The rest of our small band were not so lucky. We carefully laid them next to where Anne was, and Fred knelt down, closing their eyes before we each moved on to do so for the rest. I wish they’d spoken to us, so we had at least known their names, to add to the paltry memories we held of them. No one deserved to die unknown or forgotten.
“Um, guys,” Gary said, “The door’s open. Just a bit, but I can see the hall.”
As one, we crept closer.
“I don’t hear anything,” Beth said, sniffling.
“Is that wind?” Patrick asked, holding his hand over the opening.“Think there’s a hull breach?”
“Shouldn’t we hear sirens or at least people since we crashed at the spaceport?” I asked.
“One of us should go check to see what’s happening,” Beth said. “Maybe they didn’t reach the port, and it’ll take a while for anyone to get here. Now might be our best chance at getting away.”
“I say it should be Fred because if they catch him and they get mad, he can communicate with them and let them know he was just looking for help. At least, that’s what he can tell them,” Carol suggested.
We were all in agreement, and those of us who could grabbed the edge of the door and pulled. Thankfully, it didn’t take much coaxing and slid all the way open.
“Um, I think I see why we felt wind,” Fred said, stepping out. ”I don’t think we’re at a spaceport. Also, the other end of the ship is gone.”
“Gone? What do you mean gone?” Patrick demanded.
I had to see this for myself. My jaw dropped open as I stepped outside of our former prison. The corridor ended in a jagged tear, the walls blackened. And beyond that? A snowy landscape that made me think of Antarctica or the North Pole or way up someplace in Canada in winter.
“Where the fuck are we?” I whispered.
Fred swallowed, leaning against the wall next to the door. “I guess when they said they were going to set down to make small repairs, they meant someplace with breathable air so they could patch this up enough to get to an inhabited planet with a spaceport. Or they missed the spaceport entirely and we’re at one of the poles.”
This was so not good.
“We’d best go back inside and close the door to conserve heat while we decide what to do.”
But of course, we couldn’t get the door to close again. Our bad luck was definitely holding. The door had slid into the pocket in the wall, and no amount of fingers tugging its edge, banging, or screaming could get it to move.
4
ROBBIE
“One of us needs to go and see if we can find shelter. Maybe there’s a cave or a hunting cabin, or something," Beth said.
“Not me,” Fred shook his head. “You guys need me here in case more aliens show up and need me to talk to them.”
I gave him the side-eye. If more of these aliens showed up, I doubted they'd be interested in talking. More likely, they’d arrive and point those sticks at us while frog marching us into another cargo hold or other sort of transport. Or knocking us out and sticking us in one of those stasis boxes, even. I didn’t blame him for not wanting to go out in the cold, though.
“Maybe we could all go and make an igloo like the Inuit and find some stuff in here to burn,” Bill suggested. “That way, if anyone does come looking, we’re not here. We can come back with the others once the fire is going if they haven’t woken up before we’re finished.”
It wasn’t a bad idea, but none of us knew how to build an igloo, and the consensus was we shouldn’t try and end up freezing to death. I pointed out that we were going to freeze to death at this rate anyway if we didn’t at least start a fire.
Gary pointed a finger at me. “Right you are! So, while the rest of us look for stuff to start a fire with so we don’t freeze in the meantime, you should go out and see if you can find us a better place to hide in case any of them come back.”
“Take Sam’s watch,” Patrick said. “Walk for half an hour and come back. If you don’t find anything by then, there’s probably nothing close enough before you’d become a corpsicle.”
I reluctantly placed her watch on my wrist. Fortunately, I was a slender guy, so it fit, though it was on the third to the last hole from the end. We stripped the uniforms off the guards, and I put them on over my clothes. Layers were better, and they sure as hell no longer needed them. For that matter, neither would I if they hadn’t fucking abducted me. Assholes. Another two pairs of uniform pants ended up tied around my head, making a sort of hood with one pants leg across my face like a scarf.
I did my best to not think about what the stains on the clothes might be. Stepping out, it wasn’t great, but I was actually a lot warmer than I’d been in my thin t-shirt and jeans inside. Luckily, I’d worn a pair of waterproof work boots the day I was taken, the yellowish leather kind that looked like the ones sold by Caterpillar, only very much not. At least my feet wouldn’t get wet.
Standing outside, I was grateful that the wind was only a faint breeze and that it was daylight. I had no idea if there were any predators here, and figured if there were, they probably hunted at night. Hopefully. I glanced around. Nothing but powdery snow as far as the eye could see. I squinted, suddenly noticing a dark smudge on the horizon. What was that? A building? A tree? Whatever it was, it was something. I stuck my hands inside the pockets of my borrowed pants and started walking.
At first, I thought it was closer than it had appeared, as it got a lot larger sooner than I expected. Then I realized it was because it was moving towards me. Whatever it was, it appeared to be bipedal and very furry. My heart leaped into my throat.
