“I think that might be the last of the coffee,” I said setting my mug down on my desk.

“Resupply won’t be in for a while with the storm gathering,” Kevin said.

“I guess you’re out of luck.”

“It’ s okay I’ve been hoarding packets for weeks now.”

He walked into the room when the radio crackled. Messages were rare here. The remote research station rarely got called. It was usually us asking for something. But, the storm made it hard to hear.

I could only make out some of the words:

Emergency…Reports….CDC…disease has spread to every major area…strange symptoms…violent..infected…..use extreme caution….avoid dead bodies….repeat…avoid dead bodies…reanimation….they’re coming…they’re coming.

“Kevin,” I said, “did you hear that?”

No answer.

“Kevin?”

There weren’t many places he could be. The module we were staying in only had a couple rooms. I checked his bunk first. There was nothing but an empty sleeping bag, and a room temperature hot water bottle.

I heard commotion in the storage room. The three scientists that just arrived were always in there checking their equipment.

The scientists…that had just arrived from who knows where. I should have known. It was on the manifest. I really should have kept better track.

“Kevin!” I called out.

I turned the corner and nearly lost my lunch. Kevin was spread out on the floor. The researcher, a tall thin man, was hunched over my friend. I could hear the gnarled sinew popping, and the mashing sounds of chewed flesh. I turned to run and had the unpleasant realization seep into my brain that there was nowhere to run. I was on a remote ice station on an Antarctic shelf.

The man turned his head. He had turned paler than when he arrived, his eyes yellow, and his red arctic jacket was wet with my friend’s blood. There wasn’t time to mourn Kevin though, as the infected man gave a cold dead stare, something flickered and he started to rise.

For a moment, I wondered what became of the other two scientists, but two more lumbering bodies shuffled through the supply room door. I would like to say that I faced them, and immediately sprung into action, but I screamed, and cried and ran back to the main room. I grabbed the satellite phone and dialed the main station. They were miles away, but they were my only hope.

The infected men were getting closer now, as the sat phone beeped, and beeped, and beeped.

No answer came.

I was alone.

The three of them made a somber march towards me. Each of them made a low murmuring sound, and there teeth chattering.

Oh god, the chattering.

I kept backing up. Farther and farther, until I started pressing against the metal wall. I would have given anything to be outside that compound.

I felt around. I needed something, anything to put between myself and them. Finally, I felt the cool metal of Kevin’s ice ax. I hefted the makeshift weapon.

I doubted Kevin would mind, given the circumstances.

With little thought, I plunged forward, and swung as hard as I could, planting the spike deep into the first researcher’s abdomen. But, he wasn’t phased and kept reaching for me. I pulled it out, thinking that I only hit his coat, but the spike was bright red.

“Oh crap,” I said and he grabbed my arm. His head snapped forward, as he tried for my throat. I spun, and I lifted the ax and again. This time I used two hands and the ice ax punched into his forehead. The doctor went down as if I flipped a switch. But, the ice ax was . I pulled and pulled, but it was no use.

I was weaponless.

I felt both of them reached for me at the same time. One set of jaws grabbed hold of my jacket. I shrugged free of my coat, leaving them to try to eat insulated nylon. I sprinted around them before the infected men realized they had let me go.

My only chance was to hole up in the storeroom. It had enough supplies for me to wait them out. I turned the corner, only to find Kevin standing there. He was pale too. His eyes were the same shade of yellow, and he was missing half of his neck.

I lost all sense after that. I turned and ran. I paused for nothing. I just remember turning the handle on the main door. The wind blasted my face. I was numb completely less than a second outside.

It was all ice, and snow, and wind.

It was so cold, and I just kept running.