The Other Things

by Jonathan Dransfield

  Iceland Hike

  As they trudged down an incline they hit a wall of steam, blown over from a spring boiling out of a fissure. Sinews strained as they descended into the fog, following the fleeting figures that skipped across a tepid stream before working their way up the other side.

  ‘That you?’ Buzz sniggered to Mo as a wave of sulphurous vapour attacked his nostrils.

  As the mists lifted, a whole hillside of ice rose before them, hugging the soft shoulder of the ridge. A small, straight, single line of tracks bisected its surface, overlaid with the sinuous bicycle tracks and scuff marks of large boots. They could see they were rapidly catching up with ‘The Right Stuff’, who were at a slithering sub-walking pace and desperately trying to keep their bikes upright on the near frictionless surface.

  Mo started first, run and slide, run and slide until they were all slithering along like a giant concertina.

  Eugene was struggling. He’d slipped three times already and when his back wheel pirouetted slowly around, his heart raced as he felt his balance following it down the deep valley.

  Bheki dropped his pack and ran, just in time to grasp the man’s jacket. He dug his feet in and when the others arrived they hauled him back onto the track.

  The children padded along, stabilising the bikes until they reached firm ground. Eugene didn’t seem at all grateful and he just gave a casual nod and set off on his way.

  Felix winked. ‘Thanks, kids,’ he said before peddling furiously after his partner.

  As their shadows lengthened they reached a high plateau strewn with shards of beautiful black glass.

  ‘How beautiful!’ Xing thought as she handed a piece to Elin.

  ‘Obsidian, a natural glass. It’s from the felsic lava flows – it’s one of my favourites.’

  The exquisite mineral was scattered as far as the eye could see. Impervious to weathering it was as sharp as the day it cooled and shattered.

  Each picked up some more samples. Buzz sliced bits of the sausage with his while Bheki held his like a knife, unsure what predators might be lurking around the corner.

  The wind was freshening and when the drizzle turned into driving rain they hurried their pace. As visibility diminished, Elin got them to spread out so they wouldn’t lose the markers as the landscape became a formless haze.

  They followed the bike tracks, until through the gloom they made out two bent figures mending punctures.

  The men’s hands were like bunches of sausages as they struggled with the patches.

  Bheki had fixed more punctures than he cared to remember – bikes, cars and wheelbarrows. He thought of Eugene’s earlier lack of gratitude. He refrained from offering his services.

  The squall passed and the air cleared by the time they reached the ridge above their first night’s camp.

  The barren undulating land had given way onto a grey scree slope and standing out like a beacon a bright-orange tent stood with the unmistakable figures of three women huddled around a boiling stove. They half slid, half ran down the incline.

  Eugene’s anger boiled as they pushed their bikes the last couple of miles. The light had failed and they were in serious danger of missing the camp altogether. The moon was yet to rise and the skies had sunk into an inky blackness save the pinpoints of stars.

  ‘Why the hell didn’t you ask for lights? I can’t see diddly squat.’ Eugene stood tall, staring into the unremitting blackness. ‘How we gonna find this goddamn place?’

  The black ground, velvet sky and dark hills gave nothing away. They stumbled blindly. ‘This is hopeless. Can you see anything?’

  The Earth has many qualities that help life to flourish. It’s not just the atmosphere or the water but also a strong magnetic field.

  A lucky accident. Over 4 billion years ago the young Earth collided with a smaller proto-planet. As they coalesced, the heavier elements stuck together and some of the lighter ones were flung out to form our moon.

  The moon is a benevolent sibling. Its gyroscopic influence has prevented our poles flipping. The extra momentum, heat and the combined nickel and iron cores of both planets gave us one massive spinning core whose magnetic field reaches far into space, deflecting the steady flow of deadly charged particles blasted at us by the sun.

  During the eleven-year solar cycle, the Earth is swamped by this solar ejecta and it tugs and stretches the field until it snaps back, drawing in a cascade of ions streaming towards the polar regions.

  Mars had none of these things and the incessant radiation has stripped away its atmosphere, leaving it almost naked and a frozen place.

  Felix was at the point of desperation when he perceived the faintest green light high above.

  He grabbed Eugene’s sleeve. ‘Hey! Is that what I think it is?’

  ‘I’m glad to know you think!’

  The green glow was cut by a burst of ephemeral bubbles descending from on high, then a scything curtain of light insinuated itself across the darkness. ‘Oh, man, this is beautiful! I’ve only seen it from space.’

  The veteran astronauts stood in wonder. The auroral display guided them home to their haven and, wheeling their bikes, they made it to the crest of the valley and spotted the tents below.

  The sky was pulsing with red oxygen ions high above the green curtains, as Felix threw his pack down. ‘Well, that’s worth a few punctures!’

  Su-lin offered them tea and supper, but Eugene politely declined. ‘No, we’re on a diet!’

  The next morning Xing blew the goose feather off her nose and uncurled from their canvas nest. The parties packed up and set off in the order they’d arrived.

  Xing and Buzz had the task of collecting flora and fauna.

  It had been very thin on the ground and looked even less promising as the early light clipped the hills. They understood why this place had been chosen as an analogue for Mars. There was just rock and ice. No scrap of vegetation, not even mosses graced its undulating surface. Even the sky was a Martian pink and only the meltwater in the gullies gave the game away. On Mars the carbon dioxide and water ices would sublime rather than melt.

  Mo called Magnus on the walkie-talkie before setting off. Enza was scornful. ‘You never get an answer on that thing?’

  Mo turned it upside down, explaining, ‘There’s a button here, for emergencies. On Mars you can’t talk – just message.’

  Enza looked puzzled. ‘Stupido! If they can send us to Mars we’ll need us a better radio!’

  ‘My dad told me about it, innit. When we look at the stars we stare into history. Even the light from the sun is nine minutes old. It’s the same with the radio.’

  Enza sniffed.

  They walked across the barren mountains and around the rims of ice fields. Picking a way through a small pass they found it blocked by a rushing rivulet of meltwater. To their left it had cut a tunnel through a long drift to form a frozen bridge.

  The kids picked their way over and made it to the other side. Then Buzz was excitedly pulling on Xing’s arm. ‘There’s samples up there.’ From the charcoal-black earth a series of hot streams bubbled down. The warm water had created an eco-climate of moss and algae tresses. To their amazement some of the algae was existing between boiling water and freezing ice.

  ‘How can that live there?’ Buzz wondered out loud as he put his finger into the hot water.

  Xing looked around at the forbidding climate. ‘Where else would you choose?’

  Felix’s pride had been dented and he’d determined to make up lost time in the obsidian plain. The ground sped on under their knobbly tyres and they were set on overtaking the others by the end of the day. Eugene stood, map in hand, at the spot where the kids had stopped.

  Felix pointed towards the stream. ‘Let’s just power through it.’

  Eugene was doubtful. His eye caught the long bank of ice. The tracks of the children were still fresh and they set off in pursuit. The packed gravel gave excellent traction and they were both flying as they met the ice. Felix, losing his n
erve, hopped off near the top and started to push. Eugene’s back tyre spun and cut through the hard crust. He peddled frantically, cutting a long scar through the drift. The weight and the damage made by the revolving wheels were too much.

  Felix started to haul his bike up to the ridge beyond. As he puffed up, there was a muffled crunch and stifled cry. The wind caught his voice as he called, ‘Hey, man, are you OK?’

  No answer. He wasn’t the sort of man who would take no answer as an answer and he pulled back the fur of his parka. Where the hell was he? ‘Eugene!’ he cried and made out a muffled ‘Help’ from deep below. He edged gingerly back across the ice bridge. There were cracks and on its apex was a man-and-bike-sized hole. He dropped down and strained to look into the void. Ten feet down he saw Eugene entangled with his cycle, covered in chunks of snow. Half of him was in the river, the rest stuck fast in the fallen ice. Eugene felt injured pride, but as the freezing water lapped against his back, he started to panic.

  Ice Bridge

  ‘Get me out, Felix. I’m screwed down here, it’s flaming freezing!’

  ‘Where’s the radio, man?’

  ‘In my pack!’

  ‘Damn, it’s beneath you in the stream. Mmmm… I’ll try to get to you through the tunnel.’

  Felix was fearful. He decided to shout for help. At least the kids would have a radio. He let out two immense cries. ‘Heeellllpppp! Heeeellllpppp!’ echoed around the impassive hills.

  Elin caught the call on the wind. ‘Did you hear that?’

  They all picked up the second call and, without words, turned on their heels and headed back.

  Felix made it to the head of the tunnel where the stream vanished. Peering thirty yards downstream in the translucent light he could just make out the red flash of Eugene’s jacket and his pack lying in the water. There was a big problem: the ice tube narrowed to an impossible aperture for his sturdy frame.

  Eugene shouted again. ‘I’ll try to unhook my boot – it’s all caught around the chain.’ He gave it a good kick. The bike slumped a little and he sunk deeper into the stream. The water was backing up around the pack and the level was rising. If he was worried before, he was panicky now. It was lapping around his head and he was very cold.

  Mo called Magnus to tell him they were turning back, but forgot to hit the emergency button.

  As they retraced their footsteps, a flurry of snow busied itself as a gusting wind bore down from the southern ridge, bringing more whirling flakes. The visibility was failing. Their tracks were getting lost under the fresh bright blanket. Bheki felt bewildered, the joyous snow so redolent of the Christmas cards they received at the orphanage was becoming a threatening menace. No need for wild animals when you had weather like this. They nearly missed the route but Mo’s innate senses helped them reach the gully just as Felix desperately emerged to try his luck from above. ‘Gimme your radio,’ he screamed, as Magnus’s delayed reply crackled in.

  ‘We’ll get someone with you as soon as poss.’

  The kids weren’t going to wait, action was needed. They swarmed over the bridge, Elin and Xing staring into the void and the rest scampering round to the ice tunnel. Bheki brought out one of his special purchases: mountaineering rope.

  Eugene had slipped further and he needed to arch his neck to keep his nose clear of the gushing stream. He wanted to reach up to untie his boots but his strength was failing him. Now in his fifties, endless rounds of squat thrusts were a thing of the past. Stuck between the water and the point of exhaustion, an uncontrollable shivering set in. The same thoughts that gripped him on the last launchpad came flooding back.

  His numbed mind woke up to an unexpected thump on his chest and the miracle of his boot laces untying themselves. Weightless for an instant he dropped the final few inches before landing with a splash and a flurry of ice. There was another almighty bump as Xing tumbled after him. Her angel face pressed against his.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Mr Eugene.’ Before he could make any sense another head burst into his vision. Bheki had squirmed his way through the tunnel. Eugene was unable to climb back up and too big to crawl down the tunnel. Bheki weighed it up, turned and scurried back.

  He returned brandishing the toilet spade, hacking away at the ice walls like a demented mole. He hitched rope around Eugene and Xing followed him, squirming their way back to join in a tug of war against time. Felix and the six children took their grip and heaved. Eugene moved until the aperture narrowed and he was stuck fast again. His eyes were filling with watery ice and he was jammed against the translucent roof.

  Felix bellowed, ‘We have to heave. After me – heave! HEAVE!’ The rope tautened again and they dug their heels into the wet gravel to pull on the deadening weight. Eugene, choking, started to thrash around insanely, and the more they pulled the more he seemed to work against them.

  ‘Eugene, get a grip!’ Felix screamed as they pulled again, the little line snaking to and fro.

  ‘OMG, what if this doesn’t work?’

  Felix was really starting to panic now. ‘Pull. Pull!’ And they pulled again. Closing his eyes, he strained against the rope. Suddenly it felt as if a hidden force had gripped it and it was as if the kids had superhuman strength.

  POP!

  Eugene broke like a cork from a bottle and skidded out into the open air.

  They all flew backward into a crumpled heap of bodies and backpacks. Felix fell on Buzz, who fell on Mo, who fell on Elin, who fell on Enza, who fell on Bheki, who fell on Xing, who then fell on Su-lin, who fell on Soraya, who fell on Kirsten.

  ‘The Elves’ had arrived!

  Magnus had sent out an emergency message to them. Kirsten had dealt with these situations before. ‘Put up a tent. We need shelter!’

  In the tent they started warming up the torpid man. There was only room for three. Soraya joined Kirsten, gently removing the wet clothing before wrapping him in the sleeping bags. Their busy hands rubbed his body to get the circulation going. With no response, they hastily stripped off to their underwear then snuggled up to share their body heat.

  Eugene slowly came to, with the distinct feeling he’d died and gone to heaven.

  Mo tugged at Elin’s pack. ‘Where’s the burner?’ She undid it with a quizzical look. ‘Tea! It’s Dad’s solution to everything, innit!’

  The relief was palpable when the women declared he was ‘back in the living land’.

  ‘Hey, Dr Su-lin, Xing, your turn now!’ shouted Soraya as she reported his torn tendons.

  Eugene looked sheepish when he emerged strapped up and ready to make it off the mountain. They set off into the remains of the daylight. Eugene took stock of the hole in the ice and the trapped bicycle. ‘I suppose they’ll get it back in the spring.’ Then mournfully added, ‘Damn! It’s on hire!’

  They gingerly came off the mountain, straining unused muscles helping Eugene down the scree slopes. Despite their exhaustion, the beauty of the valley still impressed them.

  Gone were the bare rocks and ice fields; the vista finishing with the brooding mass of the Eyjafjallajökull ice cap was exquisite. The carpet of green mosses covering the broken volcanic cones was like passing from hell into a verdant and welcoming dale.

  They followed the stream as it ploughed downwards towards the speck of a distant hut by the lake beyond. Magnus’s team met them on the pass and helped them home, where a blazing fire and hot meal awaited them. They said farewell to Eugene, who was trundled away in a high-wheeled rescue vehicle. Virgil, the reserve, would be joining them in the morning.

  The boys scoffed at the girls fastidiously choosing rocks to weigh down their perfectly well pinned out tents. They were hungry and in a hurry to eat. The campsite was a stone’s throw from the hut and sheltered by the lakeside hills. They crossed the stream on a string of wobbly stones, then moved up to the glowing lights of the welcoming wooden edifice.

  No Michelin-starred restaurant could have served a more welcome meal.

  The kids graciously shared out some of
their chocolate before retiring back across the gurgling waters.

  Soraya held up the kettle to the remaining adults. ‘Cawffi?’

  Felix gave a conspiratorial smile. ‘I’ve got something better!’ He brought out one of their ‘essentials’. A crystal clear bottle of Icelandic vodka and two lemons.

  ‘Well, there’s no shortage of ice.’ Kirsten beamed as she searched for tall glasses.

  ‘Wasted on Virgil.’ Felix chinked his glass with Soraya. ‘We go back to the shuttle. He don’t drink and he don’t smoke.’

  ‘He married?’ Soraya wondered.

  ‘Nope! Hangs out with his brothers on some tiny island.’

  ‘You married then?’

  Felix shrugged his shoulders.

  ‘I was happily married for seventeen years.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘She wasn’t.’

  Soraya touched his hand in sympathy.

  ‘What about you?’

  ‘Oh, I kiss frogs, but found no princes. Maybe one day.’

  Felix flirted with a cheesy smile. ‘There’s room in my tent tonight.’

  ‘Not with you in it, mister.’

  Felix changed the subject. ‘Why you wanna go, girl?’

  ‘Don’t girl me. I’m a mechanic and I’ve driven, sailed or flown everything except a space rocket.’

  ‘Can you fix rocket engines?’

  ‘They’re not “rocket science”, man, just an engine. You put fuel in one end and get motion out. The rest is in the manual.’

  As the children settled down, the soft breeze was picking up and they dropped into a well-earned sleep with the canvas cracking and rippling above their heads.

  In high spirits the adults stumbled across the stepping stones, pulling their hats down against the gathering gusts.

  Xing woke up first, torn from her vivid dreams by the press of stretched canvas against her face. The quiet of the early evening was now a banshee wail of an Atlantic storm.

  She buried her head, only to find Enza also stirring.

  ‘Che succede?’ Enza failed to sit up, bounced back by the wind on the tent. There was a commotion.