For twenty winters he has built the ice at the hockey arena in his Minnesota hometown, and he can tell by sound which ice will carry a man. That is why, when the war stalls on a frozen marsh nearby, the army hands him a ring of keys and the job of walking thirty convicts half a mile out onto the ice each dusk, chaining them by the neck to iron posts, and unlocking whoever is left at dawn. The convicts are bait for enemy machines that no radar or night scope can detect, machines that want nothing but the living. When one reaches a post and the man there screams, the guns behind the line kill him and the thing together, but the sergeant at the guns fires only on true terror. Then one morning a collar lies open, its chain cut clean, and nobody heard a scream. The machines have learned to take men in silence, the prison trucks bring fewer convicts each week, and the posts still have to be filled. In the tents behind the guns sleep the men he has known all his life, and he is the one who keeps the list. 🔗 Official Links: The only place to get daily and bonus Galactic Horrors stories with no ads or interruptions is Patreon: 📡 Join Patreon: https://patreon.com/GalacticHorrors Galactic Horrors stories are also available as eBooks on Amazon, with new releases every week: 📚 eBooks: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0H2F5M2B3/allbooks 📖 Written by Galactic Horrors ⚠️ Content Ownership Notice All stories, artwork, thumbnails, and animations featured on this channel are original creations of Galactic Horrors. I do not accept or feature submissions from other creators. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, or re-uploading of any content from this channel, in any form, is strictly prohibited and constitutes a violation of copyright. Legal action may be taken against any parties found infringing these rights. 📜 Fictional Work Disclaimer This story is a work of fiction created for entertainment purposes only. The events, characters, and organizations portrayed are entirely fictional, and any references to governmental bodies, entities, or individuals are not intended to represent reality. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or real-life events or organizations is purely coincidental. #scifi #scifihorror #creepypasta Disclosure: This episode includes AI-generated elements. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
