Chapter 01
The air was thick with the smell of machine oil and grease and the only sound was the continual humming of the station's generator. The thick, musky smell of the camp was indicative of the men working the camp and maintaining the functions and daily routines.
The whole structure, beeped, clicked, hummed, and glowed with the life of an entire teem of highly trained researchers, inventors, workers, and other skilled men. This camp- "The Big Magnet"- was the living reflection of those who staffed it and kept it in good running condition, like any other well-oiled machine.
The station stuck out of the middle of a great plot of white ice and snow, like a frozen knoll in the middle of winter. A person could spend a whole day outside and never see anything different happen the whole time.
Everything was the same; the long, flat fields of pure white and then snow- covered mountains beyond that; the sky was a dull gray color. The sun was impossible to see in a place as gray as this, when the winter snow fall starts.
***
Cid dropped a couple of ice cubes into the glass and poured himself a drink of bourbon, good old J&B. The pilot was busy playing chess on the computer in front of him, but when the computer announced its next move and that he had lost, he reached over and pulled the plug on it. "Damn cheating machine." Cid swore to himself and he turned around in the swivel chair he was in. He leaned back and sighed as he waited in his shack, bored out of his mind.
The room was dimly lit by lamps and the walls were adorned by various posters of tropical beaches and women in bathing suits. That was the kind of life that Cid longed for. The pay was good out here, but he'd rather be working in Costa Del Sol, surrounded by sun an iced tea. not to mention some damn women!
Cid held up the letter he had received from the plane that had come almost ten weeks earlier, before the weather got real bed, it was from someone he knew, back home. The letter was important to him, the person who wrote it was even more important, someone back where he was from. his home town on the other side of the world, thousands of miles away. Cid sighed as he put the letter back in its drawer and locked it with the key.
Locks, everyone needs locks.
***
Hozloff looked up from his cards, at the other players, Wedge and Dyne were busy arranging their hands. Hozloff looked down at the two of them; heavy- set wedge in his turtle-neck sweater with his short curly hair and the tall, broad-shouldered Dyne with his short black hair and dark eyes.
Hozloff was in charge of the Station, and he had to maintain the manners and dignity that his position demanded, his presence had to demand respect right away, buthe also believed that how well he could play a good game of cards and how well his poker face was also decided on just how much the men respected him as their leader.
Hojo and Dr. Mideal were busy playing ping pong and the "clip-clop" of the plastic ball was audible as they went on. Hojo managed to send the ball flying past Mideal without him expecting it.
Mideal picked the ball up off the floor and walked back over to the table. "It's my turn to serve this time." He said as he tossed the ball onto the table and hit it with the paddle.
"Clip-Clop"
Biggs and Zangan were playing pool at the billiard table while the "bar light" shined down on them; Zangan's massive form dwarfing the skinny form of Biggs- the small brown haired cook.
Other members of the team were in the room, enjoying some time off from their research and some where elsewhere, maybe working. Some men were always working at one time or another.
None of them expected the sound of the explosion outside!
***
Cid jumped and looked around groggily, what the hell was that noise?
Just then, the door to his shack swung open and Cid found himself staring at the face of Dr. Mideal; the Doctor's beard was visible through the drawn hood of his parka. Cid looked up at the fully covered Mideal. "What's up?" He asked.
"Damnit Cid, stop trying to get drunk and get out there!" He commanded and then slipped back out the door.
***
Reeve, the computer technician, placed his books down onto his desk to go see what was happening outside. Everyone was up in arms about something, something that was going on outside. He reached over to retrieve his coat from a hook on the wall next to him. It was always something.
***
Dr. Mideal tramped down the steps from Cid's shack and made his way back into the snow.
Several of the other team members had gathered outside; Dyne and Wedge were standing in the snow, looking at the helicopter that was flying towards the camp.
The two men looked up to see Mideal come running up towards them.
"Hey, Doc, where's Cid?" Asked Dyne.
"He's coming. What's going on?" Dr. Mideal replied.
"Don't know." Dyne replied to the Physician in front of him.
Tseng (the Senior Mechanic) and Coats (the jive-talking Radio Operator) came running outside in confusion, Zangan behind them- not wearing his coat.
Cid flew out of his shack and practically blasted down the stepped, still holding his bourbon.
By now, everyone could see that the helicopter was after a sled dog. One of the men in it was dropping grenades down at it.
The husky ran up to Dyne and hopped up and leaned against him, panting and whining nervously. Dyne looked up at the helicopter in confusion at the chopper.
The helicopter landed in the snow and the two men got out of it, the man carrying a rifle went running after the dog, while the pilot fumbled to get another grenade out of the case. But, when he reached down to get it and then pulled the pin out, but as he was getting ready to throw it, he dropped into the snow.
Cid looked on as the helicopter and the pilot was blown away by an explosion. "What the hell?!" He exclaimed as he pulled a jacked over his upper body, which was only covered by his long underwear.
Everyone watched as the helicopter was burning.
***
Hozloff was looking out the window of the station at what was going on, he didn't like the way things were going, he reached down for the .38 caliber revolver at his side.
*** The man came running up to the group of people; Cid, Wedge, Dyne, Tseng, Coats, and some other men.
He called out something, but they couldn't understand the language. Still, the man's tone of voice related one thing that was very clear- something was wrong!
The strange man then lost patience with the group of scientists and started firing at them.
Cid and Wedge dived out of the way, into the snow as the bullets flew by, Wedge's large form leaving a deeper imprint in the snow as they dropped into it.
But, then, the man fired another shot, and that one hit Dyne in the leg. The others stepped back as Dyne fell to the ground and the dog went running from him.
The stranger flew through the group of people- who were afraid to try and approach him. Something had to be done! The man went on running after the husky, but went flying back when another shot was heard from the other direction.
***
Hozloff Placed his gun back into the holster at his side and then grabbed his coat and ski cap to join the others outside, leaving Reno and Biggs to look through the window that he had just broken open to shoot out of.
***
Dyne was lying in the snow, holding the side of his right thigh and cringing. He looked up to see Cid come running, his open jacket flapping as he ran and his bottle of bourbon in hand.
Cid kneeled down next to him. "Dyne, are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." He replied without looking up.
Cid stuck the bottle in Dyne's hand and ran off to go check on the other.
Dyne looked at the open bottle and took a quick swig from the bottle of J&B.
Some of the other men ran to go put out the burning remains of the helicopter while Zangan watched the dog walk up to him and stop. Zangan started petting the dog as he watched the others try and put the chopper out.
In this way, Hozloff had emerged from a large group of men had displayed his brass as the true leader of the group. He showed his power to rise up to the occasion and do what had to be done. To do what he must do to follow his duty as the camps Station Commander. It was Hozloff's job to hold order and calmness to the camp.
He really was the embodiment of a strong leader, the Old Soldier- unwavering dignity and determination, like a knight with his revolver- the object that symbolized his proverbial sword- at his side.
He had done what he had to do, and no one would ever question the necessity to cut the man down with quick efficiency. He did what he had to do.
Hozloff was watching as Cid and the others stepped back to let the others put out the fire.
Everyone stood there in disbelief, the burning remains of the helicopter lay before them as smoke rose up from it. Cid looked at it and frowned. "The first goddamned week of winter!" The pilot exclaimed in irritation at the mess that had just unfolded before them all in astoundingly absurd realism.
And so, in minutes, the calm of winter had been destroyed. A peace and quiet that took weeks, if not months, to create had been destroyed in just minutes and it was uncertain how soon it would return to them.
The group of some twenty-two men, this was the thing that none of them could have ever predicted would happen. It was an event out of novels and stories, a freakish event that was too unreal for words to explain, it even baffled human thought to a great extent.
Zangan stood by the dog as they both watched the scene, both thinking about all that had happened.
Separated from the rest of the team, both in location and in thought, Hojo- the tall, thin biologist- stood there, calculating and formulating thoughts and theories that only his startlingly adaptive and logical mind could think of.
Hojo was thinking, and pondering, his mind was at work going over the events that had just occurred. This was by all means- a bad omen!
~End of Chapter 01~
Please send me some reviews and let me know what you think, I'm eager to know what you all think of this.
Later,
Bojack
The air was thick with the smell of machine oil and grease and the only sound was the continual humming of the station's generator. The thick, musky smell of the camp was indicative of the men working the camp and maintaining the functions and daily routines.
The whole structure, beeped, clicked, hummed, and glowed with the life of an entire teem of highly trained researchers, inventors, workers, and other skilled men. This camp- "The Big Magnet"- was the living reflection of those who staffed it and kept it in good running condition, like any other well-oiled machine.
The station stuck out of the middle of a great plot of white ice and snow, like a frozen knoll in the middle of winter. A person could spend a whole day outside and never see anything different happen the whole time.
Everything was the same; the long, flat fields of pure white and then snow- covered mountains beyond that; the sky was a dull gray color. The sun was impossible to see in a place as gray as this, when the winter snow fall starts.
***
Cid dropped a couple of ice cubes into the glass and poured himself a drink of bourbon, good old J&B. The pilot was busy playing chess on the computer in front of him, but when the computer announced its next move and that he had lost, he reached over and pulled the plug on it. "Damn cheating machine." Cid swore to himself and he turned around in the swivel chair he was in. He leaned back and sighed as he waited in his shack, bored out of his mind.
The room was dimly lit by lamps and the walls were adorned by various posters of tropical beaches and women in bathing suits. That was the kind of life that Cid longed for. The pay was good out here, but he'd rather be working in Costa Del Sol, surrounded by sun an iced tea. not to mention some damn women!
Cid held up the letter he had received from the plane that had come almost ten weeks earlier, before the weather got real bed, it was from someone he knew, back home. The letter was important to him, the person who wrote it was even more important, someone back where he was from. his home town on the other side of the world, thousands of miles away. Cid sighed as he put the letter back in its drawer and locked it with the key.
Locks, everyone needs locks.
***
Hozloff looked up from his cards, at the other players, Wedge and Dyne were busy arranging their hands. Hozloff looked down at the two of them; heavy- set wedge in his turtle-neck sweater with his short curly hair and the tall, broad-shouldered Dyne with his short black hair and dark eyes.
Hozloff was in charge of the Station, and he had to maintain the manners and dignity that his position demanded, his presence had to demand respect right away, buthe also believed that how well he could play a good game of cards and how well his poker face was also decided on just how much the men respected him as their leader.
Hojo and Dr. Mideal were busy playing ping pong and the "clip-clop" of the plastic ball was audible as they went on. Hojo managed to send the ball flying past Mideal without him expecting it.
Mideal picked the ball up off the floor and walked back over to the table. "It's my turn to serve this time." He said as he tossed the ball onto the table and hit it with the paddle.
"Clip-Clop"
Biggs and Zangan were playing pool at the billiard table while the "bar light" shined down on them; Zangan's massive form dwarfing the skinny form of Biggs- the small brown haired cook.
Other members of the team were in the room, enjoying some time off from their research and some where elsewhere, maybe working. Some men were always working at one time or another.
None of them expected the sound of the explosion outside!
***
Cid jumped and looked around groggily, what the hell was that noise?
Just then, the door to his shack swung open and Cid found himself staring at the face of Dr. Mideal; the Doctor's beard was visible through the drawn hood of his parka. Cid looked up at the fully covered Mideal. "What's up?" He asked.
"Damnit Cid, stop trying to get drunk and get out there!" He commanded and then slipped back out the door.
***
Reeve, the computer technician, placed his books down onto his desk to go see what was happening outside. Everyone was up in arms about something, something that was going on outside. He reached over to retrieve his coat from a hook on the wall next to him. It was always something.
***
Dr. Mideal tramped down the steps from Cid's shack and made his way back into the snow.
Several of the other team members had gathered outside; Dyne and Wedge were standing in the snow, looking at the helicopter that was flying towards the camp.
The two men looked up to see Mideal come running up towards them.
"Hey, Doc, where's Cid?" Asked Dyne.
"He's coming. What's going on?" Dr. Mideal replied.
"Don't know." Dyne replied to the Physician in front of him.
Tseng (the Senior Mechanic) and Coats (the jive-talking Radio Operator) came running outside in confusion, Zangan behind them- not wearing his coat.
Cid flew out of his shack and practically blasted down the stepped, still holding his bourbon.
By now, everyone could see that the helicopter was after a sled dog. One of the men in it was dropping grenades down at it.
The husky ran up to Dyne and hopped up and leaned against him, panting and whining nervously. Dyne looked up at the helicopter in confusion at the chopper.
The helicopter landed in the snow and the two men got out of it, the man carrying a rifle went running after the dog, while the pilot fumbled to get another grenade out of the case. But, when he reached down to get it and then pulled the pin out, but as he was getting ready to throw it, he dropped into the snow.
Cid looked on as the helicopter and the pilot was blown away by an explosion. "What the hell?!" He exclaimed as he pulled a jacked over his upper body, which was only covered by his long underwear.
Everyone watched as the helicopter was burning.
***
Hozloff was looking out the window of the station at what was going on, he didn't like the way things were going, he reached down for the .38 caliber revolver at his side.
*** The man came running up to the group of people; Cid, Wedge, Dyne, Tseng, Coats, and some other men.
He called out something, but they couldn't understand the language. Still, the man's tone of voice related one thing that was very clear- something was wrong!
The strange man then lost patience with the group of scientists and started firing at them.
Cid and Wedge dived out of the way, into the snow as the bullets flew by, Wedge's large form leaving a deeper imprint in the snow as they dropped into it.
But, then, the man fired another shot, and that one hit Dyne in the leg. The others stepped back as Dyne fell to the ground and the dog went running from him.
The stranger flew through the group of people- who were afraid to try and approach him. Something had to be done! The man went on running after the husky, but went flying back when another shot was heard from the other direction.
***
Hozloff Placed his gun back into the holster at his side and then grabbed his coat and ski cap to join the others outside, leaving Reno and Biggs to look through the window that he had just broken open to shoot out of.
***
Dyne was lying in the snow, holding the side of his right thigh and cringing. He looked up to see Cid come running, his open jacket flapping as he ran and his bottle of bourbon in hand.
Cid kneeled down next to him. "Dyne, are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." He replied without looking up.
Cid stuck the bottle in Dyne's hand and ran off to go check on the other.
Dyne looked at the open bottle and took a quick swig from the bottle of J&B.
Some of the other men ran to go put out the burning remains of the helicopter while Zangan watched the dog walk up to him and stop. Zangan started petting the dog as he watched the others try and put the chopper out.
In this way, Hozloff had emerged from a large group of men had displayed his brass as the true leader of the group. He showed his power to rise up to the occasion and do what had to be done. To do what he must do to follow his duty as the camps Station Commander. It was Hozloff's job to hold order and calmness to the camp.
He really was the embodiment of a strong leader, the Old Soldier- unwavering dignity and determination, like a knight with his revolver- the object that symbolized his proverbial sword- at his side.
He had done what he had to do, and no one would ever question the necessity to cut the man down with quick efficiency. He did what he had to do.
Hozloff was watching as Cid and the others stepped back to let the others put out the fire.
Everyone stood there in disbelief, the burning remains of the helicopter lay before them as smoke rose up from it. Cid looked at it and frowned. "The first goddamned week of winter!" The pilot exclaimed in irritation at the mess that had just unfolded before them all in astoundingly absurd realism.
And so, in minutes, the calm of winter had been destroyed. A peace and quiet that took weeks, if not months, to create had been destroyed in just minutes and it was uncertain how soon it would return to them.
The group of some twenty-two men, this was the thing that none of them could have ever predicted would happen. It was an event out of novels and stories, a freakish event that was too unreal for words to explain, it even baffled human thought to a great extent.
Zangan stood by the dog as they both watched the scene, both thinking about all that had happened.
Separated from the rest of the team, both in location and in thought, Hojo- the tall, thin biologist- stood there, calculating and formulating thoughts and theories that only his startlingly adaptive and logical mind could think of.
Hojo was thinking, and pondering, his mind was at work going over the events that had just occurred. This was by all means- a bad omen!
~End of Chapter 01~
Please send me some reviews and let me know what you think, I'm eager to know what you all think of this.
Later,
Bojack