Below Zero

17 OUTPOST ZERO, ANTARCTICA ^NOW

‘Is that them?’ Zak asked. ‘Is that the people who are supposed to be here?’

Mum paused the screen, showing a large group of people standing to attention at the far end of the Storage Bay. Backs straight, arms by their sides, hands balled into fists, they were shoulder to shoulder in three rows of ten, and one row of eight.

‘There’s too many of them.’ May cleared her throat. ‘There’s only supposed to be thirty-two people on the base.’

Zak counted them; thirty-eight. Forty including Sofia and Professor Peters. ‘So, who are the others?’

He looked at Mum and Dad.

‘BioMesa?’ Dad suggested.

‘Let’s play the rest.’ Mum tapped ‘play’.

On-screen, Sofia dropped the collection tool and went straight to a man standing in the front row. ‘Papa!’ Tall and olive-skinned, the man wore a red coat and a grey bobble hat. His eyes were closed, as if he were sleeping; his face was glistening with sweat. When Sofia shook him, he didn’t respond at all.

‘Mama!’ Sofia pushed through to a woman in the second row, but again, there was no response. Beside her, Sofia’s brother also remained blank when she shook him. ‘Pablo! Wake up!’

While Sofia struggled to get a response, Peters put down the camera and rushed forward, trying to wake a girl who was about thirteen years old. The name printed on her chest was ‘Hilda Peters’. Blonde plaits fell from beneath the red and black beanie on her head. Beside her, a short woman, with a slight build, had the name ‘Dr Eva Peters’ printed on her jacket.

‘Why are they just standing there?’ May said. ‘They’re like… zombies. I mean, literally like zombies.’

They weren’t rotting corpses, like in The Walking Dead comics May read, but she had a point – they did look a bit like zombies, but… ‘They’re breathing.’ Zak leant closer to the screen. ‘You can see them breathing.’ He pointed at a man in the front row. The chest of his jacket was rising and falling with each shallow breath.

‘So, what’s wrong with them?’ May whispered.