Chapter 8: Victor

It was the heat he felt first. Very faint, but he could feel the temperature rise ever so slightly.

Then came the sound. A roaring, burning sound that grew unbearably loud.

Victor cautiously tread through the deep snow to the outside of the cave. He looked up. To his horror, a massive raging fireball was descending from the sky and heading straight towards him.

He desperately scanned the horizon. In the distance, he could see the young Inuit boy he loved so dearly running in his direction.

"Mr. Fries! Mr. Fries!"

No. He has to go back. It's too dangerous.

"KOONAK! KOONAK, TURN AROUND! RUN, KOONAK! RUN!"

He waited anxiously for Koonak to process what he had said, and breathed a sigh of relief when the boy turned and ran the other way.

The noise was now deafening, and the heat was excruciating. Victor struggled greatly to trudge back into the cave in which he resided. He clutched his ears while his body began to overheat, and he was losing more and more of his energy. Soon the raging inferno would crash nearby, and Victor would be burnt alive. He dropped to his knees, ready to accept his fate.

Nora.

He looked up. In front of him was his beautiful wife, floating like an angel in front of him. He used the last of his energy to lift his hand and place it on the glass.

Farewell, my love. We shall meet again soon.


"...hear me Mr. Fries? Mr. Fries, wake up!"

Victor opened his eyes. He soon fully regained his sight and saw the face of Koonak staring down at him.

Is this the afterlife? No, I told him to run! I told him to... Nora? Where is Nora?

"You made it, Mr. Fries," Koonak told him, "you survived!"

What? I can't have... I feel no pain... I feel... cool...

Victor realised just what was making him feel this cool. He looked in front of him and saw that he was buried in a heap of snow and several blocks of ice. He realised that he was, in fact, still alive.

"The ice from the roof of the cave fell and kept you cool," Koonak explained to him.

Victor moved slowly out of his position, stood up and brushed the sleet off his clothes. He turned around and breathed another sigh of relief when he saw that the glass chamber containing his wife was still completely intact.

Perhaps our time isn't up after all.

Victor and Koonak made their way to the mouth of the cave. Before them in the distance was a massive hole in the ice that extended several miles towards the horizon. Victor walked over to the edge of the broken ice and dived into the water. He swam down several metres before seeing what lay at the very bottom of the sea bed.

A spaceship.

No. It's too dangerous.

Victor climbed out of the water, and he and Koonak returned to their cave.

"What are you doing, Mr. Fries?" Koonak asked, concerned about what his surrogate father was doing.

"I have to investigate whatever landed in the sea. It could be very dangerous for all we know." Victor opened a special chest he used only in extreme circumstances. He removed a rolled up map from the chest and handed it to Koonak. "If I don't return within three hours, I want you to follow this map to the nearest settlement. Stay there and show them where to find Nora. I've marked on the map where we are now, so it will be easy for them. They'll look after you, you'll be safe there."

Koonak was on the verge of tears. Victor knelt down and pulled him into a hug.

"Don't worry, Koonak," Victor said, comforting him, "I'm sure it will be nothing. I just want you to know what to do in case something bad happens. I'm very proud of you. You know that?"

Koonak nodded. Victor stood back up and walked over to his chest. "I won't be long," he said as he pulled his cryogenic suit and ice gun from out of the chest.


Victor, now fully suited up, descended lower into the depths of the Arctic Sea. As he gained a closer look at the spaceship he saw that it was elliptical in its shape, and the exterior was constructed from a strange shiny blue metal. Strangely he noticed that the ship had no windows, and as he further approached it, he saw that its only entry point was a small hatch on its left side. Victor reached out to see if he could open the hatch, but before he made his attempt the door automatically swung open.

Victor swam through the hatch, which closed behind him. He found himself in a small room, and he expected the water to drain out, but instead the door in front of him opened, leading into a water filled hallway. He continued through the long passageway, but before he could reach the room at the end, he suddenly found himself trapped within a strange force-field bubble. He tried to break out of it, but he was unsuccessful.

Suddenly the bubble began to rise up into a tube in the ceiling, and emerged in a large, spacious room that was shrouded in darkness. The bubble disappeared, and Victor found himself standing on solid, dry ground.

The room suddenly housed five blindingly bright lights that all shone at Victor, who tried to shield his eyes with no success.

Why have you taken an interest in our vessel?

"Wh... what?"

Answer the question.

"I don't... I don't underst..."

Answer the question.

Victor sighed. He had no idea who he was talking to. "You want to know why I took an interest in your vessel? Because your vessel nearly killed my family!"

There was a delayed response from the calm and unsettling voice.

We apologise for our negligence. Our vessel is damaged. We had little control during our descent.

The voice he heard was devoid of all emotion.

"Who are you, and why have you come here?" Victor asked.

Again, he waited a long time for the response.

We are the First. We have come for a certain human boy entitled 'Nexus'. You are well equipped. Therefore, we would be appreciative if you were to retrieve it for us.

"I'm sorry? Who is this Nexus? What exactly do you want with him?"

We are unable to explain to you the significance of its being. We can only ask that you agree to our terms and retrieve the boy for us.

Victor wasn't going to do them a favour without knowing what they will do.

"Or what?"

Victor blacked out.

When he came to, he found himself still standing where he stood before.

Standing in front of him was Nora.

You will not remember the events that have just transpired. It was you that brought the woman to our vessel. You were under our control.

"How dare you!"

These are the terms of our agreement. If you agree to retrieve the boy entitled 'Nexus', the woman standing before you will be cured, and will be released once you complete our task. Failure to comply will result in the termination of both of your lives. Will you comply?

Victor was left with a difficult choice. If he agreed, his beloved wife would finally be free and well, but not knowing what they plan to do with this 'Nexus' was a massive risk that the future of the human race could potentially depend on. Not agreeing would result in both of their deaths, but the First would be unable to find 'Nexus' on their own.

They would just find another person to find him. In this case, taking the selfless option was the illogical option. His only choice was to help the First and pray that whatever they planned to do would be merciful.

"Alright. I'll do it."

Thank you, Victor. We shall enjoy working with you very much.


A/N: Big thanks to those who have followed, reviewed and favourited so far! I decided to go for something different here and provide some context as to why Mr. Freeze was working for the First. For the voices of the First, I've always imagined something similar to that of HAL 9000, and for now I'm keeping their physical appearance a mystery. Thanks for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed it.