The Expedition

It was the opportunity of a lifetime to be selected as a scientist to join the Shabok Expedition in the Antarctic. I’d worked hard and had earned my place on the team, even though others disagreed. As the only woman on board, I was nervous.

“You deserve that spot and don’t let anyone else make you think otherwise.” Empowering words from my sister Ginger. She is younger than I am but so full of wisdom. She’s my best friend and has been my rock since I lost my son about a year ago. Time away from Switzerland would be good for me. I needed a distraction and this couldn’t have come at a better time.

“You think you deserve this over Brian?” asked Mitch after we were all told of our assignments. To them, this was a man’s field and women didn’t belong. I rolled my eyes. Women belonged any and everywhere.

Sure, Brian was a great geologist who’d worked on this project during the drilling stages. I understood Mitch’s belief that Brian ought to be there. But my research in seismic soundings was used to determine the actual thickness of the ice. This allowed for quicker drilling which led to the lake’s discovery. Without my input, it would have taken the geologists another 25 years to find it.

We were a team of six: myself, Mitch, Connor, Andrew, Alex, and Michael the lead scientist.

Our journey to the Michelan Villa Base was long and tiring. After a few days of rest, we made the 2,300-mile journey across the ice. I’d seen pictures but they didn’t prepare me to experience the Antarctic. We were greeted only by stultifying silence as we journeyed through thousands of miles, gazing upon the never-ending whiteness that surrounded us.

We were all eager to begin our investigation of Lake Shabok, located almost 2 miles under layers of ice. Our main focus was on finding life and investigating the underwater ecosystem.

We were excited to think that we might encounter species we had never seen before. With Lake Shabok being sealed off from the rest of the world for over 20 million years, who knew what awaited us down there? Whatever it was, I wanted to be the first to see it and the first to investigate. This could be groundbreaking for all of us.

I stepped out of the six-wheel drive that had brought us to our destination. The low-temperature wet suits we wore were so comfortable. The chill I felt was mostly imagined but it added to my excitement. I could not tell how cold it was outside and I was glad. Still, it would be warmer where we were headed. A temperature of -2 C was what awaited us in that fresh body of water, while the ground and air temperature around the subterranean lake had been measured at -89 C. The pressure of the overlying ice kept the lake from freezing.

I took a moment to take in my environment. I looked past the desolation and found a certain beauty in the monochromatic scene that engulfed us all. I could hear my heart beating while I took long, deep breaths.

It was time. I rubbed my hands together to steady my breaths and distract my mind. There was no need to be nervous. I took a long look at my team — we looked like a bunch of oddly dressed scuba divers ready to make the decent of a lifetime. We were placed into an enclosed square box and lowered almost 10,000 feet below the Antarctic’s icy tomb. The box was illuminated on the inside, small but spacious enough for six individuals and supplies.

The closer we got to the water, the more difficult it became to communicate with the rest of the team. We were not alarmed at first. It took us a few hours to make it to the bottom. We landed on an ice bank close by. Eventually, we lost all contact with those above ground. This was when the first wave of panic struck. Our investigation was planned to last five days. We were frantically trying to reach our colleagues. All attempts were unsuccessful.

“So what are we going to do?” asked Connor.

“I am assuming that they know where we are,” said Michael. “They have equipment that can track us. We should continue with our mission. Let’s set up on this ice bank and in the meantime, I will work on regaining contact with the others. I don’t think we should worry yet.”

Michael turned around and made eye contact with each one of us when he made this last statement. He assured us that we would be ok and encouraged us to remain focused on the mission. In a few days, we would be out and able to share our findings with the team and the rest of the world. He gave us the pep talk that we all needed.

Despite Michael’s encouraging words to stay together, I didn’t feel like I was part of the team. The others walked right past me and only spoke to me when they had to. In spite of my confidence, I must say that I was hurt.

Once I stepped out of the box and saw the water with the help of my overhead light, I couldn’t believe that I was actually there. The wind tugged at our suits. It was more of a gentle breeze. The water made me think of a glacier with little plates of drifting ice. When I brought my light up close, the surface was a light blue. It seemed pristine like it had not been disturbed. I felt privileged to witness it.

On the first day, I along with Andrew and Alex conducted a preliminary dive.

We were collecting samples and exploring the sub-surface, looking for something unique and for any life form, when Andrew spoke on the radio.

“Oh my God… Oh my God, there’s something in the water guys.” His voice was panic-stricken.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he yelled back. “Get out the water now.”

I thought it was very strange. I didn’t see anything. I wondered if Andrew was playing a game.

Alex was ahead of me and Andrew followed behind as we swam back to the ice. The weight of the water was enough to push me back because of the increased current. I was trying to swim as fast as I could.

Something rose about six feet out of the water. It glowed bluish-green like a crystal jellyfish with long tentacles. I stopped swimming. I stopped breathing. I felt a tremble inside. Alex’s name formed in my throat. Nothing came out. Whatever it was seized and dismembered him into small pieces. It happened so quickly, as it changed its shape.

“Alex,” his name finally left my mouth but was nothing but a whimper. There was a stutter in my brain as my mind was catching up while my body remained afloat in the water.

“Martha, get out the water,” yelled Andrew and his voice broke me out of my trance.

“Something has killed Alex,” I said through tears as I continued to propel myself forward. The colors of the water around me turned into a deep blue then green before forming a whirlpool, making me dizzy. My body trembled and my vision was blurred. Something tugged at my legs. My head went underwater briefly. Thankfully, I was able to move away. My breaths were shallow and my arms grew weak from fighting the current.

“Martha,” yelled Alex over the radio. “Are you still there?”

I couldn’t respond. I was still in a mixed state of panic, desperation and confusion. I opened my eyes and it was heading towards me.

I went deeper into the water and missed it a second time. I continued to swim towards the water’s surface, adrenaline pumping through my body. I decided then that I wasn’t going to die. Not like this.

“Martha, where are you? Are you ok?” he called out through the radio.

I don’t know how I made it to the ice bank but I did. I took in some deep breaths, coughing in between. I wanted to take off my headpiece. But I knew if I did out here, I would likely freeze to death.

I looked around. Andrew was right behind. But where was he?

“Andrew, Andrew. Please, Andrew, answer me.”

“I can’t move,” he responded.

“What do you mean you can’t move?”

“I can’t feel anything. I think I’m paralyzed.”

I could see Andrew, then. His head was above water and he wasn’t far away.

“You can do it, Andrew,” I attempted to coach him.

Michael and the others were inside the box. No matter how many times I screamed for help, no one heard me. Connor came out to bring more supplies and he saw me. I pointed to Andrew. “I think he’s stuck. It’s not safe out there,” I said. I don’t think he heard the last part.

“Connor don’t,” I yelled. It was too late. He was already in and swimming towards Andrew. By now Michael and Mitch were out of the box. We all watched this creature come out of the water, rip Connor’s head off his body and force the rest of him in its mouth.

Mitch threw up in his headpiece. Michael grabbed my hands and ushered me inside the box pulling Mitch behind. I turned around but Andrew had disappeared.

As soon as we got inside the box, Michael tried desperately to reach out for help but we couldn’t get a hold of anyone.

“What in the world was that thing?” asked Mitch as he cleaned himself up. “We are not safe here. Soon it’ll come after us too.”

“Whatever it was had tentacles. It looked like a damned octopus. But the lake is freshwater!” I exclaimed. “It also changes color and moves so fast!”

“An octopus?” said Mitch.

All I could say at that point was, “I didn’t come all the way out here to die.”

“None of us came out here to die,” said Michael.

“You think Andrew, Alex and Connor wanted to die?” said Mitch angrily. “They have family and they have kids for crying out loud.”

I had a child once, I thought, but said nothing. Does that make my life worth less? I wondered. Even though we had not been friends, it was a shocking way to die, and I wished that they were with us still.

The atmosphere was somber the rest of the day. We all sat there in silence. I was devastated. Mitch sat with his head on his knees. Michael was still trying to reach our colleagues, but still not a word.

There really was no way out. We weren’t expected to surface for four more days, at least. We hoped that someone from the team would come down to investigate since they hadn’t heard from us in over a day.

“They wouldn’t leave us like this, right?” I asked, not expecting a response.

Whatever was out there could be coming after us next. Who knew when. The waters weren’t safe. We needed to get out of there and fast. Where do you go when you’re enclosed by thick layers of ice? This is not what we had planned for this expedition. We had imagined other dangers, had contingencies worked out for these, but not this.

We didn’t know what to do. Most of the time we sat around in silence, hoping that a voice might come through on the radio. Eventually I drifted to sleep.

I screamed out loud, waking myself and everyone else up.

“Are you ok?” asked Mitch. “Having a nightmare?”

“Yeh. A nightmare,” I responded as I regained control of my body. I was shivering from fear. “I am doing as good as I can be. How about you? Are you doing ok?”

“I don’t really know,” he said, “but we need to come up with a plan to get us the heck out of here alive.”

“I think it might be a good idea to get the cameras out and place some in the water,” said Michael. “Maybe we can get an idea of what’s out there and record some footage.”

I agreed, even though I was still fearful of the water.

Mitch and Michael went out to set up the cameras while I remained inside the box. I wasn’t ready to be near it again.

Our radio reception was not the best but it worked. That is, until there was complete silence on the other end. I thought that was odd. We had established a great connection with the cameras they’d already placed in the water. The footage coming through was clear and then it, too, just like the radios, began to experience connectivity issues. I rebooted the system and stepped outside.

“Hey, guys. My radio stopped working.”

They checked theirs. They didn’t work either. I pointed to an area where the once placid water was rippling.

“Hey, what’s that out there?”

A human figure appeared in a wet suit.

“Oh my gosh. Is that Andrew?” I asked.

The figure swam slowly towards us.

“Yeh. I think it’s Andrew,” said Mitch. He moved closer to the edge of the water. Just when Mitch extended his arm, the figure transformed into a transparent, ghost-like creature with 14 tentacles for arms. Water came crashing onto the ice bed. It grabbed Mitch and within seconds disappeared below the water’s surface as if nothing happened.

The water forced me down on the ice. I almost slipped away. Once I stood up, I grabbed Michael’s arm. He was still standing near the water with his jaw dropped, his eyes wide open. I tried to pull him, but he was transfixed and staring beyond me at the deep blue. I tapped his arm.

“Michael let’s go.” He didn’t move. It seemed as if that thing had sucked the life out of him. Then I heard the water splashing behind me. I turned and saw that something was leaving imprints on the ice bank, and it was heading straight for me.

“No. No. No. No. No,” I whispered to myself.

I grabbed Michael’s backpack and ran towards the box. It contained critical supplies. But when I got inside I discovered that the backpack had vanished from my hands. I looked outside and saw it out on the ice bed. What the heck happened?

“Darn it,” I said under my breath.

There it was again. My hands trembled as I closed the door. I didn’t blink when I saw tentacles inching towards me — it was gliding across the ice slowly yet effortlessly.

I barely made it in time. Locking the door, I ran to the far corner. I was shaking and unable to produce any coherent thought.

The box began to sway. I held on to one of the metal plates in the corner to stabilize myself. I grew dizzy. Then the system suddenly started up, and all I could hear was howling. The noise terrified me. I fell back and struck my head on the metal floor.

I don’t know how long I was out, but when I opened my eyes, I instantly recoiled from the pain in my head.

A sound came through our communications system — a little boy was singing. It was so enchanting that I felt the urge to find him and went searching for this beautiful tiny human being. My mind was aware of the pain in my head, but it seemed distant somehow. I wasn’t afraid. I followed my motherly instincts.

I don’t remember how I made it into the water but what a joy it was to see my son — my little baby boy, Jacob. He looked so grown up. Even though we never got to carry him home, I knew it was him when I saw him and I wanted to swim to him as fast as I could. But the more I swam, the farther away he appeared. My arms and feet grew tired. I called out to him.

“Jacob, can you help mommy. She needs you right now.”

“Yes, mommy, I will help you.” His voice echoed like an angel’s in the wind. Everything stood still. Even the water.

Then the once serene blue waters stirred. The entity rose up violently around me. My body went under with one swift movement. I felt a tightness around both feet. The entire wet suit was ripped off my skin. My body flinched. I gasped before breathing rapidly while water entered my lungs.

Tentacles like a cloud of arrows attacked me, ripping through my skin — digging between layers of flesh, gnawing at me bit by bit. The pain felt like tiny needles dipped in acid and poking into open wounds. I tried to move. My body was paralyzed and my jaw sealed with a slimy film. My eyes were drawn to the surface of the water. Bubbles broke out of my nostrils and burst as they travelled upwards. My leg was torn from the hip, sending a lightning strike directly to my brain. There was the taste of blood in the back of my throat. All screams were buried deep in my throat, and silenced by the water. I desperately wanted this agony to end.

Just when the pain was at its worst, I heard Jacob’s voice. My silent screams ceased. It was so soothing. I could no longer feel anything. I closed my eyes, happy that he had not abandoned me. Soon I would join him.