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Hope things have calmed down a bit after the Polar Vortex.
Chapter 3: The Crystal Cave
A surge of adrenaline kicked in and he flailed and flung out his limbs to find a grip at something, anything, anywhere to break his fall.
There was no purchase on the slippery ice and rocks but neither was there time to process this and by then, he'd reached the bottom a lot sooner than he'd anticipated – like in a dream – for it wasn't even as steep or deep. It was just that he'd had no idea. Once he'd started slipping and falling, there was no telling how far, how deep, or how steep his ride down would be.
He landed hard and awkwardly on his back, breathing hard and looking up the steep sloping entrance to an ice cave.
Still panting with exertion and heart pounding wildly in his chest, the adrenaline slowly faded and he grimaced at the pain flaring in his shoulder, made worse by the strap of his backpack pulling at the joint.
He closed his eyes and painfully rid himself of the backpack. As soon as he was done, he clenched his right arm, and, swallowing, decided to sit up for a good look at the place he'd ended up into.
"Well," he said with a slight tremor to his voice and a little giddily, "looks like I found myself that shelter after all..."
A sound to his right made him snap his head in that direction which he instantly regretted.
"Hello," the only other occupant of the ice cave welcomed him, "A rather unceremonious entry, if I may say so… I hope you're with the rescue party?"
A light went on and Tim blinked at the onset of a headache and a sudden dizzy spell before squinting at the other man's face and clothes.
Eureka ! He'd found the other missing person – and alive! Granted it was entirely by accident…what with being lost himself in this godforsaken place.
The surge of relief of finding the Danish Lieutenant Nørsgård alive and kicking was short-lived. He was no longer alone but salvation was still nowhere in sight.
A bittersweet feeling at best.
"Lieutenant Birger Nørsgård, I presume?"
The Danish officer grinned.
"That's right. Soooo…" Lt. Nørsgård paused before carefully continuing, "not lost yourself, I may hope? That would be too awkward and quite a downer."
When Tim didn't reply straightaway, he let out a sigh, knowing the answer by the NCIS Agent's telling silence.
"Lieutenant Nørsgård, I…"
The Dane laughed in spite of his disappointment and the dire situation the two men had found themselves in. He limped over to where Tim lay and hauled Tim to his feet by taking a hold on the agent's left arm.
"Just call me Birger. Pleased to meet you…uhm…"
Tim shakily stood up and swayed slightly, clutching at his right arm again, his shoulder screaming in pain.
Lieutenant Nørsgård, observing Tim's pasty face, steadied him and, gently holding Tim by the elbow, steered him towards a dry spot further up into the cave where he sat the injured agent down.
Tim gratefully leaned back against an ice smoothed boulder and closed his eyes against the black spots which told him he'd got himself a minor concussion on top of his botched shoulder. Dislocated shoulder. The same as when he'd tried to subdue that PTSD Marine, Damon Werth, who'd broken Tony's nose in the process.
"I'm Agent Timothy McGee from NCIS. And you may call me Tim…considering the situation we've got ourselves into," Tim introduced himself as he wearily pulled off his balaclava.
Birger shrugged. "Well, if the weather doesn't improve, I'm afraid we'll both be cooped up here for some time. So let's make the best of this. However, first things first."
He crouched down by Tim's side and leaned forward to take a closer look at Tim's face, observing the white patches.
Birger reached out his hands to gently press it to McGee's skin and explained. "You suffer from frost nip. Re-warming the affected area is what you need, right now."
The numb frost nip white skin was soon replaced by glowing red.
"You'll be fine," the Dane declared, dropping his hands and sitting back to get comfortable beside Tim. "By the way, you don't have any food on you, have you?"
"I've got some granola bars… They're in my backpack. Help yourself."
"Thanks, mate," Birger gratefully replied as he pushed himself up again to retrieve Tim's discarded backpack. "Let's see what other treats you've brought… A head flashlight. GPS. A flare… That might still come in handy. And extra batteries for the flashlight. Excellent…"
The lieutenant's face fell when his search didn't reveal the one item he'd been looking for: a satellite phone.
He turned to ask Tim but found he'd already nodded off. Ah well, he would ask about it later and clambered back towards the NCIS agent.
Tim was brought back to full consciousness when the other brushed against him, trying to find a modicum of comfort by his side.
Birger once again gave him a once-over and frowned. "I noticed you hurt your shoulder in that spectacular tumble. Let me take a look at it."
"I think…I've dislocated it…again," Tim hissed as he tried to sit up for Birger to help him remove his thick coat and jumper.
After they were done, Birger gave him a longer assessing look, taking in Tim's now sickly pallor and a sheen of transpiration covering his brow.
"Right. I believe you're right. Now, let me fix this. I guess you already know this'll hurt but there's no other way. The sooner we get it back into place, the faster it'll heal. So, brace yourself. Or rather…don't brace yourself."
"I know, I know!" Tim gritted between his teeth. "Just…don't ramble and…just do it…quick!"
There was the awful sound of the joint popping back into its proper place, followed by Tim's sharp outcry of pain and an oath escaping his lips.
"That went well, I have to admit," Birger chuckled.
Tim, gingerly holding the offended arm, glared at the Danish officer. Damn the man for being such a…such a…Pollyanna! Geez!
Birger shifted to take something from the side before turning back to his patient.
"Let's get that shoulder stabilized, shall we? If this has happened before, it's likely it'll pop out again and we don't want that."
With deft hands, Birger bound up Tim's shoulder, finishing by strapping the injured limb with an improvised sling to Tim's torso. Carefully, the jumper went over the shoulder again, offering some more support, and lastly the coat. It was good to be warmer again…for what it was worth.
"Okay. Dinner time!"
They both sat in silence, munching their granola bars, while outside, the polar night was falling.
After finishing his meager meal, Tim shifted into a more comfortable position and soon dozed off into a fitful sleep, helped by his exhaustion.
All around them, the glacier was alive, making little cracking noises in the stillness of the Arctic night.
At some point, Tim was pulled from his uneasy slumber, his head feeling like it weighed a ton, by a particularly sharp crack which resonated in the cave.
He felt Lt. Nørsgård stir beside him. "Yup. It's breathing," the Dane blithely said, his face barely discernable in the gloom.
This laconic man positively irked Tim. Was every situation a joke or what?
"It is breathing? What are you talking about?"
The other smiled, his teeth the only things visible. "The ice. The glacier. It's constantly on the move, you see? But don't worry. We won't be crushed. Not in this season and not at the rate this mass goes. You wouldn't want to venture in here in the summer when the ice melts. Large chunks crumble off straight into the ocean. A magnificent sight, really, but not one you want to experience up close. Now, the fjord's frozen over anyhow, so, sorry mate, no spectacular calving for you." Birger chuckled, fondly, as if talking about a living being, a friend…
Now that he felt up to it, Tim took the time to let his gaze roam around the cave, the combined flashlights' beams illuminating the cave's frozen and glassy walls. The real beauty of the glacier lay hidden beneath the surface, and Tim's mouth fell open at the sheer magic beauty.
The color of the ice was a deep and striking blue and he'd never seen such a thing before.
Centuries old ice pressed together and hidden from sunlight gave the ice its intense blue hue. The shadows enhanced the bulbous and smooth transparent walls.
It truly was a stunning sight.
And suddenly, he felt a pang that all this was changing…disappearing due to the climate changes.
BTW, has anyone seen the aurora's, this past week? Sadly enough, the skies had been overcast in my neck of the woods and the predicted 30% chance of seeing one turned to a solid 0% when the CME impact turned out weaker than expected.
Aaarrrghhh! All my hopes to finally see one were dashed. *sigh*