For context, I work as a electrician in Antartica. I mainly just fix broken computers, or turn on electricity sometimes. But also sometimes, I need to listen to broadcast coming from other bases on the continent, about potential storms, or even worse.
Today was no different, the electricity went off due to a bad storm, of course I went to fix it. But something was odd, my co-workers were acting weird, more silent than usual. I ignored it thinking they had a bad night, and so noon came, then night. I tuned in on the radio, waiting for the usual broadcast.
“This is base 23, do you copy?” A deep voice came over the radio, I took a moment then responded.
“Yes, this is base 26. What’s up? Anything wrong?” I answer, waiting patiently for another response. But then, static. I banged on the radio waiting for a response.
“We lost contact with base 21, the guy speaking with me told me that he was locked up in the bathroom holding his radio, as his co-workers suddenly started biting at eachother. Seemingly being cannibals to one another.” The man spoke, his tone serious.
“I see, well then I will go offline as it is getting late.” I respond moving my finger to the power buton, but then a chill ran down my spine as I hear screams coming from the radio with a abrupt stop.
I tried to bang on the radio, nothing happened, I tried to contact other bases, none responded. I got up and left the room searching for my co-workers, but they were nowhere to be seen. Blood was everywhere, and corpses were laying around mutilated, I couldn’t identify none of them.
A rustling sound came from one of the rooms, I walk inside and see a gruesome sight. My co-worker, Jake, was eating our boss. I ran inside back of the room where I was into earlier, locking it and barricating it.
Hours passed, the storm’s crescendo waning into an eerie calm. I scanned the frequencies, seeking any news from the other bases. Silence greeted me, a void where voices should have been.
A sudden crackle broke the silence. “Base 17, respond. This is urgent.”
I leaned forward, gripping the microphone. “Base 17 here. What’s happening?”
The voice on the other end was a whisper of fear. “Base 34… gone. No survivors. Something’s out there. Lockdown your base, now!”
Panic clawed at my chest. What could possibly threaten us here, in the embrace of the ice? I secured the doors, the metallic clangs echoing through the base like a death knell.
Night fell, a darkness so absolute it seemed to consume the light. I huddled in the communications room, the radio my lifeline to a world that felt light-years away.
Then, a noise. A scratching at the door, persistent, desperate. I froze, my mind racing with impossible scenarios. There was nothing alive out there, nothing but the storm.
The scratching grew louder, more insistent. I dared not breathe, dared not move. The radio crackled to life once more, a voice barely human in its terror. “They’re here… inside…”
I backed away from the door, my heart thundering. The scratching stopped, replaced by a silence more terrifying than any sound.
Days passed, or was it weeks? Time lost meaning in the endless night. The radio remained silent, my calls unanswered. My food is starting to run out.