Chapter 03
The wind howled madly throughout the burned remains of the Camp, smoke stacks rose up everywhere, burned broken walls jutted out of the desolate foundations.
The group stepped out of the helicopter, except for Henson. Hozloff turned to him and instructed him to remain in the helicopter in case something went wrong while the rest of them went off to investigate the camp. Cid and the others looked around. The camp was in ruins, week fires burned in a few places and smoke rose up in great pillars all over the place. The remaining walls were burned and scorched by unknown forces.
The wind passed through cracks and blast holes and made noises like the shrill howls of maddened wolves. The places also reeked with a stale odor, almost like rotting flesh; it was as if the camp itself was dead. Cid held the shotgun close his body, suddenly feeling vulnerable.
Hozloff looked around. "What the hell happened here?" He asked the other three men, looking between them. "Looks like they were at war." Mideal remarked as he looked around. Cid looked at the Doctor. "Yeah, but who were they at war with." He retorted as he looked at the burnt wreckage.
Tseng walked up to Cid. "I don't like this," He began. "This entire mission is very bad; I don't expect to find any survivors." The mechanic stated matter-of-factly. "Yeah, I've got a bad feeling about this too." The pilot replied.
"Come on, lets go on in and check it out." Hozloff interjected, suddenly. "Tseng will come with me." He announced and then turned to their pilot. "Cid, you go with Mideal in through the front while the two of us go in through the back." Hozloff informed him.
So, the four of them split up and went in to check out the camp.
He had seen this coming, so it was no problem for him to wait by himself inside the chopper.
Henson pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a match that he struck across his boot. He looked out into the snow fields. For a moment he though that he saw something. but then he didn't se anything. probably just the wind.
***
Cid and Dr. Mideal walked up to the front door of the station and found that it was busted- the handle and lock were blasted off by some kind of firearm. Cid leaned into the door, and pushed it open. He looked over at Mideal, who gave an uncertain expression in return.
"I think it would be best if I lead the way, Doc." Cid suggested in a serious tone, after reading the expression on the Doctor's face. Mideal just nodded and waited for him to go on in and then followed behind.
***
Cid stepped into the hallway; he could hear the wind blowing down through the corridors. He stepped forward, gripped the shotgun, and spoke. "Hey, Gogonga!" He exclaimed. "Wutai, Cid." Mideal corrected as he immerged through the doorway behind him. Cid nodded mechanically, not really sure if he'd remember to say it right next time.
The two men slowly walked down through the hall- Cid leading. The howl of the wind echoed throughout the corridor through a gaping whole in the ceiling. Long dead fluorescent lights hung jaggedly from the roof like vines. They stopped when they came up to a fire axe lodged in a door halfway down the hall. Cid grabbed hold of the instrument and tried to remove it, but the effort proved futile as the axe was practically "fused" to the door by the thick layer of ash-infused ice. The fact that the doorknob had been chopped off didn't help either; so, Cid took hold of the iced axe handle and pulled the door open with it, instead.
***
The Pilot and the Doctor stepped into a large room. Much like the rest of the complex, the power was out, so the room was very dark now, interrupted only by the pools of light coming from the various holes in the walls and ceilings.
The lands here were harsh, even now; icicles were forming on the jagged openings.
Mideal's boot stopped suddenly, making a soft "crunch" in the frosted iced that covered the floor. The Doctor looked down slowly onto the floor and something caught his eye- something that was dark red, and deep. He quickly realized that the spot snaked off into a trail going off to the right of where he stood. He followed the trail of red with his eyes and something that caught him off guard. The flat trail suddenly changed into a crimson-colored icicle that led up to a wrist. Mideal traced a path up the blue wrist up to see a frozen corpse of a man, sitting with his back to him. The man's wrist's had been slit. and so had his throat, and the other hand held onto an old fashioned shaving razor- also bloody. The Doctor backed up. "Cid!" He exclaimed. "Hey Cid, come look at this!" He called out nervously.
The pilot walked up beside Mideal and looked at the corpse with him. The Doctor shined his flashlight at it. "This is bad Cid, what you think could have happened to these people?" He asked.
"Is it Suicide?" Asked Cid, looking at the wrists.
"Well, it looks like that was one of thing that happened to the man." He began. "But, this; look at this, Cid." He said, pointing to the deep cut across the throat. "If he did cut his own wrists for some reason, then it seems that someone else decided to help him along." Mideal announced as he looked at the body.
Cid looked at the corpse uneasily, but the thing that really got to him was the man's expression. His face was literally frozen into a mask of howling fear and terror; it seemed that the elements would not even allow him the dignity of a dead man as he sat there, his eyes wide open and his mouth stuck in a screaming position. "Doc, why do I get the feeling that we've walked into a tomb rather then a station?" Cid asked.
Mideal looked back at him. "More like a graveyard." He replied grimly.
"What the hell could have happened here to make these turn against one anther? These were all intelligent and logical people, what could have happened?" Exclaimed Mideal.
The Pilot placed his hand on the Doctor's Shoulder. "Somehow, I don't think we want to know the answer." Cid remarked, out loud.
The two men began looking around for anything else that might shed some light on what had happened. They quickly split up again to cover more ground.
Mideal was looking around the place when he spotted a bookshelf with several things lying on top of it. Mideal made his way over to the shelf and finds several folders filled with reports written in Wutai-script. There were also some video tapes and rolled up charts. The tapes were labels in Wutai, so the Doctor had no chance of understanding them.
Just then, Cid called for him to come see something. Mideal tucked the folders into his jacket and zipped it up all the way, he decided to make sure to get a case to bring the tapes back with them to their camp.
He turned around and began walking towards where Cid was. Mideal looked forward and saw that he was standing beyond a doorway, and icicles were hanging down from the empty frame. Strangely, it reminded him of the gaping maw of some great horror of days gone past. A terrible mouth with a jaw of ridged icicles for wickedly spiked teeth. The image sent a chill down his spine. It seemed like some kind of terrible premonition.
However, with some reluctance, he walked into the 'mouth of madness'.
***
Cid glared down pensively at the object in front of him when Mideal walked in to join him. It was a block of ice, but it wasn't solid, the inside was completely hollowed out, making it look more like a bathtub. It was large, too, at least eight feet long and three feet high and it looked to be about four and a half feet wide.
"What do you make of it, Doc?" Cid asked the Doctor as he stood beside him.
"I don't know Cid, I don't know." The Doctor replied to the man's question.
***
Hozloff and Tseng looked down into the snow at the form in front of them. He turned around to see Cid and Dr. Mideal come running up to join them.
The four of them huddled together and looked down at the 'thing' in the snow. Amazingly, the four men were at a complete loss for words.
It was Mideal who finally broke the silence. He looked down at it and frowned. "Is that a person in there, somewhere?" He asked the group in disgust, hoping for some kind of answer.
"This one is coming back with us." Hozloff announced to the other three men. He then turned to Cid and Mideal. "Did you find any survivors?" He asked them grimly.
Cid shook his head to gesture "no" and frowned. "None, just a corpse." Cid replied.
Tseng frowned. "Yeah, we only found corpses as well." He replied.
"This place is a graveyard," Hozloff commented. "There's no more reason for us to hang around here." The Commander added, resigning himself to the depressing situation. He then turned to Cid. "Go get Henson and have him bring a tarp to move this 'thing'." He instructed the pilot.
Cid nodded and broke out into a sprint towards the helicopter, disappearing into the distance.
***
Henson looked over his shoulder as the door slid open. "Cid, your back." He remarked as he watched the man climb in.
Cid looked over at Henson. The short, red-haired man frowned, moving his beard along with the lines on his face.
The Pilot then spoke. "Henson, get out one of those heavy canvas blankets and come with me." he instructed him.
Henson nodded. "Right, Cid." He replied as he put out his cigarette and got up.
***
The wind howled madly throughout the burned remains of the Camp, smoke stacks rose up everywhere, burned broken walls jutted out of the desolate foundations.
The group stepped out of the helicopter, except for Henson. Hozloff turned to him and instructed him to remain in the helicopter in case something went wrong while the rest of them went off to investigate the camp. Cid and the others looked around. The camp was in ruins, week fires burned in a few places and smoke rose up in great pillars all over the place. The remaining walls were burned and scorched by unknown forces.
The wind passed through cracks and blast holes and made noises like the shrill howls of maddened wolves. The places also reeked with a stale odor, almost like rotting flesh; it was as if the camp itself was dead. Cid held the shotgun close his body, suddenly feeling vulnerable.
Hozloff looked around. "What the hell happened here?" He asked the other three men, looking between them. "Looks like they were at war." Mideal remarked as he looked around. Cid looked at the Doctor. "Yeah, but who were they at war with." He retorted as he looked at the burnt wreckage.
Tseng walked up to Cid. "I don't like this," He began. "This entire mission is very bad; I don't expect to find any survivors." The mechanic stated matter-of-factly. "Yeah, I've got a bad feeling about this too." The pilot replied.
"Come on, lets go on in and check it out." Hozloff interjected, suddenly. "Tseng will come with me." He announced and then turned to their pilot. "Cid, you go with Mideal in through the front while the two of us go in through the back." Hozloff informed him.
So, the four of them split up and went in to check out the camp.
He had seen this coming, so it was no problem for him to wait by himself inside the chopper.
Henson pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a match that he struck across his boot. He looked out into the snow fields. For a moment he though that he saw something. but then he didn't se anything. probably just the wind.
***
Cid and Dr. Mideal walked up to the front door of the station and found that it was busted- the handle and lock were blasted off by some kind of firearm. Cid leaned into the door, and pushed it open. He looked over at Mideal, who gave an uncertain expression in return.
"I think it would be best if I lead the way, Doc." Cid suggested in a serious tone, after reading the expression on the Doctor's face. Mideal just nodded and waited for him to go on in and then followed behind.
***
Cid stepped into the hallway; he could hear the wind blowing down through the corridors. He stepped forward, gripped the shotgun, and spoke. "Hey, Gogonga!" He exclaimed. "Wutai, Cid." Mideal corrected as he immerged through the doorway behind him. Cid nodded mechanically, not really sure if he'd remember to say it right next time.
The two men slowly walked down through the hall- Cid leading. The howl of the wind echoed throughout the corridor through a gaping whole in the ceiling. Long dead fluorescent lights hung jaggedly from the roof like vines. They stopped when they came up to a fire axe lodged in a door halfway down the hall. Cid grabbed hold of the instrument and tried to remove it, but the effort proved futile as the axe was practically "fused" to the door by the thick layer of ash-infused ice. The fact that the doorknob had been chopped off didn't help either; so, Cid took hold of the iced axe handle and pulled the door open with it, instead.
***
The Pilot and the Doctor stepped into a large room. Much like the rest of the complex, the power was out, so the room was very dark now, interrupted only by the pools of light coming from the various holes in the walls and ceilings.
The lands here were harsh, even now; icicles were forming on the jagged openings.
Mideal's boot stopped suddenly, making a soft "crunch" in the frosted iced that covered the floor. The Doctor looked down slowly onto the floor and something caught his eye- something that was dark red, and deep. He quickly realized that the spot snaked off into a trail going off to the right of where he stood. He followed the trail of red with his eyes and something that caught him off guard. The flat trail suddenly changed into a crimson-colored icicle that led up to a wrist. Mideal traced a path up the blue wrist up to see a frozen corpse of a man, sitting with his back to him. The man's wrist's had been slit. and so had his throat, and the other hand held onto an old fashioned shaving razor- also bloody. The Doctor backed up. "Cid!" He exclaimed. "Hey Cid, come look at this!" He called out nervously.
The pilot walked up beside Mideal and looked at the corpse with him. The Doctor shined his flashlight at it. "This is bad Cid, what you think could have happened to these people?" He asked.
"Is it Suicide?" Asked Cid, looking at the wrists.
"Well, it looks like that was one of thing that happened to the man." He began. "But, this; look at this, Cid." He said, pointing to the deep cut across the throat. "If he did cut his own wrists for some reason, then it seems that someone else decided to help him along." Mideal announced as he looked at the body.
Cid looked at the corpse uneasily, but the thing that really got to him was the man's expression. His face was literally frozen into a mask of howling fear and terror; it seemed that the elements would not even allow him the dignity of a dead man as he sat there, his eyes wide open and his mouth stuck in a screaming position. "Doc, why do I get the feeling that we've walked into a tomb rather then a station?" Cid asked.
Mideal looked back at him. "More like a graveyard." He replied grimly.
"What the hell could have happened here to make these turn against one anther? These were all intelligent and logical people, what could have happened?" Exclaimed Mideal.
The Pilot placed his hand on the Doctor's Shoulder. "Somehow, I don't think we want to know the answer." Cid remarked, out loud.
The two men began looking around for anything else that might shed some light on what had happened. They quickly split up again to cover more ground.
Mideal was looking around the place when he spotted a bookshelf with several things lying on top of it. Mideal made his way over to the shelf and finds several folders filled with reports written in Wutai-script. There were also some video tapes and rolled up charts. The tapes were labels in Wutai, so the Doctor had no chance of understanding them.
Just then, Cid called for him to come see something. Mideal tucked the folders into his jacket and zipped it up all the way, he decided to make sure to get a case to bring the tapes back with them to their camp.
He turned around and began walking towards where Cid was. Mideal looked forward and saw that he was standing beyond a doorway, and icicles were hanging down from the empty frame. Strangely, it reminded him of the gaping maw of some great horror of days gone past. A terrible mouth with a jaw of ridged icicles for wickedly spiked teeth. The image sent a chill down his spine. It seemed like some kind of terrible premonition.
However, with some reluctance, he walked into the 'mouth of madness'.
***
Cid glared down pensively at the object in front of him when Mideal walked in to join him. It was a block of ice, but it wasn't solid, the inside was completely hollowed out, making it look more like a bathtub. It was large, too, at least eight feet long and three feet high and it looked to be about four and a half feet wide.
"What do you make of it, Doc?" Cid asked the Doctor as he stood beside him.
"I don't know Cid, I don't know." The Doctor replied to the man's question.
***
Hozloff and Tseng looked down into the snow at the form in front of them. He turned around to see Cid and Dr. Mideal come running up to join them.
The four of them huddled together and looked down at the 'thing' in the snow. Amazingly, the four men were at a complete loss for words.
It was Mideal who finally broke the silence. He looked down at it and frowned. "Is that a person in there, somewhere?" He asked the group in disgust, hoping for some kind of answer.
"This one is coming back with us." Hozloff announced to the other three men. He then turned to Cid and Mideal. "Did you find any survivors?" He asked them grimly.
Cid shook his head to gesture "no" and frowned. "None, just a corpse." Cid replied.
Tseng frowned. "Yeah, we only found corpses as well." He replied.
"This place is a graveyard," Hozloff commented. "There's no more reason for us to hang around here." The Commander added, resigning himself to the depressing situation. He then turned to Cid. "Go get Henson and have him bring a tarp to move this 'thing'." He instructed the pilot.
Cid nodded and broke out into a sprint towards the helicopter, disappearing into the distance.
***
Henson looked over his shoulder as the door slid open. "Cid, your back." He remarked as he watched the man climb in.
Cid looked over at Henson. The short, red-haired man frowned, moving his beard along with the lines on his face.
The Pilot then spoke. "Henson, get out one of those heavy canvas blankets and come with me." he instructed him.
Henson nodded. "Right, Cid." He replied as he put out his cigarette and got up.
***