“The wide range of tests we’ll carry out will be important in understanding the behaviour of the Pine Island Glacier, affectionately nicknamed PIG. However, before we can start with our planned schedule, NASA is insistent we first check out this anomaly we’ve all been discussing for the past few days, which I admit, does intrigue me.” He received a few nods of agreement from some of the team. “To get them off our backs so we can concentrate on what we came here to do, I’ve agreed to their demand, so tomorrow we’ll investigate the rift. For this endeavour, we need someone to descend into the rift and have a poke around. I suggest a glaciologist goes down first to determine the stability of the ice and to see if anything unusual is down there. Jane and Theo, as our glaciologists, you must decide which of you will go down.”
“I have no problem with going down,” said Theo, “but though I believe our credentials are comparable, Jane is by far the better climber, so perhaps she should have the honour if she wants it.”
Jane flashed Theo a grateful smile. “Thank you, I’m more than willing.”
Henry looked at the other female member of the team. “Lucy, this would be an ideal opportunity for you to explore the rift. I know you can climb, so while we have all the gear set up, if Jane has no objections, you can accompany her.”
“Lucy’s welcome. I’d enjoy the company,” said Jane.
“Okay, that’s settled,” said Henry. “Jack brought the stuff I requested when he ferried Jane and Max here, so we should have everything we need. I also ordered some flashlights, as I’m not sure how much light will penetrate down to the bottom of the rift or what we’ll find down there. If this anomaly is a cavern in the ice, we might need them. I think that’s all for now, so for the rest of the evening we can relax.”
“I’m going to stick a movie on if anyone’s interested,” said Scott.
“I hope it’s not The Thing again,” said Henry.
“No, Henry, it’s not. It’s Alien!”
The following day Henry checked that Jane and Lucy were safely connected to the ropes before giving them permission to start their climb.
“Beware of falling ice,” Max warned. “Though the ice looks stable, it can crack at any time for no apparent reason.”
“We will,” Jane assured him.
As the two women backed toward the wide gap in the ice, Jane glanced at the two metal stakes to which their ropes were tethered.
Max noticed her looking. “Don’t worry, Jane. The ice is like concrete. They’re screwed in tight and won’t move.”
Jane flashed him a smile. “Thanks for the confidence boost.” She slipped the tinted goggles over her eyes and looked at her climbing companion. “You ready?”
“Let’s do it,” Lucy replied, eager to start taking samples.
The two women leaned out and began their descent of the deepest part of the rift. Its bottom was almost two hundred feet below them.
A few yards down they reached a small ice shelf. They backed to its edge and continued down.
Jane glanced up. The faces of the other team members peered down at them from the top of the rift. Henry waved. A few moments later, when they’d lowered themselves into the top of the V-shaped crevasse, the shelf of ice blocked the onlookers from view. Their only communication now was via their walkie-talkies.
Though the wind funnelled along the rift constantly battered the two climbers, it wasn’t strong enough to be a problem. Jane glanced below, but the snow and ice picked up by the wind prevented her from seeing very far.
The revving of an engine disturbed the relative silence. Henry turned. Pike approached on a Ski-Doo.
Pike halted the snow vehicle beside the team and raised his goggles. “I have hot chocolate for anyone who wants it.”
The men gathered around the trailer towed by the Ski-Doo. Each accepted the welcome thermos mugs of hot chocolate.
Pike glanced over at the rift. “Are the girls below?”
Henry nodded. “Depending on what they find, they’ll probably spend an hour or two down.”
Careful not to get too close, Pike approached the edge and peered into the rift. “Rather them than me.” When everyone had drunk their fill, Pike collected the cups. “I’m heading back to base where it’s warm.”
“Okay, thanks for the hot drink,” Henry said.
The others also acknowledged their gratitude. Pike climbed aboard the Ski-Doo and pulled away. When he turned the Ski-Doo, the trailer slid sideways. The left-hand corner struck one of the metal stakes the climbing ropes were fastened to, knocking it at an angle. Unaware of what had happened, Pike drove off and aimed the Ski-Doo in the direction of base camp.
The ice took on a blue tint as the two women descended deeper. Compressed by the weight of many hundreds of years of snow, the ice was crystal clear. Both could discern tiny pockets of air. Little bubbles of age-old atmosphere that might contain the miniscule microbes Lucy hoped to find.
“Nearly there,” shouted out Lucy, loud enough to be heard above the wind.
Jane glanced down. About sixty feet to go and they would touch bottom. When she felt a vibration through the soles of her climbing boots planted firmly against the ice, she looked at Lucy. “Did you feel that?”
Lucy nodded. “Should we be worried?”
“I don’t think so. It’s only the ice shelf moving on its journey out to the sea. It shouldn’t be anything to worry about as it’s constantly on the move.”
Jane realized she was wrong when the vibrations abruptly increased in force.
The two climbers hugged the ice wall and made their bodies as small as possible to avoid the small chunks of ice that rained down around them. A crack, as loud as an explosion, echoed along the rift.
Both climbers looked down. The two ice walls moved apart and the rift grew steadily deeper.
When the vibrations increased and the loud crack rang out, the men on the ice stepped away from the edge.
With worry etching Henry’s features, he glanced at the two ropes trailing into the rift’s depths. It couldn’t have happened at a worst time. The ice wall on the far side of the rift trembled, dislodging lumps of ice that fell and tumbled into the crevasse. Though the ice had moved before, it had never been as forceful.
Fearful the edge might break away, Max took another step back. “What’s happening?”
“It’s the rift,” said Henry. “It’s opening.” He put his hands close together and moved them apart to enforce his meaning.
“What, completely?” said Theo.
Henry shrugged. “I hope not.”
“What about Jane and Lucy, should we pull them up?”
Henry glanced at the two ropes and then at Eli. “No. They’re both experienced climbers. They’ll be sheltering from falling ice. If we tug on the rope we might pull them into danger.” He briefly thought of using the walkie-talkie to contact them, but quickly dismissed the idea. They didn’t need any distractions and would make contact when the danger had passed.
Suddenly, the ice shook so violently it almost knocked the men to their knees. All shot Henry a concerned look, but there was nothing any of them could do. Until the ice settled, the girls were on their own.
Theo glanced at Max. “Do you think the girls will be okay?”
Max was about to answer when something struck Theo on the side of the head before shooting into the rift. When Theo fell, Max grabbed him and lowered him gently to the ground. Max wondered what had struck Theo. When he glanced around, he realized in horror the spike Jane’s rope was fastened to had gone!