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Melissa’s radio bleeped. She tilted her ear and, as she listened, her face fell. ‘What are you talking about? Thatcan’t be right. We won’t …’ She stopped talking as she looked around the group.
‘Spit it out, woman!’ said Cutler.
Melissa glowered at him. Olivia stomped her feet against the ice, trying to get some warmth into her numb toes. As she did, she stared at the other guests. Fifteen suddenly seemed like a lot of people to manage.
Robert had dug out a pair of binoculars from inside his jacket, scanning for signs of rescue from theVigil.
But Olivia returned her gaze to Melissa. Her brow was still knitted together, her lips moving like she was trying to figure out a plan but was too afraid to say it out loud. The only time she’d seen that look before was when she’d flipped from her kayak. That’s when she knew.
They were all in the water this time. And she didn’t know if Melissa had the power to save them.
Melissa swallowed and when she spoke, her voice wavered. ‘OK, everyone, more bad news.’
That got their attention. They huddled close, trying to hear over the wind. ‘I’ve spoken with the captain. The berg from the glacier calving is approaching theVigilfast and it’s blocking the path from the ship. The wind is almost at forty knots, so they’re not able to launch a Zodiac to collect us this evening. He may even have to move the entire ship as the storm is getting worse in the bay. They’re considering heading back to Neko Harbour. They’ll come and get us tomorrow, first thing in the morning, when it’s safe.’
There were horrified gasps in the crowd.
‘And what are we supposed to do in the meantime?’ asked Cutler.
‘We’ll head back to where we dug our shelters andbuild them up higher to protect from the wind. We’ll hunker down for the night until it all blows over and then we’ll come back to shore in a few hours. Then it will be back to the ship for hot chocolate and pancakes.’ She tried a light-hearted smile but it didn’t reach her eyes.
Now the shouting began. ‘There’s a knife-wielding maniac on the island and you expect us to stay here?’ shouted Cutler.
‘We’ll freeze to death first,’ said Maxwell.
Olivia’s mind raced. The Zodiacs were out of action. No rescue was coming from theVigil. They had no tents and the bivvy sacks weren’t much protection against a storm. They hadn’t brought any food. Maybe there were some emergency-only rations on the pulk. If this didn’t count as an emergency, she didn’t know what would.
‘What if they can’t come tomorrow?’ Olivia blurted out, before she could stop herself.
Melissa paused. ‘It won’t come to that.’
‘But if it does?’
‘Then we’ll go to them. We’ll walk to Neko Harbour.’
‘Across the peninsula?’
‘Exactly.’ Her lips were set in a thin line. ‘We have to find Liam. He will have a plan. He’s the expedition lead.’
Large flakes of snow were beginning to fall from the darkened sky. Olivia raised her hand to catch some of them. Antarctica was meant to be one of the driest places on the planet. If this was being blown in from the mainland, they were about to have a big problem.
She felt a pull deep in her gut. The thought that Sergei was out there somewhere, sabotaging their attempt to leave, was terrifying enough. Adding a polar storm on top? It was unfathomable.
Melissa dug a couple of torches out of one of the Zodiacs, but there weren’t enough for all of them.
She handed one to Arthur. ‘I’ll lead us back up to the campsite. Quickly. You stay back and make sure there are no stragglers.’ She raised her voice again. ‘Everyone buddy up. No one goes anywhere alone.’
Janine grabbed hold of Olivia’s arm. ‘Can I stay with you?’
‘Of course.’ Olivia patted her gloved hand. ‘Patty and Annalise?’
‘We’re right behind you,’ said Patty. ‘Do you think we’ll be safe?’
Olivia didn’t know how to answer.
‘We have to be,’ said Annalise, her voice laced with quiet determination.
‘Melissa, is there really no way for theVigilto send another tender to pick us up?’ Patty asked.