied on her to keep an eye on the facility from a security perspective. He wanted her to give reports to him directly. For what it was worth, Kinkade herself didn’t find the man austere. He was friendly and genteel, and usually offered her a drink during their meetings.

Before his secretary could finish announcing her visit, Croger called Kinkade in. She entered to see him standing behind his desk. He had a smile on his face, but she could tell it was only a mask for his anxiety.

“Captain Kinkade, I’ve been expecting you. I already heard the alert, so can I assume you don’t have good news for me?” asked Croger.

“I’m afraid I can’t say that I do sir.” Kinkade replied. Croger’s smile dimmed somewhat.

“Please take a seat captain. Would you like a drink?” Croger said.

“Thank you sir, but I think I’ll pass on the drink.” Kinkade said as she sat. “There was a breach in the perimeter. They fully penetrated the fence and slaughtered the guards. I think the only reason they didn’t go further is because they were only testing us.”

“And that’s what the alert is for. You think they’re planning a full-scale attack, correct?”

“Yes sir, that’s what I think. I’ve ordered all hands to the ready. I don’t know when they’ll come, but I want us to be prepared.”

Croger let out a long sigh and slumped himself down in his chair.

“I think we’re close, Captain, I really think we are. If we just have more time, just a little more time and we could solve this thing. I’ve been monitoring the reports from the science team. They’re getting somewhere, they’re close. We just need more time.” Croger said as he poured himself a drink. “What is the situation in the facility captain? How do things look?” he asked.

“We’re fully stocked on ammo and ordinance. We still have most of the security staff, and we’ve had ample time for drill. I think we’re in a position to handle this as best as we’re going to be able to. I can’t say I know the scale of the threat, so I don’t know what our odds are, but on our end, I think they’re as good as they can be.” Kinkade replied.

“That’s good, but it’s not what I meant. I need to know how our people are doing. How is morale?” Croger asked. Kinkade took a long moment before responding.

“The morale situation is… not good to be honest. People are wondering what the point is. They don’t doubt the effectiveness of the project, but they don’t know how much good it could possibly do. On top of the suicides, cohesion is being tested. People are fighting and shutting down all over the base. This new situation is only going to make things worse. Even if we repel the attack, we know they'll come back, and this might be the tipping point. I don’t know what to tell them.” said Kinkade.

The only hope of defeating the emergence was by stopping the rift. If that was going to be possible, it would take a lot of time to figure out, time humanity didn’t have. The south pole was considered to be the best place to study the rift, and the place that could hold out the longest. Construction and organization of the project progressed rapidly, with the entire international community working together with unprecedented unity. The greatest minds of the world were assembled. Not just scientists, but everyone selected to staff the base was exceptional. Even the janitors were the best god damn janitors on the planet. Everyone went through excessive psychological profiling, and many people who would have been otherwise competent were passed over due to concerns over mental health or behavior.

Not long after the project was completed, disaster struck. The emergence had escalated faster than the most severe predictions. Governments collapsed over night as the creatures swarmed over every square mile of the planet outside the very coldest regions. Satellites were monitored to keep track of the situation, but they painted a grim picture. No activity was seen, and the creatures saturated everything. After a month of monitoring, the heads of the project concluded that there was a 95% likelihood that all humanity outside the south pole had been eradicated. The south pole was all that was left. The only saving grace was that thus far, the creatures hadn’t seemed able to reach the base.

“Fucking cowards.” said Croger. Kinkade shot upright in her seat.

“I’m sorry sir,” said Kinkade.

“I said they’re fucking cowards. They want hope, we are the fucking hope.” Croger said, raising his voice as he slammed his fist on the table.

“Sir, they just don’t know how much good we can do if we’re really all that’s left. Even if we figure out how to stop the emergence, they want to know how we can recover?” Kinkade said with a new sharpness to her voice.

“That’s what this facility is designed to do, Captain. This facility isn’t just designed to stop the rift, it has everything we need to start anew. We have seed samples, we have livestock. We have genetic samples of almost every plant and animal on Earth, and terabytes upon terabytes of data on everything from theoretical physics to fabric weaving techniques. And we have people. Thousands of people. The best goddamned people on the planet. This staff wasn’t just chosen for their competence, they were chosen to be a perfect seed population. They were selected to provide the highest possible genetic diversity. We have people from every corner of the planet, and thousands of frozen embryos as well. If we succeed, we can rebuild, that’s what we’re here for, Captain.”

Kinkade was speechless for a long moment. She tried to speak, but it took her a while to find the words “But they don’t know that, sir. That’s not something we’re aware of. We all think we’re here to research the rift, and the background radiation.”

“They shouldn’t need to know. They should do their jobs because that’s what they’re here to do.”

“Why weren’t we told? Don’t you think it would have been good for us to know?”

“You weren’t told because when they built this facility, we were supposed to have years left. The higher ups knew the rift was going to accelerate. We knew the rest of the planet was going to die, but we couldn’t let them know that, or they’d panic. And you don’t design a facility to restart society if you aren’t worried that society will end. Even now I can’t tell them, because this facility lives and dies on trust. If they learn that they were lied to, then they’ll start thinking everything is a lie, and it’ll all fall apart, you understand?”

“No sir, I can’t say that I do.”

“But you don’t need to understand Captain, do you? You’ll do what needs to be done, because that’s what you do, right Captain?”

“I suppose so sir.”

“Good, that’s all we need to discuss. You need to get out there and coordinate the defense now. Happy hunting Captain.”

“Yes sir.” Kinkade said as she rose from her seat to leave.

Kinkade did her job. She made sure all the stations were manned, and that the civilian population was either safe, or in a position to aid in the defenses. There was a tangible feeling of dejection among the staff and security, but they did their jobs. The psychological profiling hadn’t been perfect, but it certainly hadn’t been useless. Despite obvious, commonly held doubts, everyone was ready to fight. Kinkade threw herself into the preparations for hours, personally checking every sector until she suddenly realized there was nothing else to be done. They were as ready as they were going to be, whether the attack came in an hour or in a month, everything was set. She rubbed her eyes and realized how tired she’d become. Despite her feeling of vigilance, she knew she needed rest if she was going to be any more use. The last thing she needed to do was report to Director Croger, then she would try to get some sleep.

She had just reached the front desk of his office when the alarm blared. There would be no more waiting, the attack had begun. Explosions could already be heard in the distance. She would need to return immediately to her post, but she would report to the director first. She found that his secretary was gone. There was no time for formalities, so she entered his office without calling herself in.

She found the office empty. The light was still on, so he probably hadn’t left for the night. He might have just been using the bathroom, but Kinkade didn’t have time to wait for him. She decided she’d leave him a note with all the relevant information. She went to his desk to find paper and a pencil, but something caught her eye. It was a printout labeled ‘Radio Broadcast #113’ which was dated to the previous day.

‘This is Radio South America, reaching out to SPIRB. This is our twentieth broadcast with no reply. We will continue to repeat this message until we receive a reply, or we are able to confirm that the SPIRB is no longer operational. We have survived, and we are not alone. We have made contact with seven other survivor groups on four continents. We have learned to fight the creatures, but they are adapting to our environment at an alarming rate. We have developed comprehensive strategies to fight them, and we have successfully beat them back multiple times. We won’t last forever, but we’re still in the fight. We are reaching out to offer help. We believe that you are the last, best hope for humanity, and we will do anything we can to aid in your efforts, and we are not alone. We are here, and we want to help.’ The message repeats three times, then signs off as Radio South America of the South American Survivor Alliance.