The next words, though, were disquieting. “But, sir, no one has seen her in the last hour or so. She and one of the geologists went searching for an AWOL student in the ice tunnels.”
He hit the button. “Commander, I don’t want anyone left behind.”
“Roger that, sir.”
Perry checked his watch. “You have seven minutes.”
Before any acknowledgment could be transmitted, the control station cut in again. “Bridge to Captain. For the past few minutes, we’ve stopped picking up any evidence of weapon fire from the hydrophones. Sonar also reports suspicious echoes that could be a sub diving. Air venting, mechanicals…”
It could only be the Drakon. The Russian hunter/killer was on the move. Time had run out. Perry knew he couldn’t risk the lives here. He spoke into the intercom. “Patch me back to Bratt.”
“Aye, Captain.”
A moment later, his XO’s voice scratched out of the speaker. “Bratt here.”
“Commander, company is on the way. We need everyone out of there now!”
“Sir, we haven’t even cleared all of the Crawl Space yet.”
“You have exactly three minutes to empty that station.”
“Roger that. Out.”
Perry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Glancing over his shoulder, he took one last look out Cyclops, then ducked out of the room. He climbed back through the sub and assumed command of the bridge again.
Men milled in ordered confusion, helping wide-eyed civilians down ladders and into the living spaces beyond the control station. The interior of the sub had already dropped a good twenty degrees, open to the blizzard above.
Dr. Willig suddenly appeared at Perry’s side. “I know you’re busy, Captain,” the Swedish oceanographer said breathlessly, snow melting in his hair.
“What is it, sir?”
“Amanda…she’s still down in the Crawl Space.”
“Yes. We know.” He kept his voice clipped, tight. He couldn’t let his own panic show. He had to be leader here.
“Surely we’re going to make sure everyone is out of there before leaving.”
“We’ll do our best.”
His answer did little to fade the fear in the old man’s eyes. Amanda was like a daughter to him.
The chief waved from his station. “We’ve got Commander Bratt on the line again, Captain.”
Perry checked his watch, then glanced to the open hatch. The ladder was empty. Where was his XO? He crossed to the boat’s radio. “Commander, time’s run out. Get your ass over here now.”
The answer was faint. The entire bridge had hushed. “Still missing a handful of civilians. In the Crawl Space now with Lieutenant Washburn. Request permission to stay behind. To offer protection for those still here. We’ll find them…then find a good hiding place.”
Perry clenched a fist. A new voice spoke at his side. It was Lee Bentley, one of the NASA crew. “I left the commander my schematics of the station. Detailing the access tunnels and old construction shafts.”
Beyond the scientist, all eyes focused on Perry. Dr. Willig had never looked paler. They awaited his decision.
Perry hit the radio’s transmit. “Commander…” He held the button. Fear for Amanda hollowed his heart, but he had a boatload of crew and civilians to protect. “Commander, we can wait no longer.”
“Understood.”
“Find the others…keep them safe.”
“Roger that. Out.”
Perry closed his eyes.
Dr. Willig spoke into the heavy silence, his voice rich with disbelief. “You’re just going to leave them behind?”
With a deep breath, Perry turned and faced the chief of the watch. “Take us down.”
11:22 A.M.
ICE STATION GRENDEL
Blood pounding in her ears, Amanda crouched in the nest of bones. The smell of bowel and blood filled the small space. Lacy’s corpse looked like some broken mannequin, unreal. Something had torn the geology student apart. Something large.
Amanda panted though clenched teeth.
The girl’s body lay on its back, limbs broken, face smashed, like she had been shaken and slammed repeatedly against the ice.
Amanda kept her eyes away from the corpse’s belly. It had been ripped open. Frozen blood trailed from the open cavity. Out in the wild, wolves always ate the soft abdominal organs of their prey, burrowing into the bellies first, feasting on the rich meal inside.
Without a doubt, such a predator was down here now. But what was it? Not a wolf…not so far north. And she saw no evidence of the usual king of the Arctic wilds, the polar bear. No droppings. No piles of white hairs.
So what the hell was down here?
Amanda took a post by the only exit and quickly pieced a few things together in her head. She recalled the movement recorded on the DeepEye sonar she was testing. She knew for certain now it had been no sonar ghost.
Amanda’s mind, panicked, ran along impossible channels. Whatever was down here had sensed the passage of the sonar scan, fled from it, back to its nest in the core of the ice island. But what could do that? What animals could sense sonar? Having studied sonar in depth for her own research with the DeepEye, she knew the common answers: bats, dolphins…and whales.
She glanced fleetingly over to the sprawled, gutted corpse. It reminded her of another body spread and cut open on the ice.
Dr. Ogden’s dissected Ambulocetus specimen.
According to the biologists, the Ambulocetus species were the forefathers of the modern whale. The thought chilled her further.
Could it be possible? Could there be living specimens down here, not just frozen ones?
A terrified shudder passed through her. It seemed ridiculous, but nothing else made sense. Not a wolf, nor a polar bear. And here, alone, nightmares gained flesh and bone. The impossible seemed possible.
She cupped her hand over her flashlight. Beyond the tunnel, the shine of Connor’s helmet lamp still reflected in the outer cavern. She studied as best she could the only way out of here. Everything lay still. There was no sign of movement, no way of knowing if the predator was still out there or if it was returning even now.
She was trapped—not just in the cave, but also in a cocoon of silence. Without her hearing, she was cut off from any telltale sign of approach: a growl, a scrape of claw on ice, the hiss of breath.
She feared going back out.
But how could she stay?
Glancing back, she sought someplace to hide within the nest. The walls had a few cracks and blocky tumbles of icefall. But none was deep enough to nestle away safely.