Free Trial by Ice by Casey Calouette Page B

see a jacket laying in the footprints before him. The day had warmed, but not nearly enough to warrant stripping a jacket. His eyes followed the trail and saw a shirt beyond it. He squinted. Kwesi stood off to his right. Shirtless, no gloves, no hat, and he was working at his belt.
    “What’s he doing?” William said.
    “Shit,” Vito said. He dropped the cord and trudged forward as quickly as he could.
    William called out to the others and sprinted behind Vito. His legs felt light and free, other than the burning patch on his knee. The snow crunched and cracked. He stumbled as he broke through the crust.
    Vito reached Kwesi first. The man’s skin, ebony and smooth, almost had a blue gloss to it. His eyes were dull and glassy. Vito grasped his arm and pulled it away from his trousers. Kwesi was trying to remove his pants.
    “Warm. Burning up,” Kwesi called out in a stupor. He pushed Vito back into the snow and fumbled with his hands.
    “Kwesi, stop it man, you’ll freeze to death.” William pushed forward and grabbed onto Kwesi’s arm. Even through the mittens he could sense the cold.
    Kwesi bumbled and spun his body, slamming William back into the snow. Vito was on his feet and had his arms wrapped around Kwesi’s torso. Kwesi thrashed forward and back, knocking Vito to the ground. William pounced forward and tackled Kwesi. Before he could get a grip, Kwesi had crawled away.
    Aleksandr and Crow rushed into the fray and pinned him onto the ground. Xan followed behind, clutching a sleeping bag. Kwesi thrashed and howled. The men grasped arms that flailed and legs that quaked. A thin white spittle stuck to his lips and his eyes rolled back into his head.
    Xan ran forward and draped the sleeping bag over Kwesi. Arms gripped him tight and wrangled him into the center of the sleeping bag. His head snapped back and connected with Crow.
    Crow stumbled backwards clutching his nose. Blood shot out onto the glare white beneath him. He tossed a curse in a language none spoke.
    William pushed into him again and gripped Kwesi’s head tightly. “Lay him down!” The group slowly lowered the rigid Kwesi down. Kwesi’s legs found purchase and thrust upwards but his energy was running low. He moaned in the sleeping bag.
    “Get a tent up!” William called over his shoulder.
    “Eduardo! Come! Bring the heated sled,” Vito yelled to the rest of the group. He began to strip his jacket off.
    “What are you doing?” William asked.
    “We need to warm him. Now,” said Vito.
    William turned and saw the remaining men stumble forward and pull the heated sled. The sled with Berry and his crew stood and watched.
    Vito knelt down and slid himself against Kwesi. He sucked in the air through clenched teeth. “Hooo! He’s cold.”
    Eduardo helped Von Hess off of the sled and the group cradled Kwesi in his place. Vito crawled in next to him. They heaped sleeping bags on top of the pair. The only sound was the clicking of the steel. A slight breeze, barely warm and tinged with humidity, slid against them.
    He looked south and began to worry. The coast seemed so far. Another good day of marching, or so he hoped. A snow dimpled hill rose between him and the south. A slight haze smudged the horizon.
    The tent rose as it had before, but slower. Each day it seemed to crinkle a bit more and strain as it rose in the air. The reactor was unhooked and powered back up to the fins. The cooling fin sang as the men huddled around it. The only other sound was the grumbling from their stomachs.
    Crow sat in the corner clutching the evening’s rations like a miser. The day stretched on as men shifted and rolled in sleeping bags never finding rest. The hunger became unbearable. Everyone’s eyes shifted between Crow, William, and the thrashing body of Kwesi. His core finally warmed enough that the shivering and pain began.
    The rations were handed to each man. No one trusted another man to pass his share. Eyes pierced Crow as he sliced each frozen bar