I stood in front of the cave, the entrance to the cavern of ice where I was going to meet the Master. After I had explained my plan to the rest of the crew, we had sailed here as stealthily as possible, keeping our little boat hidden in the ice-burgs that floated like gems in an inky black sea. We were hoping beyond hope that we didn't get attacked. My plan would go very wrong if we were. But luckily, not even one Ice Creature appeared.

We moored up a little way from the base of the beacon, hidden by two glaciers, and I had gone through the plan one last time. Everyone had agreed to their roles and were ready to fight, no matter the cost. So we had all sat down on the deck of our boat with ration packets in our hands and ate one last meal together before we set out.

It was odd to think that I had only known most of these people for two days, and yet I felt so at home with them. They had become a kind of family in an weird way, but I was glad for them, for their bravery.

It made what I was about to do just that tiny bit easier.

It was quite late after we had eaten, but as it was the height of the Antarctic Summer, the sky was still light. In reality, it was close to half eleven at night. We cleared up then prepared ourselves for what was coming next.

Captain Jackson and I sent Lieutenant Silverton with Sub-Lieutenant Harrison and Pete off, on the snowmobiles that we had salvaged from the lab wreckage. I shook hands with Pete but he drew me into a bear hug, slapping my back.

"Be careful," he told me. "And bring her back." I nodded.

"I will," I said. "But you be careful too."

"I'm always careful," Pete replied. "I'm just glad to be off that boat at last." I laughed softly at his attempt to lighten the mood. "I'll see you soon, okay?" he said more seriously.

"Okay," I promise. I shook his hand one last time before he turned, shouldering his heavy bag of equipment and following the two sailors to the snowmobiles. They climbed on, before switching on the engines and disappearing into the distance.

I watched them go, making sure that they were out of sight before I turned and boarded the boat again. "When are you leaving?" Captain Jackson asked me.

"In a minute," I replied. The Captain nodded but handed me a revolver.

"Here," he told me as I took the gun. "Just in case."

"Thank you," I said. "But I just have one last thing to do." I pulled out my voice recorder, going to the Captain's cabin and to the radio. One last mission log before I go. Harrison was right that it wouldn't be strong enough to get anywhere important. But my message wasn't for the Navy.

It was for everyone. 

Mission log: December 15th 2056, 2345 hours:  If you're listening to this, it may already be too late. But I have to try something. That's why I'm transmitting this log to any ship, any radio station, any plane that may pick it up. If you get this message, please pass it on. We must warn everyone of what is coming, even if the chances of survival are minimal. Perhaps someone might live, someone might beat it. I can only hope.

I'm going to try and stop it, but if you don't hear from me again, it's because I'm probably dead. I was the one who started this mess, so I'm going to finish it. If I fail, then I'm sorry. I should have left the ice alone. I should have left Antarctica alone. Hopefully, if all else fails, this log may be useful to anyone who has  the fight left to fight the Ice People.

This is Matt Mayhew, signing off for the last time.

May God have mercy on our souls.

That was my last message. I also transmitted every mission log I had recorded in the past few days through the radio, before I tucked my voice recorder back into my pocket, composing myself before I headed out onto the ice.

Now, I stood in front of the ice cavern, staring into the black abyss. It looked exactly like it had done in my dream, blue walls and everything. The wind whistled down into the cave, whispering to me, enticing me to enter. I knew what lay below the surface, my heart was pounding fast.

Nevertheless, I had do this. I just had to trust Pete and Captain Jackson. 

Taking a step forward, I entered the cavern, my footstep echoing on the ice below my feet. Again, I was slightly apprehensive that the ice was going to shatter beneath my feet but it still held strong, just like in my dream.  My short sharp breaths came out in puffs of mist, almost crystallising in the air. I rubbed my hands together to get some warmth back into them but then continued down into the ice cave.

Suddenly, the ceiling shot upwards and the ice walls widened into a huge cavern; the noise was deafening. The walls were carved out at intervals, forming stalactites and stalagmites of ice that guarded something behind.

They were like the bars of prison cells. I crept towards the first cell, peering through the ice. "Hello?" I whispered. "Is anyone in there?" There was no answer, but I could see some dark figures huddled together in the corner. "Hi," I said quietly. "Hi, I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Matt Mayhew. I'm going to get you out of-" The figures suddenly shot towards the bars, slamming into them. I cried out, falling backwards onto the floor and scrambling away from the snarling Ice People that rattled the ice bars.

"Jesus," I whispered as I watched them give up and slink away again back to the corner of the cell. I glanced around the other cells which circled the walls, seeing the same sight of Ice Creatures within each cell. I gulped hard but got back to my feet, quickly but quietly making my wave across the cavern and to the other side where there was another opening. I left the cavern, leaving the howling Ice People behind.

I tred carefully and slowly, making my way through to the next ice tunnel which opened up  into another cavern. This one was smaller than the last and I hadn't seen it in my dream beforehand. I swallowed hard to get rid of the nervous lump in my throat. I was in uncharted territory now.

Crack!

I jumped, my hand flying to the gun that I had strapped to my belt. What the hell was that? Was the ice giving way? Or was  something more sinister approaching?

Another cracking made me glance upwards to the solid wall of ice at the back of this smaller cavern. One long, jagged crack split it in two. It looked like a lightning bolt had struck it, shattering the frozen water so the entire wall was now two parts, becoming another tunnel. As I got closer, I could start to see a faint, white light emanating from inside the ice like some sort of star. I reached out with my hand slowly, my finger tips just brushing the blue ice-

"I wouldn't do that, Mr Mayhew," a voice rung out. I snatched my hand back, whirling around to face my great uncle, or whatever was using my great uncle. It was as if he had materialised out of nowhere and was now standing in front of me, his hands clasped calmly behind his back. He cocked his head to the side and seemed to study me.

"I knew you would come," he said. "You made good time too. We should be able to finish this in a few hours." I stared at him then glanced at the wall again which seemed to be getting brighter and brighter.

"What is this?" I asked, gesturing to the wall. The Master smiled slightly, folding his arms across his chest.

"That is where my ship landed," he said. "Well, I should say where my ship crashed."

"Your ship?" I said in disbelief. "Crashed?"

"Yes," the Master replied. "You see, Earth is not my home planet. I come from a world very far away indeed."

"Then what are you doing here?" I demanded. "If you already have a world, why are you here?"

"My people are a brilliant species," the Master announced. "We travel to different worlds and conquer all there, bringing it into our Empire. Often, we'd transfer the leader of each world's consciousness to one of our own to make the invasion easier and avoid resistance. But we began to have some...difficulties with the inferior species that lived beneath us-"

"You mean they started fighting back against your species' dictatorship," I spat. He raised an eyebrow at me but ignored my comment.

"I was sent here to expand our great empire further," he continued. "But my ship crashed and I have been stuck here since, unable to contact my home world for aid."

"Then why the Ice People?" I said. "Why take people? How are you doing it?"

"My ship contains a material transformer," Scott said, waving his hand in the air. "It takes the material that I enter into the machine and transforms it into whatever  I want. For example, turning people into ice, into my soldiers, my army." He hesitated, taking a breath.

"Once I have you, then I can begin my assault on this world. I will use your technology to fix my ship and contact my people, welcoming them to this world that I have taken. I will be a hero," he said. He then looked at me. "And you will be part of that, Mr Mayhew, you can make it happen."

He began to walk forward towards me. Anger and fear started boiling up inside of me and I grabbed my gun, pointing it at the Master of the Ice People.

"Stop right there!" I shouted at him. "Don't come any closer." I could here my blood roaring in my ears and my heart beating one hundred miles per hour. Captain Scott stopped, smiling mockingly.

"Let's not be having any of this, Mr Mayhew," he said with a sigh. "I promise you that when I take over your consciousness, it shall be quick and painless.  You should be honoured."

"I want to see Christine first,  that was the deal remember - when you invaded my brain!" I said as calmly as I could, hoping that my voice wasn't shaking. I couldn't allow this thing to know how scared I was.

"Mr Mayhew-"

"Show me Christine!" I yelled. The Master laughed manically, throwing his head back.

"My, my, you are persistent, aren't you?" he grinned. "Why should I, Mr Mayhew? I gave you the push you needed to come here, and now here you are. I really don't have to do anything for you." I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming at him. How dare he trick me like that. But if I was honest with myself, I knew that there was a slim chance that he'd make good on his side of the bargain.

I frantically tried to think of what to do. I had to buy more time, try and distract the Master as long as possible to allow Pete and the others to set up. Suddenly, a really stupid idea popped into my head. I mentally grimaced but it was the only thing I had.

"Come now, Mr Mayhew," the Master said. "Let's get this over with."  He stepped towards me again but I backed away, hitting the wall of ice behind me.

"Stay back!" I cried. "Or I'll..."

"Or you'll what, Mr Mayhew?" the Master sneered. "You have nothing to bargain with. I hold all the cards. So tell me, or what, there's nothing you can do to me?" I looked down at the gun in my hands and brought it up to my temple.

"Or I'll shoot myself," I said, keeping my voice as steady as I could. "And you won't have a new mind to control. You'll be stuck here forever." He froze, and for the first time, I could see a flicker of doubt in his eyes. But it was gone as soon as it came.

"You wouldn't," he said, smirking. "You don't have the guts."

"I'll do it!" I shouted. "I'll do it right now. Unless you show me Christine." The Master sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I really don't have time for this," he said. "But, as you wish." He snapped his fingers, the sound echoing around the cavern. The sound of soft footsteps pattered down the tunnel from behind me. I could see the silhouette of a girl coming towards me from the light. She stepped out through the gap, her icy eyes watching me like a hawk. I gasped, stumbling back from the Ice Creature.

It was Christine.

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