The Day is Dark by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir Read Free Book Online Page B

into the sea. The jaggedness of the coastline did nothing to diminish this effect. The same went for the interior: there were no level areas, and the mountain peaks were innumerable. There were no visible signs of human habitation.
    ‘Has the pilot got confused and taken us to the North Pole?’ Thóra asked Matthew, after turning away from the glacier’s glare. ‘No one could possibly be living down there.’
    He leaned towards the window and looked slightly shaken when he turned back to her. ‘It looks worse from such a great height,’ he said. ‘Also, maybe we’re still too far north. I’m sure it will look better when we land.’ He appeared to be trying to convince himself as much as Thóra.
    ‘I hope you’re right,’ said Thóra. ‘Erik the Red must have been colour-blind when he named the country. Everything down there is white. I don’t know how we’re going to avoid polar bears – if they close their eyes they’ll be invisible.’
    ‘There won’t be any polar bears,’ said Matthew, although he was still peering out nervously. ‘The trip itself is the only problem we’re going to have.’
    ‘I hope so,’ she replied, smiling. ‘But one thing’s for certain – there was no polar bear swinging an axe or a club in the video.’ She leaned in and whispered, ‘Did you notice that Bella is the only other person awake?’ Stealthily, she turned to check whether this was still the case. ‘If she weren’t here I could invite you to the toilet and initiate you into the mile high club.’ She looked Matthew in the eye and grinned. ‘Damn it, what a shame she had to come.’ She turned back to the window, pleased with herself.
    Shortly afterwards the aircraft landed gently. The travellers disembarked, full of expectation tempered with anxiety. All except one. That passenger had promised never to come here again. Terrible memories lingered here, memories that were impossible to push away.
    It was incredible that this passenger had returned, in fact. A blue-black crow screeched on the roof of the airport, rose into the air and flew off into the wilderness.

Chapter 4
    19 March 2008
    Thóra wasn’t as excited about the helicopter as Matthew was. What the others in the group thought, she couldn’t guess, but most were at least trying to look as if they found it totally commonplace. Matthew did what he could to enthuse Thóra, saying that it was none other than a Huey, the type that was used in the Vietnam War. She was not impressed, however – even when he added that as soon as the blades started whirring, she would recognize the sound from the movies. She smiled reluctantly. ‘Couldn’t they have added a few more blades? It only has two.’ She hoped that this shortage of propellers wouldn’t cause the helicopter to fly unsteadily, because her stomach was hardly in any condition for that. The Vietnam atmosphere would be dampened somewhat if she started vomiting in the back of the helicopter.
    Matthew wrinkled his nose. ‘Two is quite enough.’
    They watched the airport personnel load provisions and luggage onto a vehicle. Thóra’s green suitcase appeared and she noticed that the loaders took the time to check whether it was marked with the correct destination tag, since it stuck out so obviously from the other bags. ‘I just hope we have enough food and drink,’ muttered Matthew. ‘I’ve never needed to order provisions for so many, let alone a group making a long expedition to the North Pole in winter.’ Thóra hoped he had consulted with someone else, otherwise they could expect nothing from the boxes but nuts and raisins and maybe some energy drinks. Before she could ask the question he continued uneasily: ‘Aren’t we going to take off? At this pace we won’t get to the camp before dark.’
    ‘You’ve never been to Greenland before?’ came a voice from behind them. It was the doctor, Finnbogi Kolbeinsson. ‘Here, Murphy’s Law always applies – if something can go wrong, it