Alle Kapitel von Betrayal in the Arctic: Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 10

I gritted through the stabbing pain and made it as far as the door before Carl Tillman called out, stopping me in my tracks."Wait."My heart leapt. For one hopeful second, I thought he'd changed his mind about sending me home. Instead, without even looking up, he said, "Cover Susan's shift tonight. She wants to see the northern lights, so I'm taking her out to watch them."The smile froze on my face. I turned back, certain I'd misheard him. "Carl, the injuries have already numbed half my body. I need to rest."He paused, brow furrowing in irritation. "Still putting on that act? You dragged me through three days and nights during the avalanche. Don't tell me I don't know what kind of shape you're really in. Susan's naturally delicate. Don't go faking it just to copy her."He took off his glasses and pressed his fingers to his temples like I'd given him a headache. "Naomi, you weren't always like this. When did you get so petty and jealous? Susan's the youngest one on the team, and

Back underground, my partner, Arthur Lowe, hurried over the moment he saw me, worry written across his face."Naomi, what are you doing down here? Isn't Susan on shift today? Your body can't take this. You need to rest." He grabbed my arm, already pulling me toward the exit. "Come on, I'll take you back up."I laughed, hollow. "Captain's orders. Susan wanted to go watch the northern lights, so I'm covering her night shift."Arthur's face darkened. "Is she here to work or here on vacation? And you're in this state and he still—is he blind, or does he only have eyes for Susan?"I caught his arm and shook my head. "Forget it. He's completely convinced Susan's too delicate and made himself her personal knight. He's not going to listen to you."Arthur slammed his fist into the wall. "What about your rotation home? Has he set a date yet?"My throat tightened. "That went to Susan too."His jaw dropped. I'd already pushed myself past my limit, and everything went black.When I came to,

"Naomi! Naomi, what's wrong?""Wake up! Don't scare me like this!"Voices clamored around me from every direction. Irritated, I snapped, "Shut up, stop talking!" and jolted awake at the sound of my own voice.Carl, who'd been glaring daggers at me not long ago, leaned in with obvious relief. "Naomi, you're awake. You scared the hell out of me. I really thought something had happened to you."Disoriented, I glanced around the room. Arthur explained, his eyes rimmed red, "This is the hospital closest to the base. You collapsed and scared everyone, so we brought you here."I tried to speak, and my throat felt like it had been sliced with a blade. "Where's the plane?"The relief drained from Arthur's face. He held his breath and shot Carl a furious look. "It already left. With Susan on it."A wave of disappointment washed over me, tangled up with something that felt almost like resignation, like I'd known it would go this way all along. "Oh," I said flatly, and let my head drop. "

Arthur and I exchanged a glance, and I shook my head at Carl. "Nothing important."His face darkened anyway. "Naomi, are you still upset with me over giving Susan the rotation instead of you? I already explained this—we're a team, and I have to prioritize whoever's weaker. Just hold on a little longer. I'll make sure you go next time, all right?"I stared him down. "I don't have a next time to wait for.""Still with this act," he snapped, impatient.I choked back my frustration and changed course instead. "Forget it. I won't make this difficult for you. Do whatever you want.""Really?" He studied me for a long moment, and once he was satisfied I wasn't being sarcastic, his shoulders relaxed and the smile came back. "Good, I'm glad you're not upset with me. Eat up. We'll head back to base once you're done."I'd meant to refuse, but the words changed direction on their way out, and I took the porridge from him and drank it down instead. The healthier I stayed, the better the odds f

Susan's expression shifted from fury to sheer panic."Then what do I do? What happens to someone who's infected?"Carl gulped. "If it's left untreated, you'd be dead within two weeks."Panicked, Susan grabbed Carl's arm without a thought for who was watching. "Captain, I want to go home. Can you get me on another flight? Ask Derek to come pick me up right away. I don't want to die! Please, save me!"Carl didn't even spare her a glance, his eyes catching on me instead. His jaw dropped. "Naomi! What happened to you? How did you age this much in three days? Your hair's gone white!"I looked at him, almost amused. "I guess the complications must have sped things up."He froze, then reached out and grabbed a few strands of my hair. "The complications did this? Why didn't you tell me?"I laughed, louder this time. "Was it that I didn't tell you, or that you just didn't believe me?"He choked on the words, his voice shaking. "You could've told me more than once! If you'd said it again