Stay:The Last Dog in Antarctica by Jesse Blackadder Read Free Book Online Page A

crane lifts today. Hurry up!’
    Whatever a ‘Hägg’ was, Stay figured out that she was inside it. She heard the clatter of chains as the men unhooked the crane and then a door slammed close to her hiding spot. An engine roared into life right under her ear, giving her a fright. Then she started moving. A Hägg must be some kind of vehicle, Stay thought.
    They crunched over the ice and then Stay heard the change in sounds. They were no longer on the sea ice — she could hear the sound of gravel beneath them. Why, they must be on Antarctica itself! She wished she could look out.
    The driver parked the Hägg, turned off the engine and jumped out. Everything went quiet for a while and then Stay heard the door open.
    ‘She’s under there, unless someone found her,’ a familiar voice said. Stay recognised Beakie.
    There was a scuffle as he pulled back the baggage covering her. ‘Aha!’ he said. He ripped open the zip. ‘There she is!’
    Another pair of hands came pushing through. ‘Show me!’
    It was Chills, and Stay felt a rush of pleasure at the sound of his voice, followed immediately by a wave of anger. Chills had stolen her money and she was determined not to trust him again. She concentrated on sending him an angry thought.
    ‘Phew,’ Chills said. ‘I was sure the Boss was going to find her. Come on, Stay.’
    He pulled her out of the bag and gave her a pat. He was dressed for the cold, in a big heavy brown jacket with mittens, a beanie and rubber boots that clanked when he moved.
    Stay hardened her heart. She wouldn’t let herself feel close to him, not again. This time she’d be less trusting of humans like Chills.
    ‘What are you going to do with her?’ Beakie asked.
    ‘I’m taking her out on the quad bike to wave goodbye to the ship,’ Chills said. ‘So the Boss knows she’s staying here.’
    ‘Be careful,’ Beakie said. ‘He might stop the ship and come back.’
    ‘No way,’ Chills said. ‘Once the ship’s broken out of the ice, she doesn’t come back for anything.’
    ‘Better hurry,’ Beakie said. ‘They’ve started the engines.’
    ‘Meet you at the Last Husky afterwards. In the LQ?’
    ‘What’s the LQ? And the Last Husky?’
    ‘Don’t you know anything?’ Chills said. ‘The LQ is the Living Quarters and the Last Husky is the bar.’
    Chills tucked Stay under his arm and backed out of the Hägg. Stay only had time to see that the Hägg was a bright red vehicle with tracks instead of wheels, before Chills was running towards a big square building. The ground was a mixture of dirt, rocks and half-melted dusty snow and the road was covered with frozen puddles. The station was scattered with bright, colourful buildings like giant blocks of Lego. It wasn’t what Stay had imagined Antarctica would look like.
    Chills wrenched open a heavy door and stamped his boots on the floor. He ran over to a row of quad bikes, and sat Stay on the back of one. He lashed her down, tying and pulling the knots so quickly that she could hardly see his hands moving. He jammed his gloves back on, pulled on a helmet and swung his leg over the bike. It started, and he warmed it up for a few minutes before letting out the throttle.
    ‘Hang on, Stay!’ he called over his shoulder, and they sped through the door and outside. They scooted through the station’s ramshackle collection of buildings. In the distance she could see the ship slowly turning. Smoke was rising from its stack.
    Chills and Stay bumped down a gravel road, across a muddy stretch and onto the flat sea ice. It was a pretty pale blue colour, and quite smooth and shiny. Chills accelerated and the quad bike sped over the ice in the direction of the ship. At the last minute he swung off to one side and they coasted to a stop. Stay could see streams of moisture coming out of his eyes from the wind.
    ‘The Boss will be furious!’ Chills said gleefully as he climbed off the bike and stood next to Stay, his arm across her back.
    A whooshing