The Thing Read Online Free

haunt him, chemically as well as physically.
    He inhaled crisply, turning the smile on Garry. The two were social opposites, but they got along okay. In a place like the station, you had. to get along. Garry and Palmer did so because neither took the other too seriously.
    "Was wondering when El Capitan was going to get a chance to use his pop gun."
    Garry rebuked him with a stern look, and turned to face Fuchs. The biologist was still studying the large map.
    "How long have they been stationed there? You said you didn't think they'd been set up for very long."
    Fuchs walked away from the map and began rummaging through a box file. He pulled a card out of its middle. "Says here, about eight weeks."
    Dr. Copper entered the room. Bennings was right behind him, limping rather more severely than the wound demanded.
    Garry looked doubtful. "Relative newcomers. Eight weeks. That's not enough time for guys to go bonkers."
    "Bullshit, sweetheart." Nauls kicked at the floor with his skates, making the wheels spin. "Five minutes is enough to put a man over the edge here, if he doesn't have his head set on straight when he arrives."
    "Damn straight," agreed Palmer. He was beginning to look blissful. Garry didn't give a damn. Palmer did his work.
    "I mean," Nauls continued, noticing the remnants of the tobaccoless cigarette and connecting it with the expression now slowly spreading over the mechanic's face, "Palmer's been the way he is since the first day."
    Palmer's smile grew wider and he flipped a bird toward the cook.
    "It depends on the individual." Copper's tone was more serious than the cook's, though the sentiment was the same. "Sometimes personality conflicts combined with related problems engendered by confinement and isolation can manifest themselves with surprising speed."
    Garry considered this and spoke to Fuchs. "Does it say how many in their permanent party?"
    Fuchs glanced back at the half-extracted card and pursed his lips. "If this is up-to-date, they apparently started with just six. So there'd be four back at their camp."
    "That's not necessarily valid any longer," said Copper quietly. Everyone's attention shifted to the camp doctor.
    "Meaning what, doc?" wondered Bennings.
    "Meaning that we don't know when our two visitors went over the edge, or why, or if they had mental company. Even if they acted alone, guys as crazy as that," and he gestured meaningfully toward the motionless body on the card tables, "could have done a lot of damage in their own neighborhood before getting to us. Which might be another reason why Sanders can't raise their camp on the radio."
    "They might only be monitoring their own transmissions," Norris pointed out.
    Copper looked doubtful. "Every modern European speaks a little English. They'd at least acknowledge, I'd think."
    Garry looked back at the tables. " He didn't speak any English."
    "Stress of the moment," Copper suggested. 'At such times, people usually can only think in their native tongue."
    The station manager turned away, muttering unhappily. "If what you say is true about them doing damage to their own camp, there's not much we can do about it."
    "Oh yes there is," the doctor countered. "I'd like to go over there. Maybe I can help someone. Maybe I can even find some answers."
    "In this weather?"
    The doctor turned to the man standing closest to him. "Bennings? What about the weather?"
    The meteorologist considered. "I'd like to make a fresh check of the instruments, but according to the last readings I took the wind's supposed to let up a tad over the next few hours."
    "A tad?" Garry gave him a hard look.
    Bennings fidgeted. "Gimme a break, chief. Trying to predict the winter weather down here's like trying to find ice cubes in London. It's always a crap shoot. But that's my best guess, based on the most recent info."
    "What's your opinion of the doc's idea?"
    "I wouldn't care to do it myself." He moved to inspect the wall map. "But it should be a reasonable haul. Even taking