The Mountain.
Chapter One.
The gentle lapping of the waves, the soft sound of the wind blowing, the bitter, biting chill in the air. These things struck Pearce all at once the moment he stepped on the boat, and they still haven't ceased to bother him for the last two hours. Pearce was not particularly good with sea travel, nor with the freezing cold of the Canadian far North. Then again, perhaps most people weren't. After all, the money was always good up here. The money, yes, the thing that brought Pearce out of his comfy geology jobs in Europe. He was being offered a very handsome fee for his expertise on this job.
A number of years ago, there had been a major accident in a little mining town named Northstar, on Descent Island. Nobody exactly had a very good clue on what went wrong, how bad the damage was, and if there was any money left to be made in the area. These things all remained a mystery because no one survived the accident. It was weeks in fact before anyone even suspected something was wrong, but by the time anyone made contact with the town, there was no one there, just a huge disaster site.
The Canadian government ordered the place be shut down and abandoned, after 2 weeks of searching (and very dangerous conditions) brought no survivors. It wasn't until recently that people (mining corporations) started taking interest in the area again, but the government wanted some certainties that work could be done safely. So Pearce (along with a few other folks forming a small team) was hired on to do a safety assessment. Unfortunately, the rest of Pearce's “team” has been stuck trying to find another boat or plane to take them over to the island as well, so as of right now, he's working alone.
But none of that really mattered to him right now. He was cold, nauseous, and was feeling rather uncomfortable having no one there to talk with. There was the small crew on the boat, but they mostly kept to themselves, and he hadn't seen them since he got on. That was probably for the best though, he'd have felt rather awkward trying to talk with these total strangers, especially ones from a different country. So there he stood, head hanging over the side of the boat, trying not to vomit, glad for the solitude, but also wishing for some company.
Chapter Two.
Descent Island wasn't a huge island, nor a tiny one. It's about two hundred kilometres squared, with a rather impressive set of mountains across many areas, and even a fair amount of vegetation, though it was really only good enough for the animal inhabitants. The island itself sits at about twenty-five to fifty kilometres away from Victoria Island's East Coast, though it's nearly three hundred kilometres away from mainland Nunavut. This makes the island a bit of a task to reach, but a rewarding one for those with a love of nature. Still, considerably less of a hassle than further up North where you need an icebreaker to get between islands.
During the heyday of Northstar's mining operations, there was very little traffic to the island. Now, it's essentially non-existent. But this is the 90's, National Geographic is taking notice of the Great White North, and it won't be long before rich, nature loving tourists decide to take seaplane adventures up here. But for now, Descent Island was left untouched, solitary, still even, like a painting.
Pearce was finally able to look up and view the island looming ahead. Wasn't much to say about it, the sun had only been up a short while now, and it was quite foggy on top of that. What he could see of the island seemed slightly snow patched, but with plenty of rock and vegetation laying around, as if keeping the snow at bay. The crew started making their way on deck, getting ready to dock the boat at a rather tiny, rickety looking pier. Still, there weren't many alternatives. It was shallow water leading up to the beach, so only a smaller craft could get to it directly, and this crew didn't seem particularly keen on wasting any time worrying over a simple dock.
Pearce made his way off the boat when the crew finished up, they helped him lug some of his equipment onto land, dropping it off next to an old snow coach. “Any idea how to get to Northstar?” Pearce asked one of the crewmen. The older, gruff looking fellow pointed towards a dirt and gravel road. “Only place that road leads to is Northstar. That also happens to be the only road on Descent, so you shouldn't have to worry about getting lost.” Pearce nodded and thanked the man before he began to pack his things into the vehicle. He wasn't overly pleased he was starting this job completely alone, and he wasn't thrilled by the prospect of having to find an abandoned town on his own either.
Finally done packing things up, Pearce got into the snow coach, started it up, and was on his way down the road. The crew of the boat were heading back onto the boat, rather bored looking since they were being asked to wait here at least until the rest of the team got there. If things got bad and they needed to leave, they could radio Pearce, or meet up with him in person using a snowmobile they had on board (which was part of this job specifically, not something that belonged to the boat owners).
The road continued to be somewhat smooth, but also a little choppy. It hadn't been maintained at all obviously, but the dirt and gravel made it so maintenance wasn't really a necessity, for the most part at least. Pearce occasionally stole glances at the snow dotted fields that surrounded the area, seeing the occasional bird pop up. Not many polar bears to be seen, they were more concentrated on other parts of the island, but he had seen at least one roaming by itself, looking like it was foraging for some kind of edible plant or berry. As the journey stretched on, Pearce passed by a few mountain ranges, before one rather prominent one began to rise into sight ahead of him. With where the road was heading, he concluded that must be where Northstar is. That, and the little bit he had been briefed on.
Northstar was a mining town of about 500 to 1000 people, the size fluctuated through the years as miners came and went, and they came and went pretty often, as evidenced by the mine's incredible, vast expanse before the accident. Underground tunnels, cave systems, and mining shafts that stretched on for miles. In fact, one of the mountains ahead of Pearce was quite significant for that. Bradley Mountain (which seemed to tower over the town and most of the other mountains around, like a giant almost) had a number of cave systems in it, under it, and around it, which became regularly used in expanding the mines over the years. It is entirely possible the mountain was a volcano that became active, one scenario that has been considered for what the accident could have been (no one knows for sure yet).
Bradley Mountain was not only an important landmark, it had been instrumental in the town's growth, and possibly even it's death. Either way, Pearce was fairly certain it had a role to play in what happened to Northstar, and was already devising plans for studies he should conduct around it. As the car got closer though, the sight of the mountain started to make him feel strange. The mountain itself seemed rather out of place, with how tall, jagged, and imposing it looked. But with the grey rock and white sprinkling of snow on it, no one would think much of it. Until they notice the red streaks on it.
Pearce was a little confused himself, he'd not seen, or heard of, any red rocks that should be common on this island. Perhaps it was from glacial movements? Perhaps even volcanic activity? Or maybe it was mineral deposits that had been kept hidden until the area was mined? Either way, it was shocking to see. Maybe even a little unnerving.
Suppressing the distraction from his mind, Pearce turned his focus back to the driving. The road stretched onward still, and the light promised to be minimal today, maybe six or seven hours at best. Pearce had neglected to figure out how long the days actually were at this time of year, so it could even be as little as four hours, so he had to make sure every second counted. Peering back up towards the mountain again, he knew he was going need all the time he could get.
Chapter 3
The drive had been long for him, but Pearce was finally coming up on the edge of Northstar now. He allowed himself a moment of brief surprise as he saw some of the buildings still standing in the distance, some reaching two or three storeys tall. They were most likely hotels and apartments, but they clearly either had a larger population than he assumed, or they had assumed their population would be growing. Either way, it was a moot point, at least until the mining company gets what it wants. If it gets it.
After Pearce finally parked near the town's welcome sign, he got into the back of the snow coach to grab a gas mask and a chemistry set. He had to make sure the air here wasn't filled with any poisonous gasses. It had been years since the accident, but that doesn't mean there couldn't still be some dangerous chemicals left, or gasses from in ground that have seeped out since then.
It took him a while to properly set up, but Pearce worked as quickly as he could to get the tests done. He was even more worried about his light situation now, but he had to make sure things were safe.
Once he finished taking a few samples, Pearce set the tests up and let them sit, as it would take a while for the reactions to fully show up. In the mean time, he walked towards the town, trying to get a lay of the land. The first thing he discovered, which was going to cause him no end of grief he was sure, was that the road was paved. Not very well paved by this point in time, but it was there none the less. Which, gauging by the vehicle he was using, meant he was probably going to have to walk everywhere until the rest of the team showed up. It was great to have a snow vehicle when there was snow all over the ground, but they clearly hadn't properly anticipated the snowfall for the island.
Finally managing to come to terms with the idea of walking all over town, Pearce returned his attention to the outskirts he was walking into. There was an old gas station to his left, an old pickup truck was sitting at the side of the building, and a car was sitting by the pumps. They were probably relatively new at the time of the accident, but they were at least ten years old now. Across the road and hugging the edge of the town was a bigger building, seemed to be a warehouse. He was taking an initial guess that it was used by the old mining company for transporting minerals out of here, but he really won't know unless he can get in later.
He'd tried to suppress it for a while, but there really was no ignoring this feeling any longer. Pearce felt an overwhelming sense of isolation and emptiness here. It wasn't just loneliness, no it was this uncomfortable feeling of seeing what should have been a vibrant town, so dead and devoid of life. In fact, the only other people on this island beside himself were a half hour drive back to the dock. That sort of isolation in the face of 'civilization' is a truly haunting feeling that simply cannot be recreated by anything else. The fog around the fields and town didn't really help either, but then again it might not help any more if it wasn't there.
Pearce struggled, but finally managed to push that thought to the side as he looked back over to the gas station, which he finally settled on the idea of exploring, though partly just to distract himself. Once he reached it, he couldn't help but take a moment to look over the vehicles sitting there. They were relatively rusty at this point, paint chips flaking off of them, and a bit of a thin, green veneer creeping across their windows. The gas station itself wasn't much better, with paint chipping off the building, cracks formed in the pavement, and rust covering most things made of metal. He made his way into the station itself, finding the front door unlocked (which he figured was a 50/50 chance, so he both was and was not surprised), and was hit by a smell he could only associate with age, or mould perhaps.
The shelves were still pretty well stocked, albeit with now inedible food, but there was also some old magazines, road maps and even a few nudies sitting up on the higher shelves. He smirked a little to himself as he looked them over, struggling to decide if he should try and sneak them back with him, or just leave them. However, there was also the internal battle he was having with his 'better self' who wanted to make it very clear to him he shouldn't even be thinking about such things. In the end, he decided to look around a little bit more, coming to the compromise that he could always come back later if his attempts at moral integrity broke down.
Having made his way around most of the aisles, Pearce roamed over to the front counter, curious by what they might still have there. The register was still there, and closed up to boot, meaning there might still be cash inside, but he didn't really need a few hundred Canadian dollars, assuming there was even that much in there. This job paid well enough, and he wasn't a big fan of the idea of robbing the dead. Something that did pique his interest was a small locked box under the counter, which seemed too oddly shaped to be for cash. He pulled the small container out and laid it on the counter, checking its locks. They'd been left unlocked, and after he opened it, he knew why.
There was a gun sitting in it, a Colt 1911 with a magazine inside, and a spare one beside it. Pearce couldn't help but chuckle a bit, wondering who they would need to be protecting themselves from. He could understand if he'd found this in some place in America, but in a Canadian mining town, on an island so far North you would almost have to look South to see the Northern lights? Well, it was certainly a handy tool to have in the right moments, so maybe it wasn't an altogether terrible idea, but Pearce still found it rather silly. He put the gun back, thinking he may come back later and fire off a few rounds for fun, but he definitely would not be taking it with him. If he left this with his stuff, forgot about it, and got caught in customs still with it, he was fairly certain they wouldn't be open to hearing his story.
With nothing left to check out in the gas station, and probably twenty minutes having passed since he started his tests, Pearce made his way back to the snow coach. The sun was still shining bright, but for how long, he really didn't know still, so time was still of the essence. Pearce did a quick look over the reactions, compared it to his notes and sighed a bit of relief. The atmosphere was perfectly fine here, chemically speaking at least, so he pulled of his gas mask and set it back down in the coach. The first thing that struck him when he breathed in was some kind of smokey smell. He'd only now realized that it had been there the whole time, but having the gas mask off made it really hit him. It was rather odd though, was there wood burning somewhere? Or coal perhaps? There really wasn't any way of being sure right now, but it was rather odd that smell would still be lingering here, one more mystery for Pearce to solve.
Chapter 4
Pearce had already made his way towards the warehouse he noticed, now that he knew it was relatively safe to breathe here. Along the other side of the street, there was a few other tall, rather shabby looking brick buildings. Some of them seemed like they could have been apartments, others seemed like they were possibly also warehouses. He figured that made some sense, seeing as how boats weren't making it here on a daily basis before accident.
Once Pearce got his bearings of the street, he decided to check on the warehouse he'd seen first coming in, the most interesting looking one. He looked to see if he could find an open door, but wasn't having an easy time of it. Most of the garage doors on it were padlocked shut, and judging by the look and brand, these weren't going to be coming off with anything short of their key. He did find one set of doors that seemed okay, but they were locked too, possibly from the inside.
Looking around to see if there were any other openings, he did spot an open window up a bit higher, though he wouldn't be able to climb up it on his own. He gave a long look down both ends of the street, eventually noticing a large garbage bin, which he was hoping and praying would have wheels on it. Pearce ran over to the big bin, and was pleased to see it did have wheels. Struggling for a bit to get the thing moving, he finally managed to get the bin wheeling along towards the warehouse, it's rusted wheels creaking in protest. After it was lined up with the window, Pearce finally managed to climb on top, and up into the window.
Moving very slowly so as not to lose his balance, Pearce pulled himself up with both arms, then managed to get a leg in the window, before balancing himself and getting his other leg through. It was dark in the room, but he had a flashlight with him. Gently lowering himself to the floor, he grabbed his flashlight and started his exploration of the old building. There were (as expected) a lot of boxes and crates in the room, presumably all filled with some kinds of minerals, or equipment perhaps. There was a few open crates that seemed unfinished, and pallets that had been getting loaded up with various things as well.
What really seemed odd to him was some of the contents of these crates and pallets. When he inspected them further to see what was being stored, he found a number of red rocks, some very smooth and angular rocks (which looked like granite or some other hard stone), and what seemed to potentially be some Inuit artifacts. Some old daggers, or perhaps spearheads or arrow points. The odd thing was, they seemed to be made out of red rock as well. Was there possibly iron or something in them? What prompted the Inuit to use something like that?
Pearce's thoughts were cut off immediately when he heard a thunderous, booming sound. It sounded almost like a horn, or something being dragged across a floor, creating a deeper screaching sound. But this wasn't coming from inside the warehouse. It was coming from outside. Pearce rushed to the entrance doors, quickly fumbling with the handles to see if he could get the doors unlocked. He heard a click, quickly swung the doors open, and stepped outside. There was nothing there. Not a thing he could see that would have caused the noise. In fact, there was more smoke or fog now than there was before, but nothing nearby that could have caused that noise. Perhaps it was further away? It did sound somewhat distant.
The thing really bothering Pearce now was that the “horn sound” (if that's what it was) only sounded once, and not for very long, so he couldn't get an exact idea of how it sounded. This was going to make it incredibly hard to figure out what it was, and where it came from. He was also getting a bit of an odd feeling now too, a sense of unease. Pearce didn't really want to be on the streets, but he didn't want to be back in the warehouse either. There was no time for that though, he tried his best to shake the feeling, and decided to investigate some other part of town.
And it was at this point that he realized one handy tool he hadn't been provided for the trip: a map. Pearce really had to wonder how badly these people wanted to mine this area if they couldn't have the presence of mind to give him something that simple. Still, there was nothing to really do to fix that. Instead, he decided to follow the streets as long as possible until he finds the town hall, which he was fairly certain would have a map. So far this town seemed more interested in helping him than the mine corporation did.
The gentle lapping of the waves, the soft sound of the wind blowing, the bitter, biting chill in the air. These things struck Pearce all at once the moment he stepped on the boat, and they still haven't ceased to bother him for the last two hours. Pearce was not particularly good with sea travel, nor with the freezing cold of the Canadian far North. Then again, perhaps most people weren't. After all, the money was always good up here. The money, yes, the thing that brought Pearce out of his comfy geology jobs in Europe. He was being offered a very handsome fee for his expertise on this job.
A number of years ago, there had been a major accident in a little mining town named Northstar, on Descent Island. Nobody exactly had a very good clue on what went wrong, how bad the damage was, and if there was any money left to be made in the area. These things all remained a mystery because no one survived the accident. It was weeks in fact before anyone even suspected something was wrong, but by the time anyone made contact with the town, there was no one there, just a huge disaster site.
The Canadian government ordered the place be shut down and abandoned, after 2 weeks of searching (and very dangerous conditions) brought no survivors. It wasn't until recently that people (mining corporations) started taking interest in the area again, but the government wanted some certainties that work could be done safely. So Pearce (along with a few other folks forming a small team) was hired on to do a safety assessment. Unfortunately, the rest of Pearce's “team” has been stuck trying to find another boat or plane to take them over to the island as well, so as of right now, he's working alone.
But none of that really mattered to him right now. He was cold, nauseous, and was feeling rather uncomfortable having no one there to talk with. There was the small crew on the boat, but they mostly kept to themselves, and he hadn't seen them since he got on. That was probably for the best though, he'd have felt rather awkward trying to talk with these total strangers, especially ones from a different country. So there he stood, head hanging over the side of the boat, trying not to vomit, glad for the solitude, but also wishing for some company.
Chapter Two.
Descent Island wasn't a huge island, nor a tiny one. It's about two hundred kilometres squared, with a rather impressive set of mountains across many areas, and even a fair amount of vegetation, though it was really only good enough for the animal inhabitants. The island itself sits at about twenty-five to fifty kilometres away from Victoria Island's East Coast, though it's nearly three hundred kilometres away from mainland Nunavut. This makes the island a bit of a task to reach, but a rewarding one for those with a love of nature. Still, considerably less of a hassle than further up North where you need an icebreaker to get between islands.
During the heyday of Northstar's mining operations, there was very little traffic to the island. Now, it's essentially non-existent. But this is the 90's, National Geographic is taking notice of the Great White North, and it won't be long before rich, nature loving tourists decide to take seaplane adventures up here. But for now, Descent Island was left untouched, solitary, still even, like a painting.
Pearce was finally able to look up and view the island looming ahead. Wasn't much to say about it, the sun had only been up a short while now, and it was quite foggy on top of that. What he could see of the island seemed slightly snow patched, but with plenty of rock and vegetation laying around, as if keeping the snow at bay. The crew started making their way on deck, getting ready to dock the boat at a rather tiny, rickety looking pier. Still, there weren't many alternatives. It was shallow water leading up to the beach, so only a smaller craft could get to it directly, and this crew didn't seem particularly keen on wasting any time worrying over a simple dock.
Pearce made his way off the boat when the crew finished up, they helped him lug some of his equipment onto land, dropping it off next to an old snow coach. “Any idea how to get to Northstar?” Pearce asked one of the crewmen. The older, gruff looking fellow pointed towards a dirt and gravel road. “Only place that road leads to is Northstar. That also happens to be the only road on Descent, so you shouldn't have to worry about getting lost.” Pearce nodded and thanked the man before he began to pack his things into the vehicle. He wasn't overly pleased he was starting this job completely alone, and he wasn't thrilled by the prospect of having to find an abandoned town on his own either.
Finally done packing things up, Pearce got into the snow coach, started it up, and was on his way down the road. The crew of the boat were heading back onto the boat, rather bored looking since they were being asked to wait here at least until the rest of the team got there. If things got bad and they needed to leave, they could radio Pearce, or meet up with him in person using a snowmobile they had on board (which was part of this job specifically, not something that belonged to the boat owners).
The road continued to be somewhat smooth, but also a little choppy. It hadn't been maintained at all obviously, but the dirt and gravel made it so maintenance wasn't really a necessity, for the most part at least. Pearce occasionally stole glances at the snow dotted fields that surrounded the area, seeing the occasional bird pop up. Not many polar bears to be seen, they were more concentrated on other parts of the island, but he had seen at least one roaming by itself, looking like it was foraging for some kind of edible plant or berry. As the journey stretched on, Pearce passed by a few mountain ranges, before one rather prominent one began to rise into sight ahead of him. With where the road was heading, he concluded that must be where Northstar is. That, and the little bit he had been briefed on.
Northstar was a mining town of about 500 to 1000 people, the size fluctuated through the years as miners came and went, and they came and went pretty often, as evidenced by the mine's incredible, vast expanse before the accident. Underground tunnels, cave systems, and mining shafts that stretched on for miles. In fact, one of the mountains ahead of Pearce was quite significant for that. Bradley Mountain (which seemed to tower over the town and most of the other mountains around, like a giant almost) had a number of cave systems in it, under it, and around it, which became regularly used in expanding the mines over the years. It is entirely possible the mountain was a volcano that became active, one scenario that has been considered for what the accident could have been (no one knows for sure yet).
Bradley Mountain was not only an important landmark, it had been instrumental in the town's growth, and possibly even it's death. Either way, Pearce was fairly certain it had a role to play in what happened to Northstar, and was already devising plans for studies he should conduct around it. As the car got closer though, the sight of the mountain started to make him feel strange. The mountain itself seemed rather out of place, with how tall, jagged, and imposing it looked. But with the grey rock and white sprinkling of snow on it, no one would think much of it. Until they notice the red streaks on it.
Pearce was a little confused himself, he'd not seen, or heard of, any red rocks that should be common on this island. Perhaps it was from glacial movements? Perhaps even volcanic activity? Or maybe it was mineral deposits that had been kept hidden until the area was mined? Either way, it was shocking to see. Maybe even a little unnerving.
Suppressing the distraction from his mind, Pearce turned his focus back to the driving. The road stretched onward still, and the light promised to be minimal today, maybe six or seven hours at best. Pearce had neglected to figure out how long the days actually were at this time of year, so it could even be as little as four hours, so he had to make sure every second counted. Peering back up towards the mountain again, he knew he was going need all the time he could get.
Chapter 3
The drive had been long for him, but Pearce was finally coming up on the edge of Northstar now. He allowed himself a moment of brief surprise as he saw some of the buildings still standing in the distance, some reaching two or three storeys tall. They were most likely hotels and apartments, but they clearly either had a larger population than he assumed, or they had assumed their population would be growing. Either way, it was a moot point, at least until the mining company gets what it wants. If it gets it.
After Pearce finally parked near the town's welcome sign, he got into the back of the snow coach to grab a gas mask and a chemistry set. He had to make sure the air here wasn't filled with any poisonous gasses. It had been years since the accident, but that doesn't mean there couldn't still be some dangerous chemicals left, or gasses from in ground that have seeped out since then.
It took him a while to properly set up, but Pearce worked as quickly as he could to get the tests done. He was even more worried about his light situation now, but he had to make sure things were safe.
Once he finished taking a few samples, Pearce set the tests up and let them sit, as it would take a while for the reactions to fully show up. In the mean time, he walked towards the town, trying to get a lay of the land. The first thing he discovered, which was going to cause him no end of grief he was sure, was that the road was paved. Not very well paved by this point in time, but it was there none the less. Which, gauging by the vehicle he was using, meant he was probably going to have to walk everywhere until the rest of the team showed up. It was great to have a snow vehicle when there was snow all over the ground, but they clearly hadn't properly anticipated the snowfall for the island.
Finally managing to come to terms with the idea of walking all over town, Pearce returned his attention to the outskirts he was walking into. There was an old gas station to his left, an old pickup truck was sitting at the side of the building, and a car was sitting by the pumps. They were probably relatively new at the time of the accident, but they were at least ten years old now. Across the road and hugging the edge of the town was a bigger building, seemed to be a warehouse. He was taking an initial guess that it was used by the old mining company for transporting minerals out of here, but he really won't know unless he can get in later.
He'd tried to suppress it for a while, but there really was no ignoring this feeling any longer. Pearce felt an overwhelming sense of isolation and emptiness here. It wasn't just loneliness, no it was this uncomfortable feeling of seeing what should have been a vibrant town, so dead and devoid of life. In fact, the only other people on this island beside himself were a half hour drive back to the dock. That sort of isolation in the face of 'civilization' is a truly haunting feeling that simply cannot be recreated by anything else. The fog around the fields and town didn't really help either, but then again it might not help any more if it wasn't there.
Pearce struggled, but finally managed to push that thought to the side as he looked back over to the gas station, which he finally settled on the idea of exploring, though partly just to distract himself. Once he reached it, he couldn't help but take a moment to look over the vehicles sitting there. They were relatively rusty at this point, paint chips flaking off of them, and a bit of a thin, green veneer creeping across their windows. The gas station itself wasn't much better, with paint chipping off the building, cracks formed in the pavement, and rust covering most things made of metal. He made his way into the station itself, finding the front door unlocked (which he figured was a 50/50 chance, so he both was and was not surprised), and was hit by a smell he could only associate with age, or mould perhaps.
The shelves were still pretty well stocked, albeit with now inedible food, but there was also some old magazines, road maps and even a few nudies sitting up on the higher shelves. He smirked a little to himself as he looked them over, struggling to decide if he should try and sneak them back with him, or just leave them. However, there was also the internal battle he was having with his 'better self' who wanted to make it very clear to him he shouldn't even be thinking about such things. In the end, he decided to look around a little bit more, coming to the compromise that he could always come back later if his attempts at moral integrity broke down.
Having made his way around most of the aisles, Pearce roamed over to the front counter, curious by what they might still have there. The register was still there, and closed up to boot, meaning there might still be cash inside, but he didn't really need a few hundred Canadian dollars, assuming there was even that much in there. This job paid well enough, and he wasn't a big fan of the idea of robbing the dead. Something that did pique his interest was a small locked box under the counter, which seemed too oddly shaped to be for cash. He pulled the small container out and laid it on the counter, checking its locks. They'd been left unlocked, and after he opened it, he knew why.
There was a gun sitting in it, a Colt 1911 with a magazine inside, and a spare one beside it. Pearce couldn't help but chuckle a bit, wondering who they would need to be protecting themselves from. He could understand if he'd found this in some place in America, but in a Canadian mining town, on an island so far North you would almost have to look South to see the Northern lights? Well, it was certainly a handy tool to have in the right moments, so maybe it wasn't an altogether terrible idea, but Pearce still found it rather silly. He put the gun back, thinking he may come back later and fire off a few rounds for fun, but he definitely would not be taking it with him. If he left this with his stuff, forgot about it, and got caught in customs still with it, he was fairly certain they wouldn't be open to hearing his story.
With nothing left to check out in the gas station, and probably twenty minutes having passed since he started his tests, Pearce made his way back to the snow coach. The sun was still shining bright, but for how long, he really didn't know still, so time was still of the essence. Pearce did a quick look over the reactions, compared it to his notes and sighed a bit of relief. The atmosphere was perfectly fine here, chemically speaking at least, so he pulled of his gas mask and set it back down in the coach. The first thing that struck him when he breathed in was some kind of smokey smell. He'd only now realized that it had been there the whole time, but having the gas mask off made it really hit him. It was rather odd though, was there wood burning somewhere? Or coal perhaps? There really wasn't any way of being sure right now, but it was rather odd that smell would still be lingering here, one more mystery for Pearce to solve.
Chapter 4
Pearce had already made his way towards the warehouse he noticed, now that he knew it was relatively safe to breathe here. Along the other side of the street, there was a few other tall, rather shabby looking brick buildings. Some of them seemed like they could have been apartments, others seemed like they were possibly also warehouses. He figured that made some sense, seeing as how boats weren't making it here on a daily basis before accident.
Once Pearce got his bearings of the street, he decided to check on the warehouse he'd seen first coming in, the most interesting looking one. He looked to see if he could find an open door, but wasn't having an easy time of it. Most of the garage doors on it were padlocked shut, and judging by the look and brand, these weren't going to be coming off with anything short of their key. He did find one set of doors that seemed okay, but they were locked too, possibly from the inside.
Looking around to see if there were any other openings, he did spot an open window up a bit higher, though he wouldn't be able to climb up it on his own. He gave a long look down both ends of the street, eventually noticing a large garbage bin, which he was hoping and praying would have wheels on it. Pearce ran over to the big bin, and was pleased to see it did have wheels. Struggling for a bit to get the thing moving, he finally managed to get the bin wheeling along towards the warehouse, it's rusted wheels creaking in protest. After it was lined up with the window, Pearce finally managed to climb on top, and up into the window.
Moving very slowly so as not to lose his balance, Pearce pulled himself up with both arms, then managed to get a leg in the window, before balancing himself and getting his other leg through. It was dark in the room, but he had a flashlight with him. Gently lowering himself to the floor, he grabbed his flashlight and started his exploration of the old building. There were (as expected) a lot of boxes and crates in the room, presumably all filled with some kinds of minerals, or equipment perhaps. There was a few open crates that seemed unfinished, and pallets that had been getting loaded up with various things as well.
What really seemed odd to him was some of the contents of these crates and pallets. When he inspected them further to see what was being stored, he found a number of red rocks, some very smooth and angular rocks (which looked like granite or some other hard stone), and what seemed to potentially be some Inuit artifacts. Some old daggers, or perhaps spearheads or arrow points. The odd thing was, they seemed to be made out of red rock as well. Was there possibly iron or something in them? What prompted the Inuit to use something like that?
Pearce's thoughts were cut off immediately when he heard a thunderous, booming sound. It sounded almost like a horn, or something being dragged across a floor, creating a deeper screaching sound. But this wasn't coming from inside the warehouse. It was coming from outside. Pearce rushed to the entrance doors, quickly fumbling with the handles to see if he could get the doors unlocked. He heard a click, quickly swung the doors open, and stepped outside. There was nothing there. Not a thing he could see that would have caused the noise. In fact, there was more smoke or fog now than there was before, but nothing nearby that could have caused that noise. Perhaps it was further away? It did sound somewhat distant.
The thing really bothering Pearce now was that the “horn sound” (if that's what it was) only sounded once, and not for very long, so he couldn't get an exact idea of how it sounded. This was going to make it incredibly hard to figure out what it was, and where it came from. He was also getting a bit of an odd feeling now too, a sense of unease. Pearce didn't really want to be on the streets, but he didn't want to be back in the warehouse either. There was no time for that though, he tried his best to shake the feeling, and decided to investigate some other part of town.
And it was at this point that he realized one handy tool he hadn't been provided for the trip: a map. Pearce really had to wonder how badly these people wanted to mine this area if they couldn't have the presence of mind to give him something that simple. Still, there was nothing to really do to fix that. Instead, he decided to follow the streets as long as possible until he finds the town hall, which he was fairly certain would have a map. So far this town seemed more interested in helping him than the mine corporation did.
