picked up a mug decorated with blue flowers and inscribed
The refrigerator started up unexpectedly and noisily, and Thora was so startled she thanked her stars that she didn’t drop the glasses. Adrenaline rushed through her veins and her heart beat wildly; it calmed down quickly, but she hastened out of the lonely cafeteria nonetheless.
Shortly after they had filled their glasses Eyjolfur appeared, looking dishevelled. ‘Is this where you all are?’ he snorted. ‘I fell asleep.’ He plonked himself down next to the door. ‘Did anything happen while I was sleeping?’ He smiled sarcastically, clearly convinced that they were no closer to getting to the bottom of things as they’d been earlier in the evening. When no one answered, he looked indifferently at the window. ‘The weather’s getting worse. My window woke me up shaking and rattling.’ He laughed mirthlessly. ‘I was so confused when I woke up that I thought for a moment there was someone outside knocking on my window.’ He yawned again. ‘I even thought it was Bjarki.’
‘Ugh, Eyjolfur.’ Fri?rikka put down her glass. ‘We’re trying to forget what happened here. I don’t know about the others but I don’t want Bjarki to appear in front of me out there, like the living dead.’ She fell silent.
Suddenly the ceiling light dimmed. They heard a loud bang and saw a sudden bright light outside. ‘What the hell?’ Alvar, who was sitting near the window, stood up and shaded his eyes. Fri?rikka let out a low moan and Eyjolfur grabbed the arms of his chair with both hands and squeezed until his knuckles whitened. Although they were all startled, the light did not induce such extreme reactions in Thora, Matthew, Bella and Dr Finnbogi.
‘What was that?’ asked Thora, when it became clear no one else was about to say anything. ‘Did a car go past?’ Maybe the helicopter pilots had come to fetch them by land.
Fri?rikka was breathing rapidly. ‘Those are the floodlights that were set up after Oddny Hildur disappeared. The security guard suggested them.’
‘And?’ The doctor seemed just as puzzled as Thora.
‘And they come on if movement is detected by the sensors attached to posts around the camp. The idea was to scare away any polar bears or other unwelcome visitors.’
‘Is there a polar bear out there?’ The Opal had definitely started to make itself felt and Thora felt quite exhilarated at the thought of seeing one. Standing up, she went to the window, pressed her face against it and peered out. The lights, mounted on two tall towers, made the white snow even brighter. She hadn’t noticed them earlier.
‘Get away from the window.’ Eyjolfur’s tone was stern. ‘It’s probably not a bear.’
‘How do you know?’ asked the doctor, who had followed Thora’s example and looked out. There was no answer.
Thora moved away from the cold glass. ‘What is it then?’ If she’d been tipsy before, the feeling had left her abruptly. She imagined the bloodstains on the driller’s pillow and wondered whether the floodlights had gone on just before he had started to bleed.
‘It’s not an animal.’ Fri?rikka ran her hand through her red hair. It was so dirty that it stood up on its own. ‘The system hasn’t been working since we arrived. I’d even forgotten about it. It has to be turned on, and a polar bear can’t do that.’
Now they all understood why Fri?rikka and Eyjolfur had reacted as they did. ‘Where does one turn on the system?’ Now Matthew had stood up and come over to the window, despite Eyjolfur’s warnings. He peered out but saw no more than Thora had. ‘And where are the sensors?’
‘The sensors are located between the towers, and they’re turned on from the office building. It’s rather complicated, meaning no one can do it by accident. The equipment is under the steps.’ Eyjolfur looked at Fri?rikka. ‘Did you turn on the system?’
‘No, of course not.’ Fri?rikka seemed even more alarmed. ‘I hadn’t even remembered it.’ Their old mutual animosity was stirring again. ‘And are you going to say next that I set off the floodlights? I was sitting here, in case you’ve forgotten. Just like you.’
Matthew interrupted. ‘None of us did this.’ He turned back to the window. ‘Probably some animal wandered through the sensor beam and ran off when the lights went on.’ He looked around at everyone. ‘Did anyone mess with the equipment at the office building?’ No one spoke up. Matthew looked out one last time and stared at the lifeless environment until the floodlights suddenly flicked off, leaving him looking only at his own reflection in dark glass. ‘It must have been caused by a power outage. It was probably on the whole time but someone connected the electricity this evening, which brought power back to the system.’
Everyone was happy with this conjecture. This was one of those moments when it was good to have some sort of explanation, however unlikely. The healing power of words destroyed doubt, and everyone contributed by murmuring ‘of course’ and ‘that must be it’.
They sat down again shamefacedly and tried to revive the cheerful mood that had developed earlier. The bottles were quick to empty and it wasn’t long before Alvar started fidgeting in his seat. Fri?rikka, who also appeared to want more, stood and announced that she was going to check whether the wine kept there for celebrations was still in its place. ‘Was there any alcohol left after the Midwinter Feast, Eyjolfur?’
‘No idea. I wasn’t here.’
At that Fri?rikka left, and Thora drank the remainder of the Opal from her glass. She wasn’t sure that she’d want any more when Fri?rikka returned; the alcohol would just make her sleepier. It looked as if Matthew was in the same state, but all the others appeared to have been refreshed by the drinks; the frown had even vanished from Bella’s face, though she was still several glasses away from smiling. So fatigue was probably the reason why Thora and Matthew were the last to react when Fri?rikka’s screams carried into the lounge.
Chapter 17
Arnar’s hands had stopped trembling, but instead of relief, he only felt regret. That in itself didn’t really matter; he didn’t expect to feel better any time soon, and the regret wasn’t the worst of it. What bothered him was that he didn’t know what he regretted, what he was missing. It wasn’t the trembling of his fingers, but something else, something he could not grasp. There was enough to choose from: mistakes from the past that he would never have the chance to mend; money that was gone and the debts it had left behind; friendships that would never be revived. No one thing stood out.
He had started from a dreamless sleep from which he felt he had derived no rest, because he was just as exhausted as when he had laid his head on the pillow. It was possible that he’d only slept for a short time; he had lost his watch and since he wasn’t allowed a mobile phone in therapy he couldn’t use that to see how much time had passed. It was pitch-black outside, but that meant nothing; the sun didn’t come up until around nine in the morning at this time of year. He could always wander into the hallway and ask the night guard what time it was, but he didn’t feel like it, knowing that if he got out of bed it would be even harder to get back to sleep. He tried in vain to think of something positive. All that came to mind other than the hopelessness of his life was the empty bed facing him. It had previously contained his roommate, an alcoholic who had suffered arrhythmia and been taken to hospital. The man had snored terribly and would occasionally talk in his sleep. This should have made it easier to sleep soundly without him, but that wasn’t the case. In fact, Arnar wouldn’t have long to wait before another person took the man’s place; in fact, it was a little strange that the gap had not been filled the next day. Arnar suspected it was because of his sexual orientation, which he had admitted to the group early on, during his second day of therapy. He had decided to come out with it immediately to prevent the men from talking to him about ‘chicks’ and picking up women. The story had spread like wildfire throughout the treatment centre. He couldn’t care less; everyone here shared a problem with alcohol, first and foremost, and no doubt welcomed having something else to talk about. By revealing this information he also ensured himself a certain privacy, because it
