Book 18: Cold as Ice

Alex

Toby grunts with effort as we move the patch in place. It’s nothing more than a sheet of steel to frame one of the smaller tunnel entrances in the lab, creating an archway leading down into the glacial, blue-tinged darkness below.

“Shit!” Toby huffs.

“Just hold it in place a moment longer,” I say through gritted teeth, my gloved hands slipping over the metal while trying to get a good grip. The whirling screech of the drill echoes all around us as I drive several screws through the steel and into the ice. Sensors secured to the tunnel are supposed to catch cracks before they spread, and so far, none of the sensors are going off.

“One more,” I rush out, breathless, and I send the last screw through the metal. Toby eases the pressure before letting go entirely, his hands falling to his knees in an attempt to cat