Eve of the Emperor Penguin (4 page)

“And remember, all of Antarctica is a nature preserve,” said Nancy. “
Never, ever
touch or disturb the wildlife.”

“Oops,” said Annie.

Jack frowned. “We really broke the rules with those penguins,” he whispered.

“I know, but we won’t do it again,” Annie whispered back.

“Right,” said Jack. He wrote down:

“Got all that?” Nancy asked the group.

Everyone nodded.

“Good,” said Nancy. “I look forward to sharing Antarctica with you today. I know you’ll all find some great information and stories!”

As the bus rolled along, no one gave Jack and Annie a second look. “Nancy called us ‘friends,’ ” Jack whispered to Annie. “The others must think she knows us.”

“Yeah, and
she
thinks we’re friends with
them,
” said Annie.

“We’re getting away with this,” said Jack. He could hardly believe it.

“It reminds me of our last mission,” Annie whispered, “on the ship with the ocean scientists.”

“This is better,” said Jack. “Here everyone’s treating us like grown-ups, and I don’t feel like throwing up.”

“And nowadays women get to do really cool stuff, too, like men do,” said Annie.

“Good point,” said Jack. “But there’s still stuff about our rhyme I don’t get.” He pulled the rhyme out of his pocket, and he and Annie read it silently:

“See, it sounds like it’s talking about a magical world,” said Jack. “But Antarctica is a hundred percent real. It’s filled with scientists!”

“I know, but some of the rhyme fits,” said Annie. “Like you said, the ‘burning mountain of ice and snow’ is the volcano, Mount Erebus.” She pointed out the window of the bus. “And there it is.”

A white mountain loomed in the distance. Ice and snow covered its slopes, and puffs of smoke rose from its peak, drifting into the blue sky.

“It’s burning, all right,” said Jack.

“And we’re
on wheels,
” said Annie.

“Yep,” said Jack. He looked at the rhyme again. “Okay, ‘burning mountain of ice and snow,’ ‘on wheels’—but then what about ‘by air’? What’s—”

“Oh, my gosh!” said Annie, craning her neck.

“What?” said Jack.

“Look over there!” said Annie.

T
ouching down onto a flat, snowy field was an orange and white helicopter. The helicopter had skis on the bottom so it could land on the ice and snow. The bus came to a stop at the edge of the field.

“We must be going to the volcano in a helicopter!” said Annie.

“
By air!
Just like the rhyme says!” said Jack. “Great!” Jack had always wanted to fly in a helicopter!

Nancy stood up. “For those of you getting off
the bus now, please remember,” she said, “the helicopter blades are extremely dangerous. Always wait for a signal from the pilot before approaching the chopper.”

Everyone watched as the spinning blades slowly came to a stop. The pilot waved from the helicopter window.

“Okay, Pete says we can go!” said Nancy.

Jack put their rhyme back into his pocket. He pulled on his backpack. Then, carrying his notebook and pencil, he filed down the aisle after Annie and the others who would join them in the helicopter. They all scrambled off the bus into the dazzling sunlight.

“Jump aboard!” said Nancy.

Jack and Annie followed the four other adults up the steps of the helicopter and squeezed into a small cabin. Sitting in two rows of seats behind the pilot, everyone buckled their seat belts.

Nancy pulled the door shut and turned the latch. Then she sat next to Pete and put on a set of headphones. “Headphones on, everyone! They’re under your seats,” she said. “They’ll protect your ears from the chopper noise, and also serve as a radio so I can talk to you.”

Everyone reached under their seats and took out headphones. Jack and Annie pulled off their hoods. Without taking off their goggles or face masks, they placed the headphones over their ears. The thick pads muffled the sounds around them.

Jack heard Nancy’s voice over his headphones: “Testing, one, two, three. Can everyone hear me?”

Everyone nodded.

“Okay, Pete, take us to Mount Erebus!”

Pete the pilot started the helicopter. Even with his headphones on, Jack heard the roaring of the engine and the spinning of the blades. He held his breath as the chopper trembled and lifted off the ice and snow.

The helicopter shook and tilted. Then it buzzed forward through the blue sky.

Annie aimed her camera out the window and took pictures. The Korean photographer did the same, and the Australian journalist scribbled in his notebook.

Jack was too excited to take notes now.
This is great,
he thought.
All the words in the rhyme are coming true.
As they flew toward the burning mountain of ice and snow, he tried to remember what words came next. He slipped the rhyme out of his pocket and read:

“All fall down”? Wait a minute. What does
that
mean?
thought Jack.
Does that mean the chopper falls down? Do we fall out of the chopper?

As these thoughts swirled through Jack’s mind, Annie turned and gave him a thumbs-up.

Jack didn’t want to scare her, so he nodded and shoved the rhyme back in his pocket. He watched anxiously out the window as the chopper approached a bright orange-red circle on top of Mount Erebus.

“Below is one of the world’s most famous lava lakes,” said Nancy over the headphones.

The chopper hovered motionless above the crater of the volcano. The lava lake bubbled and boiled. “That burning lava is miles deep,” said Nancy. “Its temperature is over seventeen hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Can you guys on this side see okay? Pete?”

Pete tilted the helicopter to one side and then the other. Everyone but Jack oohed and aahed. Kim Lee and Annie took pictures.

Go!
thought Jack.
Before we all fall down!

“Okay, Pete, that’s great,” said Nancy. “Let’s land at the lower field camp now!”

The helicopter tilted upright and began moving down the side of the volcanic mountain. Jack saw a small orange building sticking up from the snow. Colorful snowmobiles were parked near it.

Moments later, the chopper touched down onto the slope. It rocked and shuddered, then came to a stop.
Whew,
thought Jack. They’d landed without falling from the sky into a burning lava lake. But then what could “all fall down” in the rhyme mean?

“Stay seated till the blades come to a
complete
stop!” said Nancy.

Everyone remained in their seats with their seat belts and headphones on.

“As you know, we’ll be driving our snowmobiles up to the summit,” said Nancy. “Driving a snowmobile can be very dangerous on these steep, icy slopes. Please remember everything you
learned in your snowmobile training yesterday.”

As the others nodded, Annie nodded, too. Jack nudged her. They’d never had any training with snowmobiles!

“Another warning,” said Nancy. “I know you’ve also been training this week to prevent altitude sickness. But still—it can be very dangerous. So please let me know if you feel any symptoms.”

Altitude sickness?
Jack wondered. He pulled off his glove again and opened up his backpack. He took out the research book and looked up
altitude sickness
in the index. He turned to the right page and read:

Oh, no,
thought Jack.

The spinning of the helicopter blades had come to a stop.

“Okay, happy campers,” said Nancy. “All clear! Before we drive up to the top, we’ll gather in the hut!”

Nancy opened the helicopter door. Everyone took off their headphones, undid their seat belts, and followed her down the steps of the chopper. Jack was last as he struggled with putting the research book away, getting his glove back on, and then pulling his pack onto his back.

“What took you so long?” Annie asked when he got out of the chopper.

Jack just shook his head.

“Have a safe trip back to the station, Pete!” called Nancy. “See you later!”

Pete waved from the window. Then the chopper blades started rotating again. The chopper lifted off the ground and thundered away.