Stay:The Last Dog in Antarctica

by Blackadder, Jesse

  ‘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.

  Chapter 21

  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?

  Chapter 22

  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.

  Chapter 23

  The preparations for their trip to Rumdoodle Hut were nearly done and a group of people from the station had come out to see them off. Despite her worries about the huskies, Stay was quite excited. This would be her first field trip in Antarctica. She wasn’t going on a quad bike or in a Hägg but on a real dog sledge.

  ‘There won’t be too many more sledging trips in Antarctica,’ Baldy said as he carried her to the sledge. ‘This is a historic moment, Stay. One of the last chances to be like the old-time explorers.’

  Windy waved at them. ‘Can you lash her on?’ he called. ‘I’m just going to get the dogs.’

  Baldy put Stay on top of the heavily loaded sledge and began tying her down. Like everyone else in Antarctica, he knew how to tie good, strong knots, and Stay felt him pull down hard on the ropes to make sure she was securely attached.

  ‘Don’t want you falling off,’ Baldy said, giving her a pat on the back. ‘OK, folks, she’s ready for photos.’

  Everyone who’d come to wave goodbye started taking pictures. Stay heard a bark and saw that Windy was bringing the first husky down. He held Cocoa by her harness, keeping her front feet in the air so she could only walk on her back legs. Stay watched, fascinated, as Windy took Cocoa to the front of the sledge and clipped her to the tow rope.

  ‘There you go, girl,’ he said, and patted her. ‘Don’t worry, your puppies will be fine on station.’

  Meanwhile Baldy had gone to get the next dog and he returned with Black
ie, holding him up in the air by the harness too. As each dog was secured, the team barked and snarled furiously. One dog managed to pull away from Windy and started a loud fight with another member of the team. Baldy and Windy had to pull the dogs apart and Stay was shocked. Guide Dogs never fought with each other, but it looked like a regular occurrence among the huskies.

  Blackie was at the front and Stay hoped he might not see her. But as Baldy brought the last dog out, Blackie turned his head and saw Stay sitting up on the sledge.

  He froze. His hackles rose and his upper lip lifted in a snarl. Stay was too far away to hear what he said, but she was sure it wasn’t friendly. The other dogs turned their heads and stared at her, then all started barking.

  ‘They don’t like you much, do they?’ Windy said. ‘I guess they can’t figure out if you’re real.’

  I am real, Stay thought indignantly.

  But the dogs hadn’t stopped barking and Stay could see Baldy was having trouble getting the last one harnessed. The huskies snapped at each other and turned in circles and he had to yell at them.

  ‘Are you ready?’ he called out to Windy. ‘I have to get the huskies running.’

  Windy gave Baldy the thumbs-up. ‘Ready!’

  ‘Righteo, folks,’ Baldy called. ‘One of the final Mawson sledging trips is now departing. Stand clear. Windy, get behind me!’

  Everyone laughed then, though Stay couldn’t understand why. She didn’t have time to think about it, as Baldy yelled, ‘Are you ready, dogs? Mush!’ and let go of the harnesses. The huskies sprang forwards, barking. The sledge lurched and they were off, passing a blur of waving hands and faces. Windy ran alongside the sledge and jumped onto the back, standing on the runners just behind where Stay was lashed. Baldy kept running alongside the dogs, calling out commands and struggling to keep up with them.

  Once the huskies were moving, they seemed to forget about Stay. They spread out in a fan shape in front of the sledge, running at a steady pace. She saw how much they loved their work, throwing themselves hard against the harnesses, pulling the sledge across the snow as if they could run forever. They’re just like the Guide Dogs, she thought. Loyal and hard-working creatures. She wished they didn’t dislike her so much. Couldn’t they see they had lots in common with her?