Under the Ice (standard:horror, 2807 words)
Author: Chris Herzig	Added: Mar 12 2001	Views/Reads: 4351/2562	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A grizzly discovery in the carcass of a dinosaur.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

Rick pulled the blanket aside entering the sleeping quarter of Steve. “I
called the hospital and their going to send a medical team over. They 
should be here by nightfall. Josh approached with butterflies in his 
stomach looking at the obvious fracture on Steve’s face. Josh’s face 
grew pale then he spoke. “Brent and Stanford went back to work. If you 
and Rick want to study the blood samples of the creature, I would love 
to get cracking. The sooner we get this done the sooner we can get out 
of here.”  “Ok lets do it.” Hudson said. 

“We’ve been at it for six straight hours, can we please eat?” Rick
muttered. “Good idea.” Said Josh. “I’ll go check on Steve.” Hudson 
announced. The light outside started to fade into various shades of 
orange and red. The once bright light now began to retreat under the 
endless tundra as the sun set. Hudson grabbed a lantern and headed into 
the area where Steve lay unconscious. Striking a match, he lit the wick 
inside the kerosene lamp. Shadows began to dance as the flame 
flickered. Hudson stroked the hair of Steve in reassurance that help 
was not far off. The swelling in his face was unnoticeable now and 
Steve appeared to be healing at an unbelievable rate. He opened his 
eyes slowly and his mouth winced as if in a little pain. 

“I feel surprisingly well. What happened?” Steve asked. “You were hit by
the beast when the jackhammer shook it loose. Your face took a strike 
into the ice.” He raised the lamp to take a clear look at the damage. 
Hudson then dropped the lamp in disbelief. There was no sign of the 
accident. No black eye, not even a swollen lip. “Everyone get in here!” 
he yelled in amazement. Rick and Josh ran in worriedly. “What is it?” 
Josh said. “Look, no contusion, no discoloration, not even a scratch!” 
Hudson said astounded. Steve ran his hand over his face. A troubled 
look ran across his face. “I can’t feel anything. Not a damn thing.” 
Rick shook his head. “You probably severed quite a few nerves. Let me 
take a look at it.” 

Rick leaned over the cot. Steve started sweating profusely. Rick grabbed
Steve’s hand and squeezed it lightly. “Can you feel this?” Rick asked. 
“Oh my god, no I cant! What’s wrong with me?” said Steve. Steve’s sweat 
ran harder now. His face grew pale and he felt lightheaded. The room 
blackened and Steve fell into unconsciousness. “Let him rest. We’ll 
figure this out when the medical team arrives. I guess we should get 
back and finish working.” Josh said. 

“Look at this. What do you guys make of this?” Hudson asked looking at a
blood sample of the creature. Josh peered into the microscope with a 
puzzled expression. “Looks like it contains peroxidases, acid 
phospharases, esterases and proteases.” Rick stared at Josh wondering 
what he was talking about. “It’s a plant enzyme to break food down into 
proteins. The only living thing alive that uses this combination would 
be the Venus flytrap. How could that be present in the blood of a ten 
million year old amphibian?” Rick scratched the stubble on his face 
pondering the question. Hudson grabbed another sample taken earlier and 
placed it under the microscope. “It’s in this one too.” He spoke. 

The radio gave a loud squawk followed by a moment of static. “Anybody
there? This is the medical team, we’re stuck about four miles away and 
there’s a storm brewing. We won’t be there till morning.” the voice 
screeched from the radio. “Copy. We’ll be looking for you.” Josh 
replied. The wind outside had been picking up for an hour now. The 
occasional gust of wind flung snow sprinkles through the tent opening, 
and the temperature was dropping at an alarming rate. The scarce bit of 
light gave a seven-yard visibility cushion outside, but nothing more 
then that. 

“Stanford, where the hell are you? Stanford!” Brent yelled at the top of
his lungs. Brent ran into the tent at a feverish pace. “Help me find 
Stanford, he went to take a leak twenty minutes ago and now he’s 
missing.” Brent muttered out of breath. “Come on boys lets find him and 
shack up for the night. Grab flashlights and follow me.” Rick said 
impatiently. Tracks in the snow were erased by the wind, just moments 
after they were made. Brent pointed just north of the dig site 
indicating the direction Stanford went. “Stanford, Stanford.” The group 
yelled in unison. 

“Guys come here.” Hudson called in a shocked voice. “I think you all
better see this.” They turned and walked toward Hudson, who was 
kneeling about thirty five yards from the excavation area. Shining 
their lights down they witnessed Stanford’s dead body soiling the snow 
in crimson. His corpse, ripped open from his upper chest down to his 
pelvis, had an odd translucent gel smeared across his stomach skin. His 
stomach was apparently eaten out of his warm body, except for his 
bowls, which now lay sprawled out ten feet from his carcass, flattened 
as if they were stripped of the filling. “Polar bear?” Rick asked. “It 
couldn’t be, a polar bear would go for the throat and you would see 
claw and bite marks. This looks more like a knife wound then a bear 
attack. His coat and stomach were sliced open then peeled to the side. 
I’d like to take a sample of this gelled substance to the lab for 
examination.” Josh answered. They carried the body to the tent grabbing 
pickaxes for protection. 

Steve came running out of the sleeping quarters wearing a smile that
arched half way up his face. His eyes were bloodshot but there was no 
other sign of the injury. “I feel better than I ever have in my life.” 
Steve said excitedly. “Look at this.” Hudson ordered. Josh gazed down 
the microscope and noticed a phenomenon in amazement. “It contains 
peroxidases, acid phospharases, esterases and proteases. What in the 
hell is going on here?” 

Steve started to snicker. Everyone turned to him to see what was so
funny. “My nerves are still not working, but my sense of smell is 
remarkable. My strength is like three times what it used to be. I can’t 
believe this fortune has fallen in my lap.” Josh looked at Steve 
pondering what he just said. “ I want to look at a blood sample. I 
majored in human biology before I took up paleontology. Something 
strange is going on here. I hate to tell you this Steve, but Stanford 
is dead. Take a look under the tarp in the corner there.” Hudson 
grabbed Steve’s arm and drew blood before he could walk over to the 
body. Josh placed the blood on a slide and slid it under the 
microscope. 

“My god!” Josh yelled. “Simple Columnar!” Rick looked at Josh
uncomprehendingly. “What do you mean?” he asked.  “Simple Columnar, 
tall columnar cells containing a single nucleus usually located near 
the basement membrane. They also incorporate goblet cells – unicellular 
glands that secrete lubricating and protective mucus along the free 
surfaces of cells. Simply put, a protective lining found in such places 
as your stomach wall and your intestines. Their forming a protective 
shield around the plant material found in Steve’s blood His immune 
system cant seem to kill them.” 

Everyone looked at each other in dismay as Josh ordered blood samples
from everyone in the group including Stanford’s corpse. After the 
analysis, all the samples turned out clean. The crew had been exhausted 
yet too scared to sleep. The only person who seemed all right with the 
situation was Steve. He just sat there in the corner drinking water and 
talking about sunbathing in the arctic sun. Brent on the other hand was 
livid. All he wanted to do was kill the person who violated Stanford’s 
life. 

Steve walked up to Brent and in a quick moment sneezed in his face.
“Sorry about that. Odd but I didn’t even feel it coming, or leaving for 
that matter.” Steve chuckled uncomfortably. His forehead cringed 
slightly and drool began to seep from the corner of his mouth. “What 
are you smacking your chops for Steve?” Brent said jokingly. He wiped 
off a large amount of saliva dribbling down his chin. He answered 
Brent’s question in a low raspy whisper. “You. I’m smacking those chops 
for you.” Brent looked up at Steve with wide eyes. 

Steve drew his hand out of his pocket revealing a large buck knife. With
a swift movement, he thrust the blade at Brent’s head narrowly missing. 
Hudson grabbed Steve from behind in a futile attempt to subdue him. 
Steve drove his arm back striking Hudson with an elbow to his face. 
Brent grabbed the knife with both hands. In a single motion, Steve 
forced the weapon against Brent’s strength, straight at his head once 
more. For the second time, he narrowly missed. Steve turned toward the 
rest of the group, and in a fit of obsession lunged at them. Before he 
could make his way there, he was stopped abruptly. 

A pickaxe stood embedded in his gut. Josh stared into his eyes with a
look of sorrow. Steve grasped the handle and dropped the knife. With 
little effort, he pulled the axe from his abdomen. His rage grew 
maddening as he lifted the axe over his head. His body jolted forward 
and he dropped his new weapon as Brent’s arm reached over and stabbed 
Steve in his already serious wound. He twisted the blade tugging upward 
exposing the mans innards. Brent fell to his knees in shock and 
fatigue. The only noise was the howl of the wind as the storm 
approached. 

Hudson peered at the newest of the carcasses and noticed a green vine
protruding through the wound. “Now what would you guys make of that?” 
he asked. They peeled the abdominal wall back exposing a plant enclosed 
in the protective gel found in the blood sample. Hudson took hold of an 
oil lamp pouring its fuel atop the body. Grasping a match, he struck it 
across the worktable igniting the sulfur. He tossed the lit match and 
the corpse went up in flames. 

Josh scratched his head in thought then spoke. “It looks as if the snow
that was packed in his mouth carried a seed. It began to grow in his 
stomach. A certain type of lily pad can grow over three feet in six 
days, so I guess its growth rate is possible. It must live on flesh to 
be inside him, which explains the digestive juices of a Venus flytrap. 
He ate the intestine lining to protect the plant. It seems to identify 
it as a part of his body. The eating of the stomach was for the 
protein. The plant needs it for survival. It’s a ten million-year-old 
plant. It seems to make you crave the things it needs for living. I 
think we just woke it from its hibernation. The only question is how it 
can spread its seeds.  ” 

Brent looked at Josh and Hudson. “I would guess a sneeze.” He said. They
both looked at Brent who grinned with bloodshot eyes. Josh leaped for 
the pickaxe as Brent dug the knife into Hudson’s throat. Josh turned 
around and whipped the axe in the air straight at Brent. Josh heard 
contact but ran out the tent door. He ran the direction the medical 
team was coming from never looking back. 

An hour later, he stumbled into their camp. “Help me. Help me,” He
yelled. A doctor ran out to Josh who was gasping for air. “Oh my god, 
what happened?” The doctor asked. “You wont believe this, get me some 
water please and ill tell you all about it.” Josh sat there with snot 
running down his nose, sneezing like there was no tomorrow. 


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