we're due for another snow storm tonight.'
Mick nodded. 'I saw that. You ever heard about this place receiving so much snow?'
'No.'
'Me either.' He cleared his throat. 'That strike you as odd?'
'What- the snow?'
'Yeah.'
'Should it?'
'Maybe.'
'You mean given the fact that the former crew has gone missing?'
'I mean that, yeah. Also, last night's deal with everyone having the same dreams about this place.'
'Got you spooked?'
Mick smirked. 'A lot of things spook me, Julia. I've seen a lot of shit that would freak most people out.'
'Like what?'
'I don't give my secrets away that easily.'
'But you do give them away? Eventually?' Julia felt her skin grow warm. Had she blushed when she said that? What was it about him that made her feel this way?
'Not always,' said Mick. 'But sometimes.'
Julia started to say something but stopped when she saw Wilkins come running out of the station. 'It's about time.'
Wilkins pulled on the door and opened it. Julia waved him in. 'Get in, we're late.'
He shook his head. 'We can't go!'
'What? Why not?' She frowned. 'Where's Vikorsky?'
'Missing,' said Wilkins. 'I've looked all over the station for him. He's gone.'
'Gone? How? That doesn't make any sense. We saw him last night. Where would he have gone?'
'I don't know.'
Julia looked at Mick. 'You think that's what you heard last night?'
Mick shrugged. 'Could have been. I don't know.'
'What did you hear?'
Mick looked at Wilkins. 'I went to bed late last night. As I was turning in, I thought I heard something down by the greenhouse.'
Wilkins frowned. 'You didn't look into it?'
'He was tired,' said Julia. 'Forget about it.'
'Well, whatever he heard, the fact is Vikorsky is gone.'
'No signs at all of where he disappeared to?'
'None,' said Wilkins.
Julia looked out the windshield toward the horizon. They were there. The mountains. She could feel them, unseen over the horizon, pulling her — urging her to drive to them. She felt the pull, the tug, and the stronger yank of whatever secrets they held.
She desperately wanted to drive.
But Viksorksy was gone.
Vanished.
The mountains would have to wait.
'Tell Nung to shut the Cat down.'
Mick looked at her. 'We're not going?'
'We can't drive off now,' said Julia. 'What if Viksorksy is somewhere inside the station? He might be hurt. He might be somewhere we don't know about. He might need us. Leaving this place for eight hours might even mean his death.'
Mick looked down. 'He might already be dead. Did you ever think of that?'
'I've considered it,' said Julia. 'I don't want to accept that yet, though.'
'Kendall's going to have a field day with this one,' said Wilkins.
'Just tell Nung to shut it down. I want everyone inside. We'll organize a search party and see if we can comb the place over again.'
Wilkins shut the door and hurried to the other Snowcat. Julia watched him pull the door open and begin gesturing with his arms. She could see the disappointment on the faces of the other crewmembers.
Did they feel it, too? Did they feel the inexorable pull coming from the horizon. Did the mountains have some sort of weird control over them?
'Julia?'
Mick's voice.
Beside her.
Warm.
Soothing.
She turned. His blue eyes bore into her. 'Yes?'
'You ready to go inside?'
She nodded. But the only place she wanted to go was to the mountains over the horizon.
4
Julia thanked her guardian angels for including Wilkins on the trip. As soon as they got inside he stood right behind Julia. She could feel his strength and warmth behind her and it lent her the stability she felt she needed.
'Vikorsky's gone missing. We're going to find him.'
Kendall's predictable frown stood out among their faces. 'How are you planning on doing that? Remember, the other crew vanished without a trace.'
'We're not discussing my memory,' said Julia. 'The others disappeared before we got here. There's not much we can do about that right now. What I'm concerned about is Vikorsky. He was here with us last night.' She glanced around again. 'Did anyone see him after we went to bed last night?'
Mick spoke up. 'Just what I told you a few minutes ago.'
'What was that?' asked Kendall.
'Mick heard some noises down by the greenhouse, apparently,' said Julia. 'It was late, he was tired and didn't investigate. It doesn't help us much.'
Kendall peered at Mick. 'How come you didn't check it out?'
Mick stared back at him. Julia marveled at his stony expression. 'I was tired. I wanted to sleep. Besides, it might have just been a strong gust of wind.'
'It might have been Vikorsky pleading for help, too.'
Wilkins cleared his throat. 'I don't think we're accomplishing anything debating what might have happened.'
Julia nodded. 'We'll search in pairs.'
'We're not an even number, anymore,' said Kendall.
'Wilkins, Mick and I will search as one group. The rest of you can pair up. We'll take the greenhouse. Everyone grab some radios out of communications and we'll stay in touch that way.'
'Does this mean we aren't going out today?'
Julia looked at Kendall. 'I think we'd all agree that our first priority is to see if Vikorsky is still here. If he hasn't vanished, he might be hurt.'
'And if we don't find him?'
'We'll go out tomorrow. Weather report says there's another batch of snow headed our way.'
Kendall sighed. 'This is turning into one helluva trip.'
Julia smiled. 'You can always start for home, Kendall. Provided you don't mind walking and swimming.'
