The Cannibal of Svalbard: Part 1 - Short Story

Previously, a devastating virus relentlessly spread, causing almost all land animals and plants to suffer a violent, self-inflicted genocide. Humans were immune, but mostly perished from the death of resources in a matter of months.

Dr. Zhang anticipated the spread and set up a number of island survivors with himself settled in Pitcairn Island for 15 years. But they needed more plant diversity. The greatest diversity of unaffected seeds on Earth were securely stationed in a vault under the mountains of Svalbard. This was his destination

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Floating like a ghost on the water, Zhang’s ship waited.

Ahead, the lands of Svalbard were observed, but a brief scan of the shoreline gave the crew a sense of suspicion that survivors were residing there. Or had survived at some point.

This was bad news. If humans figured out a way to sustain themselves with the seed vault for fifteen years, there would be close to nothing left. The whole trip was a devastating waste.

For an hour or so, the shoreline was watched, carefully, for signs of movement.

Nothing.

Inevitably, a sextuplet took a boat to shore to investigate further. When they approached the seed vault, their suspicions were confirmed. A large, tent-like structure was flimsily but securely placed around the vault entrance by a good few metres.

Inside the tent area, various tools and devices could be seen; a cooking pot, a generator, some thermal gear and curiously, an overgrown series of plant pots. Somebody was trying to grow chili peppers.

‘Well, whoever tried, failed’ Luke broke the silence. A temporary hand of Dr. Zhang, his comfort in a shipping environment made him a natural leader during the journeys in the seas, and he had grown a fairly close relationship with the doctor.

‘Perhaps they took what they needed and left when they couldn’t thrive in this climate’ replied Zhang

‘It’s more likely they perished’

‘What makes you think so?’

‘Sir… the door’ Luke pointed to the vault entrance. Zhang’s eyes froze as he noticed, across the small metal walkway, the metal slabs protecting seeds from outside viruses was slightly ajar, and inside, a small group of drying corpses lay huddled together.

The crew respectfully pulled the door ajar and stepped within, torches lit. Luke immediately started counting. 13 dead bodies, either starved or frozen. It wasn’t worth asking Zhang which.

As they worked their way to the back of the vault, it seemed increasingly apparent that these people did not last more than a few years. Indeed, there were far more than 13 beds set up, almost 2 dozen, in fact. Yet no other bodies were found. Most apparently left, and may even still be out there somewhere.

Unlikely.

Hopes were raised beyond compare when the group reached the main seed rooms. They looked mostly untouched.

‘The lack of power means many of the seeds may have aged out, but I would suppose at least half of what we see here could still be salvageable with the right care. Yes… this is very good, friends.’ Zhang found it hard to maintain his professionally stoic expressions. The relief was somewhat overwhelming to him.

The next part would take time. Each seed type is wrapped in a heat-sealed aluminium packet, with 4-500 seeds inside. 500 of these packets are put into each storage box, and there were hundreds of boxes in each of the three available rooms. This was not a single trip on a boat.

Luke took the initative and had the rest of the crew take the 3 remaining boats to shore and everybody started packing. Some boxes had clearly been opened; different kinds of wheat, mainly. Whoever was here clearly had no idea what they were doing. A desperate attempt to escape the terrifying reality. If only Zhang had known…

As the boats were getting ready to depart on their third and final trip from the shoreline, a faint ripple from the tent cover. A dark, bony arm lifted itself inches from the ground beneath a reflective material, before flopping back down.

A survivor.

Zhang rushed back and raised the weakened bag of bones, and attempted to give him water. But in the most unexpected way, the man grabbed Zhang's arm with some strength and sunk his teeth into it. Zhang could feel the teeth bend around his gumline as his strength and physical health failed him. A desperate attempt at cannibalism.

As everything - including the cannibal - was brought back to the ship, a foreboding tale awaited them from the Island of Svalbard.

Although this story functions on its own as a short, it's part of a larger piece you can read in order here:

Part 1
Part 2 - How it Spreads
Part 3 - Svalbard
Part 4 - Pitcairn Isolation
Part 5 - Pitcairn Depravity
Part 6 - The Atoll of The Atlantis
Part 7 - The Revelation from The Atlantis