Stay:The Last Dog in Antarctica (7 page)

The wind whirled around the station and Stay could hear the sound of sleet hitting the windows like little stones. The sea ice was breaking up, and the strong wind was blowing it from the bay out to sea, revealing the water underneath. The miserable view from the LQ windows made her glad she was inside.

She didn’t have that much else to be glad about. When Dux had brought her back to the LQ and put her up on the bar, he’d borrowed the big chain and padlock from Bear and locked her down tightly. No one could move her.

He patted her on the head. ‘Stay there and make some money for the Royal Guide Dogs. No more mischief!’

It wasn’t me who got into mischief!
Stay thought, but he didn’t seem to hear her thought the way Chills or Kaboom would have.

And so she stayed. Every evening after work was finished, most expeditioners gathered at the Last Husky to talk about their day over a couple of drinks. The Brewmaster was a popular person, Stay could see, and she learnt a lot about station life by listening in on the conversations.

At first she was very popular. Almost every day someone would stand next to her, take a photo, give her a pat, or talk about where they wanted to take her. One wanted her to come to a place called Platcha Hut for the weekend, a little orange field hut next to a fjord where a small group was going hiking and playing cards, a trip they called a jolly. Another wanted her to come over to the Greenstore and see how the year’s supplies were packed and retrieved. A biologist wanted to take her looking for specimens on the sea bed in the bay once the ice melted, and Shine the weather observer kept talking about taking Stay to Woop Woop, which turned out to be an inland airstrip where the planes could land once the sea ice had broken up. Laser wanted Stay to visit the LIDAR building, from which they shot a laser beam up into the sky and examined something called polar mesospheric clouds.

But gradually, as they all settled in to their lives on station, people stopped noticing Stay. No one talked to her directly when they were with their friends, probably
because of being teased. They didn’t even put money into her. No one used money in Antarctica, Stay had realised, and so they didn’t carry it. All the meals were supplied in the Mess and the kitchen slushy always set out fruit and bread and biscuits for anyone needing snacks. There was a big store cupboard called Woolies, where they went for supplies like soap and shampoo and sunscreen. Nothing was for sale.

Everyone on station was busy, and when they finished a shift they were often tired. When Stay had first arrived, the sun had only dipped below the horizon in the middle of the night, creating just a few hours of twilight, with brilliant sunsets that turned the sky every shade from orange to purple. But now the sun didn’t set at all — and wouldn’t go down for another six weeks. People found it hard to sleep properly and they were sometimes snappy with each other. Stay heard them talk about having ‘big eye’, which meant not being able to sleep because it was too bright. She thought it was a silly saying — most people who couldn’t sleep had slitty eyes, not big eyes.

Stay missed the way Chills had talked with her as if he could hear her thoughts. He
could
hear them, she was sure. Kaboom still talked to her like that, but she was busy with work and Stay didn’t see her that much. She felt lonelier in the midst of that big crowd
than she had even on all those long nights alone on the streets of Hobart. It didn’t matter how hard she looked at someone and willed them to set her free, they couldn’t. She was chained up. Trapped. And not an adventure in sight. When she heard that the elephant seals had arrived in their summer mud wallow down on the beach near the station, she couldn’t rush out with everyone else to see them groaning and rolling around to loosen their old skins and let them peel off. The Adélie penguins over on Gardner Island were laying their eggs and, before the sea ice was completely gone, people hiked over to watch them. Stay couldn’t do any of it.

When the big blizzard blew up and people were stuck inside, Stay daydreamed about Chills, far away on Bechervaise Island with another penguin colony. What did he do when there was a blizzard? Where did he sleep? What did he eat? There wouldn’t be a Mess on the island, she was pretty sure of that. How did he have a shower? Or wash his clothes?

She sighed and looked out the windows again. She was bored, and she was pretty sure some of the humans in the bar were bored too. When they had to go out to reach another building, or to come back to the Living Quarters after work, they came in with their eyes streaming from the wind. The sea ice was almost gone,
which meant no more driving across the frozen bay on quad bikes or Hägglunds, and no walking either. As the snow melted, the area around the station looked like a dirty pile of rocks and dust.

It was getting late and the expeditioners were starting to drift away towards bed. Someone was mopping the floor in the kitchen. Stay couldn’t see who it was, but she guessed it was Kaboom taking her turn at slushy duty. Stay pricked her ears to hear the music. She knew that in return for doing a day’s hard work, the kitchen slushy got to pick the music. Kaboom liked to listen to jazz, which always left Stay feeling sad.

The bar emptied out. Someone snapped off the lights and the gloomy grey glow of the blizzard outside settled over the room. Stay started to doze, trying to ignore the lonely sound of the wind whistling around the edge of the building.

Suddenly a scratching sound down on the ground jolted her awake.

‘Can you see anyone?’ she heard someone whisper.

‘No. I’ll keep lookout.’

Someone else was trying to dognap her. Stay didn’t mind who it was — anything would have to be better than staying on the bar. But how would they get her out of the chain and padlock? Dux was the only one who had a key.

Stay couldn’t recognise the dognappers. There were two people, both wearing balaclavas that covered their faces.

‘Have you got it yet?’ the one on the floor asked.

‘Give me a second! I’ve only just found the padlock.’ The first one snapped on a small torch, which cast a tiny pool of light on the padlock.

Stay recognised their voices. The one fiddling with the padlock was Laser, and the other one was Kaboom. Her friends were going to rescue her!

Laser had a ring of keys and she started trying to find one that fitted. Stay could feel the vibration coming up through the chain, and the little metallic sounds of the keys scraping against the padlock.

‘I don’t think the key is on this chain!’ Laser whispered. ‘Maybe he’s hidden it somewhere else.’

Stay felt a rush of disappointment and willed them not to give up.

‘You’ll have to do it by feel,’ Kaboom said. ‘Be quiet. Dux has a nose for when something’s going on.’

‘Lucky he didn’t notice we swiped his keys,’ Laser said. She tried again. Stay wanted to squirm with impatience.

At last there was a click and she felt the lock spring open.

‘Well done!’ Kaboom said, coming close. They
unwrapped the chain and Kaboom lifted Stay off the bar. She gave her a quick hug. ‘I missed you, Stay.’

‘Where’s the leg?’ Laser asked.

What leg?
Stay wondered.

Kaboom reached into her jacket and pulled something out. Stay realised it was her missing leg, crushed and dangling. She’d got so used to her new wooden leg that she’d nearly forgotten the old one; she shuddered at the sight of it. What were they going to do with it?

She watched as Laser wrapped the leg in the heavy chain, crisscrossing it until the leg was almost completely covered. She pulled the two ends together and padlocked them shut.

‘Are you leaving a ransom note?’ Laser asked.

‘You bet,’ Kaboom said. She pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and read it aloud. ‘
Stay has gone. This is all you’re getting. Don’t come looking for her, or we’ll cut off her other leg and send that.
’ She tucked the note into the chain.

‘Ooh, that’s horrible,’ Laser said. ‘Don’t worry, Stay, we don’t mean it.’

Stay was very glad. But what were they going to do with her? She didn’t really want to hide somewhere — she was sick of hiding. It’d be better to stay where she was than be put in a cupboard or under a bed.

‘Come on!’ Kaboom said. ‘Let’s get out of here before Dux comes back. Over to the helipad.’

‘What, in the blizzard?’ Laser asked.

‘You bet. I’m putting her in the mailbag ready to go in the Squirrel. Can you smuggle those keys back into Dux’s office?’

What on earth is a Squirrel and how do you get inside one?
Stay wondered. It was another Antarctic mystery.

‘I’m sorry, girl,’ Kaboom said. She lifted up a mailbag and pulled it over Stay’s head. Everything went dark.

Stay felt them carry her to the heavy outer door and open it. She heard Laser and Kaboom gasp as the blizzard hit them in the face and Stay felt the sleet rattling against the bag as they stepped outside.

‘Hold on to the guide rope,’ Kaboom said, the words whipped from her mouth by the wind. ‘Keep one hand on it.’

Stay willed Kaboom to tell her where exactly she was going, but the wind must have been too strong. If Kaboom said anything, Stay couldn’t hear it over the howl of the blizzard.

Stay felt like she’d been hidden for days by the time the blizzard finally dropped. When the wind stopped shrieking, she heaved a sigh of relief. She had no way of knowing if it was day or night — though there was no such thing as day or night anyway, in the middle of the Antarctic summer when the sun never set. And however bright it might have been outside, it was dark inside the mailbag where Kaboom had hidden her.

Stay heard a loud thump. A door cracked open and a stream of cold air rushed in. She could hear voices and someone moving things around.

‘About time we got the all clear,’ a voice grumbled nearby. ‘I’ve been waiting to take off for days!’

Stay recognised the deep voice of Nuts from the Last Husky. He was a tall man with black hair and a bushy black beard, who piloted one of the helicopters. Kaboom
must have hidden Stay in the little office at the heliport, ready to go on the flight!

But where was she headed now? Some of the scientific teams who went out in the field to study rocks travelled by helicopter. Perhaps she’d be flying out to one of their camps for a visit?

‘Remember, Nuts, you guys have got to be back from Mawson before dinner.’

It was Kaboom’s voice and Stay felt a rush of excitement. Mawson! She was going to Mawson Station! The huskies lived at Mawson, and Chills was just nearby. Surely if she made it to Mawson she’d find a way out to him!

‘Not fair,’ Nuts grumbled. ‘Can’t even party with the Mawson dudes.’

‘You know the rules,’ Kaboom said. ‘It’s too windy for Squirrels to stay overnight there.’

‘Yeah, yeah, so I hear,’ Nuts said. ‘Big winds flowing down off the plateau and all that. Very uncool. I’ve never been to Mawson and neither has Stretch. We wouldn’t mind exploring.’

‘Well, get moving!’ Kaboom said. ‘Have you got a mechanic with you?’

‘Yeah, Bluey’s coming along. He’s going with Stretch in the other chopper. They’re ready to go.’

Stay felt herself being picked up and realised Kaboom was carrying the mailbag outside.

‘Got a bit of extra room?’ Kaboom asked.

‘I’ve got a spare front seat,’ Nuts answered. ‘Wanna come?’

‘Love to, but I haven’t got a day off till next week,’ she said. ‘This is a special delivery for Chills, next time someone goes out to Beche to drop off supplies or if he comes in to pick some up.’

Stay felt herself being passed up into the helicopter and put on the seat.

‘Pretty big present,’ Nuts said. ‘What is it?’

‘A surprise,’ Kaboom said. ‘And I mean that, Nuts. Don’t open it. OK? And make sure no one else does either. I’d deliver it myself, but it can’t wait.’

‘It’ll have to go on the front seat,’ Nuts said. ‘Can you buckle it in?’

Kaboom adjusted Stay so she was sitting on the seat facing forwards. Stay felt the seatbelt tighten over her chest.

‘OK, we’d better get our skates on,’ Nuts said.

‘Travel safe.’ Kaboom was talking to Nuts, but she patted the mailbag as she spoke and Stay knew she was talking to her as well.

‘Always,’ Nuts said. ‘See ya!’

I’ll miss you, Kaboom,
Stay thought.

The door closed and Stay heard Nuts flick a series of switches and start up the engines. The blades began to turn, speeding up and making a
thud-thud
sound that she remembered hearing on the helideck of the ship. She could hear the other helicopter starting too.

‘VLZ-Davis, this is Alpha-Foxtrot-Oscar,’ Nuts said.

The radio crackled into life. ‘Alpha-Foxtrot-Oscar, this is VLZ-Davis, reading you loud and clear.’

‘Hi, dudes. Me and Sierra-Echo-Sierra are ready to take off for Mawson.’

‘Safe flying, Alpha-Foxtrot-Oscar and Sierra-Echo-Sierra. Catch you for a drink later on.’

‘Thanks, VLZ-Davis. Alpha-Foxtrot-Oscar out.’

The Squirrel vibrated and then suddenly Stay felt the machine rising into the air. She wished she could see out! It would have been incredible to see Davis Station from the air. With all her might she willed Nuts to turn around and free her from the mailbag, but he didn’t seem to hear her thoughts. The helicopter rose higher and higher, then accelerated away from Davis and towards Mawson.

The flight settled into a steady hum, with a few bumps to keep things interesting. Stay could feel the coins rattling and vibrating inside her. There weren’t as many of them as she’d accumulated on the ship, and she began to worry. If she did make it out to Bechervaise
Island with Chills, how would she raise any money for the Guide Dogs?

Perhaps it had been a mistake to stay in Antarctica at all. She really should have gone home on the ship with the Boss. She’d have been well and truly back in Hobart by now, spending her days and nights chained up outside a supermarket, willing people to put money inside her.

Stay sighed. Put like that, her old life didn’t sound exciting. It sounded well behaved, the way a Labrador’s life should. It sounded like what Jet would have done.

Then she thought harder. Hadn’t Jet said something about adventures? And of course, he’d get to go on lots. Guide Dogs went everywhere with their owners, he’d told her. They went all sorts of places where no other dogs were allowed — on the bus, in restaurants, to the movies, to school: anywhere their owners needed to be. Other dogs were often left at home by themselves all day, Jet had said. Guide Dogs never were.

Stay felt a stab of homesickness. She missed having someone to talk to. Jet had been a great friend, though they’d only known each other a short time. He’d understood her.

The helicopter tilted, jolting Stay from her thoughts, and she felt it begin to drop. It was dizzying. The little
machine felt like it was plummeting to the earth at full speed, nose first.

Stay felt a rush of terror. Was she going to be killed in a helicopter accident? She could hear the wind screaming past the windows and they seemed to be going faster and faster.

She tensed, waiting for the impact.