Out of the Ice (17 page)

Travis was casting his torch around the floor, following my instructions, searching for a trapdoor down into the ice. He shuffled with his boots, attempting to feel a ridge. Kate and I started to do the same.

‘What do you think is underground?’ he asked.

‘A tunnel to the sea. Through an ice cave.’

Kate tensed and pursed her lips, clearly thinking I was off on another wild-goose chase.

‘Like smugglers,’ said Travis. ‘But why would they bother?’ He frowned. ‘There were no real laws when they were down here, were there? They could do whatever they wanted. So why would they hide anything? Or are you saying they were building underground for the weather, like at the South Pole? But it’s so much more benign here on South Safety, they wouldn’t need to.’ He walked close to me and stood studying my face. ‘So, will you tell me what this is all about?’

Kate looked across, shadowy in the torchlight, waiting for my answer.

‘Not yet, Travis,’ I said. ‘Can we just do this. Please?’

Disgruntled, he moved off. I hoped I wouldn’t lose his trust, or help. But I wasn’t going to mention the boy yet. Particularly not after I’d just felt I’d seen a ghost.

‘I think people may be hiding down here. It’s part of my job to find out,’ I said.

‘You think the guys in the cinema are living here?’ Travis whistled. ‘I thought they were just men from Alliance. Who the hell are they, then?’

‘I have no idea. But it’s possible they could be from another base like Esperanza, or Villa Las Estrellas. Argentinians or Chileans on orders to set this place up for my benefit, to make it more likely I recommend it be opened as a museum.’ Even as I formed the words, my mind butted up against the possibility. They wouldn’t need to stay here if they’d already set it up. It made no sense. I was clutching at straws because of the boy.

‘Unless,’ I said slowly, ‘Connaught’s conducting some experiment at Fredelighavn and they have no intention of stopping just because I’m here.’ I stared at the roofline, dashing my torch around, searching for cameras. ‘Did you get that if you’re listening?’ I called loudly.

‘Yeah, of course I’m listening,’ said Travis.

‘I didn’t mean you. Or Kate,’ I added quickly.

‘What, you think Connaught’s got this place under surveillance?’ asked Travis. I shone my torch over to him and his face was full of alarm. ‘I’m in deep trouble if he has,’ he said, his panic quickly turning to hurt and suspicion. ‘You know I’m not meant to be here. Why didn’t you warn me? What else aren’t you telling me, Laura?’

I cringed. ‘I don’t know for sure. It’s just one theory.’

‘What are your others?’ asked Kate stonily.

‘Nothing I’m clear enough to talk about, yet.’

Travis leaned against a wall. ‘I need a cigarette.’

‘Well, you can’t unless you brought your own.’ I hauled the mattresses back into the corner and took photos of them.

‘Oh come on, just one packet, please?’ pleaded Travis. ‘If Connaught’s watching I’m in for it anyway.’

‘No,’ I replied seriously. ‘The EIA prohibits anything being touched.’

‘Kate played that record.’

‘And put it back just the way I found it. That was research.’ She walked up to him. ‘Travis, do you think Laura’s right? You’ve been at Alliance for a year. Does it seem possible that there’s an experiment going on down here?’

Travis was silent for a moment, frowning. ‘If there is, they don’t come often. I’d know from the Häggies’ mileage.’

‘Unless they adjust it. That would be possible, wouldn’t it?’

‘Not really. Tampering with the speedometer? Unlikely. Anyway, if this place is bugged or on film or whatever, why are we talking?’

He marched out. Kate and I followed and I drew Travis close. ‘There may be cameras in the streets too,’ I whispered. He pulled away and shook his head.

‘You’re not straightforward, are you?’

‘Sorry,’ I said, and meant it.

‘Where next?’ said Kate.

‘Let’s go shed by shed.’ I started to walk off down the street towards the harbour, until I heard Travis call after me.

‘I need to eat!’

Kate glanced at her watch and did a double-take. ‘It’s seven o’clock!’

‘No wonder I’m starving. You girls are slave drivers,’ said Travis. ‘Let’s go into a house with some decent furniture.’ He strode off.

‘Which one?’ asked Kate. Travis turned up another street and stopped outside the russet house with the whitewashed furniture inside. Where we’d found the dead penguin in the cupboard.

‘This one’s my favourite. I could live here,’ he said.

Kate glanced at me.

‘So you’ve been in?’ I asked evenly.

‘Yeah. Absolutely. It’s beautiful. Have you not been? Wait and see.’

He bounded up the stairs and swung open the door. Kate came close to me. ‘I know,’ I whispered, ‘but why would he lead us here if he’d killed the penguin and left it? It wouldn’t make sense.’

‘Just strange that of all houses . . .’

‘Travis,’ I called, ‘wait up.’ But he was already far down the passage. By the time we got in, he was sitting at the kitchen table, his food unwrapped in front of him. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked as he bit into a thick biscuit layered with cheese.

‘This is where we found the dead penguin,’ I said, and he stopped chewing.

‘We laid her out on this table,’ said Kate, and Travis stood abruptly.

‘Don’t worry, she died of natural causes,’ I said.

‘Are you sure?’ asked Travis, placing his biscuit down on the table, pushing it away.

‘Do you promise me you didn’t have anything to do with that penguin?’ I asked.

Travis frowned, indignant. ‘Of course not! As if I’d come here if I did. And I certainly wouldn’t be eating in the kitchen.’

‘If it was natural causes that killed the Adélie, what’s your problem?’ said Kate.

Travis looked sheepish.

‘Travis?’ I tensed – he
did
know something.

‘Just . . .’ He stopped. ‘Could we visit the rookery? Come on.’

I frowned and followed; Travis was afraid of the rookery. Was he more afraid that Connaught had bugged the houses and was listening in?

Kate and I crunched through the ice on either side of him and none of us spoke.

At the rookery the penguins were screeching happily, hundreds of thousands of pairs stretching as far away as the eye could see. Mutualling, white chests pushed together, beaks to the sun, tiny black wings flapping. New arrivals kept pouring in, waddling up the rocky hillside to join the throng, while others streamed down towards the sea, tobogganing on their bellies once they reached the ice.

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.