Out of the Ice

by Ann Turner

  We didn’t go into the rookery, but we stood nearby. In the ear-shattering racket we could barely hear Travis. He’d chosen the perfect spot.

  ‘I didn’t want to say back there,’ he shouted above the din, ‘but you’ve got me worried about whether there are experiments down here, or one experiment, or whatever.’

  ‘Why do you say that?’ I shouted back.

  ‘The Häggies. You’re right, they could adjust the speedometers. But they mightn’t even need to. Where they say they’re going and where they end up – I wouldn’t really know. And they could easily wipe any digital record they want.’

  ‘So they could come here all the time?’

  Travis nodded. ‘Connaught could be supervising anything. And I’m as suspicious about that penguin as you are.’

  ‘Wouldn’t we see tracks, though?’

  Travis paused. ‘Not if they’re living here. Living here since you arrived so they wouldn’t have to drive down and risk the ice revealing that a Häggie’s been. And most of the time the ice is too hard to leave footprints.’

  I shivered. It would make sense of a lot of things.

  ‘But where do you think they are?’

  ‘There are so many sheds and houses. They could be anywhere. Can’t I stay with you? I don’t think it’s safe on your own.’

  ‘No, you have to go. They won’t do anything to us.’

  ‘How can you be so sure?’ he asked worriedly.

  ‘Because they’d have the wrath of my Station Leader, and I can’t see how that would help their cause.’

  ‘Not if they made it look like an accident.’

  I glanced at Kate, who had turned ashen.

  ‘Remember the penguin,’ I said to her above the Adélie din. ‘You want to find out what happened.’

  ‘I’d like Travis to stay,’ she replied.

  ‘That would defeat the whole plan.’

  We went around in circles until our throats were hoarse from shouting. Finally, we were all so cold and exhausted, I won.

  We went back into the village and searched through houses until the sun flared the horizon a blazing orange and the air thickened to a deep blue. There was nothing different to what we’d already seen: some houses were fully furnished, others partially. Many kitchens held supplies, but others didn’t.

  ‘Maybe not everyone thought they were coming back,’ I said, as we found another completely empty house. ‘Perhaps some had moved out, and others were going to arrive in the next season.’ The more I thought about it, when people had a holiday home, they probably left it somewhat like some of these houses through the winter until they returned in summer. It reassured me that Fredelighavn mightn’t be as odd as I’d first thought. The decision to stop whaling could have been made by the Norwegian company between seasons and those expecting to return hadn’t been able to come back to collect their belongings. It was completely logical.

  As the twilight turned a thicker indigo, stopping clear visibility between the dark spaces of the houses, we all climbed into the Hägglunds. Birds – skuas and albatross – could be seen flapping across the sky, but the streets were shadowy. As soon as Travis fired up the engine, Kate and I hopped out and ran quickly towards the purple house, carrying our bags of supplies. The Hägglunds roared off, lights blazing. Hopefully if anyone was watching, they’d think we’d all left for the night.

  As we entered the purple house, it was pitch black and freezing.

  ‘It’s much darker on the inside,’ hissed Kate. ‘I don’t like this at all.’

  ‘Sh,’ I said, closing the door and feeling my way, running my hand along the icy passage wall.

  ‘I still think we should have come earlier to check it out. We don’t know what’s in here,’ whispered Kate fearfully.

  ‘If they’ve been watching, they know we’ve never been in this house, so they won’t suspect us here now,’ I said.

  ‘Because it’s so completely illogical and dangerous to be doing what we’re doing.’

  ‘Exactly,’ I said, putting a hand on Kate’s shoulder. She yelped.

  ‘Sh!’ I hissed.

  ‘Don’t do that again,’ she said. ‘You’ll send me straight to my grave.’

  I was wondering if the house was furnished. We couldn’t risk shining a torch anywhere. I touched a door and it creaked loudly. Kate groaned. I took her hand. ‘It’s okay, we’re the only ones here.’

  ‘And if they’ve got a camera inside they’ll hear us even if they can’t see us,’ said Kate.

  ‘I know. I’m just hoping they haven’t.’

  I knew my plan was full of holes but it was the best one I’d come up with. Up ahead was a doorway into the kitchen, and I could just make out the dark shadows of a long table with chairs around it.

  ‘Perfect.’ We sat down and Kate pulled her chair close to mine.

  ‘Can we sit around the other side?’ she said. ‘If someone comes in, they’re likely to come through the front door.’

  ‘I don’t know about that.’

  ‘Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better. Not.’ Kate moved to sit at the head of the table so she had a view of both front and back.

  ‘Good idea,’ I said as we slipped into our sleeping bags for warmth. I broke open the food, handing Kate chocolate and biscuits slathered with thick butter and jam for energy, and a bottle of water.

  She pulled out a hipflask and took a deep swig. ‘That’s better,’ she sighed, holding out the flask to me. I took a small sip, and brandy shot heat through my body. I took another, bigger gulp.

  ‘Steady on.’ Kate snatched back the flask. ‘That needs to last all night. Unless you brought one too?’

  ‘I have whisky.’

  She chuckled. ‘Knew there must be a reason we’re friends.’

  We chomped in companionable silence. After half an hour it was time to venture out.

  ‘Ready?’ I said.

  ‘No,’ said Kate. ‘But do I have a choice?’

  ‘You could stay here. I’ll come back.’

  ‘You’ve got to be joking. Do not leave me alone at any time, Alvarado, is that clear?’

  ‘Promise.’ I took her hand and squeezed it. I shouldered my bag, which still held the rusty knife, and kept my camera out as we headed into the thick twilight. In just over an hour it would be daylight again, but for now the houses, deep shadows in the gloom, creaked and groaned in the cold. The day had been warm and now it was well below freezing. The timber was adjusting. I kept my mind ticking over logically. I hadn’t imagined how terrifying it would be out here, in the middle of nowhere, suspecting that men might be hiding nearby. Or not hiding. Going about their business.

  Men who would be unhappy to meet up with us.

  But my plan was to witness, not to interact.

  We went slowly over the ice, careful to make as little noise as possible. Kate’s breathing was raw with nerves. I wished she could be quieter.

  At the House of the Carvers we turned right, heading towards the large houses on the rise near the Adélie rookery. In the dark, everything felt different. I was glad I knew my way around as well as I did.

  Kate took my hand and clung tightly. I pulled her on. She was shaking, but now was not the time to feel guilty for bringing her.

  We turned up the icy street towards our goal, and I stopped in shock. Kate gasped. Up ahead, light was blazing through the windows of the huge orange house. Heart thumping in my chest, I approached and moved down the side nearest to us. Kate followed, breathing hard. Outside the first window, we crouched down. I indicated for Kate to stay where she was, and then slowly, so slowly my limbs ached from the cold and strain, I rose to peer in.

  There was no one in the room. The portrait of Ingerline stared from the wall, eyes flickering in the light. I was unable to see the source but guessed it was a kerosene lantern. The sofas were empty. I waited, hoping someone would enter. I took photographs, turning the camera in all directions in case it captured something I couldn’t see. No one came in.r />
  Taking Kate’s hand, I moved towards the warm glow in the kitchen at the back of the house. I rose up and looked in, anticipation building. But again it was empty. Two candles sat burning on the kitchen table. A chill ran up my spine. Someone had lit them. Someone was here. The shrill creak of the front door made me duck down. Footsteps crunched out onto the ice, heading towards us. A beam of light from a torch played in front of a large, thickset man. Was it the same man I’d seen on my first day here in the blubber cookery? This one seemed taller. As he came closer, Kate rose like a shadow and fled. I was tempted to wait, to confront the man. I could hear Kate running away. In a split second it would be too late for me to leave, he’d be too close. I pointed my camera and snapped off several shots as I stood, then I ran as fast as I’d ever gone, my boots slipping and sliding over the ice as I cursed myself that I hadn’t stayed. But every instinct in my body was telling me to get away.

  I saw Kate disappear into the purple house and I followed. It was already getting lighter. We ran to the kitchen and hid under the table, behind chair legs. I looked at my watch. Travis was due in ten minutes. Would that be soon enough? My ears were attuned to the slightest sound. I found the knife in my bag and gripped it. The wind was strengthening and the house was groaning and wheezing in a full vocabulary of unearthly howls. I waited, terrified, for the creak of the front door opening. After what seemed like an eternity but must have been minutes, the roar of the Hägglunds sprang out of the dawn, growing louder. We raced out, jumping in before Travis had stopped.

  ‘Drive!’ I cried and he turned the large cabin around and accelerated away.

  ‘What the hell happened?’ he asked, horrified. ‘I knew I should have stayed.’

  ‘Someone’s here,’ I said.

  ‘And they knew we were,’ said Kate. ‘They knew exactly where we were.’

  ‘But they didn’t follow us,’ I said. ‘Maybe they didn’t know for sure. Perhaps they just sensed something.’ I wasn’t even convincing myself. Did they have thermal imaging? Deep down I knew Kate was right – they seemed to have known precisely where we were when we crouched outside their house.

  11

  I looked at the images on my camera as Travis took us back to Alliance. The torchlight pierced the darkness, and behind was the unmistakable figure of a thickset man; he was shrouded in black and could have been anyone. There were no features visible at all. My flesh crawled, but at least I had incontrovertible evidence that someone was down there, unauthorised. It was a breakthrough. Adrenalin surged.

  ‘Stop,’ I said. ‘I want to go back.’

  ‘No way,’ said Kate.

  ‘With Travis we’ll be okay. Won’t we?’ I looked at him.

  ‘Are you sure?’ he replied. ‘We don’t know who that was.’

  ‘Are you saying you won’t do it?’

  He slammed on the brakes and turned around, roaring the Hägglunds back towards Fredelighavn.

  I smiled. He said nothing. Kate gazed furiously out the window.

  As the village came into view, the sun was already fully in the sky. It was another beautiful day.

  ‘Just for the record, I think you’re mad,’ said Kate as Travis parked by the purple house. ‘And we could all be killed.’

  ‘Don’t be so dramatic,’ I replied, hopping out. I marched off, slinging my bag over my shoulder. Having silenced my initial fear, I wanted nothing more than to come face to face with whoever was down here. I was the controlling person at Fredelighavn. They were accountable to me. I was, however, more than grateful to have Travis walking briskly at my side.

  When we reached the orange house I looked down the side and at the front. The ice was hard; there were no footprints. I raced up the stairs to the front door and barged in. Travis was so close behind I could feel his hot breath on my neck.

  The lounge room was empty. Ingerline stared down from the wall; the sea captain scowled from his portrait.

  The two bedrooms on the ground floor were empty. We arrived in the kitchen. There was no one there, and the candles had been taken.

  ‘We’re here!’ I yelled angrily.

  Silence.

  Travis leaned against the table and Kate settled in the far corner of the room. ‘We’re alone,’ she said.

  ‘Now,’ I replied furiously. ‘They were here and they’ve gone.’ I strode down the passage and went up the stairs at the front of the house, two at a time.

  In the first bedroom, I hurled off the bedclothes. The sheets smelled freshly laundered, but there was no indent, nothing to indicate anyone had lain there recently.

  In the master bedroom at the end of the passage I tore off the pink eiderdown and top sheet – and stopped. Between the bed linen, a small brown T-shirt lay stranded. Left behind. And on it was a logo for Stands, a popular sports product. A brand that only started in the last decade.

  Travis whistled. Kate grabbed it and looked at me.

  ‘Hey, you’re not to touch anything!’ said Travis. ‘Someone really has been here. Sleeping here.’

  There was no indent in the bed, but they could have straightened the sheets. Goosebumps pricked my arms. If a boy had been here, then it was possible he’d been in the ice cave too. As I took the T-shirt from Kate and put it back where it had been found, I could see she was thinking the same thing. The T-shirt was too small and narrow for a man, and too large for a child. I photographed it from every angle, and then picked it up myself. Holding it in the air, I could see that it was the size of the boy I’d seen. Suddenly my knees were wobbly and I sat down on the bed. If the boy had been here recently, then hopefully he was all right. If he’d rested in this bed just hours before, at least he wasn’t trapped in a cavern in the ice cave. Lifting the T-shirt to my nose, I smelled a faint, sharp odour of sweat. Recent sweat. My heart was beating so hard it pounded in my ears. I looked at the label: Made in USA.

  But what was the boy doing here? The man who’d come at us was tall and thickset. Was that his father?

  I wanted to discuss it immediately with Kate, but would that be wise in front of Travis? There was a strong possibility that the boy in the cave was real, but my instincts warned me not to talk about it just yet. I glanced up at Kate, relieved she wasn’t mentioning him either. The scientist in me was already processing the idea that there could be more than one youth down here, as unlikely as that seemed.

  A teenage boy had been in this room, that much was certain. The sweat was fresh. The clothing brand was not available until this decade. They were the facts. The screaming face of the boy in the cave burned in my brain.

  I pulled a clean plastic bag from my backpack and placed the T-shirt into it.

  ‘Are you taking that?’ asked Travis, confused.

  ‘This is modern. It’s evidence someone’s here,’ I said.

  We went downstairs and looked around the house again but found nothing more.

  I was exhausted but I was determined to go through every house in Fredelighavn; I would find whoever was here. I was about to share my plan with Travis and Kate when a static crackle made me start. Travis took out his satellite radio and Moose’s voice rang out. ‘Hey, man, where are you?’ Travis reacted, alarmed, but before he could talk Moose continued, ‘Everyone has to report for duty. Don’t know why yet. Gotta go.’

  Travis, clearly concerned, turned back to us. ‘Sorry, guys. You heard Moose.’

  ‘I’m staying,’ I said.

  ‘Under no circumstances, absolutely no way. Even if we have to carry you out,’ said Kate. ‘We need sleep. We need to think about what to do. We could walk straight into real trouble. Georgia needs to know.’

  ‘There’s no way anyone’s staying here without the means to get back,’ said Travis. ‘I have to take the Häggie, so you’ve got no choice, Laura. We’re all leaving together.’

  ‘Since when do you order me around?’

  ‘Not an order. Standard protocol. You can’t be left in the field without transport.’

  ‘Please, Laura?’ Kate
tugged my elbow.

  ‘We can come back soon. I promise,’ said Travis. ‘Now I really have to go.’ He walked off. Kate gripped me and pulled. I felt like a stubborn mule as I planted my feet.

  ‘Come on, Laura. I don’t want to stay here any more.’

  ‘I can be on my own.’

  ‘Don’t do this,’ said Kate. Travis came back, his face flushed.

  ‘I’ve helped you,’ he said. ‘Now return the favour. I have to be at base. You don’t want to blow this whole thing out of the water, do you? If Connaught gets wind you had me here, it won’t be good for any of us.’ My little brother made a potent argument; I hated losing family fights.

  • • •

  As Alliance appeared on the horizon, it was immediately apparent that something was different. Skidoos were roaring around like stung bees, speeding in and out of base. As we drove up to the Mechanics’ Shed, there was a hum in the air.

  ‘What on earth’s going on?’ said Kate. ‘It’s like the whole place just had an adrenalin shot.’

  I sat mutely, fearful it was something to do with us and our presence last night at Fredelighavn. Beside me, Travis was as tense as a clenched fist.

  ‘What is it?’ I asked. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘He’s here,’ said Travis. ‘Much earlier than usual.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Our Chief Scientist.’ Travis stopped.

  ‘Does he have a name?’

  ‘Andrew. Or Snow. His nickname’s Snow.’

  ‘And a surname?’ This business of first-names-only had run its course with me.

  ‘Sorry,’ said Travis apologetically.

  ‘Come on, you’re one of us now.’

  He sighed. ‘It’s for your own benefit. You might slip if I told you. I’m not allowed.’

  ‘You weren’t allowed down at Fredelighavn,’ I pointed out helpfully.

  Beads of perspiration sprouted above Travis’s upper lip. ‘Truly, it’s better you don’t know.’