She tried not to scream as her body propelled down, but failed. The ride was horrifying. Freezing air was flying past her face, not knowing if or when the sliding would come to an abrupt end. She slid for only ten or fifteen seconds, but to her it felt like an eternity. The ice wall gradually flattened, allowing Dr. Rose to slow to a stop without further injury.
She lay in the darkness for several minutes, too scared to move. She was unsure whether her shivering was due to the cold or terror. Either way, she wanted nothing to do with her current location. At least the ice had stopped shaking.
"Flashlight," she muttered and dug through her coat until she felt the handle.
She pulled it out and clicked the button, but darkness remained. She mashed the button several more times, trying not to panic when nothing happened.
"Oh, come on, you stupid thing. Just give me ten seconds of light," she said, smacking the flashlight against the ice a few times.
There was a small flicker of light that died out fast as it appeared. Dr. Rose gave the flashlight a particularly hard smack, and light burst through the darkness.
"Oh, thank God," she said, directing the light to see around her. "Thank God, Buddha, Gandhi, the Sun God, just thank who-the-hell-ever."
Dr. Rose pointed the flashlight in every direction, at every angle possible. All she could see was ice. The ceiling above looked to be high enough to stand, if her legs stopped shaking enough to allow it. There was dull pain in her right knee, but she would have to worry about that later.
Her breathing became less labored and returned to normal. She forced herself to sit up, avoiding adding any pressure on her knee.
"Gah, this stings like a… lot of something that stings; it's too damn cold to think straight," she said, returning to examining the surrounding area with her flashlight. "How am I going to get out of here?"
A dark shape caught her eye when the light flashed over it. She stared and tried to make out what it could be. Her stomach twisted into knots when she realized it was Edgar.
"Edgar? Can you hear me?" she whispered, as if talking too loud might wake the ice. She tried to stand and walk to him, but her knee exploded in pain and she fell face-first onto the ice. She screamed into her arm and waited for the throbbing to stop. She had never experienced pain like this. The numbness brought on by the freezing cold helped limit what pain she felt, but it was still enough to make her want to pass out. She felt her tears freeze on her face as soon as they emerged.
Taking a few seconds to compose herself, she ignored the pain as best she could and pinned the flashlight between her neck and shoulder so she could scoot across the ice to Edgar. Every movement she made was strained and exhausting. She wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and never wake up.
She reached Edgar's body and rested her hand on his shoulder, taking the flashlight and directing the light onto him. She immediately turned away. There was no doubt he was dead, his body was twisted and disfigured. She forced herself to look back at his mangled body, at the life she had brought to an end.
"I'm so sorry, Edgar. I should never have made us come after these stupid eggs; there is nothing we could find that would make this worth it," she said. She moved the flashlight to aim past Edgar, hoping to see a coffee house or at least someone giving out hot chocolate. She would settle for either at this point, she wasn't picky. There was no coffee house or hot chocolate. Instead, something far better caught her eye.
She scooted toward it as fast as she could move, grimacing but ignoring her knee protesting.
"I can't believe it. Finally. Finally I found you," she said, reaching out to touch an egg that was almost the size of her head. The eggs were such brilliant white they seemed to glow under her flashlight. Small black spots freckled the white shell, but did not diminish their appeal. "You're so beautiful," she said, stroking the white shell. It felt soft to her touch, a sticky and rubbery texture.
Fourteen large eggs were grouped in front of Dr. Rose. She shone the light around the area, small groups of eggs were everywhere. At first glance, maybe a hundred and fifty or so. Maybe more.
"Edgar, Jared... I wish you guys could see this," she said, her jaw hanging open. "It's all real."
A large groan came from the glacier, and she felt the ground beginning to move again.
"Oh no, no. Please don't do this," she said as the shaking grew violent.
A large chunk of ice fell from the ceiling and crushed a small group of eggs. Then more ice fell, followed by another. The air filled with the sound of cracking ice followed by the sickening wet crunch of eggshells breaking. Dr. Rose covered the fourteen eggs in front of her with her body as best she could.
"I can't let you all break now. Not after all this," she said through clenched teeth. "I refuse."
"Dr. Rose? Edgar? Jared?" came a distant voice from above.
"Down here!" Dr. Rose screamed at the ceiling. "Please hurry!"
A smaller ice patch fell from above and broke against her head.
"Ugh, no. Please hurry," she mumbled as black specks flooded her vision. She tried to keep talking, but her words became slurred, and she could not fight off the urge to drift into unconsciousness.
The first thing Dr. Rose noticed was uncomfortably bright light followed by a stabbing pain in her knee and the uncomfortable roar of an engine. She opened her eyes slowly to see a large, bearded man standing above her. He could pass for Santa Claus, except his chest-length beard was dark brown, and he was wrapped in winter gear with his face uncovered.
"Clark?" Dr. Rose asked.
"She's awake!" Clark called to whoever was nearby, then looked back at her. "How are you feeling?"
"Let's not get into that right now. Where am I? How did you find me?" she asked.
"Helicopter on the way to the hospital. You need medical attention, something fierce. I consider it nothing short of a miracle you're alive after the state we found you in and what was left of Edgar and Jared. The rest of the group went in after you, since you didn't return when you were supposed to. We heard you yell and were able to rappel down and grab you, but you're still badly injured. That knee does NOT look good," he said. His dark eyes were full of concern, making her squirm in discomfort under his gaze.
"The eggs! Did you get the eggs?!" Dr. Rose said in sudden panic.
"Yes, we have them! We have the fourteen you covered. We'll deal with them once you get help," he said.
"No way. No. We have to do what the boss said. We need to get these to Dr. Kale right now, then we deal with my injuries. I can live until we pass the eggs to him," she said with an authority Clark could not question.
"Okay, fine, we get the eggs to Dr. Kale. Do you mind telling us what, exactly, these eggs hold?" Clark said.
Dr. Rose gave him a small smile and said, "Something incredible and terrifying."