Outpost by Adam Baker Read Free Book Online

floor. They played loud music.
They threw mats in the corner of the canteen and laid out dumbbells. Nobody
argued. Nobody wanted to be near them.
    Jane
set up her chapel. She dragged furniture into the corridor. She put a table
beneath a window and laid out two candlesticks and a cross. She played Gregorian
chant. She left it on Repeat.
    She
took a room on the ground floor. Ghost lived next door. She could hear him
through the wall. She heard him cough. She heard him move around.
    Rawlins's voice on the PA: ' Reverend Blanc. Dr Rye. Meet me
in the observation room right away.'
     
    Jane
took the spiral stairs to the observation bubble. Rawlins was at the
microphone. Sian was at his side.
    .
. eyes are open but we're not getting much sense out of him .'
    'Nothing?'
demanded Rawlins. 'Does he know his name? Does he know what year it is?'
    'He can't speak. He's stopped shivering. His eyes are open .'
    'Can
you get him warm? His arms and legs?'
    'We've
wrapped him in everything we've got.'
    'All
right. Hold on a moment.'
    'What's
the problem?' Dr Rye joined the group. A thin woman in her fifties.
    'They
didn't want to camp,' said Rawlins. 'They talked it over and decided to keep
walking. They reckoned they had enough batteries to keep their flashlights
going through the night. They were crossing an inlet by boat. Alan, the guy
with frostbite. He fell through the ice.'
    'How's
he doing?'
    'Several
shades of fucked. Pretty much comatose. A dead weight. He won't be going
anywhere under his own steam. And his buddies are pretty far gone. I can't get
much information out of them. They're cold, disoriented and ready to give up.
Jane, when you spoke to them before, did they mention where they planned to
cross to the island?'
    'Darwin
something. Darwin Sound? Darwin Point?'
    'Stay
on the radio. See if you can raise them again. Get a fix on their location.
Landmarks. Anything.' Rawlins turned to Rye. 'Punch has been out on the ice,
right?'
    'Yeah.
He's used the bikes. We drove down the coast last summer.'
    'Okay.
You, him, Ghost. You're the rescue team. Get your gear. You leave in one hour.'
     
    Jane
and Rawlins stood on the helipad. It was dark. Rawlins fumbled at his radio
with gloved fingers.
    'Hit
the lights.'
    Floodlights
slung beneath the rig flared bright. They lit struts and girders. They lit pack
ice collecting between the legs of the refinery.
    Punch,
Ghost and Rye stood on the east leg docking platform. They pushed floating ice
aside with a boat hook. They winched the inflatable zodiac down into black
waters. Ghost climbed into the boat. They threw him backpacks.
    Jane
wanted to tag along, but knew she would be a liability.
    Punch
and Rye climbed into the boat. They wore so much padding they moved slow and
clumsy like astronauts. Ghost pull- started the outboard. The zodiac pulled
away from the rig, weaved between plates of drifting ice, and was lost in
darkness.

Rescue
     
    'I
need to talk.'
    Gus
Raglan. A short, stocky man with a barbed tattoo round his neck. He caught up
with Jane in the corridor outside her room. He looked furtive.
    'I
need to talk things through.'
    Jane
looked for a room to use as a confessional. She picked the utensil cupboard at
the back of the kitchen. A steel room full of pots and pans. It had thick walls
and a strong door. People could speak and not be overheard.
    Jane
put a couple of chairs at the back of the cupboard. She sat with Gus. Frying
pans hung overhead.
    'So
what's on your mind?'
    'My
brother. His wife. She and I . . .'
    'How
long?'
    'Three,
four years. I asked her to leave him. Asked her a million times. It's
difficult.'
    'Does
your brother suspect?'
    'I
think he chooses not to know.'
    'How
would he react if he found out?'
    'He's
a placid guy. But I'd lose him. I'd lose him as a friend.'
    'Have
you thought about the future?'
    'It's
great when we're together. But each night she's with him, and I'm alone. Shit,
they might both be dead for all I know. I'd like the chance to put