Stay:The Last Dog in Antarctica (8 page)

The helicopter swooped up out of its dive so suddenly that Stay felt dizzy. It levelled, hovered and then gently touched down. She heard Nuts turn the engine off and the rotors slowly stop spinning. The second Squirrel landed nearby a few seconds later.

Nuts chuckled. ‘Ah, I love having no passengers.’

Stay wondered if they’d arrived at Mawson. No matter what Kaboom thought, she couldn’t stand being hidden in the mailbag and missing out on seeing everything. With all her might she willed Nuts to open the bag. This time he seemed to respond to her thoughts.

‘Now I wonder what Kaboom is sending her boyfriend,’ he murmured. She felt his hand on the bag, moving along her back and up to her head.

‘No way!’ Nuts said. ‘Stay, is that you?’

He ripped open the bag, pulling it back from Stay’s head, and gave a yelp that sounded quite dog-like.
‘Cool!’ he said, and grinned at her. ‘A famous passenger! Dux will be spewing when he finds out you’ve gone.’

Stay looked outside to see Mawson Station, but all she could see was snow stretching in every direction and a few rocks.
Where are we?

‘Hey, dude, we’re at Beaver Lake refuelling depot,’ Nuts said. ‘The Squirrels need a drink to get all the way to Mawson. I’ll just fill up. Stay here.’ He laughed again. ‘Stay, stay here.’

Very funny,
Stay thought as he got out of the helicopter. She could see him heading over to a pile of fuel drums half buried in the snow and after some fiddling around he dragged a fuel hose back over to the Squirrel. He pumped the fuel into the tank with a hand lever. When it was full, he pulled out the hose and took it over to the other helicopter. Stay could hear him laughing with Stretch and saw them looking over at her. When the refuelling was done, Nuts packed everything carefully away and clambered into the pilot seat again.

‘Now let’s get you looking your best,’ he said. ‘That’s no way for a celebrity to travel.’

Nuts pulled Stay out of the mailbag and settled her properly on the front seat. He clipped the seatbelt across her chest and then positioned a pair of heavy earphones on her head. ‘There you go, dude,’ he said. ‘An official V-I-D. Very Important Dog.’

He flicked the switches again and the rotors began to spin. Now that Stay could see everything it was much more exciting.

‘Ready for liftoff?’ Nuts looked over at her. ‘Now we don’t have an audience, we can really have some fun.’

You bet,
Stay thought.

‘Up, up and away!’ Nuts said. This time they lifted up in such a fast takeoff that Stay had trouble keeping her eyes focused. In a matter of seconds they were in the sky and she was looking down on Antarctica.

It was majestic! Ice and snow stretched out as far as she could see, glistening in the sunshine.

‘That’s the Amery Ice Shelf,’ Nuts said. ‘Beautiful, eh? Now we follow it towards the sea and remember to turn left!’

They flew across ice and snow for what felt like a long time, until eventually Stay saw the ocean ahead. It was a deep blue, sparkling in the sunlight. A huge rock formation was coming up ahead of them: three big mountains rising out of the sea around a frozen bay.

Nuts dropped the helicopter into a steep dive to take them closer. ‘That’s Scullin Monolith. Biggest seabird breeding site in East Antarctica. Douglas Mawson landed there back in 1931 and claimed all this land for the British Empire. He was travelling by ship and I don’t
think he had dogs on that trip, but he was a great dog man. Used huskies on all his earlier exploration trips. Pity he ended up eating so many of them.’

He laughed and gave her a punch on the shoulder. ‘Joke, Stay. No one will be eating you, don’t worry. No one will have a chance to eat huskies either after this season. They’re all going home. There’ll be no more dogs in Antarctica.’

He pulled the helicopter up sharply and swung it into a swoop to the left. ‘Can’t go any closer than that. One of those special protected areas. I’m not allowed to go anywhere near nesting birds. I suppose I’d better get you to Mawson.’

He picked up the handheld radio microphone and put it up near his mouth. ‘VJM-Mawson, this is Alpha-Foxtrot-Oscar.’

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

‘Hi, dudes. Me and Sierra-Echo-Sierra are about twenty minutes away. I’ve got a local celebrity with me, so you’d best have a greeting party ready.’

Uh-oh,
Stay thought. That didn’t sound like she’d be kept a secret. She hoped nobody else would pinch her before she had a chance to get out to Chills.

‘Looking forward to it. Thanks, Alpha-Foxtrot-Oscar. VJM-Mawson out.’

Nuts clicked the handset back into its holder and looked down at her. ‘Well, girl, sorry, but the cat’s out of the bag. Or should I say the dog’s out of the mailbag?’

The pilot seemed to find his own jokes very funny. But Stay didn’t mind. The sky was brilliant blue above them, the snow and the sea glistened below them, and, by the way Nuts was taking the joystick again, it looked as though he was going to show her some stunts before they landed.

Stay could see a small group of people waiting at the helipad as Bluey and Stretch landed their helicopter first. Nuts lowered the second Squirrel slowly and smoothly to the ground, touching down with hardly a bump, as if he’d flown the whole trip in such a well-behaved way. He switched off the engine and the rotors slowed down and stopped spinning. He gave her a quick pat on the head.

‘Glad you don’t have a weak stomach, dude. Nice flying with you.’

He hopped out. Stay watched as people came over to greet Nuts, Bluey and Stretch, clapping them on the shoulders and shaking their hands. She saw someone point and then everyone came over to take a look at her.

Nuts opened Stay’s door. ‘This is Stay!’ He took off her headphones, unclipped her seatbelt and lifted her out of the seat. People crowded around them as he
turned and held her up high. There was a big cheer. Then Nuts turned to a woman standing towards the front.

‘Stay, meet Jackie, leader of Mawson and first woman ever to lead an Antarctic base,’ he said. ‘Esteemed station leader, meet Stay of the Antarctic.’

‘Well done!’ Jackie smiled at Stay and patted Nuts on the back. ‘We were sick of hearing about this dog from Davis Station and never getting to see her. How did you get her away from Dux?’

‘Dude, I challenged him to a swimming competition. The person who stayed in the longest won. That was me, of course. So I told him I wanted the dog.’

That’s not true!
Stay thought indignantly.

‘Actually, it wasn’t me,’ Nuts said when the noise died down. ‘I’m not allowed to say who liberated Stay from Davis, but I’m entrusted to deliver her to Chills at Bechervaise Island. He’s her rightful owner, apparently.’

‘Chills?’ Jackie said, and turned to look out over the bay.

Stay followed the woman’s gaze and saw a rocky island offshore. It looked a long way across the sea ice. She remembered that it was covered in nesting penguins and she wondered how she’d get there. Not by helicopter anyway — Nuts wasn’t allowed to fly near nesting birds.

‘You’ve just missed him,’ Jackie said. ‘We brought him in for a shower and some food yesterday and dropped him back out on a quad bike. He’s not due in again until Christmas.’

Stay felt a moment of alarm. She knew Christmas was close, but even a few days was a long time in Antarctica. Anything could happen in that time.

‘Never mind,’ the station leader said. ‘We’ll look after her till he gets in again. And besides, it will give her a chance to get acquainted with the huskies. They’re dying to meet her, I’m sure.’

Nuts looked at his watch. ‘Sounds good,’ he said. ‘We haven’t got long. Is it too early to start the party?’

‘Most people are still at work, but we can take a long lunch break today,’ Jackie said. ‘In the meantime, why don’t we take Stay over to the husky line? Got your cameras, everyone?’

Stay felt a rush of excitement. Her first dogs since Jet! And they were Antarctic dogs. She couldn’t wait to make some new friends.

Nuts carried Stay high on his shoulder, followed closely by Jackie and about ten other people. Everyone was keen to witness her meeting with the huskies.

Stay was looking out eagerly to catch her first glimpse of the dogs. She heard them giving out a series of sharp barks and howls before she saw anything. There were a lot of them, by the sound of it!

Then they rounded the corner of one of Mawson’s big rectangular buildings and there were the dogs, each chained to its own spot on two long lines. At the sight of Stay and all the humans, they jumped to their feet and started barking.
There are more than twenty,
Stay thought as she dizzily tried to count them, and she could see three pups near one of the females.

A large black husky, who was first in one of the lines, pulled against his collar and barked.
Who are you?

‘Quiet, dogs!’ a man called out before Stay could answer. He stepped forwards and the huskies fell silent.

Nuts carried Stay over to the big black dog and put her down in front of him. ‘Last huskies in Antarctica, meet the first Labrador in Antarctica,’ Nuts said. ‘In fact, Stay will be the very last dog in Antarctica if she doesn’t go home on the ship with you. Stay, meet the Mawson huskies. This is Blackie, and that’s Cocoa with the puppies. Back there are Morrie and Ursa and Cardiff and Nina and Pedro and …’

Stay stopped listening to the dogs’ names as Blackie lifted his lip and growled at her.

Cocoa, the brown female, sniffed and then sat down.
What are you? You look a bit like a dog, but you don’t smell like one.

I am a dog,
Stay answered.
Well, sort of.
She realised that the only other real dog she’d met was Jet, and, being a Guide Dog, he had understood exactly what she was. Stay didn’t know how to explain herself to the huskies.

She remembered she’d been able to talk to Jet just as if she was a living dog.
You can understand me, can’t you?
she said to Blackie.
That proves I’m a dog.

Blackie growled again and turned his back and for some reason this made all the people laugh.

Cocoa came closer and started sniffing Stay all over.
I don’t believe you’re a dog. You smell wrong.

I’m a dog that helps blind people.

Oh?
Cocoa sounded doubtful.
How do you help them?

I raise money for them,
Stay said.

The other dogs were barking, pulling at their tethers and straining to get close.
What’s she saying? What kind of dog is she?

Blackie started walking around Stay with stiff legs.
You’re not an Antarctic dog, that’s for sure. We are the huskies of the Antarctic!

Only till the end of summer,
Stay said, then wished she could bite the words back.

Blackie’s answering growl was more like a snarl.
What do you mean?

All the huskies are being taken out of Antarctica at the end of summer and never coming back,
Stay said.

The dogs started barking furiously and the hair lifted on the back of Blackie’s neck.
How do you know that?

Stay wished she could roll on her back and show her belly to Blackie, the way that dogs told each other they were harmless and just wanted to be friends.
I heard the humans talking about it.

There was silence and the dogs all stared. Blackie advanced on her, the fur on his hackles raised, and Stay
wished that Nuts would pick her up. But the humans made no effort to rescue her.

No dog can understand humans talking, except for commands,
Blackie snapped.
You’re not a dog and, what’s more, you’re a liar!

Blackie!
Cocoa was wagging her tail just a little.
Give her a chance.

No!
Blackie barked so loudly that every dog on the line could hear him.

Stay stared at him, finding it hard to believe. How could this meeting have gone so wrong? She’d been so looking forward to becoming friends with some other dogs. How could she have known they didn’t understand human speech like she did?

Blackie glared at the huskies.
You’re all forbidden from talking to this thing. She’s no dog, and she’s to be ignored!

At Blackie’s order all the dogs started howling and throwing themselves against their chains. The racket was deafening and Stay again wished Nuts would pick her up and get her away. It was embarrassing. She’d rather be back at the Last Husky.

She could hear Nuts finally coming forwards, but before he could reach her, Blackie jumped up. Stay tensed, wondering if he was going to bite her, but he had something else in mind. Before Nuts could pick her up, Blackie lifted his leg and Stay felt a stream of liquid
run over her back. It started out warm and then froze almost immediately.

The humans, even the ones who’d lost interest in watching and had started talking among themselves, all started to laugh. Stay wished she could just disappear into thin air, but nothing happened and no one rescued her. The dogs barked and barked, and the humans laughed and laughed. Only Cocoa looked at her, but Stay was too ashamed to meet the husky’s eyes. Where was Chills when she needed him?

Nuts was still giggling as he washed Stay from head to toe with a wet, soapy sponge in a bathroom off the Mawson LQ. Stay wished he’d stop. The whole incident was so embarrassing she just wanted to forget it. But she’d heard cameras snapping while Blackie was weeing on her, and she suspected everyone else would remember it for a long time.

‘There you go, girl,’ Nuts said, wiping her down with a fresh towel. ‘Clean as a whistle.’

Stay had no idea why a whistle would be clean, and she didn’t care. She willed Nuts to put her back into the mailbag and hide her somewhere till Chills could come and get her. She didn’t want to see anyone at Mawson Station. She just wanted to disappear.

‘OK, Stay, time for lunch,’ Nuts said, hanging up the towel. ‘Ready?’

No way,
Stay thought, staring at him.

Nuts gave her a pat on the head. ‘You know, you’re not bad company, are you? Perhaps I should take you away again in the Squirrel. What do you reckon? Want to be a helicopter dog? See Antarctica from the air?’

It wasn’t a bad idea, Stay had to admit. She’d liked riding in the passenger seat in the front of the Squirrel.

‘You’ll be even more famous now,’ Nuts said. ‘The dog who was weed on by the huskies. Ha ha!’

Stay changed her mind in an instant. Everywhere Nuts went, that story would follow, she realised. She’d be introduced as the dog who was weed on by huskies. It wasn’t the kind of reputation she needed, not as a fundraiser for the Royal Guide Dogs. Anyway, Nuts was too fond of a joke for Stay’s liking. She was sure Chills would never have let her be treated like that.

She concentrated on Nuts and willed him to leave her at Mawson. She just wanted to see Chills. He must have understood because he picked her up, tucked her under his arm and headed for the Mess without further comment.

Stay felt all her embarrassment return as they arrived in the Mess and everyone turned to face her. She cringed, waiting for them all to start laughing again. She looked down at the ground.

But a strange thing happened. Instead of laughter, Stay heard the sound of clapping. She couldn’t believe her ears and looked up. What was going on?

Nuts carried her between the long tables and chairs, holding her high in the air, and people clapped as she went past. At the end of one of the tables she saw someone had set a special place with a dog bowl and a white napkin. Nuts put her down in the chair and tucked the napkin into Stay’s collar so it hung in a smooth white triangle down her front.

Jackie, who was seated next to her, stood up and clanged her knife against her glass. Everyone quietened down.

‘We have a special visitor with us,’ she said in a loud voice. ‘Stay the dog is our celebrity guest today. She’s been through Neptune’s welcome to sailors travelling below sixty degrees south and now she’s had a unique welcome from the huskies too. That makes her a real Antarctican.’

Really?
Stay thought. She started to feel a little less ashamed.

‘Stay has had her Antarctic initiation, so I don’t want any further shenanigans,’ Jackie said. ‘No silly tricks; no taking her to dangerous places for photographs. Understood?’

Everyone was nodding and smiling and when Jackie called them to they all raised their glasses in Stay’s direction.

‘A toast to Stay of the Antarctic, the newest resident of Mawson Station,’ Jackie said.

‘To Stay of the Antarctic!’ everyone echoed, and drank.

‘Now eat up!’ Jackie said, and sat down. Everyone picked up their cutlery and began to eat. Stay saw that the food was also good on Mawson. Lunch was grilled fish, cauliflower cheese, peas, potatoes and salad. Over on the dessert bench there was ice-cream and something that smelt like blueberry crumble.

She looked around at the room. The faces were mostly unfamiliar, though she could see one or two people who’d come on the ship from Hobart and gone over to Mawson by Twin Otter, just as Chills and Beakie had. It would take her days to remember them all and really, she just wanted to go to Bechervaise Island, or Beche as most people called it. She wished she could will Chills to come over and get her, but the island was definitely too far away for her to reach his thoughts. She had to be looking at someone, or at least be very close to them, to be able to influence them as Jet had taught her.

She wondered if the huskies knew how to do that. It would be much harder for them, she supposed, as they couldn’t understand human speech. The more she thought about it, the more she realised that dog life would be very confusing if you couldn’t understand what humans were saying. If Chills had just picked her up in Hobart and bundled her into a bag, and she didn’t
know the meaning of the word ‘Antarctica’, she’d have had no idea where she was bound, or for how long.

Come to think of it, the huskies had spent their whole lives in Antarctica. Hobart would be as shocking for them as Antarctica had been for Stay.

The huskies! Stay felt a rush of shame just thinking of them. She so badly wanted to be friends with them, but Blackie had disliked her on first sight and made sure the rest of them wouldn’t be friendly either. All because she was different. Didn’t they understand she was still a dog? She felt like a dog, she looked like a dog, she could talk to other dogs. If she wasn’t a dog, then what did they think she was?

It was a confusing line of thought and Stay was quite relieved when it was interrupted by the appearance of a tall man with wild hair and the longest, woolliest beard she’d ever seen. She couldn’t help staring as he bent down to talk to Jackie.

‘How’s it going, Baldy?’ she asked him.

‘Cool, Boss Lady,’ he said. ‘Hey, I’ve been thinking about that dog.’

What about me?
Stay thought.

‘Windy and me are going out to Rumdoodle Hut tomorrow to give the huskies a run. We’ll come back over the sea ice by Ring Rock. Be gone about three days, back in plenty of time for Christmas. We could swing
by Beche on the way back and drop Stay off. There’s still plenty of ice on that side, so we can get across with the sledge. Give Chills and Beakie a little surprise.’

Oh, yes!
Stay thought. If she was off the station, then no one else could dognap her, hide her, chain her up to something, or wee on her. She’d be on her way to Chills.

‘That’s a very roundabout trip for dropping off the dog,’ Jackie said, wrinkling her forehead. ‘Anyway, Chills will be in for Christmas in a few days.’

Baldy grinned. ‘It’s a jolly. That’s the point. There is no point.’

Jackie shrugged. ‘Righteo then. Make sure the sea ice is safe before you cross. I don’t want to be sending out a Search and Rescue.’

‘Sure thing,’ Baldy said. ‘No “SAR” for us.’

Stay could see him grinning under his beard. He leant over and gave her a pat on the head.

‘Looks like you’re coming with us, Stay,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry, I only look like a wild beast.’

Jackie laughed and then frowned. ‘Don’t take any risks to deliver a plastic dog, Baldy. No mischief.’

‘We’re in Antarctica,’ Baldy said, his eyes wide and an innocent look on his face. ‘What could possibly go wrong?’

‘That’s exactly what worries me,’ Jackie said.

Baldy winked at her before he turned away and Stay wondered what Jackie was worried about. Baldy looked like a very trustworthy guy. A little too hairy for Stay’s taste, but nice enough for all that.

It wasn’t till he’d sat back down at his place and started eating again that she realised exactly what he meant.

A sledging trip with the huskies. The huskies who hated her. Oh, no.