member of our team's missing. Have you –'
'Simeon,' said the man. He gestured with a gloved hand. 'I'm with a friend. We got separated. Silly fools. We're on a sponsored ski.'
Esther frowned, puzzled by too much. He was so pale he might not have seen the sun for months which was understandable if he'd been out here a while. But was that possible? He looked too delicate to be battling an Arctic winter.
'We're heading north,' continued the man. 'For the pole. We're raising money. For the, um, Haemophiliac Awareness Trust. And you are?'
'Esther,' said Esther, still staring at those eyes, one purple, one blue.
Simeon smiled broadly. His teeth were white and strong. 'What a pretty name,' he said. 'Esther.'
He removed his gloves and tossed them onto the table. 'How you doing, Esther?'
'I'm fine, thanks.'
'You're English, right?'
Esther felt slightly dazed. 'Yes,' she said. 'I am.'
'Listen, we found your friend. He's OK. My partner, my team-mate, he's bringing him.'
Esther snapped to attention. 'Where?' she demanded. 'We have to go to them. Where are they? How is he? Does he need medical attention? I can try to contact my team and they can –'
'Hey, don't panic,' said Simeon. 'He's cool, man. Just lost a bit of blood. Are you alone here?'
'Yes,' replied Esther, and she felt threatened by the question, remembering the face at the window and its luminous green eyes. 'Yes, I'm alone.'
That violet eye did something strange to her. When she looked at it, fragments of last night's dream swirled in her mind: the pink fountain, the veiled women, the man who'd left her wet with longing. She could vaguely recall giving him a blow job. The face at the window must have turned up in her sleep but his presence seemed more than a residue of the day's events. She felt connected to him and she guessed, from her layman's knowledge of dream analysis, he represented someone or something else, perhaps an ex-boyfriend or a yearning for home.
She turned away from Simeon's eye but it was a struggle because she wanted to stay in the emotions of the dirty dream. Maybe this was what Doug had been suffering from, a viral infection that induced mildly hallucinogenic states and an excess of desire.
'Where's your friend?' asked Esther, and the question seemed to carry more weight than she felt it ought. 'What happened to Doug. Are they far away? I've been struggling with sats and radio the last half hour. Maybe it's the blizzard. Do you –'
'Billy will be along shortly,' Simeon said confidently. He unzipped his ski suit and stripped down to thinner layers.
Esther began to worry. 'Aren't you cold?'
Simon pinched his black sweat-top. 'We're trialling new techno fabrics. Intelligent clothing. This is their thinnest yet. It's revolutionary. How many humans – people – in your team?'
'Six,' said Esther. 'Four are out there looking for Doug. I'm sure they'll be back any moment.' Esther didn't think it was true. They'd still be searching for Doug, not knowing he'd been found.
She felt she ought to be asking more questions and enquiring about Doug but all she wanted was to wallow in the soft trippy strangeness aroused by the coloured eye.
'My friend and I,' said Simeon. 'While we've been travelling, we've had this weird sense of something out there, something on the ice that's watching us.' He took a step closer. 'Do you guys ever get that?'
'Yes!' said Esther. 'Well, maybe me more than the others but I have had a sense of ... of something.'
'Doesn't it bother you being alone here?' asked Simeon. 'In this little cabin?' He took another step closer, his rangy limbs slinky and reptilian.
Esther shrugged, standing her ground. 'I'm made of tougher stuff than that. Anyway, we have to find Doug. That's our priority right now.'
The man tilted his head and scrutinised Esther, lips twisting in a come-hither sneer. 'You're cute,' he said. 'Do you have a boyfriend?'
'Your eye,' said Esther. 'Why's it like that? Why is it purple?'
Simeon looked
'Simeon,' said the man. He gestured with a gloved hand. 'I'm with a friend. We got separated. Silly fools. We're on a sponsored ski.'
Esther frowned, puzzled by too much. He was so pale he might not have seen the sun for months which was understandable if he'd been out here a while. But was that possible? He looked too delicate to be battling an Arctic winter.
'We're heading north,' continued the man. 'For the pole. We're raising money. For the, um, Haemophiliac Awareness Trust. And you are?'
'Esther,' said Esther, still staring at those eyes, one purple, one blue.
Simeon smiled broadly. His teeth were white and strong. 'What a pretty name,' he said. 'Esther.'
He removed his gloves and tossed them onto the table. 'How you doing, Esther?'
'I'm fine, thanks.'
'You're English, right?'
Esther felt slightly dazed. 'Yes,' she said. 'I am.'
'Listen, we found your friend. He's OK. My partner, my team-mate, he's bringing him.'
Esther snapped to attention. 'Where?' she demanded. 'We have to go to them. Where are they? How is he? Does he need medical attention? I can try to contact my team and they can –'
'Hey, don't panic,' said Simeon. 'He's cool, man. Just lost a bit of blood. Are you alone here?'
'Yes,' replied Esther, and she felt threatened by the question, remembering the face at the window and its luminous green eyes. 'Yes, I'm alone.'
That violet eye did something strange to her. When she looked at it, fragments of last night's dream swirled in her mind: the pink fountain, the veiled women, the man who'd left her wet with longing. She could vaguely recall giving him a blow job. The face at the window must have turned up in her sleep but his presence seemed more than a residue of the day's events. She felt connected to him and she guessed, from her layman's knowledge of dream analysis, he represented someone or something else, perhaps an ex-boyfriend or a yearning for home.
She turned away from Simeon's eye but it was a struggle because she wanted to stay in the emotions of the dirty dream. Maybe this was what Doug had been suffering from, a viral infection that induced mildly hallucinogenic states and an excess of desire.
'Where's your friend?' asked Esther, and the question seemed to carry more weight than she felt it ought. 'What happened to Doug. Are they far away? I've been struggling with sats and radio the last half hour. Maybe it's the blizzard. Do you –'
'Billy will be along shortly,' Simeon said confidently. He unzipped his ski suit and stripped down to thinner layers.
Esther began to worry. 'Aren't you cold?'
Simon pinched his black sweat-top. 'We're trialling new techno fabrics. Intelligent clothing. This is their thinnest yet. It's revolutionary. How many humans – people – in your team?'
'Six,' said Esther. 'Four are out there looking for Doug. I'm sure they'll be back any moment.' Esther didn't think it was true. They'd still be searching for Doug, not knowing he'd been found.
She felt she ought to be asking more questions and enquiring about Doug but all she wanted was to wallow in the soft trippy strangeness aroused by the coloured eye.
'My friend and I,' said Simeon. 'While we've been travelling, we've had this weird sense of something out there, something on the ice that's watching us.' He took a step closer. 'Do you guys ever get that?'
'Yes!' said Esther. 'Well, maybe me more than the others but I have had a sense of ... of something.'
'Doesn't it bother you being alone here?' asked Simeon. 'In this little cabin?' He took another step closer, his rangy limbs slinky and reptilian.
Esther shrugged, standing her ground. 'I'm made of tougher stuff than that. Anyway, we have to find Doug. That's our priority right now.'
The man tilted his head and scrutinised Esther, lips twisting in a come-hither sneer. 'You're cute,' he said. 'Do you have a boyfriend?'
'Your eye,' said Esther. 'Why's it like that? Why is it purple?'
Simeon looked
Similar Books
