Chapter Text
Kate drove through the snow, the snowcar leaving trails. Her hands gripped the steering wheel, and her eyes were focused heavily on the path in front of her, illuminated by the yellow tinted light from the front lights on the car. Her hands were clammy, and wet, her grip of the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles were white and sore. Kate felt.. off. Her body hurt, and her ankle felt a stinging pain as she pressed on the gas pedal. She ignored it and kept driving. She made a wrong turn. The Russian base she was going to was in the opposite direction, but she kept driving anyway, towards the Swedish base in the cold, unforgiving storm. She couldn’t figure out why, but she felt the need to drive in this direction, like something was calling her here. As she veered off the path she was supposed to go, her hand loosened as she got ready to release her grip on the steering wheel. The snowcar stopped as she put it into neutral and engaged the parking brake. She opened the car door, and stepped out, her snowboots sinking in the deep pile of snow that coated the ground like a thick sheet of gel. She continued walking through the snow and walked towards the back of the Swedish research outpost. Her jacket fell onto the snow as she removed her warm outer-layers of clothing that kept her safe from the merciless and cold climate.
She sat down by the main building, taking in her surroundings around her one last time. The blue lights on top of the safety lines around the base gave off a ghoulish, yet comforting glow on the snow and ice below it, putting Kate at ease as she closed her eyes for the last time. She took a final, shaky breath as her body stiffened. Frozen, in the cold, until found in the morning.
In the morning, Nala and Mikael walked around the perimeter of the base to do maintenance, until they stumbled upon a frozen body. It was covered in a thick sheet of white frost, almost perfectly camouflaged in the snow around it. She was pale, stiff and had no signs of life. Frozen blood was surrounding both her mouth and nose, staining the light sheet of frost on her face a dark red. They both paused, processing what was in front of them. Still in shock, both Nala and Mikael ran around to the other side of the building to the front door. They swung the door open and sprinted inside, neglecting to close the door behind them, letting the ferocious and cold winds inside. Nala sprinted down the hallway, her running footsteps echoing through the corridors. She reached the sleeping quarters, and bolted to Alfred’s room. The door burst open, with Nala standing in the doorway. Alfred jolted awake, dazed and still half-asleep. “Alfred! There’s a dead woman… A dead woman- outside!” Nala yelled from the doorway at Alfred, stumbling over her words in panic. Alfred was now fully awake, shuffling up from his bed and putting on his heavy winter jacket on the coat-rack next to his bed. Nala ran back outside, and saw Mikael standing in front of the body. She assisted him in picking the woman up off of the frigid ground. They both lifted the woman, and scuffled back inside the base with her in their arms.
They took her into the medical room, and laid her frigid body down onto the table. Alfred met them inside the room, not expecting such a sight like this. He paused in the doorway, and took in what he was seeing, before fully entering into the room. “Well that’s strange.. What was she doing out here?..” Alfred said. “I- I don’t know.. She wasn’t wearing any jacket or coat.” Nala replied. Alfred draped a blanket over her lifeless, frozen body. Ebba, the cook, walked into the doorway of the room, curious as to what the three of them were up to. “What are you doing?” Ebba asked inquisitively, observing the three of them. “We found a body outside the back of the base.. We’re trying to find out how she died.” Nala answered. “She obviously died of hypothermia. She must’ve ripped off her clothes because she felt warm.” Alfred said. To everyone’s horror, the body started to move under the blanket. Alfred took the blanket off, and it started to squirm under the bright lights. Ebba gagged as the body’s limbs started to contort and twist, until it started to sprout bug-like appendages from her body. Nala staggered back in horror, unable to comprehend what she was looking at. One of the bug-like appendages quickly extended and scratched Ebba on the arm, trying to pull her towards it. Nala reacted, running out of the room, and then out into the corridor. She ran for the gun-storage, a glass case at the far-end of one of the hallways. She turned the corner, and could see the glass case at the end of the hallway. It seemed like miles away, the few seconds she spent sprinting towards the case felt like days. She could hear the screams of her co-workers in the autopsy room as she sprinted, making her feel like her heart jumped into her throat. As she reached the end of the hallway towards the glass cabinet of weapons, she slammed into the wall at the end of the hallway headfirst, and she collapsed in pain.
She heard the sound of her co-worker and her best friend, the radio operator, Elias snapping his fingers and the sensation of him shaking her awake. She let out a soft groan. “Hello?.. Earth to Nala?..” Elias spoke. He raised his hand, and slapped her across the face, making Nala jolt awake and sit up with a pained yelp. “She’s awake now!” Elias bellowed down the corridor to Alfred, who was in the gameroom. He was kneeled over her, watching her for Alfred while she was unconscious. “You were unconscious for like… an hour or two.” Elias said to Nala, trying to hide the fact that he was relieved that she was finally awake, but it was painfully obvious from how his tone sounded. Nala’s eyes scanned the room, looking for Ebba. “Where's Ebba?.. Where's Mikael?..” Nala worriedly slurred. “Mikael’s in the game-room, Ebba’s resting in her sleeping quarters,” Elias continued. “They’re gonna burn that thing that was in the med-bay, don’t worry.” Nala let out a heavy sigh of relief. Just then, she got her bearings and the area where Elias had stuck her started to ache. She balled up her fists and punched him below the gut, making a loud thud sound as her angry fist slammed against his soft skin. Elias let out a pained moan, and buckled over onto the floor. "H- Hey! What was that for!" Elias spoke. “That’s for slapping the shit outta me.” Nala said, before getting up off the floor, and waddling over to Ebba’s room.