Stay:The Last Dog in Antarctica (11 page)

Stay?

Stay had been dreaming of lying by the fire with Jet, back in Hobart, watching the flickering flames. There were puppies there with them, cute gold and black Labradors playing together. Stay was so full of money for the Guide Dogs that she couldn’t move. She knew she had raised enough money for all of those puppies to be trained. Carol was sitting in the armchair by the fire, looking at her proudly. It was the best dream she’d had since falling into the crevasse.

She blinked sleepily. Everything was exactly the same. The light was still blue, the water was still dripping down underneath her, and the top of the crevasse was still covered with snow. The ice creaked loudly and she wondered if that was the sound that had woken her.

Are you there, Stay?

Stay would have jumped to attention if she could move. Plenty of times since falling into the crevasse she’d thought she heard something, but this time it sounded real.

Hello?
She sent a thought back as hard as she could.

She’s down there! I heard her.

Stay realised it was Cocoa whining. They were looking for her, at last! She was so relieved she wanted to cry. Up above she heard a bark then the sound of paws scratching in the snow. They’d brought the dogs to search for her. It wouldn’t be long now till she was out of the crevasse.

Be quiet!
Blackie growled at Cocoa. He still sounded angry.

Cocoa whined again.
But, Blackie, she’s down there in the crevasse. We can’t just leave her there.

Of course we can. She’s just a piece of plastic. I don’t know why the humans care about her.

I am not plastic! I’m fibreglass!
Stay thought.

She’s an impostor,
Blackie snapped.
If anyone barks and lets the humans know she’s nearby, I’ll bite them.

Stay gave a silent whimper. She could hear the distant sound of human voices, but every single dog was quiet. Stay tried sending a thought towards the humans, but she was buried too far down to reach
them. They’d never find her without help from the dogs, she realised.

Stay sent her thoughts towards the dogs.
Blackie, I have something to tell you.

He didn’t answer, but she could feel all the dogs listening.

It’s about what will happen to you all when the humans take you out of Antarctica.

What?
Cocoa asked, and Stay heard Blackie snap at her.

You’re going on an adventure, like the one I’ve been on,
Stay told them.
Firstly you’ll go on the big orange ship across the sea to Hobart. When you get there, the dogs that have worked for a long time will go to new homes where they can rest. The other dogs are going across the world to a place called Minnesota in America. You’ll be working over there, pulling sledges in the snow.

What about my puppies?
Cocoa asked.

They’re going to America with you. You’ll all be together.

How do you know this?
Underneath his snarl, Blackie sounded scared.

I can talk to the humans. Chills especially. I heard them talking about it one night at the Last Husky. They’re all very sad about you going. They wish you could stay. They’re going to miss you.

There was a long silence, and then Blackie growled.
If you can really talk to Chills, then show us. He’s up here with us, looking for you. None of the humans can see where you are, there’s too much snow covering the crevasse. If you’re so clever, then prove it.

CHILLS! I’M DOWN HERE! HELP!

Stay panted. She’d called and called Chills in her mind, but he was just too far away to hear her. She could barely hear the sound of distant footsteps any more. The humans and the dogs were moving further away from the crevasse. She’d thought being forgotten was terrible, but being left behind so close to rescue was even worse.

She thought of the Guide Dogs. They would never leave anyone in trouble. It wasn’t something Labradors did. Right from the time they were puppies, they just wanted to help. She wondered if the husky puppies were the same. Huskies were also hard-working dogs that wanted to help humans. They weren’t very different, really.

The sounds of the dogs had almost disappeared, and Stay felt a sob rising in her chest. She sent a final sad
thought to Cocoa:
Look after your puppies. They’re off on a great adventure.

There was a long pause and then Stay heard a distant volley of barking. Cocoa was defying Blackie! She was leading the searchers to the crevasse.

The barking became louder and Stay could hear footsteps and human voices. Soon they were very close by and she could hear Cocoa sniffing and barking. There was a crunch in the snow above the crevasse and she saw that someone had poked a cane through. A gleam of daylight came in and then all the dogs were barking with excitement. All except Blackie, Stay noticed.

A torch flashed down the tide crack, blinding her, and a voice called down. ‘Are you there, Stay?’

It was Chills! He hadn’t abandoned her after all. Stay felt the pain in her chest disappear. She sent him the hardest thought of her life:
I’M HERE!

‘I can see her!’ Chills yelled. ‘She’s at the bottom of the crevasse!’

Stay was weak with relief. He’d found her. She heard the sound of him roping up and within minutes he was abseiling down into the crevasse, the metal spikes on his boots scraping against the blue ice walls.

‘Are you all right, Stay?’ he asked, dangling in his abseiling harness just above her. ‘You’re well and truly slotted!’

Chills had grown such a huge beard since she last saw him that Stay hardly recognised him.
Just get me out,
she thought faintly.

It wasn’t easy. Chills had to manoeuvre himself down as close as he could get to Stay and tie a rope around her. She was so tightly wedged in the crevasse that the rescuers above had to all pull on the rope. At last she came free with a huge jerk and a scrape that she felt through her whole body. They pulled her up through the ice and she banged from side to side, sending her coins rattling. At last, with Chills next to her, she reached the top.

‘You’re out!’ he said, clambering over the lip of the crevasse and getting to his feet. ‘Thank goodness. That’s the best Christmas present ever.’

After the dark and cold of the crevasse, the sun felt deliciously warm. The light was so blinding that Stay couldn’t make out who had come to help rescue her, though she could see at least six people and the same number of dogs. But there was no mistaking the applause that rose up.

‘Three cheers for Stay!’ That was the station leader, Jackie.

‘Hip hip hooray!’ everyone called.

‘Are you hurt, Stay?’ Chills asked, running his hands over her.

Stay felt scraped all over, but to her amazement it seemed she had no major damage from the fall. Even her wooden leg was still firmly in place.

‘Just bumps and bruises, old girl. You’ll be fine,’ Chills said.

Say something to the huskies,
Stay thought.

Chills bent down and hugged Cocoa. ‘We’d never have found her without the dogs. Extra rations all round!’

When Stay sent the thought of extra blocks of pemmican to the huskies, they barked and jumped in the air in delight.
Perhaps they won’t hate me so much any more,
she thought.

Chills hoisted Stay onto his shoulders. ‘Let’s get back to the station. And then I’m taking Stay out to Beche, where she’ll be safe for the rest of the season! I’m not leaving her with anyone else! Ever!’

‘Hurry up, folks,’ Jackie said. ‘Christmas dinner is starting any minute, and the chef will kill us if we let it get cold.’

Stay looked back over Chills’s shoulder as they set off towards Mawson. Windy was leading Blackie. Unlike the other dogs, Blackie hadn’t reacted to the news of extra rations. He was staring at Stay and he still looked angry.

She didn’t care. She was with Chills at last, and they were going to Bechervaise. She’d be safe there.

The whole station gathered for Christmas dinner and the Mess was decorated with streamers and white tablecloths. The chef and his helpers brought out the food and laid it on the tables. Stay was amazed to see they’d created a Santa’s sleigh for each table, pulled by big orange lobsters and stuffed with prawns. She could smell other wonderful food on the way — roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and plum pudding with custard.

All the expeditioners looked eager to start eating, but as they sat down there was a shout and everyone pointed to the window. Santa was coming across the snow, sitting in the back of a sledge being dragged by the huskies. He pulled up outside and came into the Mess, his face almost completely covered with a big white beard.

He gave everyone a little package. There was even one for Stay, which Chills opened. It was her own black
bow tie with pink spots, and everyone clapped when Chills put it on her.

‘I missed you!’ he whispered as he tightened it around her neck. ‘I’m so glad we found you, Stay.’

I’m so glad too,
Stay thought.

‘You’ll love it out at Beche with the penguins. They’re really funny. Beakie and I have been having a great time. It will be even better with you there.’

Beakie was grinning at Stay from across the table. ‘Lucky my feelings aren’t hurt that Chills needs a Guide Dog for company.’

Everyone laughed, but Stay didn’t mind. ‘We were so worried about you,’ Chills said. ‘When I got here for the Christmas feast, they told me you were missing. People had been out searching for you, but no one could find you. I forced everyone to come out looking again. I wasn’t going to leave you out there. No way.’

I’m glad,
Stay thought.

‘It’s funny, but even Kaboom knew there was something wrong all the way over at Davis,’ Chills said. ‘She sent me a telex that said she’d been worried about you for days. She was sure something bad had happened.’

Stay thought of Kaboom and felt warm. Surely the Met Fairy hadn’t heard Stay’s thoughts all the way from Davis? It wasn’t possible. But she must have
felt something. Stay hoped she’d see Kaboom again sometime soon.

She felt a big hand on her head. Baldy and Windy had come over to pat her.

‘Sorry about losing you out there, Stay,’ Baldy said. ‘Windy and I spent hours looking for you when the blizzard cleared, but the sledge tracks were covered. We didn’t know you’d fallen in a crevasse.’

That’s OK,
Stay thought.

‘We felt pretty bad, Stay,’ Windy said. ‘We’re losing the dogs in Antarctica. We didn’t want to lose you too. Sorry, old girl.’

Perhaps it was the Christmas spirit, but as she looked around the Mess at the smiling faces, Stay felt a funny feeling in her chest. It was a bit like the feeling she’d had in the crevasse when she thought her heart was breaking, but it was a happy feeling. The Antarctic humans felt like her family. She felt like she was home.

Two months later

The Adélie penguin chick hopped over the rock and landed in front of Stay. Its brown fluff was starting to disappear and patches of smooth black and white feathers were showing through underneath. It looked ragged and messy as it waddled towards her, its flippers outstretched.

Hello,
Stay thought.

The young penguin didn’t answer. Stay was never sure if the birds could hear her thoughts or not. The Adélies would just stare at her when she tried talking to them. Their white-rimmed eyes meant they always looked surprised, so she couldn’t tell what they were thinking.

The chick waddled right up to Stay and cuddled up close between her paws, out of the wind. Stay tried to keep her thoughts quiet in case she scared it off. The
penguins were used to her now, but she’d never had one cuddle up before. It was almost as cute as a puppy.

The Adélie penguins were funny little clowns. The parents had still been sitting on their tiny chicks, keeping them warm, when Stay first arrived, but the little ones seemed to grow every day. Soon they were as big as the adults and they spent their time chasing them around, crying out for food. Before long the black-and-white parents spent most of their time fishing in the ocean and the rookery was full of big fluffy brown chicks. The neat nests of pebbles were scattered and messy, and bits of fluff lay around everywhere. Now the chicks were almost grown up. Soon they’d be heading out to sea to learn to fish for themselves.

Stay hadn’t liked the strong, sharp smell of bird droppings when she first arrived, but she’d quickly got used to it and hardly even noticed the smell any more.

The sea ice in Horseshoe Bay had broken up just after Stay, Chills and Beakie had come out to Bechervaise Island after Christmas. The inflatable Zodiac boats couldn’t travel when there was too much broken ice floating around, so they were marooned on the island for weeks. Stay hadn’t minded at all. She’d had no responsibilities out there and no worries either. She’d been able to watch and listen to all the birds and animals, and enjoy the company of Chills and Beakie.

The men were working hard on their penguin research and Stay went out with them every day. She spent hours sitting on the rocks watching the Adélies while Chills and Beakie counted them, collected their poo and looked at it under microscopes, and stuck radio transmitters on the penguins’ backs so they could track where they went.

Every night they went into the main apple hut, which was small and round and red, and cooked dinner on the gas stove. At bedtime, Chills carried her over to the second apple hut, which was even smaller, and put her right next to his bed. He often had long conversations with her before he went to sleep, talking about life in Antarctica and the things he’d done that day.

‘You’re a great listener, Stay,’ he told her.

Stay wished she could stay there forever, watching the penguins and the seabirds and the seals and listening to Chills.

Perhaps this chick can feel the change of season coming,
she thought, looking down at where it was huddled between her forelegs. The wind was very chilly, blowing with the promise of winter, and the ocean surface was looking greasy, which Chills said meant it was starting to freeze over again. It was late February, and the days were getting shorter. Summer was over.

‘Hey, look at this, Beakie!’ Chills had turned around from where he was picking up penguin poo and was looking at the chick sitting between Stay’s legs.

Beakie turned around to look and gave a big grin. ‘Sweet!’

Chills fished out his camera from his bag and took a picture. ‘A nice finish to the season,’ he said. ‘I’m going to miss it out here. I don’t want to go back to Australia.’

‘I do,’ Beakie said. ‘I’m sick of the cold. I want to see trees and grass and people again.’

‘I bet you’ll be begging to come down again next season,’ Chills said. ‘That’s what always happens. People can’t wait to get home, and then they can’t wait to get back here.’

Beakie shrugged. ‘Maybe. I’d like it better on station, I reckon. It gets a bit lonely out here.’

But you’ve got us,
Stay thought.

‘What do you mean?’ Chills said. ‘You’ve got me and Stay! What more could you want?’

Beakie grinned. ‘I wouldn’t mind some female company. No offence, Stay, but I’d like some more women around the place.’

‘There are more women coming down every year,’ Chills said. ‘Maybe you can find a woman doing penguin research next time.’

‘We’ll see,’ Beakie said. ‘It would be fun to hang out with those girls we came down with. What were their names again?’

Chills laughed. ‘Don’t pretend you’ve forgotten Kaboom and Laser. You don’t fool me.’

Beakie looked shy. ‘They were nice. It will be good to see them on the ship.’

Stay agreed. She liked the women too and was keen to see them again.

‘Not Kaboom,’ Chills said. ‘Weather observers stay down all winter. She won’t be coming back with us. Hopefully we’ll get to see her at Davis when the ship calls through. I’d like to say goodbye.’

He sounds really sad,
Stay thought. She knew how he felt. After Chills, Kaboom was her favourite person in Antarctica. Most people who’d come down on the
Aurora Australis
at the start of the season would be going home again, but a small number stayed down all winter to carry out more research and to keep the stations running. Kaboom was one of them.
If only she was coming home with us,
Stay thought.

Beakie shivered. ‘Brrrr. No way I’d stay for winter. Too cold. And no sun for six weeks! I’d hate being in the dark that long.’

‘Some people really love it,’ Chills said. ‘They get to see the southern lights. They’re meant to be amazing.’

Beakie stroked his beard, which was nearly as long as Chills’s. ‘I’m ready to go home. And I can’t wait to have a shave!’

Chills shook his head. ‘Wait and see. As soon as you get home, you’ll be wanting to come back down.’

I wonder if I’ll feel like that?
Stay thought. The penguin chick sitting between her paws shook itself and gave a loud squawk.

‘Here comes Dad!’ Chills said.

The chick jumped off Stay’s platform and started running down the rocks towards a shiny black-and-white adult that had just waddled out of the water. Other chicks nearby heard the sound and started chasing the adult too. Chills and Beakie laughed as the adult penguin turned and ran away, chased by about forty balls of fluff.

‘We’d better start packing up,’ Beakie said. ‘They’re sending the chopper for us tomorrow. The ship’s due in a few days.’

Stay felt a moment of shock. She’d known they were going back, but hadn’t realised how soon.

Chills walked over and picked her up. ‘We’d better do a bit of fundraising back at the station, Stay. Can’t have you going back to Australia half empty, eh?’

The fundraising! Stay hadn’t collected any money since she arrived at Mawson and she’d forgotten all
about her work while she’d been on Bechervaise Island. What if she had to go back to Hobart with almost nothing?

Suddenly all her memories of home came rushing back. Carol and Jet would still be wondering what had happened to her. The Guide Dog puppies would still be waiting for money for their training. She had responsibilities, and she felt bad at having forgotten them.

‘Time for all of us to RTA,’ Chills said as he turned for the hut.

What is RTA?
Stay wondered.

‘Return to Australia,’ he said. ‘Back to the real world.’