Bitemarks 1.4

Bitemarks 1.4

Ed lounged on the comfortable limo seats and lit up a cigarette.
"I'm guessing it's pretty urgent." he said.
"It's time sensitive." said Alf.
"A race?"
"In a manner of speaking." Alf pulled out a laptop and flicked the screen into life. It showed a picture of a man and a snow covered facility of some sort.
"The North Pole." Alf continued. "There's an archaeological dig underway. Privately funded. It's headed by this man, Dr John Keibler. It's a civilian venture. Six scientists, two technical engineers to keep the power and computer systems up and running and two military personnel."
"The army?"
Alf nodded.
"Just a precautionary measure. It's dangerous terrain what with the harsh conditions and the local wildlife. They're also there to see that there's no interference from any other countries."
"Interference?"
"It's no secret that Russia's behaviour towards the UK has been somewhat... erratic recently. After their stunt of claiming the Pole's oil reserves... well the army is a little jumpy."
"So what's the problem?"
"The military personnel are on a 12 hour call in. Every 12 hours they radio in, confirm everything's fine and that's that."
"And they missed their last call?"
"Correct. Now with it being an Arctic expedition the army won't mobilise until they miss their second call. Obviously there's always a chance the call was missed due to weather interference or temporary loss of power."
"You suspect otherwise?"
"It's been two weeks and they've not missed a single call, Ed. Our satellites show no storm activity in that area."
"Why the interest in this dig? Why are we monitoring it so carefully?"
"I thought you'd ask. It's Keibler. He's helped us before in the past, unknowingly of course. We've always kept an eye on his activities, just to make sure he doesn't stumble upon something he shouldn't or talk to the wrong people. You know how it is. We have to protect our interests."
"So you want me over there to check up on everything before the army show up and take over?"
"Yes."
"And when is the second call due?"
"About eight hours from now. It gives you enough time to get over there, check out the situation and leave before the army even mobilises a unit to investigate."
"And what if there's nothing wrong? Aren't they going to wonder why I'm there and how I even know about the place?"
"It's ok, we've thought about that. As I said before, the dig is privately funded by one Jean Beauclair."
Ed looked blank.
"He's a private investor and one of our benefactors."
"Right."
"If it turns out everything is normal then you're just there on his behalf to see how things are going, make sure his money is being spent wisely. Ask for a quick tour of the facility, make some notes and off you go."
Ed sighed.
"You sound like I won't be needing that alibi."
"Missing that call was so unlikely Ed. If it was power related it's a problem that could have been fixed. I don't know what to expect. The most likely explanation I can think of is that the Russians have kidnapped Keibler and his team. Either way you should be prepared."
"When do I leave?"
"Straight away. Time is of the essence here. We've a chopper on standby for you already and we've Arctic gear waiting for you at the base. If you see any sign of the Russian military then turn straight around, head home and let the army deal with it. Anything else and it's up to you."


Ed looked down from the chopper as the first signs of snow covered terrain came into view. He was already freezing, despite the warm clothing. He wore fingerless gloves so he could still use his gun but his fingers were starting to numb with the cold and he stuffed his hands into his pockets. The pilot, Wilbur, spoke to him over the radio link headset he wore.
"We're almost there Ed. I'll bring her down on the touchpad. This bird ain't exactly designed for these conditions so we don't want to spend more than a couple of hours here or the rotors will freeze up."
"Roger that." said Ed. He felt near his stomach for the concealed pouch that his his gun velcroed inside. He hoped he wasn't going to need it. It was one thing to shoot at monsters, another to fight it out with trained military personnel. Below, the base came into view. The lights were still on and that was a worrying sign. So much for the power failure theory. Still, no one left the building at the sound of the chopper coming down to land and that was unusual. He'd expected both soldiers out there to 'greet' them. The chopper bumped down on the helipad and slid a little on the ice then came to rest. Ed took a deep breath, slid the door open and hopped out.

He hit the floor and crouched. His eyes sweeping over the immediate area. The wind was up and there were no footprints nearby. No obvious signs of life. He placed one hand inside his gun pouch and slid his fingers around the weapon's grip then jogged over to the base doors. They were large double doors, sealed with a deadbolt on the inside or at least, they should have been. One was still in position, the other swung wildly in the wind, clanging loudly against its housing. That too was a bad sign. Ed slid up to the closed door and peered around into the foyer. It looked clear. Snow had been driven inside by the wind and by the looks of it, that door had been open for some time. He went inside, pulled the door shut behind him and latched it in place. He could still get out fast enough if need be. He drew his gun and looked down the nearest corridor. A filing cabinet was still intact and he inspected it. It contained files. So much for the Russian theory. If they were involved surely they would have taken the files. He followed the corridor down into the radio room. The equipment was still live and seemed in working order. He didn't dare push anything to confirm. He left the radio room behind and returned to the foyer, taking the next corridor. This one ended in another room with two closed doors. He peered through the window. A locker room and probably sleeping quarters beyond that. But there was something else. Either someone had picked a garish red paintjob for the room or... He pushed the doors open and winced at what he saw. Here was one of the soldiers, or what was left of him. He was behind an upturned table that faced the door Ed had just entered through. Behind his body were the bodies of four of the civilians. Something had gone down here. A defensive shootout, but against who? Cautiously Ed made his way over to the corpses and examined them. The soldier's gun was still in his hand and looking behind him Ed could see where he'd fired and hit the wall and the doors. He wasn't shot though and neither were the scientists. The soldier had died from blunt trauma to the face. Ed could see where a hard blow had impacted his skull on one side and sent it crashing into the floor on the other. Judging from the damage he was hit with something real heavy, probably more than once. He checked the civilians. He couldn't see any immediate cause for death until he gently moved one with his foot and heard the sound of bone on bone. Broken necks? He shivered and not from the cold. Whatever had killed these men had done so with its bare hands.
He crouched down and moved one of the scientist's heads with the barrel of his gun. No impact damage, so finger marks that he could see but... He recoiled sharply. There on the neck. Two roughly circular wounds. If Ed didn't know better he'd think they were... bitemarks. He checked the other bodies. All of them, even the soldier, had the same marks. Instinct and logic fought in his mind for an explanation. Instinct told him only one thing could have made those marks. A vampire. And that would explain the display of physical strength, the bare handed killings. But logic told him that was impossible. Vampires had been extinct since the early 1900s when the last of the great European Elders had been killed. This whole thing made no sense. But Ed wasn't one for complacency. He pressed the button on his headset.
"Wilbur? Do you read?"
Static and then...
"Loud and clear Ed. What's the situation?"
"Wilbur listen to me. Take off. Stay high and sweep the area. Let me know if you see any signs of life. Don't land until I radio you again."
"Sure thing. How high?"
Ed thought for a while.
"As high as you can go and still see... The base personnel are all dead and Wilbur... There may be a vampire down here."
"You gotta be shitting me."
"I don't know for sure but don't take any chances. Stay high enough that you can't be surprised. If I don't radio in in the next thirty minutes head back without me."
"Roger that."
Ed stood back up and looked around. He needed to find the rest of the bodies and make sure they were dead. From what little he knew about vampires he was certain that it would have made a spawn. All four of these bodies had been fed upon and that was unusual behaviour for a single vampire...