Robby lost track of time. It seemed like only minutes had elapsed, but it must have been longer when Christine spoke again—“I don’t think I can go any farther. The hill is too steep.”
Robby slowed his tractor. He was quickly approaching the rear of Pete’s sled.
They came to a stop on the plateau of ice.
“Everyone meet up front,” Robby said. “Be careful.”
He reached for the door handle and nearly leapt from the tractor when the hand grabbed his arm. It was Brynn.
“Don’t leave me,” he whispered.
“We have to go,” Robby said. “You come with me.”
“I don’t want to go out there,” Brynn said.
“Then I’m leaving you,” he said. “Come on.”
Brynn let Robby pull him from behind the seat. He covered his eyes and wouldn’t look through the back window at the squirming bodies pressed against the glass. Robby left the engine running. Over the low idle he heard their wet hands squeaking against the window.
Brad jogged up beside their tractor when they jumped down past the tracks. Robby slipped on the ice, but Brynn caught his arm and helped him find his balance. They joined Brad and soon met Nate, who was running back to meet Brynn. When he reached them, Nate swept Brynn into a hug and then pulled him by the hand up to meet the others.
Robby raised his arm to shield his eyes as he came around Christine’s crooked tractor and joined the group who were looking at the glowing ball in the distance. Robby understood why Christine stopped, and was glad she did. Just in front of her tractor, the ice began to slope down, and it looked weaker. Its surface was a spider web of holes and cracks. In the center of the giant ice crater, sat the top half of a giant ball of light. Its scale was impossible to judge because there was nothing else near to gauge its size against, but Robby guessed it must be at least a quarter mile in diameter.
Christine was right—it was beautiful, and cold, and you could look directly at it. In fact, Robby felt compelled to look directly at it. He began to lower his arm. To his side, Christine was reaching out towards the ball.
“Dad?” she said.
Robby turned away. He grabbed the jacket nearest to him and tugged. It turned out to be Pete’s arm.
“Don’t look at it,” he said.
“What? Why?" Pete asked. He looked at Robby and blinked hard several times. “God, it’s like that thing burned my eyes. It’s all I can see.”
“We have to let them loose,” Robby said, pointing towards the sled.
Under the tight straps the dead were a flopping, wiggling pile, struggling to get free.
Pete rubbed his eyes while Robby reached out for more of the group. He tugged on Romie’s sleeve and grabbed Lisa by the hand. They turned away from the burning ball reluctantly and listened to Robby’s commands. Pete moved towards the first sled, and Romie followed behind, but Lisa couldn’t mask her fear. She didn’t want to go near the pile of wriggling bodies.
“Then get the others to stop looking at the light. They’re hypnotized by it,” Robby said.
Pete tugged at the clasp to release the first strap. Robby ran around the front of the tractor so he could pull the strap free from the other side.
“Dad?” Christine asked again as Robby ran by her.
Robby slipped while rounding the far corner of the tractor. He landed with his bare hand on the sharp ice. It sliced a flap of skin from his palm and the pain shot up his arm. When he reached the straps, he saw the first two were loose. Robby tugged on one, pulling it hand-over-hand over the top of the pile. Blood flowed from his hand, down into the sleeve of his parka. Before he could move to the second strap, bodies toppled from sides of the pile, bringing the tarp with them. Robby scrambled backwards, away from the trailer, looking over his shoulder to be sure he didn’t slip down the side of the slippery ice embankment.
The first corpse to land, a bald man dressed in a pinstripe suit, flailed its arms and spun towards Robby.
Robby tripped and landed on his butt on the cold ice. The corpse pushed to its feet and spun towards the glowing ball of light. Robby watched it out of the corner of his eye to make sure it wasn’t coming for him. A cascade of bodies followed quickly on the heels of the bald man. The second strap freed itself and the tarp folded down under the weight of falling corpses. They landed on the ice and clawed over each other to begin their pilgrimage to the burning light.
Robby sprung to his feet and moved down to the third and fourth straps. This time he managed to move farther away before the bodies started falling. He glanced under the sled and saw a similar avalanche of corpses falling on the other side. Romie and Pete were working their way towards the back of the sled, freeing the straps. All the tarps fell on Robby’s side of the sled, and the corpses couldn’t gain traction on the slippery plastic surface. With the last tarp, Robby pulled it out of the way just after he pulled the straps, so the bodies would land on the ice.
Romie came around the rear of the sled.
“You need help over here? Pete’s all set with the straps,” Romie said.
“Yes, but I’m worried about the others,” Robby said. “Did Lisa get them?”
“I thought she was with you,” Romie said. “You’re bleeding, you know.”
“I know,” Robby said. “Can you pull the tarps out of the way? I want to go check on the others.”
“Sure,” Romie said. She moved towards the side of the sled. She called back over her shoulder—“Get a glove on your hand.”
“Yeah, right,” Robby said under his breath as he ran towards the other side of the sled. He tried to stop, but wound up sliding right into a pair of elderly corpses who popped out from behind Lisa’s tractor just as Robby came around the corner. He fell backwards as he hit them. He took their legs out and they landed right on top of him. The dead woman’s smiling, eyeless face was just inches from Robby as he tried to push and kick his way from under her. She wore nothing but a nightgown, and the male corpse was dressed in green coveralls. Robby could smell her old lady perfume mixed with urine and sweat, which combined to smell like rancid chicken soup.
He pushed his way free in time for a barefoot corpse to step on his bleeding hand. Robby pulled his hand back and tore the flap of skin even more. He clutched his hand to his chest and regained his feet to skitter away from the migrating corpses. Looking back he saw the procession coming from the loose pile on Brynn’s trailer.
When Robby arrived at the front of the line, he couldn’t find his group. Shield his eyes from the light, Robby looked down the slope of the ice. The light’s cold glow beckoned to him to lower his hands, but Robby held them up, focusing on the throbbing of the gash on his right hand to keep him focused on reality. Silhouetted by the bright light, he couldn’t make out individuals, just a group of people marching down the icy slope. One figure was running up the ice, crunching through the cracked surface.
“Robby,” the figure called. It was Brad.
“Where are the others?” Robby asked.
“I don’t know,” Brad said. “Down there, I guess. It makes you slip down into your memories. It’s like the rock monster. You just get consumed by the past.”
“We have to get them before they get to the light,” Robby said.
“We can’t,” Brad said. “One look and you’re trapped.”
“Just look straight down then,” Robby said. He pulled his hood up over his hat and used it to shield his eyes. Then, he looked down and followed the line of broken ice, shattered like glass, left by the marching feet of his friends. He moved as fast as he dared, not wanting to fall again on his lacerated hand or bruised backside. He heard Brad tromping behind him. Robby recognized Lisa’s purple boots and reached out for the back of her jacket. He yanked her back and yelled her name.