.

The Long Dark

II.

Dwelling

Alaska, 2004

Leon and Jill looked at each other in the cold morning air for a long moment -a reunion of the unexpected and most delightful sort.

Jill tilted her head, "Don't you know? Ass deep in alligators."

His grin flashed as he answered, "At least they got a bite of you."

Jill's eyes sparkled in the sunlight with humor. "Jealous?"

"It's leaning that way."

She looked gorgeous. The smooth skin, blue eyes, and pouty mouth haunted him for weeks after he'd left her. The sight of her leveled him and left him feeling a little bit more like a man instead of a machine. He had that impulse to put a hand on her arm to touch her and make sure she was real. Generally, the gods weren't good enough to give him exactly what he needed when he craved it.

And yet...here she was.

They stood there studying each other for a few moments in the swirling sunlight.

He looked like he'd aged since the last time she'd seen him, which hadn't been more than a handful of months. An edge of tiredness on his face made him look lightyears older than he should have. She knew he'd been bouncing around the country like a legendary bioterror Tigger- saving lives and making a name for himself. It hadn't been more than days since he'd emerged from a full-scale outbreak in Pittsburgh. Did he sleep? Did they let him sleep or eat or stop?

It seemed unlikely.

The shaggy hair was lost beneath the hat, the sluggish growth of whiskers on his face charming. She wanted to touch the tired lines beside his eyes and soothe him. But he looked...so happy. He just looked delighted, standing in the sun in front of her. It made her happy too.

The ugly brown scarf wrapped at his throat didn't suit him. He needed what? Something more colorful. Something more suiting to such a face. The olive drab and brown dwarfed him, taking a hero and making him ordinary.

She mused, "We should really meet under better circumstances...I can't stand all this godforsaken snow."

"...you know what they say, right?"

Jill waited for it. She knew it was coming. She saw him think of it, and then he finished, "...flake it til you make it."

Her mouth twitched, "Hmm. You know the difference between snowmen and snowwomen?"

His eyes crinkled with a grin, "...I do...snowballs."

Her hand lifted and laid on his arm above the elbow. A friendly gesture. Easy. She patted him and laughed, "Still in there, I see, under the badass you've become."

"Seemingly." He sighed. "They give you an idea of what's out here?"

Jill nodded a little with a burst of air, "Yep. And still...here I am. Maybe next time, we try someplace where no one wants to kill us."

Now when he smiled, the little lines beside his eyes were stunning. Not tired, no, but just like that gorgeous thing he'd been digging in a fountain once for a girl's number he'd never really planned to call.

"Hmm. Maybe a bikini and a beach?"

Jill grinned, "Hmm. How'd you look in a bikini?"

He chuckled, "Hairy."

"Seems that way." She studied his face, "But we should definitely try somewhere without parasites for a start."

After a moment of looking at each other, he stated, "It's good to see you, Jill."

Without compunction, she responded, "You too, Leon."

I've thought of you.

Unspoken. But there. It was hard to have survived what they had and not feel it. She waited for the minor niggle of a crush to rear its ugly head. It didn't disappoint. Whatever else was true, she still coveted him. Was there a woman alive who wouldn't have, given what they'd gone through together?

She walked beside him as they headed toward where Rebecca was helping load up the little sled to pull the gear toward the cave across the lake. "I can't decide if I should thank you or kick you for the invite to this party."

He chuckled. "What? Girls don't like to be invited to potentially dangerous and hostile encounters?"

"Hmm." Jill snorted, "I think they like invites to baseball games, though."

Shit.

He'd have loved to take her to a baseball game. On that note, he mused, "How is the ugliest guy in bioterror?"

Jill chuckled. "Good. Still waiting for those drinks you promised, but he's good."

"Ah. Well, I've been busy."

She gave him a side look and found him just doing that thing he was so good at where he just - looked at her like he was trying to see her naked. Her eyes twinkled. "I heard. Making a name for yourself, it seems."

"So they tell me. Maybe I'll dig out that foam finger when this is over and show you my vast knowledge of America's favorite pastime."

"Hmm. Is that what people do for fun? I can't seem to remember."

He laughed. They carefully followed the little band of people across the ice, but the damn stuff was so thick they could have driven a tank over it and not seen a crack.

When the cave opened before them, it was impossible not to stare. Beautiful, raw, and as forceful a creation as Mother Nature had ever endeavored to grace upon the Earth, leaving you speechless as she took it all in. Walls and ceilings of sheer ice and beauty.

Rebecca set up sensors as they reconned the area. Kevin paused to look at their map on his palm device, and Shenmei went a little deeper into the cavern to guarantee the area was clear. Jill and Leon scanned the walls as they walked, looking for what? Plagas just hanging out behind the ice like ugly unwanted party guests.

Rebecca called quietly, and it echoed like a gunshot, "I'm getting some good readings already on the non-stationary gear. Any exploration into the other caves in the area?"

Leon shook his head, "So far, this is the first one we've found within a decent distance to the camp where they located the stray plagas. It's impassable by anything but air or snow machine, so it's not likely tourists were just popping in or out during the high season."

Rebecca nodded and clicked buttons on her sensors. "I'm gonna set up some wall units and some floor ones - measure for structural and geological parallels. A seismograph might actually help us determine if there's any activity in the ground or reaction from the fault lines."

Leon murmured, "I'll just bet she has one."

Jill chuckled, "Of course. She's the best. Didn't you hear?"

"Oh, I heard." He tapped an ice wall and watched the swirl of his face in the reflection. "What are the chances this whole thing goes off without a hitch, and we get dinner later?"

She held his look and answered, "Aren't you always on duty? I wouldn't think you'd have time for dinner."

"...story of my life."

She laughed. "What? That wide-eyed girl tagging behind you doesn't interest you? I bet she'd love to grab dinner."

To this, Kevin called, "She already said no."

Jill shot her brows into her hair. "You invite anything in a skirt to dinner, Mr. Kennedy?"

He chuckled and shrugged, "What can I say? This girl once ran around in a nightgown shaking her ass at me, but she wouldn't get dinner with me either. It broke my poor heart."

Jill rolled her eyes and returned, tongue in cheek, "Hmm. You seem to be surviving just fine. So maybe I pass on dinner. What's the name of your companion over there?"

"Who? Shenmei or Kevin? You might be more Shenmei's type."

Jill just laughed, "The burly one. Maybe he'd like to get dinner."

Leon snorted, "He'd be your type, right? Neanderthal, caveman fat."

Kevin called, "Hey! I'm big-boned! I'm also free for dinner."

Jill laughed. Leon grinned and said quietly, "Come on. What do you say? I'll let you pay."

Oh, her face. She flickered with pure humor. Her eyes sparkled. "Oh, you're such a progressive type, are you? Let me pay. A real man treats a woman like an equal, after all. Would you pay for my cab fare afterward?"

"Damn the patriarchy; I'm a forward-thinking man. I'll let you stick around after dinner and I'll even do the dishes."

"Hmm. I think you're a secret misogynist under that guise of good humor. Will you let me win at darts?"

He leaned in and promised, "I'll let you win at whatever you want, sweetheart. Just say yes."

She started to answer, and Rebecca called, "Oooh! Oh-oh! Look!"

The machines were swirling. They were beeping. They were blasting sounds like excited robots around the cave. Rebecca cooed, "Oh, look at you, you beautiful thing. You found something wonderful."

From the back side of the cave, Shenmei beckoned, "Leon? You want to see this."

The look on her face said he didn't - he really didn't want to see it.

But his life was a series of things he didn't want.

And trying to balance it with the things he did.

It was a shame he spent so long lost in the ones he didn't.

Jill cocked her head, "Aw, the time for flirtation is over, it seems."

"...that's not a no."

She laughed, "It's not a no."

He headed toward Shenmei as she added behind him, "It's not a yes either."

And Kevin hooted, "Rejected. Who rejects The Executioner?"

Rebecca mused, "By just listening to the last few minutes - everyone. Why? He seems so charming. Maybe I'm missing something here." She sounded genuinely confused.

Kevin laughed. Jill laughed. Shenmei didn't. She looked afraid.

Leon put away the humor to answer that look on her face.

And followed her into the unknown.

He followed Shenmei around the curve in the cave, and she gestured into a small outcropping. Eyes narrowed, Leon preceded her into the narrow opening. He slid through, felt the ice skim his nose, and came out the other side.

An enormous hole waited in the floor. Massive. Extensive. It went down into the dark and seemed endless.

Shenmei shook her head, "...we gotta go down to get answers."

To which Leon sighed, "...shit."

Shenmei nodded sagely, "Yeah. Whatever is down there probably isn't good."

He blew out a hard breath as Jill joined them at the drop-off. "...fun."

Leon shook his head, "Okay, folks. Looks like we're going caving. Shenmei, get Kevin and start loading up the gear. Chambers will have to figure out how we get some of her equipment down there."

The time to descend into the long dark was upon them.

And there was no telling what they'd find waiting inside.

The climb down was slow. It was done meticulously. It was done with careful movements and planning.

They linked up; they climbed; they were careful. Leon and Kevin went first to catch any potential droppers. It was the best they could do. Rebecca slipped twice, and Kevin kept her up with a hand on her butt.

She chuckled, "I usually let a guy buy me a drink before he gropes me."

Kevin flushed. Jill laughed. Shenmei mused, "See, Kennedy? You buy a drink for a lady first."

And everybody laughed.

It was as light as it could be, considering what they were looking at down there. So far, there was nothing but some machines sparkling to tell them something was waiting. As they descended, Leon's chest tightened.

He'd given up smoking months ago, so the tightness surprised him. He wasn't straining. The rope was doing most of the work. What was the physical response happening here?

At the bottom, Leon unhooked himself. He waited while Kevin joined him on the ground.

And then? Well, Rebecca lost her grip. She tumbled; she hit Jill and took her with her. Shenmei swung to the side to avoid the mess. Jill tried to use her ice ax to catch them as she grabbed for the girl scientist. It hit, it slid, it didn't grip.

Kevin surged and put his arms out. Leon dropped to one knee.

Rebecca made an oomph as Kevin caught her. Leon grunted as Jill dropped into his arms.

Rebecca, pink-faced, mused, "At least it was only about fifteen feet, right? Good thing for those hooks on the line, ya know?"

Kevin set her on her feet and laughed lightly. "Even if you'd slid that whole way, it would have hurt to hit the ground."

Jill, safely cradled, met the amused blue of Leon's gaze and remarked, "...you're making a habit of this."

"Looks that way." He murmured, "I promised I wouldn't let you fall, remember?"

Jill smiled a little. "My hero."

She climbed out of his arms and had him chuckling as he rose. Shenmei joined them on the ground with a cool statement, "Reaching for another fallen climber could get everyone killed. You have to trust the safety buckles to kick in. And trust the other climber to cinch their harness correctly."

Jill felt her brows arch into her hair. Kevin cleared his throat. Rebecca, looking properly shamed, muttered, "Don't do a lot of ice climbing in the lab."

To which Shenmei returned, "No excuse. Ask if you don't understand the premise. Splattering on the ground helps no one."

She moved away into the semi-dark. Jill held Leon's look until he twitched his mouth, "Right. Shall we?"

He unhooked his belt and shed his safety harness. Jill glanced at Rebecca's embarrassed face and told her, "Hey, don't sweat it, ok? These two burly fellas made sure we didn't get hurt. Shake it off."

Rebecca shrugged a shoulder. "She's right. I should have had someone check my gear before we started down. It's my fault."

Jill scoffed, "I reached for you and added my weight to your fall. It's my fault entirely."

Rebecca gave her a grateful smile. "Let's share the blame."

"Why not?" Jill patted her arm. "Equal parts dumbass."

As they trooped through the cavern, Kevin murmured to Rebecca, "Don't let Shenmei get to you. She's just a stickler for the by-the-book thing. It's not personal."

Rebecca shrugged and gave him a thumbs up. He glanced at Leon with a charmed look, and the former rookie chuckled. "She always so adorable?"

Jill smiled gently, "She is. It's her cross to bear. What's yours?"

He glanced at her face and returned, "Catching beautiful women."

She smacked his parka-covered arm and had him winking.

They were still smiling at each other and likely both thinking of lightning in a dark room when Rebecca gasped in excitement. "Look! Oh, Jill, look!"

Jill turned her head toward the wall where Rebecca stood and froze. Her stomach plummeted. Her eyes tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

They'd seen their fair share of shit with what they did. They'd seen the difference between a parasite and a virus in Spain. Mutation was expected; it was commonplace given what the body did to adapt to the invasion of a foreign substance.

But this...this wasn't a human who'd turned into a monster.

It was a monster who'd become a nightmare.

Beyond the wall where they stood, Jill's eyes tried to make sense of the madness. She backed up with Leon beside her and Kevin and Shenmei waiting beside Rebecca. They all stared, trying to determine precisely what it was, what it wasn't, and what kind of threat it might be.

It was Lovecraftian. It was impossible. Frozen in time before man came into being? Something. It was a hydra or something. The scaly hide, the multiple mutated heads, the body that reminded one of a terrifying Loch Ness Monster. Based on its fins and tail, it was aquatic and frozen in time in mid roar from one of its eight heads.

The snap of pictures went off as Rebecca set about testing and recording. Evidence of perversion was in every exposed piece of muscle and bare bone with strips of sinew and ligament. What had it been before mutation?

The plagas always had a base host. What was this? What had it started life as? What resembled an eight-headed mythical beast?

After a moment, Jill whispered, "Oh my god..."

Leon glanced at her, and she explained, "...dinosaurs."

He narrowed his eyes, and she glanced at Rebecca, "The host...it was something old, something extinct, right? Tell me I'm wrong."

Rebecca blew out a breath, "Could be. Seems likely these caves are older than we'd first thought. Without more testing, I can't determine an exact time frame."

Jill whispered, "Are these dinosaurs?"

Leon answered, "The last of the non-avian dinosaurs died out over 63 million years before the Pleistocene epoch."

Jill shook her head, and he added, "The last known ice age. It ended about 11 thousand years ago. And humans actually emerged during it."

Jill held his look until he clarified, "There shouldn't have been any living dinosaurs during the last ice age. Whatever this is? It shouldn't be dinosaurs."

Kevin remarked, "Shouldn't be? You can't just definitively say that?"

"How can I?" Leon studied the hydra in the ice. His stomach was jumpy. It was the most terrifying thing he'd ever seen. And that was saying something. It was enormous, easily the size of a T-Rex he'd seen recreated in a museum as a boy. "Nothing we've seen in this business should exist. You want absolutes? I can't offer you any."

Shenmei eased around the corner into another cavern. They rigged up essential lighting as they went to give better visibility. Their little lights on their communicators weren't the best to study horror.

Leon slid on his helmet and clicked on the thermal imaging. The moment he did, he wished he hadn't. Everything beyond the ice lit up like Christmas lights. Everything bound in that ice was alive. It cast off heat signatures that made his blood run cold.

Not dead; waiting.

Copying him, Jill slid on her helmet and breathed, "Oh, my god...Leon..."

He murmured, "Yeah...shit...yeah."

"Leon?"

He turned his head, and Shenmei's light bobbed over his face. "You-just come."

He raised his imaging equipment to give himself clear vision again as he turned toward her.

She walked back the way she'd come. He followed with Kevin and Jill in tow. They entered a narrow hallway. Objectively, it was beautiful at first glance. The halo of illumination lit the ice like pretty twinkling Christmas trees. What was in the ice wasn't pretty at all.

Some of it had been people. That was instantly clear.

But not people like any they'd ever seen.

It was homo habilis or homo Erectus or something. The evidence of pre-evolution was in the shape of the jaw and forehead and frozen build. What came from their eyes, nose, and ears wasn't human and hadn't ever been. It wasn't ape. It wasn't anything but horror. One was sprouting tentacles from its left eye while the right had morphed into some kind of bloated mushroom. The other was holding its face in its hand while the naked skull had split in half to show erupting gore and brain laced with the start of what might have been a set of fish gills with fangs in every orifice.

The third was a woman holding a baby. The woman's face beneath her hood had exploded, the pieces of her erupted skull forever stuck in mid-burst. From the neck, curling nests of tentacles and dripping eyeballs emerged, and the lashes of the eyes were fangs and talons. Her lower face remained intact but elongated, jutting down toward her sagging bosom with a tongue that licked at her infant. The infant in her arms was visibly screaming and dying.

She'd wrapped that tongue around its throat, and its eyes bulged, one bursting free from its tiny face to spill wetly on its cheek. Its lips were opened in a soundless cry. Its tongue jutting free as the teeny baby was immortalized moments before death by the ice that held it. It was halfway to the mouth of its ravenous mother. The terror on it had Jill turning away and breathing, "...Jesus."

The other wall wasn't any better. It was filled with what might have been fish to the untrained eye. But they weren't fish. They were plagas, or what would become the plagas they'd seen in Spain. They were worm-tailed, waving gills and spikes around sucking mouths and screaming rage. Some the size of fingers, some as small as bumblebees, some as big as an open palm.

One had mutated far enough it was the width of a cat, watching them in its frozen prisoner from eighteen eyes and murderous red rage. Jill glanced at the floor beneath them, and her hand shot out. It gripped Leon's arm, startling him to look at her.

She breathed, "...god..."

But there was no god here.

What dwelled in these caves had no faith. It had no humanity. It hadn't seen light or laughter or love. It was horror. The thing beneath them was as big as a cruise ship. It was a leviathan or a Kraken or the Midgard-Serpent.

It looped and rolled around itself like an eel or a sea monster. Its fins were lit with beautiful color against a backdrop of eight mouths and endless tentacles in shimmery blue. It somehow had arms, spines, and curling claws among the nest of horror where its wide-open maw roared. The more you stared, the more you saw - part octopus, part nightmare, part ancient horror from before time began. The sucking cups beneath its pretty green tentacles told the story of what happened if it latched onto you and ripped your face off your head or your flesh from your bones.

From beneath it, curled around it, wings had sprouted, offering the eyes the truth that it wasn't just water-bound; it was both air and sea. The perfect killer, it could track and kill you on land, in the sky, and the water.

No matter where you ran, you were never really safe.

As if they'd ever been since a leak in a lab what felt like a lifetime ago.

The horror was endless, and they were standing in the heart of it.