by StacyPlays
Stacy had a hard time keeping up with the little fox, who seemed to know these ice spikes well. Stacy ran as fast as she could through the biome, squeezing through small holes in the ice that her wolves wouldn’t be able to fit through. Stacy hoped they were shortcuts leading her back to her pack, but deep down she was growing more and more concerned that she might be lost. And after I made that speech to Basil about not splitting up, I’m the one who goes off on her own and gets lost.
Eventually, Stacy caught up to the fox, who had slowed down and was now sitting directly in the center of a ring of low ice spires. As she regained her breath, Stacy looked around and gasped—each one of the ice spires had a vertical row of symbols on it.
Did this fox lead me here? Can he read the runes too? Did he want me to see this? Stacy looked at the fox, who was now curled up asleep on the ice and snoring loudly, and then up at all the runes again.
“Addison!” Stacy called out into the cold air. “Come quick, I found something!”
Thirteen
NATURALLY, BASIL WAS the first wolf of Stacy’s pack to answer her call. She came bounding into the clearing where Stacy and the fox were. Basil walked in a protective circle around Stacy, her head low, surveying for potential danger. She eased up once she realized Stacy was not in trouble.
Wink and Everest arrived next, followed seconds later by Addison, Noah, and Tucker. Addison noticed the runes instantly, without Stacy even needing to point them out to her. There were twelve of them spaced out in an almost perfect circle around the clearing. Addison spun around, looking at them several times each, as if she was searching for a beginning.
Wink and Tucker were standing over the Arctic fox now, who was still snoring loudly. The fox opened his eyes and looked up at the two curious wolves groggily. Oh no, Stacy thought. The fox is going to be so scared the wolves might attack him that he’ll run away for sure and I won’t get to say good-bye. Of course, Stacy wouldn’t blame the fox for running away. To Stacy, Wink was a lovable goofball and Tucker was a giant, cuddly teddy bear. She easily forgot how formidable her wolves looked to other animals encountering them for the first time. To them, her wolves were apex predators to be feared. But the fox surprised Stacy. Instead of running away, he pressed his nose to Tucker’s and then to Wink’s to greet them and then (even more surprisingly) began playing with Wink.
Stacy turned her attention back to Addison and Everest, who were pacing around the clearing, taking in each rune before moving on to the next. Is Addison teaching Everest to read them? Everest told me he couldn’t read them. But maybe he can learn from Addison?
Suddenly, the fox ran through Stacy’s legs and around one of the ice spikes with a rune on it. Wink, who was chasing the fox, swerved to avoid crashing into Stacy, skidding past her on the ice and running headfirst into one of the spikes, causing a loud thud that echoed around the clearing.
“Wink, are you okay?” Stacy gasped, running over to a very dizzy Wink, who stood up and began stumbling around the clearing. Of course, Stacy knew he was all right—he was indestructible, after all. But he had hit his head pretty hard and it was Stacy’s first instinct to be worried about him. “Wink, you need to be more carefu—”
C-C-C-R-R-R-A-A-A-C-C-C-K-K-K
Stacy glanced up at the spike Wink had crashed into and noticed a thin crack running up the spike and branching off in several directions. Fragments of ice began to rain down as the spike swayed back and forth as if it would crumble at any second. The other wolves and the fox instinctively took several steps back, their necks craned upward, looking at which direction the ice might fall, when the spike suddenly tipped forward, falling directly toward where Stacy was standing. Without hesitating, Wink charged Stacy, knocking her out of the way and taking the full impact of the huge ice shards as they crashed to the ground. He stood up and shook the ice rubble off him, as easily as if he was shaking off water droplets after a dip in the river back in the taiga.
“Wink!” Stacy shouted, jumping up and dusting herself off. “You saved me!” Tucker and Noah rubbed their heads against Wink, congratulating him. Everest had a disapproving expression, keenly aware that Wink had saved Stacy from a disaster of his own making.
Addison, however, seemed distraught, and Stacy quickly realized why. The rune that was on the ice spike was now in pieces all around them. Oh no. She might not be able to make sense of all of the symbols with one of them missing. If only I had sketched the runes before Wink broke one of them. Stacy sketched all of them quickly, except for the missing spike.
Addison began frantically sifting through the ice pile, looking for pieces of the runes. Stacy and the others helped her, and they were able to pull out two symbols, although Stacy could not remember which order they had been in on the ice spike.
“Addison, I found another!” Stacy shouted as Addison and Everest were positioning the other two in the center of the clearing. Basil helped Stacy pull it over to where the others were. Stacy stepped back and looked at the three symbols.
Addison studied them briefly and then began searching again. Stacy surmised that there must be another rune missing and resumed her search, turning over every piece of loose ice till her fingers were frozen and needed to be warmed by Tucker. It was Noah who finally found the missing piece and pulled it out. Stacy, the other wolves, and the fox walked over and looked at the symbol. Stacy had seen this one before, but still had no idea what it meant.
Addison, however, did. She barked and the little fox ran over to her. It seemed to Stacy that Addison was asking the fox a question—the way they kept pointing their noses in different directions and nodding. Eventually, their snouts were both pointed in the same direction, sniffing the cold wind, and the other wolves gathered around. The little fox ran over to Stacy and brushed up against her leg. As much as Stacy didn’t want to accept it, she knew this was good-bye. She knelt down and put her arms around the fox. I’ll miss you. Stay safe.
“We’re not like normal humans and wolves,” she whispered to the fox. “You would do well to avoid anyone else who comes into your home. But thank you for befriending us.”
The fox gave Stacy one last nuzzle and then scampered off. Basil came up behind Stacy and motioned for her to climb on her back. Before Stacy knew what was happening, the pack left the circle of runes and were running quickly until suddenly they reached the end of the ice-spike forest. Stacy saw what was now in front of them—a giant glacier.
The glacier was like a mountain, with a cliffside that was sixty feet tall and jagged peaks near the top. From what Stacy could see, it stretched for at least a mile to the southwest along the tundra. To the northeast, it gave way to arctic ocean waters. And at the bottom of the giant glacier was a small, singular cave opening. Addison strode confidently toward it. Stacy exchanged a nervous glance with Everest. Did Addi know about this cave? Did the rune tell her to come this way? Is this where all our travels across the tundra have been leading us?
“Um, Addi,” Stacy said nervously. “You don’t actually want to . . .” Stacy’s voice trailed off. She was going to ask Addison if she wanted to go in the glacier cave, but Addison had already disappeared inside it.
Yes, of course that’s what you want to do, Stacy thought as she hopped off Basil’s back and raced after Addison into the darkness.
Fourteen
STACY RAN AFTER Addison into the cave. Even when the light began to disappear behind her, she kept going—finding her footing in the dark. It was only when it became pitch black that she stopped running, reached into her bag for her flint and steel, and lit a torch. Stacy gasped. The glacier cave was no ordinary cave. From the outside, it may have looked unassuming, but inside it was . . . a cavern. A gargantuan ice cavern—with tunnels branching off in different directions and, in the center, an intricate life-size ice carving of a wolf. Stacy walked up to the ice statue and ran her fingers along its cold, smooth back. It was spooky how much the statue resembled Everest—large, strong . . . alpha. Toward the back of the palatial ro
om, there was a table carved into the ice. Upon it were several ice-carving tools, including a shiny pickaxe, and a leather-bound journal. Stacy opened the journal. The leather cover was stiff and frozen. Inside were pages and pages of the symbols she’d seen in the snow and on the ice spikes. Stacy looked up around at the walls and let out a tiny gasp; they too were completely covered with runes.
“Addison?” she whispered. “Addi, where are you?”
Stacy looked behind her to see if any of her other wolves had followed her, but it seemed she was alone. They were probably waiting for her to call out that it was safe. Stacy imagined Noah and Wink holding Everest back to keep him from charging in to protect her. Everest was so strong that Basil and Tucker would probably need to help restrain him too. Stacy was nervous, but she smiled at the thought as she walked deeper into the rows of ice wolves, eventually turning a corner to another room.
“Oh, Addison.” Stacy breathed heavily. “I found you.”
Addison was standing in front of a large wall that was covered in runes. Stacy held her torch up to them. There were four rows, each containing seven symbols, except for the bottom row, which had only five. Stacy thought back to the one encyclopedia book she had in the cave . . . the letter H, and about how she had pored over the entry for “Hieroglyphics.” She was fascinated by the civilizations of the Egyptians, but these markings did not look like any of the hieroglyphics she saw pictured in her book. Still, there was something about the runes that reminded Stacy of them. It must be some type of ancient language. When we get back to the taiga, I should go to the village library and figure out what culture used this language.
Stacy looked up at the giant wall of runes. This was definitely the largest amount of them she’d seen together so far. Addison gave her a look that seemed to say, These ones are important. Not wanting to forget them, Stacy gave Addison the torch to hold in her mouth and pulled her notebook and pen from her satchel and sketched the wall of runes. When she was done, she took the torch back from Addison.
“I’m going to go get the others,” Stacy said. “They need to see this.”
Addison gave her a nod and then moved to the next chamber, which contained even more rune murals. Stacy made her way back through the room with the wolf statue and back up the sloping entrance to the front of the glacier where the other wolves in her pack were waiting. Everest was pacing back and forth right at the entrance to the ice cave while Noah and Basil were lapping up water from a puddle Tucker must have melted for them. Tucker was curled up resting and Wink was lying on his side, completely asleep with his tongue hanging out.
“Addison’s fine,” Stacy said, while catching her breath. Wink woke up and he and the other wolves gathered around Stacy. “This is it. This is where she’s been leading us. I’m not sure what it is really, but you should all come with me and see it for yourselves.”
Everest, Tucker, Noah, Basil, and Wink followed Stacy down to where Addison was, their eyes widening more and more with every new sight in the cavern. Seeing Everest side by side with the ice wolf was an eerie sight. The group pressed on, deeper into the cavern, until they caught up with Addison, who they took turns greeting. Aww, they must have been worried about her, Stacy thought. Now that they were all reunited as a pack, the wolves turned to face Stacy, awaiting her instructions.
“We keep going,” Stacy said in a firm tone. “Let’s explore the rest of this place. We’ve come this far, after all. Addison, that’s what you want, isn’t it?”
Addison nodded and Stacy felt safe knowing that Addison didn’t think they were in danger. If anything, there was something familiar about this place. Not that Stacy had ever been here before—she was sure she hadn’t. But the energy of the place, the wolf ice statue that looked like Everest, the symbols that Addison magically knew how to read, the Arctic fox that looked like Page who led Stacy to the runes in the ice spikes—it was as if they were meant to come here. How crazy is that? A couple of weeks ago, the idea of mounting an expedition to the tundra would have seemed preposterous. And now we’re here and it feels like we were supposed to come here all along. . . .
“This place . . .” Stacy said to the wolves in a hushed voice. “Have you been here before?”
She looked around at her wolves. Wink was shaking his head no. But Addison, Tucker, Basil, and Noah were looking at Everest, whose face bore a wistful expression Stacy had never seen before. He made no gesture of a yes or a no, but rather looked around the room, as if he was trying to remember.
“It’s familiar to you, isn’t it?” Stacy said. Everest nodded slowly. Stacy and the others sat for a few seconds in silence.
“I think this could be where you’re from,” Stacy said finally. The wolves all exchanged nervous looks with one another. “Let’s keep going then. I want to find some answers.”
Stacy led the wolves to the next room, a smaller chamber with a spiral staircase carved into the ice that seemed to lead down to a lower level. Holding the torch in front of her, they began to descend. The staircase was long—longer than Stacy thought possible. They reached the bottom and saw that they were now at the end of a narrow corridor. And at the very end of the corridor, a dim light flickered in a small room. Is there someone there?
Basil leaned over Stacy’s shoulder and blew out the torch. Everest positioned himself at the front of the pack, with Addison behind him. Tucker, Basil, Noah, and Wink formed a protective barrier around Stacy and, together, they began to make their way down the hall. They walked slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. There’s something at the end of this hallway, Stacy thought as they crept in silence. It might be dangerous, but if it is, I know my wolves will protect me.
In the darkness, Stacy trained her eyes on Everest, straining to see the wolf’s face as he was the first to enter the dimly lit room. His expression was fierce and defensive, but softened as the amber light washed across his face and he took in their surroundings. The only way Stacy could think to describe the room was “magical.” The ceiling was comprised of crystal stalactites that hung down to just above Stacy’s head. They were a translucent, milky white with flecks of sparkly blue and amethyst. There was a small fire in the center of the room that had burned down to cinders. But as soon as Stacy and the wolves drew near, it roared back to life.
Stacy looked over at Everest and saw his expression had turned to one of pity. A second later, Stacy understood why. As she entered deeper into the room behind Addison, she saw him. A lone and feeble wolf, lying on the floor in the corner.
The first thing Stacy noticed about the old wolf was his eyes. They were glassy and gray, with a hint of dull purple to them. His fur was scraggly and coarse, and he had long wiry whiskers that protruded from either side of his lean snout. But his eyes—his eyes looked like they’d seen a hundred years go by and could tell a thousand stories. He blinked slowly, and every time he did Stacy wondered if he was closing his eyes for a nap. But then they’d snap back open, and she was mesmerized by his gaze once more.
Everest was the first to approach him. He walked over to where the wolf was lying, gave him a slight bow, and then lay down in front of him so that they were nose-to-nose. The elder wolf stared into Everest’s silver eyes. Everest’s eyes flickered and moved around, as if he was watching something. Occasionally Everest would nod and sometimes his expression would change from sad to understanding. When he was finished, the elder wolf laid his head down on the ground and closed his eyes to rest. Was the elder wolf communicating with Everest just then? Can he talk to Everest the same way I can talk to him with my thoughts?
Stacy wasn’t sure, but one thing was clear to her. She felt it as soon as she entered the room, deep in her soul, and she wished more than anything that it wasn’t true.
The elder wolf was dying.
Fifteen
STACY HAD A theory. It had entered her mind as soon as she saw the elder wolf conversing with Everest using telepathy. She gathered her pack outside of the wolf’s chambers so she could share h
er theory with them.
“He has all of your powers,” Stacy told the pack. “He knows how to read and write in symbols, since the cavern is full of them. He can also communicate with his mind like Everest. And I’m pretty sure he started a fire when we first entered the room, just like Basil can.”
The wolves all looked around to each other, considering Stacy’s theory.
“I suspect he’s indestructible like Wink, which is how he’s managed to live to such an old age,” Stacy continued. “And he can probably breathe underwater like Noah . . . but of course, there’s no way to test that.”
Tucker took a step toward Stacy as if to say, What about me?
“Tucker, you have the ability to heal others . . . ,” Stacy said. “But have you ever actually healed yourself?” Tucker looked flummoxed. “The elder wolf can likely heal others too, like you. But I wonder if maybe he can’t heal himself. Which is why I fear that he’s . . . going to die soon.”
The wolves hung their heads in sadness. It was clear that not only did they believe Stacy’s theory, but they also agreed with her that the elder wolf’s time was short. Tears rolled down Stacy’s cheeks and fell onto the floor of the icy corridor. Something else was troubling Stacy though. Why is this wolf here all alone? Where are the other members of his pack? Surely he had a pack, right? Could it be that he is the last of his generation? Have the other members of his pack all died?
Stacy suspected Everest knew the answers to these questions from when the elder wolf had relayed his story to him, but there was no way for Everest to tell Stacy. Suddenly, Tucker broke away from where the pack was standing and walked back into the elder wolf’s chambers. He lay down near the wolf, who was still resting from expending energy communicating with Everest. Stacy suspected Tucker was going to try to heal him. Noah brought some water in a small bowl and set it near the elder wolf’s mouth. Everest and Addison positioned themselves in front of the elder wolf, seemingly determined to glean as much information from him as they could.