Page 87

Maxwell wrapped a protective arm around her.
‘This is Antarctica. The weather can change in an instant.’ She clapped her hands and raised her voice. ‘All right, everyone, return to your bivvy sacks and pack up as quickly as possible. Please don’t leave anything behind. Then head to the Zodiacs so we can return to the ship.’
There was surprisingly little grumbling from the group, as the wind swirling around them grew in intensity. It felt like the continent itself was asking them to leave.
Olivia grabbed her sleep sack and began stuffing it into a dry bag. Patty was struggling, so once she was finished with her own, Olivia took over.
Annalise was moving much more efficiently but kept looking over her shoulder at Cutler. ‘Do you think this counts as a scandal?’
‘Surely not,’ said Patty. ‘Like that woman said, “This is Antarctica.” Bad weather happens all the time. You have to be flexible. This is part of the adventure.’
‘Here you go.’ Olivia handed Patty’s bivvy sack back to her.
‘Thanks. Where’s Janine?’
Olivia stared around her, but Janine was nowhere to be seen. Her things were missing too. ‘She must’ve finished and gone ahead already.’
They were among the last to leave the circle of dug-out camps, which looked like a desecrated cemetery. Melissa eyed the mess. Olivia wondered if normally they would fill the beds in – all in keeping with the ‘leave no trace’ ethos that the crew had spouted at them since getting on board.
She stamped her feet, jamming her hands into her pockets. Now that they had been standing for a while, she noticed how cold she was. Other people seemed to be feeling the same way, their shoulders hunched over and shivering as they trudged down the hill.
She fell in step behind Melissa as they headed back down towards the beach.
TheVigilglinted out in the bay. More worrying, however, was the huge iceberg, freshly born into the ocean, drifting towards the ship. It brought with it thick chunks of sea ice, threatening to block the channel between the beach and the ship.
‘This isn’t good,’ said Arthur. ‘If that huge chunk of ice stays there and those bergy bits surrounding it are too thick and clog our path, we won’t be able to steer the Zodiacs through to the ship.’
‘Bergy bits?’ asked Olivia.
‘Weren’t you listening in my lecture?’ His attempt at a joke fell flat, as he was unable to hide the worry in his brow. ‘Those smaller floating bits of ice. Tricky to get through. Impossible if there’s too many. They can get stuck in our propellers and break the boat.’
A woman screamed, and Olivia grabbed the professor’s arm out of shock.
‘Out of my way!’ said Melissa, running in her big boots to where the woman – Lucinda – was standing by one of the Zodiacs.
A deep slash marred the rubber, and one side of it had almost completely deflated. Three of the inflatable chambers were ruined. Unusable. The Zodiac wouldn’t be able to float.
‘How on earth?’ Arthur muttered beside her.
‘Did someone do that?’ Olivia asked, her voice shaking with fear.
Melissa ran to the next, and fell to her knees with relief. ‘This one’s OK! Everyone, leave the gear for now. Let’s get in.’
She held one side of the rubber, while Arthur stabilized it from the other.
Cutler was first to clamber aboard. ‘Anna, come on,’ he growled, grabbing her arm and pulling Annalise on board. At least he showed compassion for the people he loved, Olivia thought.
Olivia helped Patty in, while Robert and Aida scrambled on the other side. Maxwell, Lucinda, Yara and Delilah had waded into the water, throwing themselves over the thick inflatable sides and on to the benches. Maxwell reached back over and gave a hand to Kathy, boosted by her husband Dave, before he jumped in as well.
‘Dr Vance, your turn!’ said Melissa.
She gave him a lift into the boat, before accepting help herself. She pushed through the sea of people to get to the engine.
‘Wait!’ Olivia said. ‘We’re missing Liam. He’s not here.’
‘He’ll hear the engine and come running, I’m sure,’ said Melissa. She pulled at the engine cord but was aghast when it came loose in her hand.
‘It’s broken,’ she said, her tone grim.