The Thing - Part 2

Chapter 1

After serving his plate, he crossed the hall of the cafeteria carrying the tray to a lonely place behind a pillar, hoping not to be noticed by his colleagues. After twelve hours of continuous work, there was little energy left for foolish conversations at lunchtime.

— Hey Mac!  Come and sit here  - Tyson called out, indicating the vacant chair among twelve people.

He paused for an instant to assess what was left of his patience. From where he stood he could see the great towers in the snow sending smoke to the sky. He gathered his last strength and shifted his course toward his colleagues' table.

— Damn it! - Tyson said as soon as MacReady occupied the vacant place.

— Pay without complaining Tyson! - Chris said, holding out his hand.

— I bet five dollars you would not sit with us.

— Next time we combine and so we split the profit - MacReady stated before giving the first bite.

— Look! We're on the news - Chris pointed to the television in the cafeteria.

— The impact of low oil prices on large Canadian banks - the report said.

— We? - MacReady asked.

— Of course! Do not fool yourself. Our work here is largely responsible for the drop in oil prices. We are a very important part of the gear. Do not you agree with Mac? he asked sarcastically.

He wiped his mouth with his napkin before answering.

— It depends. If for you, being an important part of a gear means working on the tar sands in search of oil in the worst temperature conditions in the Alberta region, while at the same time devastating the environment ... we are a gear of a doomsday destruction machine.

— I love this guy! Chris said after a laugh.

— Do not be such a bitter Mac. You know the money pays off - Tyson added.

— It is true. Money pays off - he agreed before sipping his glass of milk.

— Besides, this place should look like paradise compared to the research station where you worked at the South Pole, right?

He paused the movement of the silverware as if he were bewitched. He looked straight into Tyson's eyes before saying:

— Any other place in the world is paradise compared to what my team and I have faced there.

— I guess the worst thing must have been facing isolation.

For a fraction of a second, the images of the Thing invaded MacReady's mind. The horrors they faced a year and a half ago still held a place of honor among their memories.

— Yes. The worst thing was the isolation - he stated before taking another bite.

After lunch the group dispersed. In his bedroom, MacReady was entertained with a pocket electronic chess set while enjoying a glass of J & B whiskey. It was an old habit justified by low temperatures, but it actually left her mind occupied, keeping her thoughts away from Laura.

— King to the Tower. Let's see if you will not go crazy right now.

In less than two seconds, the application hit came up:

— Tower for Horse. Checkmate! - said the game in a female voice.

— Cheatin bitch! - He plunged the game into the whiskey glass.

— Getting ready for your two days off? - Tyson said after suddenly appearing on the bedroom  door.

— Yes. Two days at Fort McMurray are enough to regain my strength.

— You gotta be kidding! For what we do here we deserve a week in the Caribbean! Every month!

— Present your idea at the next human resources meeting - he said, picking up the heavy pack.

— Still trying your luck at chess? - Tyson said removing the game from the glass of whiskey.

— That's why I bought a box with five of these games - he said before leaving the room.

In his car, on his way to Fort McMurray, MacReady had no way of evading his thoughts about Laura. Six months had passed. But it looked like six years. Beyond time, the physical distance contributed to make the scenario worse. How could she insist that he live in Los Angeles? After his recovery, everything seemed more difficult. Back to normal life, close to civilization sounded like torture. It all came crashing down when the opportunity to work in Canada came.

He stopped at the red traffic light.

Red light.

The emergency lights of the helicopter appeared in the sky announcing the rescue. He and Childs sat half-conscious among the debris of the research station. Ironically the fire from the explosions prevented them from freezing to death. They knew the countries that had permanent bases in the South Pole, but they could never imagine that a private company had business there. The strongest memory of that day was the logo of Syntronic Medical Research.

The details of that period remained fragmented in his mind. The two months in a coma caused him to lose contact with Childs. Only her daughter's comments were able to reassure him. According to her, for twenty days, he visited the hospital where MacReady was hospitalized daily to know the evolution of his condition. After this period, he disappeared. Eighteen months had passed without him knowing his whereabouts.

He came out of his trance with the sound of the car horn from behind.

— Hey dude! Did you stop to sleep? I do not have all day!

He waved to the driver apologizing before he started the car.

Later in the habit, MacReady sought refuge in the Baileys Pub. Despite the movement of people, he felt at peace there. As usual, he chose the two-seater table next to the pillar where one of the pub's various TVs stood. He knew no one noticed who was sitting under the TVs.

After ordering a whiskey, he picked up his phone book and went straight to the sheet that was marked. In front of his daughter's name, he looked at the pay phone in the back of the room. He became aware of the many times that scene was repeated. It seemed that he would spend another night without a phone call. The longer time passed, the greater the distance between them, he thought. Nor was this thought capable of creating the courage to overcome repetition.

The waitress appeared to serve the J & B bringing her impasse to an end. He set the agenda aside before taking his first sip of whiskey. He glanced around the pub as if that environment might make him forget the call to Laura. That's when he noticed the Syntronic Medical Research logo on the TV screen at the back of the room. He looked up to see what the report said.

— Phillipe Simon, director of Syntronic Medical Research, delivered an important statement this morning in Seattle, in the conference hall of the company's headquarters - the reporter said.

— It is with great satisfaction that I am announcing that we are taking the final steps to make available to the public a new type of flu vaccine. The FDA has been following the whole process and a mass vaccination campaign is expected to begin next year. Seth Garrett, our scientist responsible for the project will give the technical explanations ...

As the camera moved through the conference room, MacReady noticed the presence of a familiar face in the audience: it was Childs.

— Hey Girl! Can you change this crap? Soon the Red Sox game broadcast begins - said a man sitting on the counter to the waitress.

Before she could get the remote control MacReady reacted:

- Do not touch it! - he yelled, causing a void of silence in the pub.

His mind was lost in various associations. What was Childs doing at the Syntronic conference? Just the company responsible for the rescue in the South Pole. MacReady could feel in his guts  that there was something wrong there.

He left some money on the table and left. His break would extend far beyond two days.