76°00'08.2"S 53°43'31.2"E - Nuevo Trujillo, Spanish Antarctic Colonies

  20.05.2024 12:30, UTC+03:00

  I held a hot cup of coffee with my two hands, hoping my gloved palms would keep it hot for a few minutes longer. I was walking through Base Oso, looking for Catalina. And potentially a moment of respite between the repetitive interviews we had been conducting for two days.

  All things considered, the interrogations of yesterday had been a failure. Noone seemed to remember or recognize a mention of a Survivor. Everyone had heard the rumor that someone had emerged through the icy cloud days ago, and at this point everyone had guessed that we were here to find out more about that person. When brought in the interrogation room, some of them pretended they hadn’t heard anything thinking we would leave them alone. Others pretended they knew, thinking the Base lockdown would end sooner. Only a few were useful to recount the events of the day: someone showed up, a doctor put them in a tent before notifying the military. Which doctor? Noone was sure. And a few minutes later, the person of interest had disappeared from their tent without a trace.

  While interesting to hear, this story was not what we were looking for. Any police officer or sergeant could piece these statements together. We were T-Agents, and we had other means we were meant to use.

  But first, we needed to find who exactly had interacted directly with the Survivor. One of Catalina’s roles was to discern that. And we had finally one of those people ready to be interrogated.

  “Hey, mind if I drink the last part of my frozen coffee with you,” I asked Catalina as I approached her. She was standing leaning at a fence of a residential garden now covered with snow, and she gazed outside the border of the Base Oso.

  She shrugged her shoulders and I stood next to her. I also gazed beyond the Base and into the north. The view was unnervingly dominated by white mist, engulfing everything into the territory where the domain had been breached. On the east and the west where the mist dissipated, you could see how buildings were covered in snow and ice. I could also see the Paseo appearing from inside the snow fog.

  “I don’t know what scares me most. The fact this could happen at any moment again, or that it already happened once,” I said to her. I hadn’t gotten much out of her the past days. We often worked together, and I knew she had been onboard of the Transantarctic Rail, but we hadn’t had interacted significantly.

  “Hm. Maybe the fact someone can hold back nature like this is even more terrifying,” she said. Her voice was girlish and posh sounding, even if her looks showed she neglected appearances. Was she referring to the one who caused this? Or the Queen?

  “Let’s just hope the Queen holds the domain on a bit longer. At least while we are here.” I didn’t share Catalina’s worry. The Queen was the strongest Cursed in the continent.

  “Or not. Take us out of our misery. The coffee is terrible here, I wonder how you can drink this thing,” she said and I chuckled.

  “Tastes like mud ice cream.”

  “It does!” She seemed carefree for a moment before falling into sulking. I needed to lift her spirits somehow, before bringing her over to the next interview.

  “Looking forward to Santiago?”

  My question made her pause. It was an innocent question, but apparently I had struck a chord.

  “Maybe.”

  This was awkward, making things worse. I leaned onto the fence, tapping my fingers on the cup of coffee. I knew she hated this part of the job, but this was different.

  “If I may,” she said, “I know Miguel seems care-free. But he is not. It’s a trick he does, to stay sane.”

  “I will believe that when I see that,” I said and scoffed. Miguel was a menace.

  I knew these two were close, but perhaps closer than I thought. I sipped the last part of my coffee, while my eyes followed the slow and random movements of the white mist outside the Base.

  “You know what scares me the most?” She finally said. Wind blew and she paused, grabbing her coarse hair out of her face.

  “What?”

  “I know at some point my Insight will kick in. We will find someone. And we will have to do what we do. What if we don’t like what happens next?”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “I…” I paused. I didn’t think she meant the interrogations, but I was not sure. “I only know the consequences of what happens if we stay idle.”

  She nodded. And then she nodded again.

  “You are right. We can’t stay idle, can we.”

  We stood in silence.

  “Dr. Perez is out of the surgery. She is the only doctor we haven’t interrogated,” I finally told her, “let’s go.”

  She nodded. A bit hesitantly, but she nodded.

  “Dr. Linda Pérez. You were one of the few leading the medical efforts in Base Oso.” I spoke. “We thank you for your noble service.”

  We were back into the interrogation room. Catalina looked serious as she sat next to me, while Miguel had the same non-chalant attitude next to me.

  “It is my duty,” she responded. You can see the signs of exhaustion everywhere on her. Black circles under her eyes, her arms featuring cuts and bruises, a hastily made braid to rule her unruly long brown hair, a sweaty blouse.

  Before I could even ask anything, Catalina nodded and put her pencil on the notebook in front of her.

  She was eligible. We did as we were trained to: Miguel raised his hand and moved his fingers as if about to snap his index and thumb.

  I reached out to her hands on the table.

  “You have nothing to fear,” I said.

  I smelled the sea and the salt, I felt the sand beneath my feet. I was wearing my summer clothes, standing on the beach. Dr. Pérez was next to me in her swimsuit, holding a cup of what could be a coconut rum cocktail. Near the beach, but far away, two children were playing by the sea.

  “Where are we?” I asked smiling at her.

  “Cala Pregonda,” she said, exhilarated “I love this place.”

  “And your children too?” I asked her.

  “My nieces. My brother’s children.” She turned to me. “Have we met before?”

  “No, I just saw you hanging out here. I found it a great view.”

  I found myself flirting with her. It was not on purpose, but it seemed that was what she was projecting on me. She smiled back and started walking towards her nieces. I followed suit.

  “Are you from here?” I asked her. “Or just your brother?”

  “My brother and I grew up nearby. This is our favorite beach. Until I left for Antarctica. To make a future for us.” She hesitated a bit.

  “You must have succeeded. You are now back here.”

  “Yes!” She giggled. “I became a medical doctor. Surgeon. I worked so hard.”

  “Wow, looks and brains!” I cheered her up.

  “Yeah.”

  I saw her losing her focus on the scenery being created for her, trying to recollect her thoughts.

  “What are your nieces names?”

  “Solana and Luz,” she said, “Solana, like our mother. Javier loved her dearly.”

  Javier, her brother. Solana and Luz, her nieces.

  “Tia Linda!” we heard her nieces calling from afar, waving her hands. I could not quite see their faces.

  Linda looked at me.

  “You haven’t seen them in a long time, have you?” I asked, almost feeling pity I couldn’t offer more at this stage.

  “No… I…”

  We got this Elena. Retreat. Catalina was calling me.

  I caressed Linda’s cheek.

  “You have nothing to fear.” I told her “Go have fun with them.”

  I heard Miguel snap his fingers as I exited Linda’s soothing fantasy. I was right where I was before, in the middle of a cold windowless room where we interrogated Linda. Dr. Pérez. As Miguel snapped his fingers, she laid on the table in front of us, blood spilling out of her ears and mouth.

  “Was it nice?” Miguel asked, unfazed.

  I ignored him and I turned to Catalina.

  “Tell me you got him,” I said through my teeth.

  She turned her notebook towards me. A very detailed portrait of a young adolescent man stared right back at me. He had fear in his eyes, shock even. Was he shocked at something he saw or did? Or maybe shocked at us, killing a doctor just to get a drawn glimpse at his face. Catalina had outdone herself with a portrait as vivid as a photograph. We had a face of the Survivor.

  Unfortunate Linda’s blood dripped on the floor, disrupting the silence.

  “Good job, Catalina,” I said. “Miguel, no trace. Get rid of her.”

  “Does she have any family?” he asked.

  “No. No family.” I answered. “She was a lone scientist.”

  I untied my short braid and sighed. Catalina looked at me expressionless. I wondered if her Insight could see into my Soothsaying, and whether she knew I lied. If she did, she did not say. It did not matter. Day two and we finally had the Survivor’s face.

  Catalina was putting the finishing touches in her drawing. All I could do was think what she had asked me earlier.

  What if we don’t like what happens next?