Cold Hell - 25. Kill Code

They journeyed north, past the mountains, where the land became jagged with sharp edged seracs and pressure ridges. The spiked wheels that had been added for the truck's long voyage, which according to Everest could take up to three days, kept the tires from slipping and skidding on the ice.

"Clan Mureen's territory is two hundred miles in the opposite direction of the Pavilion. It will be a difficult journey. We'll have to stop during the night to let the engine cool off," Everest explained.

Danni said nothing, hoping the wariness he felt at this information didn't show on his face; while he knew the mission they were taking would be exhausting and perilous, he was not especially looking forward to sleeping in the cold like this.

The truck crawled past thick patches of ice; Everest drove at a careful forty miles an hour. Danni sat in the middle of the cabin, sandwiched between Everest and Dinah, who stared out the window, staring at something only she could see in her mind's eye. Her emotions were as grey and stormy as the sky above them, a mixture of anxiety and self-loathing; Danni knew she hated herself for how she’d treated Natalia. He felt little sympathy towards her. Between her and Everest and his own emotions, the inside of the truck felt smothering. And there was nothing except for the occasional sip of bootie Everest companionably passed between the three of them to help distract Danni.

Several times Danni slipped unaware into something vaguely like sleep, only to be jolted awake when the truck shuddered. Images would develop deep in his mind, the beginning of a dream starting to form, only to disperse like wispy clouds of smoke when he opened his eyes. After the third time this happened, he ground his teeth together, biting back his frustration. Between the heat emanating from the rattling heater and the smothering atmosphere within the cabin, he felt as if he was suffocating. He yearned to step outside into the cold, even if it was just for a minute.

Smoke had begun to rise from underneath the dented, scratched hood of the truck. By this time darkness had fallen, silver shafts from the three moons, reflecting off the expanse of black ice.

Everest slowed the truck to the stop. "I guess we're stopping for the night. Will you grab the tent out from the back of the truck while I check the engine?"

Of course Dinah gets to sleep in the more comfortable confines of the truck, Danni thought bitterly. Still he nodded, following Everest out into the cold.

He reached into the back of the truck and pulled out a duffel bag. He took a moment to look at the sky where stars glimmered like specks of diamond. It doesn't matter what planet you're on, Danni thought, his breath pluming out in drifts of smoke, the stars look the same. He felt a small sense of comfort at this.

He walked several feet away from the truck and began setting up the tent, digging the pegs into the snow. Everest's shadowy outline looked like a wraith illuminated by the rays of the headlights.

It took several minutes for Danni to get the tent erected. Despite the boots and the multiple pairs of socks he wore, Danni's feet were numb and his teeth chattered together. At first the cold had felt refreshing after hours of being in the stuffy cabin of the truck but now it felt his blood had frozen in his veins. Twice he threw a resentful look at Everest; he knew Everest was worried about the engine - the vehicles on Planet Redemption were over a hundred years old - but they could get the tents up faster if they both worked on it.

You're just tired, he told himself. Tired and cold. You'll feel better when you warm up and get some sleep.

He stretched blankets and sleeping bags across the bottom of the tent. He didn't know if it would provide extra warmth but at least it would give some more cushion against the solid ice. He dug out two battery-powered space heaters and set them on the edge of the tent.

Danni was curled up in the sleeping bag fully clothed when Everest unzipped the flap and ducked into the tent. A draft of cold air blew in brushing against Danni's face. Once more Everest's shadow loomed against the tent wall, darkening one half while the other was bathed in the warmth and glow of the space heaters, their coils glowing with neon orange heat.

"You did good setting up the tent," Everest said as he settled into his sleeping bag on Danni's left.

"It's a wonder," Danni said in a voice thick with exhaustion; he could feel the fingers of sleep pulling urgently at him. "My fingers were shaking so bad. Good night, Everest."

"Good night Danni."

Danni closed his eyes and began to dream.

He dreamed of a monster that looked like a man but wasn't. Breathing appendages burst from the man's stomach in a shower of blood and torn flesh, writhing with a menacing, alien life of its own. He saw splatters of crimson on white walls and tiled floors, saw the corpse of a young woman barely more than a girl. He stood on a planet made of ice, amongst towering seracs and glaciers, and heard the deafening pulse of something beating beneath the ice like a heart.

"There are dead things beneath the ice," Adwele’s voice said warningly from the sky, bringing with it the crack of lighting, which struck the ground around him, splitting the ice apart as if opening a chest plate to reveal the beating organ within. "They've been dead for centuries, millenia; they've been dead long before we came here, long before we were even born, before our planet even existed. But they will thaw, they will awaken, and if they do they will engulf every living thing in the universe and turn it into something monstrous. You must not go any further."

Within the hole that had opened up, Danni could see the alien city, perfectly preserved beneath the ice. The buildings were truly extraterrestrial in design. Some of them were tall and towering while others were smaller, made with a mixture of bone, biomaterial, and metal; it made Danni think he was in a nightmarish H.R. Giger painting. This is what exists beneath the ice? he thought, pinned beneath the weight of nightmare terror. It can't be undug, it needs to be destroyed or at least left untouched.

But deep in his soul he knew this wouldn't happen: it was the nature of the human race to flirt with its own self destruction.

                                       …

The next day was the same as the last. They traveled for most of the day until darkness fell; then Everest stopped the truck to check the engine while Danni worked on setting up the tent.

It wasn't completely dark however; tonight they camped underneath the dancing lights of the Aurora Borealis. To Danny, who knew of the phenomenon, it recalled quite suddenly the night in which Juan had shown him the warehouse - how he had slipped through a netherworld of light and shadow, how the notion had filled him with terror. He had the same thought now, only this time it was true: he truly was in another world. To him the lights looked like spirits, having decided to visit the world of the living for one night; maybe in some cultures this was exactly what the phenomenon was about.

It was beautiful to look upon and rather benign; he thought he spotted the pale glimmer of Dinah's face watching from the warm refuge of the truck through the windshield.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Everest said from beside him. Danni had been so lost in thought he hadn't even sensed the man's movement.

"Yes it is," Danni said after a moment. "Probably the only beautiful thing on this planet."

"Not the only beautiful thing," Everest said with a glimmer in his eyes.

Danni smiled, hoping it was dark enough Everest couldn't see the heat that rose to his chapped cheeks. To change the subject, he asked, "Why are the colonists on this planet split into three clans?"

"To reduce the bloodshed. When the first colonists came here it was survival of the fittest. The people raped and murdered each other for food, supplies, the things needed to survive despite the fact there was enough to go around." The chuckle coming from Everest's throat sounded like marbles rolling around the inside of a jar.

"So someone came up with the bright idea to split into three colonies...and while it may have created a tenuous sort of peace there's an animosity between the clans that has existed for the last three generations?" Danni's voice was edged with bemusement.

"Hmmm" Everest nodded in confirmation.

"Human behavior doesn't change no matter what planet you put them on," Danni said with derision. He looked at Everest, his hair appearing silver rather than gold in the moonlight. "Earth is dying because of human nature. Have you heard of global warming?"

Everest shook his head.

"Let's go inside the tent and I'll tell you all about it. If I stay out here any longer my blood will turn to ice."

Inside the warmth of the tent, Danni explained the causes and consequences of global warming: the burning of the ozone layer due to pollution; the extinction of wild animals; the burning of the Amazon jungle and wildfire. Everest listened intently without asking questions.

"The terrorist group I joined, I used to think they were just criminals like everyone else, using extreme methods to create chaos," Danni said, clearing his throat. "They were trying to save the planet while it could still be saved; they recognized how primitive the human race is, how selfish. I joined because I was miserable with my life and because I wanted to escape it. Being here, on this planet, with what we're about to do, brings it all back into focus."

"Are you saying we're primitive?" There might have been a slight, almost imperceptible curve to Everest's mouth.

"Yes," Danni answered without hesitation.

Silence stretched between them yet the conversation had not yet stopped; something passed between them via eye contact - what it was Danni could not say.

"You haven't gotten your tattoo yet," Everest said.

"There hasn't been time. Besides what difference does it make? So what if I'm a member of Clan Wuxia or Lukas or Mureen? I'm here to serve a life sentence just like everyone else."

Everest chuckled.

"What?" Danni said, surprised, curious, and nervous all at once.

"Nothing...it's just I've never heard anyone talk the way you talk. I was there when you were delivered. I knew when it turned out you were the only one they'd transported there was something different about you...that you were going to be trouble." This time Everest laughed, not unkindly. He stopped, looking at Danni intently. "I don't think I'd seen anyone look more beautiful than when they pulled you out of the chamber."

Danni knew, suddenly, how bad Everest wanted to fuck him in that moment; and Danni knew he wanted it too, just as much if not more. They crossed the tent towards each other, having to crawl. Even with the padding beneath their knees the ground still felt hard and uneven - as long as they sat on the sleeping bags the tent was quite comfortable and warm thanks to the space heater.

Their bodies were outlined in shadow and the glow from the heaters. Even while on his knees, Everest towered over Danni. He had to lean down to be able to kiss him. This time they kissed without the hesitation or awkwardness of the first time. Everest cupped Danni’s face, his hands calloused and warm. Danni stripped off his jacket and then his sweater. His eyes were reduced to half slits; though he moved intently, there was a dreamy look on his face.

Once they were both undressed, Everest scooped Danni easily up into his arms and stretched out across the tent with Danni straddled across his lap. He was amazed at the lightness of the other man.

Danni’s lips traveled from his mouth, down his neck, drifting hungrily towards Everest’s chest. A fiery need burned in his chest, burning him, eradicating all self control. Danni’s sexual prowess had always been at odds with his more reserved nature. Perhaps this was because the feelings of pleasure from the other person could be as elevating and addicting as any drug. He could feel Everest’s pleasure now, a neon mixture of blue and green. The spicy man-smell of his sweat and dark salted with grey chest hair only aroused Danni more. He felt Everest’s nipples pucker and harden beneath his lips. The deep, raspy grunts coming from the man’s throat, punctuated by the occasional “Fuck”, reminded Danni of the pleasurable sensation of being in control; at the moment he was the one with the power.

At last he lowered his mouth to Everest’s hardened, engorged cock and teased the crown of the head, which poked out from its sheath of foreskin, with the tip of his tongue. Everest’s response was intoxicating: he dropped his head back against the sleeping bag, groaning again as if he was being tortured with pleasure. His powerful back arched . His fingers became entangled in Danni’s hair, traveling with the up and down bob of Danni’s head. This time Danni did not object to being touched. He could feel himself edging towards orgasm. He sat up and gently lifted Danni’s head to kiss him once more before gesturing for Danni to lay on his back.

Danni found himself looking up at the ceiling of the tent; he could still see the lights of the Aurora Borealis glimmering above the tent’s roof through the canvas. He felt as though he were floating, his soul untethered from his body, free to soar away. His legs rested on Everest’s broad shoulders while Everest serviced him with his tongue. Danni’s fingers scratched lightly at the sleeping bag beneath his back. He closed his eyes, body racked by sensations so pleasurable he couldn’t bear it.

“Fuck me,” he said, his voice light and whispery. “I want you to fuck me.”

Everest made a “Hmmm” sound that might have been confirmation. He lifted his head, sitting straighter with Danni’s legs still placed on his shoulders. Everest ran a large hand along the length of Danni’s body, from chest to hips, feeling the smoothe milkiness of his flesh. He felt the visible notch of each rib. His body was so graceful, hardened only slightly by cords of compact muscle. “You’re beautiful,” Everest said. He slipped two fingers inside Danni’s mouth, wetting them with Danni’s spit, then began to stroke his cock, wetting it.

“Are you ready?” Everest asked.

“Yes,” said Danni.

Danni sucked in a breath as Everest began to push into him. It had been a long time, longer than he could remember, since he’d been entered like this. He was as tight as he had been the very first time. Everest continued to push until he was all the way in; his eyes never left Danni’s face, as if he was trying to capture it forever.

Everest shifted once more so he was now laying on top of Danni, his face hovering only inches away. It was everything he could do to keep his self-control, to keep from fucking Danni fast and hard. He eased in and out of Danni. They kissed, their tongues entangled together, glistening with saliva. Their bodies were slick with sweat.

Danni uttered a gasping sound. The sound seemed to reverberate through Everest like vibrations traveling down a tube. He almost let go then and there - only an indomitable will and temporary control over his body stopped him. He wanted to hold on, to savor this moment for as long as he could. This could be the only time I get to experience this, he thought.

Danni, eyes still closed, clung to Everest, wrapped his legs around the man’s waist so they were one. He loved the heavy weight of Everest’s body pressing against his, pressing him against the ground. He jerked himself off, lips pressed together to form a straight line. When he came, spurting his juice against his own stomach, Everest came with him in almost perfect synchronization.

Everest rested on top of Danni, chest heaving like a bull who has spent the last of its energy. Danni could feel his hot breath on his skin. At last, as if just now remembering Danni’s existence, Everest pulled out and collapsed into the spot next to him. They exchanged looks. Danni could sense Everest trying to gauge his emotions.

“What are you thinking?” Everest asked.

“Nothing,” Danni said. “For once I’m not thinking anything. How about you?” He smiled. “Was it everything you thought it’d be or did I disappoint?”

Everest reached over and gripped Danni’s face in his fingers. He tilted his head and kissed him. “You didn’t disappoint.”

“Good.” Danni’s heart continued to flutter with butterflies. “We better get to sleep. We have a big day ahead of us.”

He woke up at sunrise the next morning, sweating and pleasantly warm. He turned to find Everest looking at him. “How long have you been watching me sleep?” he asked.

“About an hour.”

Danni scoffed. “You’re not falling in love with me are you?” He meant it as a joke but after he said it he frowned, wondering. What was this going on between them? Was it two men who were attracted to each other just having sex togther or could it be something more?

“You said it yourself, we could be heading towards the point of no return,” said Everest. “I want to enjoy myself while I can.”

“Well...” Danni arched a blonde eyebrow teasingly. “We could go another round?”

                                                                                 …

With half a day’s daylight to spare, they passed the border between Wuxia and Mureen territory; the border was marked by a beacon, a pole with a glowing red tip.

Danni could sense the fear within Everest, a tense, maddening silence thick as smoke. What made it worse was he didn’t know what to expect - and neither did Everest. Up until now the treaty had never been violated. “How will they know someone from another clan has crossed over their border?” he asked his two fellow Wuxia members.

“We’ll know when they’re in sight of us, when it’s too late,” Dinah answered without glancing away from the window.

Danni did not like the sound of this. For the first time he realized how truly out of depth they were - particularly himself. He’d only been on the planet for a few months. He was still trying to figure out the working of things. There were some things about the people of Planet Redemption that made sense to him, like the lack of weapons, and other things that didn’t, like the separation of clans and colonies. Surely they were all in the same fight to survive this harsh planet as best they could. He recalled what Everest had told him in the tent last night: When the first colonists came here it was survival of the fittest. The people raped and murdered each other for food, supplies, the things needed to survive despite the fact there was enough to go around.

The peace treaty was meant to reduce this but to Danni it just seemed tribal; it made the people of Planet Redemption look all the more primitive.

Everest had been driving for a few hours when they began to make a rise over a large hill. The squire kept looking at a small slightly clunky looking machine that kept track of coordinates. “We should be getting close,” he told Danni and Dinah.

Danni closed his eyes, forcing himself to stay calm. The hill kept rising. He felt as if at any moment he might plummet through the air, suspended only by gravity. At last they reached the top of the hill, looking over a large valley pocked with pressure ridges and seracs. In the center of it was the research station Adwele had mentioned.

By Planet Redemption’s standards it was an impressive sight. Towering, it appeared to be embedded in the ice, a column of steel and glass; the side of the station hugged the wall of ice and rock behind it, clinging to it like a tick. Solar panels reflected the sun from the top of the building. Trucks, bulldozers, and drills were scattered around the station, half buried in snow like submerged gravestones. There wasn’t a person in sight. Except for the fluttering of blue tarps flung over supply caches as if trying to preserve the dignity of dead bodies, nothing moved. Danni half expected for people to come running out of the station, armed with weapons, either demanding to know what people from Clan Wuxia were doing in their territory - or maybe they wouldn’t start asking, but would simply start shooting, riddling the truck with gunfire.

But no one came.

Everest looked to Dinah questioningly. She nodded once and they began to descend into the valley.

Danni gripped the dashboard, littered with discarded wrappers of oat bars and bunched up cigarette butts - Dinah’s mess. The truck lurched forward. Unlike Everest and Dinah, Danni didn’t have a seat belt to keep him from flying forward should the truck lose its traction on the hill. He could all too easily imagine himself crashing against the windshield as the truck plummeted towards the ground.

They made it safely to the bottom of the hill. Danni wasn’t ready to breathe a sigh of relief yet. He felt a sense of foreboding curling in his stomach like a frightened animal. He knew somewhere beneath the station, beneath the ice, was the alien city he’d dreamed of. Being close to it brought it back to him: the ground splitting open to reveal the extraterrestrial structures, preserved by the ice, Adwele’s voice warning him from the sky as if from beyond the grave.

With a screech of brakes, Everest brought the truck to a stop. The truck engine idled a bit before dying. The wind moaned. Danni’s heart trembled in his breast. His eyes stared at the research station with a superstitious caution. No one in the truck seemed willing to get out. Dinah was the first to take the initiative. She slowly opened the door and got out, gripping the handrails of the truck to keep from slipping. The steps beneath her were slick with ice. The multiple pairs of gloves she wore protected her hands from sticking to the metal. Danni watched her look around, eyes squinted against the sun. For the moment the gloomy skies had retreated.

“I think it’s safe,” she said.

Everest got out of the truck. Danni reluctantly followed him. He would feel better when he was able to get his hands on a weapon. Everest handed him a rifle. Danni checked the clip to make sure it was loaded; while the gun was older than what he was used to using, he was familiar enough with it to know what to do. He slid a 9.mm pistol into the holster belted to his pants with several clips and magazines of ammo. It had taken all of his considerable negotiation skills to be able to talk Rowe into giving him what he needed for the trip. Danni had a feeling they were going to need it all.

He grabbed another pistol from the duffel bag and handed it to Dinah. Her eyes widened in surprise; her reaction would have amused Danni under different circumstances. “Just in case,” he said. “I hope you know how to defend yourself if we get into trouble because I’ll be damned if I’m going to risk my life for you.” He mostly said this just to piss her off.

It seemed to work. She clenched her jaw as if biting back a nasty reply, but took the gun, sliding it through the loop of her belt. “Are we ready yet?” she snapped impatiently at Everest. He was in the process of sliding several shells into his shotgun.

“Eager to get us killed?” Danni muttered casually out of the corner of his mouth, rewarding himself with another blue-eyed glare from Dinah.

Now that they had their gear they began walking across the valley towards the station. Snow and bits of gravel crunched and churned beneath their boots. It was impossible to move quietly. Danni ground his teeth together, his muscles tensed. What if there were infected people inside the building and they heard the approaching party? The remoteness of the area around them was more nerve wracking than anything. If something were to try and attack them though he could at least shoot it down with a salvo of bullets.

Dinah looked at him. “Do you sense anything?”

He stopped, looking at her impatiently. “Why would I sense anything?”

She scowled. “You’re psychic are you not?”

Danni entertained the fantasy of shooting out her legs. “Right now I’m sensing all kinds of things. We’re standing on top of a city extraterrestrial in origin, remember? There’s nothing good about this place. You wanted to check this place out, remember? Keep your eyes open.”

They reached a pair of thick metal doors at the front of the entrance. There was a keypad next to it. The doors looked sealed tight.

Everest looked at the keypad. “It looks like we need a four digit passcode to get in. The doors look like they’re not coming open without it.”

Dinah cursed under her breath.

Danni, feeling encouraged, had to keep from smirking. If the doors weren’t coming upen, it could only be a good thing. It meant whatever was inside couldn’t get out. “We should leave,” he said.

“We didn’t come all this way just to turn around,” Dinah spat at him. “There has to be a way in.”

“Have you always been this fucking stupid?” Danni asked her. “Or are you just so determined to get what you want, everyone else can get fucked? If whatever’s in there gets out - and we still don’t know what’s in there - it could spread through the whole planet and kill everyone.”

“I agree,” Everest said to Danni’s surprise.

Dinah turned her fury on her squire. “Oh, you’re on his side now are you? Was he that good of a fuck?”

Everest's shoulders straightened; his face went scarlet with rage. Danni had seen the look on the man’s face before and knew it didn’t bode well for the recipient. Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he stepped in between Everest and Dinah. “We shouldn’t be fighting like this,” he said looking between the two. “Adwele said there could be survivors in there. And just as much as we need to keep the infected from getting out we need to see what’s going on. It needs to be dealt with.”

Everest’s shoulders relaxed; he made a snorting sound not unlike a bull.

“You’re right,” Dinah agreed after a moment. “Now is not the time. Danni, I thought you were trained how to hack through firewalls and other security measures.”

“A little bit,” Danni said without much enthusiasm. “I can give it a try.” Danni pulled the knife from the sheath attached to his belt. There was a metal panel screwed into the wall a few feet away from the keypad. Using the blade of the knife, he worked at the screws with nimble fingers. With both hands, he removed the panel and set it on the ground. He scanned the nest of wires inside. What a mess, he thought.

He reached cautiously into the panel, pawing at the wires. Let’s see if the magician still knows his tricks, he thought. For the next five minutes he played with the wires, cutting, disconnecting and reconnecting. In the back of his mind he hoped he wouldn’t be able to fix it. To his surprise there was a beeping sound from the keypad, followed by the clanking sound of moving gears, then the double doors slid open to reveal a lift inside.

“I knew you could do it,” said Dinah.

“Ladies first.” Danni smiled galiantly, nodding towards the lift.

The lift looked uninviting to say the least. The walls and ceiling were splattered with blood. The lights flickered on and off. The nightmare ride to hell, Danni thought. He wrinkled his nose at the meaty, coppery smell inside the lift. He took a deep breath to keep the bile from rising up his throat. After everything I’ve been through over the past few years you’d think I would be used to the smell of blood by now - but there is no getting used to it.

He frowned at the buttons.

“What is it?” Everest asked.

“There's a two floors beneath this one,” said Danni. "They go underground." And I think I know what they lead to, he added silently.

Everest caught his meaning. "I don't want to go down there - however curious I might be I don't want to see it."

Like a cluster of clouds clearing to let the sun through, Danni's face flattened with relief. "Neither do I. So we're going up."

“Just press the damned button will you!” Dinah snapped. Her face had turned a pale shade of green. “I don’t want to be on this fucking lift anymore than I have to!”

Danni pressed the button labeled with an UP arrow. Danni caught a glimpse of the truck they’d arrived in before the lift doors slid shut. He wondered if they would make it back to the truck or if they would fall prey to the tragedy that had occurred here. The elevator lift gave a sudden jolt that reverberated through the floor, and then they were ascending. The fear Danni felt left a metallic taste in his mouth. The walls buzzed with an invisible energy, strong as a static charge, left behind like an ugly stain. He knew if he touched the wall he would see exactly what had happened here.

But I don’t want to see. I don’t want to know - not really.

The lift gave one final rattling shake before coming to a complete stop.

The doors slid open.