Chapter Text
As he is making use of an electron microscope, Eddie is momentarily startled to see Bill Denbrough walk into his laboratory. “Fucking—“ Eddie startles, flaying as he’s known to do in a very professional, strategic manner. He’d hate if he shattered thousands of dollars worth of equipment on the floor.
Bill raises his hands in a placating gesture. “Eds,” he drawls fondly. Bastard isn’t the least sorry. Well, two decades worth of friendship will cause that.
“What’s up?” Eddie hazards a glance over his workstation, relieved to see nothing has been disturbed beyond himself.
Moseying over, Bill looks all around the lab as if to keep his eyes busy. “I told you I was stopping by,” he starts. Bill’s a bit defensive in that way. “Remember how I mentioned that excavation the other day?”
Eddie’s mouth purses. “Ah—“ His eyes dart to his cell phone as if that will jog his memory of the conversation they had earlier that week. “Oh, yeah. You mentioned something about Antarctica, didn’t you? What, do you need me to water your plants while you’re gone?” Eddie isn’t actually offering, of course. He’s beyond uninterested in being stuck in Antarctica for the unforeseeable future and thought he made that clear originally. Bill’s not one to back down when he thinks he can change your mind, unfortunately.
“Don’t be like that.” Bill maneuvers behind Eddie to take hold of his wheeled chair and move him around playfully. “I know you’ve been dying to get out of the states. I think this would be the perfect opportunity!”
“Yes, but ideally not fucking Antarctica!”
“When these opportunities pop up they aren’t usually ideal, aren’t you a professional, Eds?” Bill ruffles his hair, making Eddie flee from his chair. They’re both smiling, though.
Eddie takes a long breath, looking Bill over. He seems happy. Confident. Genuinely excited for this expedition. Shit, the sooner he gives in the sooner this song and dance will be over. “You couldn’t give me a debriefing over the phone,” he recalls. “What’s up with that, man?”
A serious expression washes over Bill’s face. “It’s a bit… Unorthodox.” Not wanting to scare Eddie off, Bill decides to be vague. “It’s an independent job.”
Brows furrowed, Eddie doesn’t stop to wonder why that would be unorthodox. Even if Eddie likes to live cautiously, he knows his old friend wouldn’t come to him with anything that wasn’t vetted or shady. Eddie begins asking a variety of questions that Bill has less than satisfactory answers to. The paleovirologist is cut off when Bill hears the sound of approaching footsteps.
“Dr. Halvorson wanted to meet you himself,” Bill explains, referring to the head scientist of the mysterious excavation. Eddie knows this unexpected social call is his own fault for not remembering their meeting, but can’t help but feel a bit ambushed. Bill must really want him on this project.
An older man, presumably Dr. Halvorson, enters the lab. He smiles at Eddie in a friendly manner before offering his hand. Sure enough, he introduces himself as Dr. Sander Halvorson. “Thank you for meeting us on such short notice. A week ago I would never of dreamed of finding myself in this position.”
Eddie blinks. He hates being uninformed and slightly resents Bill for setting him up for ignorance. “I’m grateful for the. . . Consideration.” Eddie nods, trying hard not to be overly fidgety. He’s been excluded from projects before because of his mannerisms.
“As you should,” Sander says easily. “I know this must be difficult but this excursion requires a healthy amount of confidentiality. Do you have any experience with cold weather digs?”
Clearing his throat, Eddie plays with the hem of his lab coat while he lists off his professional body of work. Despite his insecure demeanor, Eddie is able to impress Sander with his fieldwork experience and general achievements.
Pleased, Sander asks, “Are you in any way familiar with Kate Lloyd?”
Eddie thinks for a moment before smiling. “Yeah, actually. I’ve worked with her before.”
“Very good.” Sander glances at Bill before his eyes settle back on Eddie. “Yes, it would be wonderful to have a decorated paleovirologist such as yourself assist my researchers.” He briefly mentions compensation and travel accommodations before reiterating that they will be leaving very soon.
Eddie has been involved in government research that was highly secretive but nothing like this. His gut is telling him to refuse the opportunity but Bill’s expectant stare breaks his resolve. He accepts Sander’s contingencies with a firm handshake and holds his breath until the doctor has left the room to continue making arrangements for the trip.
Bill wastes no time roping Eddie into a hug with a quiet cheer. Truthfully, the expression of gratitude has Eddie feeling guilty for being unsure of his friend’s intentions. Bill can be irresponsible at times but he’s a fantastic microbiologist. When he pulls away, he’s smiling ear to ear. “Wait ‘till you see the rest of our crew. You won’t regret this, Eds.”
Eddie is no stranger to planes, trains, and — helicopters. But that doesn’t mean he likes those means of travel. He especially doesn’t appreciate being thousands of feet in the air when he’s not entirely sure where he’s going. However, it helps to be surrounded by friends.
Beverly, Ben, and Mike make the helicopter ride more comfortable than it would be exclusively with strangers. It makes him wonder exactly what they will be examining, given the wide range of specialists that surround him. It’s as if Sander is covering all his scientific bases.
When they land at the outpost, Eddie convinces Mike to help him carry his luggage to their living quarters. Mike is more than happy to assist.
“I guess these are your essential items, huh?” Mike teases, dragging Eddie’s insanely packed luggage behind him. His own bag rests atop one of Eddie’s massive suitcases, comically small by comparison.
“If I’m going to be trapped in this freezing cold hell hole for a few months, I’m bringing my heated blanket. Do you know how easy it is to catch hypothermia? And the comorbidity is astronomical once you’re that deep.” He runs ahead of Mike to look into the bedrooms, unhappy to see most of them are bunked. “There goes any semblance of privacy,” he gripes.
“Got something to hide? I love a man with a dark and mysterious past.”
Eddie squeals, whipping around to find a tall man standing next to one of the bunk beds. He’s average-looking with wavy brown hair and glasses. It would be easy to miss him in a crowd of people if it weren’t for his height. “Shit! Dude, what the fuck!” Eddie clutches his chest.
The man laughs. “Sorry the room doesn’t meet your standards. I’m sure there’s a honeymoon suite around here somewhere.”
While Eddie’s mind races for a comeback, he ends up staring at the guy as he unpacks. Jesus, his shoulders are just. . . Wow. Not the time or place, ugh. And he’s got some big hands, too. Eddie wonders if the bed closest to him is taken yet.
Mike wheels in Eddie’s gigantic luggage without a complaint. He claps his short friend on the shoulder before reminding him to get dressed for the dig site they will be driven to shortly. Eddie thanks Mike as the farm boy turned cross-fit ad leaves. Eddie’s attention redirects to the stranger he’ll be sharing a room with.
“Do you know what the hell we’re doing here?” Eddie asks. “They wouldn’t tell me shit.”
The man shrugs. “You probably know as much as I do.” He takes a long look at Eddie. “I’m Richie, by the way. I’m just here to help with the excavation, I supervise a lot of Sander’s digs. He only ever calls me when he needs me to move sketchy shit.”
Eddie frowns deeply at this. “Sketchy?”
Richie chuckles. He finishes zipping up his thermal clothing and slips into a surprisingly flattering jacket. “I move shit. And slash or supervise the moving of said shit,” he repeats, either unwilling or unable to elaborate. Although Richie’s words don’t inspire much confidence, Eddie can’t hold it against him. Bill was the same amount of forthcoming. Most of Eddie’s questions will be answered when they get to the excavation site, anyway.
Eddie looks at the other bunkbed and wonders if any other crew members will be joining him and Richie in this section of the sleeping quarters. He thinks again of those ridiculously broad shoulders and realizes that he hasn’t introduced himself.
Coughing, Eddie says, “My name is Edward Kaspbrak, I’m a paleovirologist.”
Richie nods. “Extinct germs specialist, impressive.”
“Fuck off.”
Meeting the rest of the team isn’t as eventful as meeting Richie but that’s mostly due to the language barrier between him and the Norwegian crew. It’s very good to see Kate again, though. There is an unspoken sense of solidarity between them as they both feel a bit uncomfortable being around so many straight men in a confined environment. Even if someone means no harm, there is an instinctual paranoia that comes with being outnumbered.
As they reach the undisclosed discovery Sander has dragged them all to Antarctica for, Eddie and Kate stick close to each other. Bill is the only other familiar face spelunking with them.
In his years of research, Eddie has borne witness to some incredible discoveries. What Sander reveals to them tops everything he’s seen times one-fucking-million.
Apparently, some of the Norwegian crew were investigating a strange signal emanating near the outpost when the weight of their vehicle cracked the surface of the ice. They stumbled upon a deeply buried ravine that connected to this cave system. Most notably, they found a fucking spaceship. A huge fucking spaceship.
Eddie gaps at the huge ship before he’s forced to close his mouth, the subzero temperature freezing his saliva. The spaceship looks to be your stereotypical saucer model, made of some sort of metal and extremely large. It easily spans the length of two football fields. There’s an opportunity to get closer but Eddie declines the offer, already closer than he’d ever imagined to proof of extraterrestrial life. Everyone is astonished by the discovery.
“We believe the distress signal was triggered by. . .” Sander looks at his team of researchers meaningfully. “A survivor leaving the ship.”
Sander then shows them the reason him and Kate have been brought along. A frozen life-form was found nearby, the creature that presumably left the ship and couldn’t withstand the unforgiving weather in Antarctica. Eddie, as a scientist, is thanking his stars that he decided to join this expedition. Eddie, as a person, is absolutely shitting bricks. If he wasn’t bound by contract to stay, he’d be half tempted to convince Sander he had the wrong man for the job. Still. . . The idea of being one of the first scientists to take samples from an alien specimen is the opportunity of a lifetime.
“This is incredible,” Kate breaths, astonished. She uses her glove to push aside some of the snow and squint at the blurry shape trapped in the ice.
The creature, whatever it is, does look alien. It doesn’t appear to resemble any local wildlife or scattered debris from the crash. It’s big, at least a few meters in length. From where Eddie’s standing it kind of looks like a giant spider-crab monster. Hard to tell, though.
Eddie agrees with Kate, excited to examine the samples they take in the coming days. They spend a bit more time examining the site before returning to the outpost so they may discuss how to remove the specimen for examination.
Sander gathers some of the crew in a private room not thirty minutes later. Eddie notices that Richie and a curly-haired man he hasn’t met are going to be involved in the conversation. Richie gives him a polite wave when he catches the paleovirologist looking at him.
“My fellow scientists,” Sander starts, speaking in the grandiose way Eddie has come to expect from him.
Richie coughs quickly, “And certified excavators.”
Sander looks over his shoulder to grimace at Richie. The curly-haired man elbows Richie none too gently but Richie doesn’t seem terribly admonished. Eddie admires Richie’s self-assured nature, even if he comes across as annoying and boisterous in the face of authority.
“Staniel and I didn’t go into college debt to be treated like this!” Richie proclaims. Scratch that, Eddie doesn’t admire him at all—is this guy unable to read the room?
Beverly jumps in before Sander can say anything too harsh. “Beep beep, Richie.” Richie smiles sheepishly at this. Eddie is surprised to learn Richie and Beverly seem to know each other. What the fuck does beep beep mean?
After taking a deep breath, Sander continues. “We have been presented with the chance to study a foreign life form. I would like to make arrangements for extraction immediately.”
Kate and Beverly begin to comprise a plan of action with the assistance of Richie and the curly-haired stranger. Eddie won’t be any help when it comes to removing a huge block of ice from the ground, so he directs his attention to Adam. The young research assistant is looking over the various diagrams posted on the cork board.
When Adam notices Eddie, he invites him closer to speak. “Kaspbrak,” he greets. “What I don’t understand is. . . Why leave the cozy confines of your ship with no guarantee of safety?”
Eddie hadn’t thought about that. Truth be told, he hadn’t came to terms with the fact they’ve discovered proof of intellect life beyond earth. You have to be pretty damn smart to design and pilot a spaceship, after all. This isn’t some wild animal. “Hm,” he thinks. “We all do crazy stuff to survive. Maybe it had no other option.”
Adam seems unsatisfied with this answer.
“Everyone,” Sander raises his voice. “This should go without saying, but. . . I would request everyone stay off the radio. If word of this gets out, we will have this discovery seized from us.” He seems highly worried by the prospect.
Ben raises his pencil. “Of course, sir. May I ask, where would you like us to prepare for the autopsy?”
“We are fortunate to have two laboratories at our disposal. One shall be made of use by Mr. Kaspbrak, Miss Lloyd, and Mr. Hanlon. The other for you, Miss Marsh, and Dr. Denbrough. If you would follow me, I would like you all to get well acquainted with your workspace.”
While everyone shuffles out of the room, Eddie quickly trots over to Richie and his colleague. “I’m Edward Kaspbrak, I don’t believe we’ve met.”
The curly-haired man shakes his hand. “Stanley Uris. I’m the excavation manager and coordinator. And also this asshole’s full-time babysitter.”
Richie doesn’t argue. “Highly recommend if you’re looking for a nanny.”
Eddie laughs. He’s glad to be working alongside people that aren’t stuffy or pretentious. “I’ll keep that in mind if I’m ever a victim of the accidental baby acquisition trope. I’ll catch you guys later.” Although he’d prefer to chat, Eddie leaves to become familiar with his working accommodations.
“Hot and literate, Stan! Hold me back.” It’s said loud enough that Eddie was surely meant to hear from the hallway but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t meant as a joke. Either way, Eddie suspects he may not be cooped up with straight men exclusively. A guy can dream.
Eddie has seen countless specimens and samples alike cut expertly from the earth. However, he stills admires the handwork when the excavation team returns with the specimen cleanly preserved in a big block of ice. He walks circles around the huge slab, smiling. “These cuts are fantastic,” he notes.
“Gee.” Richie shifts his weight from foot to foot. “You sure know how to make a girl blush.”
Stanley rolls his eyes at his best friend’s antics. “Ignore him. He has a chronic condition called trash mouth syndrome.” He raises his eyebrows. “Everything that comes out of his mouth is meaningless garbage.”
Richie clutches his heart as if wounded. The dramatics serve to make Eddie laugh. He only stops when he realizes Sander is giving him an impatient glare. “S-sorry,” the paleovirologist stutters, folding his hands behind his back.
After a beat of silence, Sander requests that Adam retrieve an electric drill with a thin bit. Kate and Eddie share a look of confusion.
“I’d like to take a tissue sample,” Sander explains as if drilling into a frozen alien specimen isn’t the worst idea of the century.
Normally, Eddie respects the chain of command and finds it nearly impossible to go against the commands of his superiors, but he can’t hold himself back. “Excuse me? That’s extremely risky, doctor. Not to mention. . . “ Bat shit insane. “Archaic. We would be better off to wait until the ice melts completely. Decomposition will only—“
“Mr. Kaspbrak,” Sander interrupts. “Would you please step outside with me for a moment?”
Gulping, Eddie follows the lead scientist into the hallway for some minimal privacy. He consciously reminds himself to stand up straight and hide his shaking hands. He’s in the right, he knows it! Why is Sander so eager to jeopardize this discovery?
Sander openly glowers at him. “Do not question me in front of my team, Mr. Kaspbrak. I invited you here to take orders, not question them.”
As they are not in front of the other researchers at the moment, Eddie obeys. “I am worried that we may compromise the integrity of the specimen, doctor.”
“I have taken that into consideration.” Adam approaches them, holding a large drill. “Now, if you would assist Miss Lloyd we can return to the task at hand.” He emphasizes the end of his sentence, implying Eddie’s concern was nothing more than an unnecessary inconvenience.
Eddie’s hand itches to use his inhaler. He takes a few deep breaths instead, afraid of embarrassing himself further. Sander apparently hired him to not listen to his expert advice but whatever. There’s really not much else Eddie can do. He can’t believe Bill looks up to this obvious charlatan.
In what is undoubtedly the least professional moment of his professional career, Eddie supervises the sloppy extraction of an alien tissue sample.
Thankfully, the specimen doesn’t appear damaged as a result of being drilled into. Kate carefully contains the tissue sample and shoots Eddie a sympathetic look. Sander insists he examines the sample before anyone else, which isn’t shocking. Bill suggests they relocate to the common area until otherwise specified because the Norwegian crew and other various research members are celebrating with drinks and song.
About an hour into some well-deserved R&R, Sander emerges from the lab to update them on what he’s found. He is ecstatic, eager to explain their disposition despite some of the audience not understanding the English language. “I have never seen anything like this on a cellular level,” the doctor gloats. “This creature is truly unlike anything that has ever been discovered.”
Someone jumps from their seat and raises a glass of alcohol, “We found a fucking alien!”
Many people in the rec room cheer, including Kate who reluctantly raises a shot glass. She and Eddie cheer before drinking down some of the dreadful whiskey. Eddie gags dramatically. “Do you have anything that doesn’t taste like mouthwash?”
Beverly laughs, rubbing Eddie’s shoulders in a tactile expression of affection. “I thought you loved mouthwash!”
Rolling his eyes, Eddie sets down his drink. “Haha.” He turns to Bill. The microbiologist takes a sip of his drink without grimacing. Eddie wonders how familiar he’s become with the burn of alcohol throughout the years.
All and all, everyone is taking the sudden discovery of outer space life very well. Eddie will probably have a difficult time sleeping tonight. He isn’t religious, but the knowledge they aren’t alone in the universe is disturbing. His line of work deals intimately with pathogens and sickness; he realizes now he’s been brought here to assess the lethal makeup of this alien creature. It could very easily be carrying an airborne virus that could eradicate all human life —
“I know that look,” Ben hums, gently shaking Eddie’s hand. Eddie is forced out of his thought spiral and doesn’t hesitate to dig through his coat pocket. He retrieves his inhaler, taking several puffs.
“Sander isn’t exactly known for his delicate touch,” Beverly sighs. She squeezes Eddie’s shoulder comfortingly. “That’s why he brought us here. We can work around his. . . Less than orthodox mentions.”
Eddie puts away his inhaler and nods shakily. He can freak out later—in private. “If I find out any of you were handling samples without PPE I will quarantine you myself!” he hisses.
The conversation quickly heads in a direction Eddie doesn’t like. He is entirely uninterested in discussing aliens and existential dread. He has enough problems already. Eddie leaves the common area after telling his friends goodnight, intent on unpacking the remainder of his luggage before trying to fall asleep.
Of course, Eddie is woken up by his temporary roommate once he finally does fall asleep. “Fuck my life,” he grumbles, smushing his face into his chilly pillow.
“I’m sorry, man,” Richie whispers. “You’re a crazy light sleeper, you know that? I just—“ When nothing but silence fills the air, Eddie pops one eye open to find Richie standing at his bedside, looking out at the stars. Richie seems mildly embarrassed that he’s been caught. “Gmf. Yeah.”
Eddie blinks at the window until his eyes adjust. The stars are gorgeous outside, bright and unobstructed in the desolate land of Antarctica. He finds it endearing that Richie wanted to look at the stars.
“They’re beautiful,” Eddie sighs.
“Won’t ever look at them the same again, huh.” Richie runs a hand through his wavy hair and sighs tiredly. Eddie is comforted to know he wasn’t the only one disturbed by their discovery.
Eddie tries to wrap his blanket more tightly around himself. “Guess not.”
Richie closes the thermal curtains and carefully makes it over to his own bed. He’s quiet for a while before asking, “How long are you staying for?”
“Few weeks, most likely. Why?”
“I overheard that we’re supposed to get some nasty weather in the next two days,” Richie explains over the sound of his bed creaking. “Can’t fly back home during a blizzard.”
Eddie closes his eyes. “Mm, gotcha. Goodnight, Richie.”
“Night, dude.”
They are both woken up by a loud crashing noise, followed by shouts of alarm. Eddie practically shoots out of bed, putting on yesterday's clothes over his pajamas.
Richie doesn’t seem very worried. “What the fuck was that?”
“I have no idea.” Eddie pulls his boots on, struggling to tie them. He feels like he’s buzzing out of his skin with the intense sensation of adrenaline coursing through his body. Richie yawns.
Not bothering to see if the excavator has followed, Eddie runs to where it sounds like the commotion is coming from, the storage room. He’s concerned to see nearly the entire facility huddled into the small room. Although, what is most concerning is the giant hole in the ceiling. Or would it be the melted block of ice that is currently empty and half-destroyed? Probably the missing creature. Yeah, there’s a lot to be concerned about. If it weren’t for the cold air, Eddie is sure he would faint.
“Where the fuck did it go!” he shrieks, adding to the panic. Ben rushes over to calm him down.
Kate is speaking with one of the Norwegian researchers, trying to find out what happened. Eddie can barely hear what anyone is saying, though.
“What is going on?” Eddie pants, clutching Ben’s jacket. “It’s. . . It isn’t there anymore.” The hole in the ceiling tells a pretty good story. The creature, decidedly not dead, bursted out of the ice and escaped through the ceiling.
Ben tries his best to ground him. “Eds, it’s alright. We’re trying to figure out what happened. There’s no need to panic.”
“No need to panic?” Mike laughs hysterically. “Are we not all looking at the same thing?”
Sander, the people person he is, shushes Mike. “If the specimen is still alive, we must find it before it disappears.” He brandishes a flashlight and suggests everyone split into teams.
“What!” Eddie exclaims, pointing at the damage caused by the alien. “No fucking way!”
Having known Eddie for several years, Ben gently escorts him away from the storage shed. Expecting a pseudo asthma attack any moment, the palaeozoologist helps him back to his sleeping quarters. Richie isn’t there anymore. “Stay here, okay? I’ll - I’ll send someone to sit with you, just—“ Ben darts out of the room.
Eddie shakes his inhaler and makes an attempt to self-soothe. It just doesn’t work. He does all he can and lays on his bed, freaking the fuck out. “What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck,” he repeats like a prayer.
As the minutes pass, he is passively aware that people are making their way outside. To look for the alien. As if it’s a lost dog or something! If it could burst through the ceiling or a fucking block of ice, who’s to say it can’t kill a person in one hit? Eddie has very well-developed survival instincts, thank you.
Fifteen minutes later, the worst of the hysteria has passed and Eddie’s left with a crushing sense of paranoia. What if nobody comes back? Ben said he was sending someone, what if they’re all dead?
Screaming is heard close by the barracks and Eddie quickly realizes it’s coming from outside. He wants to hide under the bed and wait for the nightmare to be over, but he feels obligated to find the source of distress. Reluctantly, Eddie exits the safety of the outpost and finds a gathering of people nearby the dog kennel.
Rushing over, Eddie is horrified to spot what everyone is screaming about. Underneath the kennel, a giant mass of squirming muscle pulsates, something made up of flesh and teeth and hunger. It’s dark outside but Eddie can somewhat make out the details of it’s ravenous mouth decorated with sharp teeth. It’s gnashing away at an unidentifiable person as they’re pulled into the creature.
As much as he’d like to run away, Eddie finds himself firmly planted where he stands. The unyielding fear has shut him down and the only way he can protect himself mentally is by dissociating. He’s frozen while the crew shouts and cries around him.
The creature is shot at several times but it doesn’t seem to bring it any closer to death, just pain. A tentacle whips past Eddie and pierces a man called Griggs center mass. His corpse hits the ground quietly, the fall softened by the snow. Eddie wants to scream but nothing comes out. It’s as if he isn’t even there.
Someone, who Eddie will later realize was Mike, yanks him backward as Bill throws a flare at the terrifying creature. It must land in kerosene or something equally flammable because there’s suddenly a fire.
One of the Norwegian men, Lars, rushes over with a flamethrower to finish the creature for good. Eddie watches wide-eyed as the creature screams and burns. The haunting noise must echo for miles.
Once he’s been brought back inside the facility, Eddie feels the luxury of autonomy return to him. He sobs inconsolably as the reality of the situation sinks in. Maybe it’s over, maybe the creature is no more, but what he’s seen will haunt him for the rest of his life. Why didn’t he just stay in his room?
The group performs a headcount and find several people to be missing. Two are dead, at least. Eddie isn’t sure who was eaten by the monster. All of his friends are accounted for except for Beverly and Ben.
Juliette, the only female Norwegian researcher, is crying as intensely as Eddie. She mourns, “Henrik! No!”
Eddie assumes Henrik must have been the poor soul devoured by that thing under the dog kennel.
Olav, the man who was accompanying Henrik, has a difficult time recounting the chain of events that lead to his friend’s demise. Stanley looks at Olav with skepticism. Eddie, who was inside the entire time, takes what everyone says at face value.
Sander isn’t terribly interested in dwelling on the details of what happened. He makes no attempt to hide that he’s upset the alien was burned alive. “This is a great tragedy.” He sighs, looking over at Juliette. “However, it would be more tragic to let Henrik’s sacrifice go to waste. We must dissect the body.”
Too tired to object, Eddie slumps against Mike. He’s thankful to hear Kate speak up. “Is that really necessary?” she questions.
“Yes,” he answers firmly. “Let’s bring the body inside for examination.”