NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Cold War
Abandoned Mining Facility, Northern Finland - July 1987
The temperature hit forty below as the pod's surface splintered. Caspian's team moved in perfect formation through the chaos, their training holding despite the horror unfolding behind them. The Emperor Eye tracked multiple threats—frozen guards converging, ice spreading across walls with unnatural speed, and something else. Something following.
"Charges set," Agent Kane reported, his voice steady even as frost formed on his tactical gear. "Ready to collapse the main tunnel on your mark."
"Negative." Caspian's voice cut through the comm static. "Standard demolition won't be enough. Switch to the prototype charges."
The specialized explosives had come from Q Division's deepest vaults. Howard had insisted they bring them, though until now, Caspian hadn't understood why.
"Director," he subvocalized as they reached the first checkpoint. "Facility is compromised. Implementing Scorched Earth protocols."
"Understood." Carrie's voice was arctic. "Dr. Sterns is detecting biological changes spreading through the lower levels. The infection rate is—"
Static cut through the channel as something screamed. Not a human sound. The Emperor Eye tracked it echoing through the facility's bones.
"Contact rear!" Agent Morris's weapon fired in controlled bursts. His target dropped, shattered, pulled itself back together. "Standard rounds ineffective!"
Caspian spun, Emperor Eye analyzing the approaching shapes. The frozen guards moved differently now. More coordinated. More purposeful. As if whatever had been in that pod was learning to control them better.
"Incendiary rounds," he ordered. "Burn them apart."
The specialized ammunition ignited on impact, turning the ice-riddled corpses into pillars of blue flame. But more kept coming. Always more.
"Howard." Caspian's voice remained steady as they fought their way upward. "What are we dealing with?"
"We never knew its real name." Howard's voice shook. "The Soviets called it 'Morozh'. The Frost. Found it buried in the ice in '39. By the time they realized what it could do..."
Another scream echoed through the facility. Closer now. The Emperor Eye caught movement patterns that defied physics—shapes flowing through solid ice, reforming, hunting.
"The containment protocols weren't just about isolation," Howard continued. "They were about keeping it fragmented. Divided. Because when the pieces come together..."
The facility's power grid surged. Emergency lights flickered as something drew massive amounts of energy.
"The other facilities," Caspian said quietly. "They're not just storage sites. They're keeping pieces of it separated."
"Your grandfather understood." Howard's laugh held no humor. "Why it had to be divided. Why the pieces could never be allowed to find each other. But someone... someone wanted to wake them all up. Put them back together."
The team reached the upper levels. Behind them, ice spread like infection through the facility's corridors. The Emperor Eye tracked the pursuing entities—no longer even pretending to be human shaped.
"Charges armed," Kane reported. "But sir... the ice is interfering with the detonators."
Caspian made his decision. "Clear the facility. I'll trigger them manually."
"Negative," Carrie's voice cut in. "That's not an acceptable—"
"It's the only way to ensure complete destruction." Caspian was already moving. "Kane, get them out. Morris, covered retreat. I'll meet you at the extraction point."
The Emperor Eye mapped his route back through the freezing complex. The charges had to be triggered in sequence, collapsing the facility from bottom to top. Trapping whatever was rising from the depths.
"Thirty seconds to position," he reported, ducking under a grasping tentacle of living ice. "Howard, what happens if we don't stop it here?"
"It spreads." Howard's voice was very quiet. "It spreads and it changes everything it touches. Makes them part of itself. Part of... the cold."
The main chamber was almost unrecognizable now. Ice had transformed it into something organic, alien. The broken pod stood empty at its center, like a cracked egg. Above it, shapes moved through the frozen air.
The Emperor Eye tracked the detonator signals. Ready. Almost in position.
Something vast shifted in the ice above him. The Emperor Eye caught fragments of a face—too many eyes, too many teeth, watching him with ancient hunger.
"Your grandfather faced it too," Howard said suddenly. "In '48. He knew... he knew it had to be stopped. No matter the cost."
Caspian reached the detonator panel. "Control, ready for final sequence."
The thing in the ice smiled. And for the first time, it spoke. The words formed from frost in the air itself.
CHILD OF ARTHUR. WE REMEMBER.
"Now," Caspian said quietly, and pressed the trigger.
The world turned white.