"How are you feeling, Major?"
"Better, for sure. But, I still cannot control the tremble on my left hand."
"This is the eighth day, I believe?"
"Yes. Exactly thirty one weeks after my awakening."
"So it is mentioned in the sheets that I am holding right now."
"Doc, look… I admit that I am no expert in medical knowledge. So please, tell me the truth… will both my left arm and hand be able to fully recover?"
"…"
"I want you to tell me the truth, Doc."
"So far that we have known, and what I personally believe, there is nothing that may indicate incomplete recovery on that area of your body."
"But?"
"The recovery process turns out to take longer than what we predicted."
"Then, according to your prediction when should I have already recovered?"
"Next month."
"I guess there is not that much time left…"
"There is not much of a difference for the upper section of your upper arm. But, the lower left arm seems to have a much slower recovery."
"How slower?"
"I honestly am not sure either about the percentage, Sir…"
"…."
"That is the whole truth, Major."
"Is it possible for me to leave earlier?"
"I am sorry, I don't quite follow your-"
"You said that it could take longer to recover, right? Then, during that period is it possible for me to go back as a physically disabled officer?"
"Uh… I-"
"I must follow on what has happened in nearly the last eight months. I need to know every incident that may indicate similar threat."
"I guess there is no arguing with you huh, Major. Very well, I will see what I can do."
"Thank you, Doc. I really appreciate it."
"Just do not overdo yourself later on sir, please…"
.
.
.
It has been more than 4 hours that we have spent driving on the arid arctic land, with absolutely no animals, trees, rocks, or even a sight of a highland or mountain in the distance. The chilly wind that occasionally breezes towards my face, the loud venerable but still mighty sound of the truck engine, and the cold air that dominates the surroundings are the things that keep me awake as the transport truck keeps on heading towards one of Crimson Vulture unit's islands. According to Takeshi, with the current pace we should arrive in about half an hour from now. We cannot risk going faster to prevent the tires from slipping due to poor grip since the land surfaces must be quite slippery.
That aside, I have been sitting on the back of the truck since we have departed from the air base. Alek is the one who drives the truck and Dong is sitting right beside him inside the cabin so, that leaves me, Takeshi, and Flint to be sitting on the back of the truck. I cannot really say that it is very comfy, but at least I can still sit without having my butt hurt. Flint is sitting right across from me, crossing his arms and napping while Takeshi mounts the M1919 Browning machine gun that faces the back of the truck.
Also, it is somehow surprising for me to know that I can still see the stars on the Arctic sky, and plenty of them as I speak. Just looking at the stars above wonders me if the aliens we have been facing so far were indeed coming from another planet out there, then could it be that one of the stars is the center for its solar system, just like how our sun is to earth? I guess that question can only be answered when mankind is already able to do a space voyaging, whenever it is.
"I am surprised you do not look like you feel cold, Major." Takeshi blew out smoke before he turns a little to me.
"No, not really. The fact that I am still awake should actually tell you otherwise." I chuckled.
If Takeshi really has no experience in going out to another country with colder climate, then it will make sense if he feels cold more than I do.
"You want to switch?" I began to feel like I need some leg pulling for a little.
"Are you sure, Major? I mean if you do not mind at all…" he fully turns to me just as he heard what I said to him.
"I can do a little leg pulling for myself, so yes." I nodded. "And besides, it should be already less than thirty minutes before we arrive, right?"
"Well, if that is the case, then much obliged, Major." he smiled and heaves before he sits and take the map.
There are no words coming out from him while he is looking at the map again, so I am sure that there is no change in the remaining time, either for the earlier or later.
"That annoying Polish old man, Adamowsky was not it?" Flint apparently already woke up, "Why do I have the feeling like he hold some grudge against you, Jon?"
'Well that is unexpected. I thought that he kind of against my idea to call everyone on my team just by our names.' my eyes widened up a little before turning towards him.
"Do not you mean us? This whole team?" Takeshi seemed to want to confirm his question.
"No." Flint turned to him. "Back then he mentioned the incident that happened five years ago. So he must be talking about the aliens invasion, meaning that he specifically was against Jon. Did something happen before between you and him?"
"Maybe indirectly." I sighed. "I was one of the victims that survived the kidnapping incident in Gdynia Air Base after all. He probably messed up something related to that incident that resulted in screwing up his own career."
"So he was the commander of the same base at that time?" Flint straightened up his seating position.
"I have never gotten to know who was in charge of the base." I shook my head. "All I know was that both the commanders and the second-in-command were both absent on the night of the incident."
"Hmm… is not that suspicious…" he rolled his eyes.
Flint is right, though. Even though by now it was already 8 years ago, I still have yet to know the full details about the conclusion of the incident. Gabe also has never mentioned anything about it to me up until now, so either he himself has not known anything either or he feels like it is still not the right time to tell me about it yet.
There is 1 thing for certain however – he mentioned to me before that there is a deep rooted corruption and weapons smuggling activities conducted by a few general and flag officers of the U.S. Armed Forces which also involved a handful of top brasses in the Pentagon. Whoever the base commander was at that time, must be someone who also cooperated with one of the corrupt general officers, since the incident happened right at the moment when a prototype air force weaponry was about to be field-tested and the prototype itself was a joint air defence project between USAF and Polish Air Force.
"Mayor! The trucks in front of us has begun to slow down!" Alek opened up the back cabin window.
"That means we are almost at our destination." I leaned to look at the convoy through the window. "All right, let us get ready!"
The first sound I hear is my foot landing to the arctic wilderness outside, and it is soon followed by multiple similar sounds when the whole Crimson Vulture unit go out from their trucks, with firearms ready and all are armed from their heads to their feet. The sky is almost pitch black dark that our surroundings can only be seen through the headlights of the trucks, but none of the men seem to show any tardiness in proceeding on with their tasks, starting from taking out several collapsible poles, makeshift tents, generator parts, and even a portable cooking set.
'I would say this is more of a preparation to build a tiny makeshift post, instead of just a communication installation…' I sighed as I begin to approach Yeon.
"Okay. Where do you want us to start, Yeon?" I walked slowly towards the pile for the makeshift tents.
"Yes." he nods. "I need two men for the tents, another two for the poles, and one for the generator, please. You do not really have to mind the cooking set, I bet even the least experienced man in my unit can handle it himself. Oh and do not worry, we will still have some spare meals before we go to your island."
"Well, I appreciate it…" I chuckled a little before giving the sign for my whole unit to get out from the truck.
I am the largest man in my own unit, so I decided that it is best for me to assist them in assembling the poles together with Alek because he has a well-built physique. Takeshi seems to be pretty handy with machinery, since he immediately headed to the generator parts once he went out from the truck just now. While it may not really look like it, both Dong and Flint are apparently capable of working together helping the Crimson Vulture unit setting up the tents.
"Let me guess, these poles are supposedly the makeshift tower of the communication post?" Alek asked while he continues on joining two poles into one.
"Yep." I slowly raised one of the assembled pole together with one of Yeon's men. "Careful you would not want to scratch the antenna on the other end of the pole."
Once the first pole is already standing, I helped with the last two and by the time all of them are already finished and towering, the first tent has also been finished and the generator assembling looked like it has been more than half completed. Yeon is nowhere to be seen, but I eventually find him setting up the cooking set, alone. I can only smirk when I see him completely focused on the nearly completed small kitchen right in front of him.
"Why am I not surprised to find you alone making this kitchen…" I said to him once I get to where he is crouching.
"Ugh… you just have to come here, to me of all people once you are done, do not you?" he slowly turned his head towards me and squinting his eyes.
I suppose he does know what he is doing very well though, as the kitchen is indeed finished just a few minutes after it. Then, few of the men in the distance behind us cheer on something, and that is exactly when the sight of the whole completely built post is presented right before our eyes.
"Huh… well that is a little faster than I expected…" Yeon nodded with his face full of satisfaction.
Well for me, I am just glad that both my unit and his unit proved to be able to work together. At first I thought that teaming up may prove to be another problem which can be a potential hindrance towards the entire operation. That, and the fact that right now it is also winter in the sky of the North Pole, meaning that the sky will stay dark for the whole day.
"Alright! Someone go get the breakfast ready or something, the kitchen is now available!" Yeon said towards that direction as he gets up.
All six of his men rush towards his direction, almost as if they are forgetting that we are now standing right on top of a slippery ground. I can understand however, because our last meal was the fancy dinner back at the main headquarters and it has been hours passed since then. It is also a good thing that none of them slipped and fell down.
"Good news, comrades. We also get some share of their meals for our breakfast." I approached back my whole unit.
"Ah… yokatta…" Takeshi said, relieved.
Flint however, does not seem like he is interested in taking his share of the breakfast.
"What is wrong? You do not want one?" Dong turned to him as he noticed his facial expression.
"I do not really feel like it for now. But, maybe I will change my mind later on." He turned his back on us, heading towards the back of our truck and leaned there.
"I never know that there is someone who can still refuse a reward after the work that he has done…" Alek shook his head.
"It is alright, maybe I will just get his breakfast to him later." Dong replied as he began to walk towards the kitchen and lined behind the whole Crimson Vulture unit.
In the end, the 3 of us-me, Alek, and Takeshi line up behind Dong to get our share of the meal. I have been expecting ration-like meal as the people lining up in front of us keep on decreasing, but I am quite surprised when I realize that our breakfast was a fish soup-an arctic cod soup. It seems that the cook-Yeon himself-also added black pepper into the soup since the meal gives me some warmth inside my body. Who would have guessed that he of all people is capable of making a pretty tasty meal.
"You have my praise, Yeon." I lifted the now-empty bowl a little as I am looking at his direction. "I did not expect you would be able to make a tasty soup in the middle of this barren cold plain."
"I appreciate it." he nodded and smiles. "I guess it is a good thing that I brought several bottles of black pepper with me before we departed earlier."
I only nod to his explanation before I head towards the kitchen sink because I plan on cleaning the dish myself. Not only I find out that he is apparently good with home appliances, he seems to be also has prepared for handling wastes in consideration of environment as he has prepared a couple of small crates for washed dishes just behind the sink. I guess that he intends to prevent any kitchen wastes like soap to flow out directly to the sea.
There is however, one thing that kind of intrigues me. I wonder where he got the fishes from, since I do not notice that he brought even one fishing set even though there is a fresh looking hole with a diameter of perhaps almost one meter a few distance away from the kitchen. Indeed, arctic cods usually swim very close to the water surfaces but I also highly doubt that he literally just caught them up with his bare hands, even more so when he had to do it several times as one fish would not be enough for all of us. If he has brought them from the base, then why is there a hole there? There is absolutely no one who could make it except for him since he was the closest one to the hole back then, so what was his intention in creating it?
Thinking about it now will not get me anywhere either, or so I think and thus I try to shrug it off as I clean up the bowl and put it inside one of the crates. Noticing what I have just done, he points his right finger to my direction as he nods and gulped down his meal, telling the rest of the others who are still eating to do the same.
"Put your bowls inside those crates once you have finished washing them." he said as he heads to the kitchen sink and starts to wash his bowl shortly after.
They then line up, this time behind the kitchen sink after Yeon is done, cleaning their empty bowls. Dong is the first one to finish after Yeon and when I ask him if Flint has taken his share of the meal, he says that Flint refused and smoked cigarette instead.
"Then, to whom did you give the bowl to?" I am curious.
"Well…" he paused as he looked towards Alek who is standing last in the line, "Now you know the reason why that guy is holding two bowls instead of one."
I cannot say I blame him since it will be better if someone eat the extra portion instead of just leaving it spoiled in the end. Aside from that, with all of our bellies warm and filled now the spirit of the men from both units seem to soar high. Each man from both units then begin to head back towards the trucks to prepare for our next destination-the first northeast island, until something unexpected suddenly happen…
A mild rattling sound is heard from the crates, together with a small quake right beneath my feet, or rather all of our feet since everyone apparently notice it.
"What was that?" Yeon asked in a low voice.
I first think that it would only occur once, but I was gravely mistaken. The second sound and quake follows shortly after, even more violently and longer. I gestured to everyone to not make any single move for the moment. At the same time, it can only be my imagination by I feel like I just saw a blurry silhouette from below the ground we are standing on.
"No one is to move." I instructed in a very low voice. "If the third ones are to occur then-"
Just before I finish my words, the next wave of violent quake and rattle occur, and this time they even managed to collapse the pile of bowls inside the crates and shake the communication tower. Everyone follows me in standing by with our hands holding our sidearms-the only self defense object that we can resort to at the moment since our primary weapons were all left inside our trucks.
I should have also insisted my men to keep on wearing their full set of body armor, since it is only both me and Yeon who are still wearing it while the rest of our unit removed and left them inside the trucks.
The very same silhouette suddenly occur again, more vividly and seems as if it is moving much slower than it was before. No one seems to be able to look at it besides me, so I feel like I have to focus on keeping my attention towards it, which looks like it is first moving towards one of the Crimson Vulture unit personnel, but then suddenly move away a bit faster towards Yeon and then Dong, before it suddenly disappears.
Everything goes silent, not even a sound as little as a snapping finger is heard. However, within a blink of an eye, the silhouette just present itself again right below Dong and grows in size in such a short time.
Something is about to attack Dong right from the sea below this surface!
"DONG, LOOK OUT!!!" I yelled towards him just before the very threat that has been fast approaching him.
But it is too late… the thing, or rather creature from the sea below breaking the very surface below him and successfully attacked him…
"HAARRGHHHH!!" Dong screamed his lungs out.
It is hard to believe what I am seeing-a long tusk piercing through his body like a spear tip going through a bed sheet, lifting him up towards the sky above. I immediately realize the only possible creature that has just attacked him-narwhal, a whale with a lance-like tusk.
But… why?! Why did a Narwhal attack a human?!
Everyone then opened fire towards the marine creature, seemingly succeeding in wounding it and forcing it to retreat underwater. However…
"WAIT, NO! DONG, NO!!" I screamed as my lungs could make me, rushing towards his direction just before I realize I am too far away to be able to release Dong from the tusk.
Desperate to save my second-in-command, I put on my full concentration on the handgun that I aim towards the creature's silhouette, holding back the rage that I feel in my head. At the same moment, my left hand suddenly shakes a little on its own uncontrollably, further fueling the anger that clouds my clear mind.
'Ugh, dammit! NOT NOW!!' I yelled on the inside as I have to aim the handgun with only using my right hand.
But, as the creature then keeps on going deeper down I slowly come to my senses again that even if the bullets reach the narwhal and kill it, it will most likely sink down instead of floating towards the surface.
In the end, I am not able to save even any parts of him before he was dragged away by the creature down to the sea below…
"Contact the base! NOW!!" Yeon order to his men.
I force myself to try and think straight on any possible cause that could make such a marine mammal that was never known to attack humans to do the very opposite action. But no matter what, not even the possibility of a peak and aggressive mating season come to my mind. And as far as it is widely known, they use their tusks to hunt for food, not to attack predators, let alone a human...
"Uh, Colonel Kim…" said one of his men, pulling me back towards our current situation and breaking the tense atmosphere.
"What took it so long?!" he also seemed upset.
"The base… wanted to hear it directly from you…" his men answered, hesitantly and pointing towards one of the tent.
Yeon rushed inside the tent, with me following right behind him since I know that they will want to hear the full chronological order of the incident.
.
"Crimson Vulture? What the hell happened there?!"
"We…" Yeon paused as he clenches his fist and let out a sigh, "There has been a casualty…"