Lost and Found

Kira walked from the snowmobile to the makeshift tent set up outside the crater. The arctic winds were blowing heavy as she knew the storm was approaching as was the end of her expedition. Her expedition in Antarctica was coming to a close and she needed to wrap it up before everyone went home for the winter.

The whole station knew that the approaching storm was going to shut down operations for the station and all expeditions that were currently going on. Even the winter crew was told that they would not be allowed to stay as the storm was expected to be deadly enough to warrant the cancelation. Kira just hoped that she could get her artifacts from the frozen ground before the storm shut them down.

She felt a sense of vindication that was mixed with the thrill of a victory. At thirty, she was still waiting for the moment that would define her career as a scientist. The idea that she was hours away from realizing her discovery and it was like waiting for the moment Christmas happened for a child. All the setbacks she endured would now be erased with this discovery and her standing in the academic world would be solidified.

She looked at the base camp tent at the top of the rift that separated two large glacier ice sheets. The bottom was accessible and deeper than anything else researchers have seen or have had access to. The tent covered where the pulley system was that lowered materials and people to the almost a half mile down bottom.

Kira lowered herself down seeing that they were past the ice and into the bedrock of the ground. She had no idea how long this was here or if the shifting ground would reclaim this and push the split ground back together again.

She walked over and saw the excavation site and could see the bones that needed to be thawed out so they could be analyzed and catalogued before studied. The amount of bones were breathtaking and was far beyond her wildest dreams. It was just a matter of getting them out of the ground now.

Her heartbeat was beating faster with the excitement of knowing that these bones will be the paramount of her expedition and it was now within reach. All the money put in and training she had endured was now a few hours away from being paid for. There was no doubt in her mind that she would be getting millions in research grants and possible awards from the bones she would be collecting.

"Put the heat right here and then let's see what we can get today," Kira quickly spoke as she looked at George.

George was the chief engineer in charge of the tools and equipment. He was an old man that she assumed was in his late fifties or even sixties. He was also in charge of the maintenance at the facility and at the dig site. He ran a crew of three specialists and mechanics who were in charge of keeping the building and snowcats up and running. She hated him sometimes as he acted like she was a bother to him, and her work was less than compared to the other scientists at the station.

As George and his helper Henry began to put the heating machine on the ice, Kira heard her associate Norman call for her on the walkie talkie she had. She strapped herself into the harness and began the trek back up to the surface where the howling arctic winds picked up.

As her assistant Greg handed her the portable phone that was in contact with the main research facility. She listened to her boss Dr. Franks explain the situation. She felt her heart drop as she listened to how he was pulling the plug today.

She called down to George on the walkie talkie. "Can you get the machine to a hotter temperature?"

"I already cranked it up. Anything else it might short out though," his reply crackled back on the walkie talkie.

"Dr. Franks is on the line again," Norman called out.

Kira picked up the phone and then listened in horror. She listened how her boss repeated the weather warning and how they were starting the evacuations early. She thought she had another week, but now it was just a matter of hours before the entire research staff would be pulled.

She tried to interject and question him, but his firm answer of no was now definite. There was to be no next day, not even another hour. She listened to how she was to leave everything there and go back to the main facility for immediate evacuation as the winds increased the arrival of the storm.

The feeling of dread was upon her now. Her heart felt sick and weak as she knew that her discovery was not going to happen. She looked over and saw Norman already calling up the crew, telling them that they were going to do an emergency evacuation.

The winds were now cutting visibility down and the already freezing temperature was now at an almost dangerous level. The idea of going on was a fight she could not win as they were already preparing to leave and her just asking was not going to change anything.

The snowcat was heading back to the outpost station and from there they heard they would then be evacuated to the main headquarters. Kira listened in on the weather developments and it sounded almost like an apocalyptic storm. The temperatures would be so cold that it would freeze almost anything and being outdoors meant almost sudden death.

By the time they reached the outpost she had her boss on the phone and he said that the main research facility was going to be evacuated as well. They had only eight hours to pack everything before the storm would hit. The idea that the main facility was going to be evacuated made her cringe as it was always manned and never left unattended.

Kira took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down knowing that the grant she had was only for one year. The bones she found were a fluke find and only because of the strange weather that happened last year. She knew the unstable ground was not going to last either and she was lucky enough to get as far down as she did. She felt that her groundbreaking discovery was going to be lost even though it was still within reaching distance right now.

It was when George said something to her assistant that she felt her life coming to an end. She quickly jumped into the conversation and asked what George saw when he left the site. She let George explain that two of the main bones were freed and then third bone just needed to be pulled free. The fear really came when she listened to George explain that the site was unstable and was already showing signs of collapsing.

Kira quickly got back on the phone and poured her heart out to her superior asking to go back and just retrieve the bones that were there. She begged and begged telling him that she could still be back in time to meet the deadline for evacuation. She felt that she could take the snow-cat back and get the bones and quickly head back.

She almost snarled at George and Henry for not telling her, and not grabbing the bones knowing that they were going to leave. His response was to curse back and all she felt was her assistant holding her back as she knew her emotions got the best of her. All the rage of having her dream torn from her was now trying to get at the old man for not doing something.

As she left, she saw Greg and knew he was going to stop her. Even though Greg was an imposing man of strength, she found that her small framed body was able to wiggle from his grasp. The rage inside of her was not dead nor was the notion that her greatest crowning achievement lay a few miles away in the ice.

She didn't have the keys to the snowcat, but she did have the keys to the smaller and faster snowmobile. It was not the ideal mode of transport in this weather, nor was it used for anything other than quick small trips around the base.

She felt her hot-blooded temper being cooled as the wind blew against her while riding the small craft to the site. She knew that it would be just a quick trip and she could be back in time to catch the snowcat back to the main base and get evacuated. Her mind was only focused on the goal of getting the three sets of bones that were down there.

The wind was whipping faster than before, and she felt her coat not holding up to the blistering winds. The burning sensation of cold was now becoming an issue as she felt the snowmobile did not handle the way it was supposed to. She quickly veered off and then felt a sudden drop.

As the snowmobile jumped the snowbank, she felt the track start to slip a little on the landing. The snowmobile was still going, and she knew it was just another mile to the site. In her mind she saw herself just getting down there and getting the bones and pulling out anything that she could.

Visibility was only a few feet, but she saw the tent that was set up over the crevice. Half the tent was blown over as the cold wind was in the process of destroying the rest of it too. She got off the snowmobile smelling the burning rubber from the tread and raced over to see the pulley system still there.

With a pull of the cord to start the engine for the pulley, she heard the motor crank. A sense of relief came over her as she felt it was all going to plan. The adrenaline was pumping, and she knew it was a fifteen minute decent into the ice to get to the bottom. It was just a matter of time.

"We got to go!" A voice came to her as she turned around to see Victor.

She knew George probably sent him as he worked for him and was the man in charge of the snowmobiles and snowcats. He was always nice to her and hated that he had to be the one to be the brunt of her anger for his boss trying to stop her.

"No! I am going down there and getting what I need! Then, we can go," she screamed as she was fighting the sound of the wind.

She wondered if Victor or Vic as he liked to be called would stop her. He was the youngest of the group and quite handsome, but she never let herself think about anything other than work while in the Arctic. She just hoped that he would let her get to her goal and maybe cheat the storm.

"I can't let you go down there! We don't have enough time and the storm is almost here!" Vic screamed back as he walked into the half blown over tent.

Kira was in the drop down bucket that was going to send her to the bottom. "I have to do this. I can't leave here without it. Just go back without me. I will be right behind you."

"By the time you get down there the storm with be here and you won't make it back. I was told to drag you back if I had to," he said as he was at the motor readying to shut it down.

"Please...please. I need this. I need this more than anything else in this world. My whole life is down there, and the storm will collapse the glacier. It will be lost by next year and we will never be able to get that far down again."

"You're going to die. I have to," he said as his finger was on the kill switch.

"No...please. I can't leave here without it," she said as she thought that if she slid down the line to the bottom, he would have no choice but to bring her up.

"Jesus Christ! You're going to be the death of us," he screamed as he took his finger off the kill switch.

"Thank you...thank you," Kira called out, as she descended the split glacier until she reached the bottom.

It was a slow painful way down as the wind sounded like an echo and was intensified by the way it bounced off the sides of the glacier. She could see more than the outside though and looking down she saw the dig site. The bones were just lying there, and another set was almost ready to be pulled free.

She quickly grabbed the brown sack that was there knowing this was not the best way to handle artifacts, but she knew there was no alternative. She reached for the heater and pulled free the few others that were close to being thawed free.

The time passed and the sense of urgency was not there as she felt she could pull more. She saw more bones and felt that they too could be taken. As she pulled them free, she heard the wind blowing faster and more intense as she knew the storm must almost be upon them.

Quickly making it to the bucket, she called for Vic to bring her back up. She felt a sense of relief more that dread as she knew she had the bones with her. It was just a matter of getting back to the surface and then to the snowcat to go home.

The bucket was not cooperating though as the wind was now making it sway more. She turned her back to shield herself from the wind as it was worse than she thought. She heard Vic screaming out but could not make what he was saying.

The bucket was moving slower and slower now. It was almost not moving at times and then moving again in sporadic spurts. She looked up and did not see him either and wondered if he abandoned her.

When the bucket reached near the top, she saw Vic hanging over the ledge. "You have to climb the rest of the way. The motor is down, and the hand pulley won't go any further."

Her mind raced with fear again. The bag she had was too big to tie to her and there was no way that she could climb and hold on to it at the same time. It was at least ten feet up to the surface and the prospect of losing all her research now collapsed on her.

Kira quickly thought that if she threw the bag upwards to the ledge, she could then climb the rest of the way and all would be good. She reached back and then swung the bag upwards hoping that Vic would catch it even if it came close. As she went to swing it hit the cable and then dropped right to the bottom of the ravine where she just came from.

All her dreams fell just as the bag did when it dropped back to the bottom. A sense of hopelessness gripped her as she felt her life was about to end as the beg fell. She knew the chances of getting down there to get it were gone as the few minutes she had were going to be needed on saving her own life. She then wondered if it was worth saving as all her research was now gone.

"Lower me back down! Lower the cable!" she screamed, thinking that her life was down there and losing it was all she could do to get it back.

She looked up once the cable was not moving and saw Vic leaning over the side with his hand outstretched. She knew that going down was not on his mind. "No! Lower me!"

"The motor is down...I pulled you up by hand! Let's go!" he screamed as if he was not going to wait any longer.

"No! I need to go back down!"

"Grab my hand!" he screamed again.

She looked back down and then felt his hand pulling her up by the harness attached to her waist. She felt her choice to going down was taken from her as he was now pulling her up.

She looked to see that he was using the hand winch to pull her up and that the engine had stopped. His face mask was down as the cold wind forced him to cover up. She did the same and then felt him once again pull her outside.

The visibility was almost nothing and the cold wind was almost pushing her over. The below zero jacket she was wearing was good, but it was still not suited for this weather and she felt the sting of the cold now.

Once at her snowmobile, she saw that the jump she did before had destroyed the track and her making it here had stripped it. The notion of making it back to base with it was not going to happen.

Vic pulled up and she felt his strength pull her towards his snowmobile. She was forced to sit behind him holding on for her life as he sped away. The wind was now at full force, but all she could see was his back and she felt that her life was over as she recalled over and over seeing the bag drop down.

It seemed like a blur of time as Vic seemed to drag her by the hand inside. She was inside the small outpost and felt a sense of loss as she tried to cope with her life's work being dropped to the bottom of the ravine. The hope of getting it back next year was almost a certain no as she felt the ice would reclaim the land and that was if she could get the funding to go back.

She watched as Vic seemed to act in almost a reactive way making sure the outpost was set up for the storm. The place was small and was only a way station between the home base and the ravine. It was not equipped for long stays and the supplies that it did have were only for a week. She knew that if they did not get back to the base they would starve before they froze.

He stepped into the other room and then heard him talk on the radio. He kept on calling out to the base, repeating the call sign and then getting no answer. Kira felt that it was no use and that he should just accept the fate that they were stuck.

When he walked into the room, she could see the face of concern. Victor was the youngest of the facility engineers and the nicest she felt. He always spoke with a kind word and never cursed even when she felt he should. She knew he was in his mid to late twenties and was tall and muscular. She had no idea how good his physical appearance was as all the staff wore heavy clothes concealing most of their bodies or baggy sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Although she did know from just his face that he was attractive and probably attached.

"We got to go...now. There is no time; if we don't go now then we are dead," he uttered as if not taking a breath since talking on the radio.

"It's no use. We have to wait until the storm passes before we can head back in snowmobiles."

She knew that the storm would let up in a few hours and the temperature would rise again when the winds died down. The idea of making it for the winter evacuation was long gone and all they could hope for as to get back to the main base to wait out the winter.

"We can't do that. If the generators freeze up, then they will not start up again."

"Well we can't go out in this," she replied, knowing that the wind chill was at a point where it was deadly to go outside.

"Either we die in here or out there trying." Vic answered as he began to put another jacket on.

Kira stood up and then began to do the same. She put a second heavy coat over hers and then wondered if it was going to be enough. She saw Vic putting on a helmet and then wrapping it up around the neck like he was a knight ready to go off into battle.

The snowmobile took a few minutes to start up as she felt that there was a chance they would not even make it. When it did start, she took a position behind him and held on. The speed he was driving was reckless and the bumps almost threw her off, but she knew there was no other option.

Vic managed to get back to the base only to see that it was evacuated without them. The stinging cold felt like a thousand knives hitting her and then became a dull burning sensation. She knew her body was in hypothermia and needed to be warmed up badly. She also knew that if hers was bad then Vic's body had to be worse as he was in the front taking the abuse of the wind from riding the snowmobile.

As they passed the doors and then the inner doors, she could see that he was barely able to stand. "Get in the showers...the heat will help."

She saw him stagger and then felt her own body's weakness too. As much as she wanted to help him, she knew that they both were in desperate need. Even as they hurriedly wobbled to the showers, she felt that they were still not out of the woods yet.

Vic turned to her. "You shower and get warm first. I will go right after you."

Kira stepped into the large bathroom and pulled him into it too. The bathroom was large, but it only had the one shower stall. She felt the heat in the building was off and knew there was no chance that waiting for privacy was an option. She quickly dropped her jacket and looked right at him.

"Just get in, we don't have time for modesty."

As he began to strip, she stopped and reached into the shower to turn the water on. She made sure it was not too hot, but only hot enough to warm their bodies up. She then turned around to see him in his boxers. She did not want to stare and felt he should not stare at her either.

Kira knew Victor had a very good looking body once she saw him without a shirt on. He had a small amount of chest and body hair that covered his very obvious chest muscles. His abdomen had definite signs of exercise as did his biceps. She wanted to look more but the need to make sure they were safe was more important.