Under the Ice (standard:horror, 2807 words)
Author: Chris Herzig	Added: Mar 12 2001	Views/Reads: 4349/2559	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A grizzly discovery in the carcass of a dinosaur.

Josh jumped out of the helicopter and looked around. There was a
never-ending sea of white. No plants or trees could be found. The only 
thing out there was the snow topped icy wasteland known as Otiak 
Alaska. Josh turned to the chopper pilot. “Where’s the lake at?” he 
yelled. “You’re standing on it.” The pilot replied with a sinister 
smile. Josh looked down at his boots, which were now buried in snow. He 
shook his head in dismay thinking if this were an Alaskan summer, what 
could the winters possibly be like. The pilot pointed north and started 
to laugh as he lifted the helicopter in the air. 

About seventy yards ahead rest a tent half covered in snow. The tent
stood about twenty feet high twenty feet long and thirty feet across. 
The wind was picking up and started to burn his ears through his hood. 
He jogged the small trek to the tent happy to get out of the weather 
and meet his new comrades. Inside, the tent had been decorated with 
portable space heaters, computers, and canned goods. The far half had 
been walled off with blankets, no doubt designating sleeping quarters. 
In the corner of the laboratory five people stood huddled around a 
computer. 

“You must be Josh, nice to have you aboard. I’m Rick,” exclaimed a tall
man now reaching his hand out. “Nice to meet you Rick” Josh said as he 
gripped his hand to shake it. Rick’s hand was ice cold and his nose 
running. His face drew stubble from not shaving for at least four days. 
His skin looked rough due to the weather. Rick spoke up again. “I’m the 
other paleontologist here. I must admit this creature has me baffled. 
The ice has preserved it astoundingly well.” “I can’t wait to see it.” 
Josh replied. 

A second figure approached Josh and said, “Hello I’m Hudson, the lab
assistant. I have heard so many good things about you. I look forward 
to working under you.” Josh smiled and shook his hand. Rick turned 
toward the other thee people. “This is Brent, the excavation leader, 
and this is Steve and Stanford our back breaking workers.” “Pleasure to 
meet you all.” Josh declared. Rick zipped his coat up and yelled “Put 
your gloves on and lets go excavate us a dinosaur boys.” Josh chuckled 
and rubbed his hands together to prepare for the cold morning air. Not 
fifty feet from the tent lay a generator. A large hose ran down into a 
hole nineteen feet by nine feet and a good seven feet deep. 

“This here is where the shore starts and the lake ends. A local trapper
reported a nasty smell coming from here so the authorities took a 
pickaxe and uncovered this sixteen-foot amphibian. I don’t recall ever 
seeing anything like it in any book, how bout you?” Rick asked. Looking 
down, the creature almost totally freed from the ice seemed to be a 
giant salamander. “Well we definitely have something new here.” Josh 
said. Steve and Stanford jumped into the hole as Brent pulled the cord 
starting the generator. “What’s that?” Josh asked. “It’s the 
jackhammer.” Rick answered. Steve rolled his coat sleeves up to his 
elbows and grabbed the pickaxe. His arms were not much bigger then that 
of an anorexic supermodels. The awkward way he swung it looked more 
like a three-legged dog trying to bury his shit on the frozen lake then 
digging up an ancient carcass. 

Looking at Brent, he could see why he was the excavation leader. His
large biceps bulged under his old flannel shirt. The crew cut he was 
sporting looked more like a soldier then a civilian haircut. You could 
tell in a short glimpse that he was rough and tough. Hudson on the 
other hand looked more like the typical character from Revenge of the 
Nerds. He no doubt was here for a learning experience rather then the 
pay. You could tell he was a lab assistant and not a general laborer. 
Stanford on the other hand was the guy next-door. Medium build, green 
winter parka, sandy blonde hair, and never said much at all. 

As Stanford began to use the jackhammer, the remains of the giant beast
slid to the side knocking Steve’s face into the icy ledge. Brent shut 
the equipment down and rushed for Steve. He lay face down in a pile of 
red snow groaning in a high pitch. “Lift him out!” Josh yelled. Hudson 
the lab assistant jumped down and grabbed a hand full of snow from the 
site. He placed it on Steve’s face and began to apply pressure. “Let’s 
get him to the tent and clean him up.” Rich screamed. They brought 
Steve into the tent resting him on the cot. “How do you feel Steve?” 
Hudson asked. A groan answered then Steve coughed as the melting snow 
on his face ran down his throat. 



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