Frost Wolf

Chapter 1

The South Pole.

0400 Hours.

Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station was sitting with very little sunlight shining, casting most of the arctic tundra in darkness.

The facility was rather quiet, only a few scientists working after waking up early, hoping to get more progress on their research.

One of the scientists yawned as he looked around, an older man with dark skin and a white lab coat. He was looking down at the glaciological maps and charts on his desk. He rubbed his eyes and looked around.

“Are you alright Sir?” One of the other researchers asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Just a little tired.” He replied.

“You can go rest. You have been working hard these past few months. We can take it from here.” She said.

The researcher nodded, rubbing his eyes as he walked off.

The charts of the glacier activity was nearly silent, no activity at all. Like the glaciers didn’t move at all.

Other charts of other measurements were the same.

No activity whatsoever.

But there was one, a map from space of the South Pole.

It looked normal, multiple different ways to take the picture.

Normal, visible light. Infrared. Ultraviolet. Every type of picture that was possible.

And they all showed the same thing.

Miles of white in every direction leading right towards a black, empty spot right in the center.

Something impossible to measure or see.

The researcher made his way through the hallway, looking at room after room of people sleeping.

He kept continuing on until he stopped, looking at one of the doors. He knocked softly, waiting for a response.

The door slowly slid open as he stepped inside, looking into the bedroom that had been personalized.

“Hey, are you awake?” He whispered.

Movement could be heard in the better, followed by soft humming and groaning.

He moved over and sat on the bed, reaching out to rub the side of the person asleep, laying on their side.

“How are you feeling?” He asked.

The person shifted and groaned.

“Dad…let me sleep…” They moaned out.

He softly chuckled.

“Are you missing home?” He asked, reaching out to rub the back of their child over the blanket.

“MMMMM…can we…do this in the morning?” They asked.

“Fine. I just…we don’t get to…”

He was interrupted by the child snoring.

He reached down and pulled the blanket up to cover their entire body, keeping their head uncovered.

He then pushed hair out of their face, leaning down to kiss their forehead.

The child smiled as they slept, continuing to snore as he got up and left the room, the door quietly shutting after he left.

Later that morning, the child began to slowly sit up in their bed.

Long, curly hair was exposed from the blanket as they pushed it out of their face.

A teenage girl, looking out with light brown skin, barely open brown eyes, and very small, soft lips. They yawned and stretched, their crop top shirt lifting up to show well toned abs. They moved their blanket over to reveal very short shorts and muscular legs as they moved off the bed.

They reached to their nightstand, touching their phone and putting on music to listen to as they got ready.

Eternity by Skrux played as she danced around, going to her dresser and pulling out clothing. She continued to dance as she undressed, throwing her clothes all around and slipping on her new clothing, putting on two pairs of socks, underwear, jeans, another pair of baggy pants that were isolated, a sports bra, two different shirts, a large and puffy jacket, and finally tied her hair back into a curly ponytail.

The music continued on as she attached earbuds to her phone, the music playing right into her ears as she left her room, walking down the hallway as dozens of scientists were walking around or working on a large variety of measurements and fields of study.

She continued to walk as the music played in her ears, blocking out all other sound around her.

She continued on until she made it to the exit door, stepping out to look at the endless fields of snow and ice.

The sun was barely visible, giving them just enough light to see but not too much to hurt her eyes.

She went and sat on the metal steps leading to the facility, sitting down and taking a deep breath of the ice cold air, closing her eyes to take in the relaxation.

The stress from her body disappeared more and more the longer she sat.

The music faded and ended just in time for her to hear the door open.

She took out her buds and looked back, a middle aged woman with blonde hair that was beginning to turn gray and white looking out with a smile.

“Hey, mind if I sit with you?” She asked.

The girl moved over.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” She replied.

The middle aged woman stepped out and sat next to the girl.

“How are you feeling Gabriella?” The woman asked.

“I’m fine Éliane.” Gabriella replied.

“Your Father was wondering where you were.” She said.

“Well, I’m out here like usual. Can’t really do much else.” Gabriella replied.

She brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them and staring out at the snow and ice.

“I know you feel that way, but everyone here loves having you. And you could definitely learn some things.” Éliane said.

Gabriella didn’t respond at first.

“Want me to bring you some hot chocolate?” She asked, reaching out to rub Gabriella’s back.

“Yeah, that would be nice.” Gabriella said.

“And I know you like extra marshmallows.” Éliane said with a smile.

Gabriella smiled, but kept it hidden from the older woman.

“You gonna stay out here?” Éliane asked.

“Yeah, probably.” Gabriella replied.

Éliane patted and rubbed her back.

“Alright, I’ll be back soon.”

She stood up and made her way inside.

Gabriella put one ear bud in, listening to more music as she stared forward.

As the sun stayed low on the horizon, Gabriella focused on one spot in the distance.

Something drew her attention.

It looked like a mountain that was far away, yet it had this strange feeling with it.

Even from miles and miles away, she could tell it wasn’t an ordinary mountain.

The sunlight hit the ice, and it almost froze in place. The light didn’t reflect out. It didn’t shine through. It seemed to stop inside of the ice, making the island appear like a dark cloud close to the ground.

She squinted and continued to stare at it when she heard the door open again.

“That was…” She started as she turned, stopping when she saw one of the researchers who appeared close to her age. Maybe a few years older.

“Um, hello.” Gabriella started.

“Is your Stepmom out here?” He asked, with a hint of panic in his voice.

“She just went inside a bit ago. Surprised you didn’t run into her.” Gabriella replied.

“Alright, thanks.”

He shut the door in a hurry, the sound of him running audible even through the door.

Gabriella’s face turned to one of confusion as she rose to her feet, opening the door and stepping inside.

All of the researchers were running around in a frenzy.

Charts and graphs flying all over the place and falling to the floor as bodies were bumping into each other, yet they continued running around.

It appeared like the world was ending and everyone was panicking.

“Um…what’s going on?” She asked out loud, but nobody gave her any attention.