Chapter 3 wedge

In this desolate and lonely place, it is possible for a person to die anyway.Geologist Charles Brophy had spent several years in this magnificent wilderness, but he still could not have imagined the extraordinary brutality that was about to befall him. Brophy's four hunting dogs were pulling a sled equipped with geological testing equipment through the tundra. Suddenly, the dogs slowed down and looked up to the sky. "Girls, what's the matter?" Brophy stepped off the sled and asked the hounds. Through the dense storm clouds, I saw a twin-rotor transport helicopter hovering at low altitude, descending towards the glacier with extraordinary agility like a fighter jet.

That's weird, Brophy thought.He had never seen a helicopter so far north.The helicopter touched down fifty yards away, kicking up a icy, grainy snowflake.Several hounds barked softly, their eyes full of vigilance. The helicopter's hatch slid open, and two big men jumped out.They were wearing white uniforms that could withstand all kinds of wind, frost, rain and snow, holding rifles in their hands, and rushed towards Brophy impatiently. "Is that Dr. Brophy?" one of the big men called out. Brophy asked in bewilderment, "How do you know my name? Who are you?" "Get out your wireless receiver, please."

"What did you say?" "Do it!" Suspiciously, Brophy pulled the wireless receiver out of his parka. "We need you to send an emergency bulletin and drop the radio frequency down to a hundred kilohertz." One hundred kilohertz?Brophy was even more at a loss.Such a low frequency can not receive any information. "Has there been an accident?" Another burly man raised his rifle, aimed it at Brophy's head and said, "No time to talk nonsense to you. Do it!" Brophy adjusted the transmission frequency trembling all over. The big man who came down first handed Brophy a card with a few lines of words on it, and ordered: "Send this message. Send it immediately."

Brophy looked at the card. "I don't understand. The message is wrong. I haven't…" Another burly man pressed his rifle to Brophy's temple. Brophy trembled as he sent the outlandish message. "Very good!" said the first big man, "you and your dog are going to roll right into the plane." Under the threat of gunpoint, Brophy got several dogs and sleds onto the helicopter.As soon as they stabilized, the plane left the ground and turned its nose to the west. "Who the hell are you guys?" Brophy asked, sweating from shock in his parka.What does that message mean?

The two big men said nothing. The helicopter climbed upward, and the wind tore at the unclosed hatch.Brophy's four hounds were still harnessed to the sled being pulled onto the plane, whimpering softly. "Should the hatch be closed," Brophy begged. "Aren't you scared to see my dog?" The two big men ignored them. As the helicopter climbed to an altitude of four thousand feet, over a series of glaciers and crevasses below, the plane banked sharply inward.The two big men stood up suddenly, without saying a word, grabbed the fully loaded sled and pushed it out of the cabin door.Brophy stared dumbfounded at the four hounds trying in vain to resist the enormous gravity.In a blink of an eye, the four hounds disappeared, howling and being dragged out of the cabin by heavy objects.

Brophy couldn't help screaming and jumped up, but was immediately grabbed firmly by the two big men.They dragged him straight to the hatch.Brophy was scared out of his wits. He waved his fists, trying to free himself from the big hands that were pushing him out of the hatch. But to no avail.In the blink of an eye, he had already fallen towards the glacier below.