Eve of the Emperor Penguin (6 page)

Annie giggled. Jack couldn’t believe he’d just named the little penguin Penny. Usually Annie was the one who named the animals.

Peep,
said Penny.

She would like you to pick her up,
said the emperor.

“Oh. Okay,” said Jack. He leaned over and held out his arms. Penny snuggled close to his parka.

Peep!

Jack laughed and picked Penny up. He held the little penguin tightly.

The emperor turned to the crowd. He said something Jack couldn’t understand. The crowd parted to make a path. The emperor nodded at Jack and Annie.
Let us go now,
he said. As Jack, Annie, and Penny left with the emperor, the penguins flapped their wings against their bodies, applauding.

“Good-bye!” Annie called to the crowd.

Jack smiled and waved.

Peep!
said Penny.

The icicle chime music grew softer and softer as Jack and Annie followed the emperor through the cave.

The tall penguin led them outside onto the ledge.

Thank you for your help today,
he said.

“Thank
you
for letting Penny come with us,” said Annie.

“We promise to take good care of her. We’ll take her to Merlin,” said Jack.

The emperor touched the orphan’s downy head with the tip of his wing. He leaned close to her and softly murmured something in her ear.

Peep,
Penny said.

The emperor looked up at Jack and Annie. Silently, he bowed to them and they bowed back. Then the emperor penguin turned and walked back into the Cave of the Ancient Crown.

Jack sighed. For a moment, he hated to leave the enchanted world of the penguins.

“Oh, she’s cold, Jack,” said Annie.

Jack looked down. Penny was shivering in his arms.

“Put her inside your parka,” said Annie.

Jack unzipped his parka and carefully placed the little penguin against his sweater. He pulled the zipper back up. He held Penny close to him.

“Perfect,” said Annie. “Just make sure she can breathe okay.”

“Don’t worry,” said Jack, patting his jacket. “I’ll take good care of her.”

“Do you think we can use the wand now to get back?” asked Annie.

Jack nodded. “I think so,” he said. “I can’t think of any other way.”

“Should we tell it to take us to the tree house?” asked Annie. “Or Frog Creek? Or Camelot?”

“No, we have to go back to Mount Erebus first,” said Jack. “If Nancy finds out that Pete never picked us up, she really
will
have a heart attack.”

“Oh, right,” said Annie. “Then we better put on our masks and goggles again.”

Jack pulled up his face mask and pulled down his goggles. “Get the wand out of my pack,” he said.

Annie reached into Jack’s backpack and pulled out the Wand of Dianthus. “Okay, ready?” she said.

Jack patted his parka, comforting the baby penguin. “Here we go, Penny,” he said, “on a big adventure.”

Annie held up the wand, then took a deep breath and said, “TAKE US BACK TO NANCY!”

In less than an instant, Jack and Annie and Penny were on the slope of Mount Erebus.

T
he snowmobiles and the helicopter were both parked on the slope. The scientists and journalists stood talking with Nancy and Pete.

“Oh, no!” Annie said, grabbing Jack. “What about Penny? We’re not supposed to have a penguin! They’ll take her away!”

Jack put his arms protectively over his parka. “I’ll hide her,” he said. “We’ve got to get her to Merlin.”

Jack heard a shout. He turned around. Nancy had caught sight of them. She was waving her arms and running toward them.

“Hey, you two!” Nancy called. She dashed across the snow and threw her arms around Annie, then Jack.

Jack held his breath, hoping Penny wouldn’t be squashed.

Peep.

Jack pulled away from Nancy and pretended to cough. He made his coughing end in a sort of
peep
.

“The chopper just got here!” said Nancy. “Pete told me he was delayed by a snow squall! I freaked out! Where have you been? Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry, we’re fine,” said Annie.

“Perfect,” said Jack. “We don’t feel a bit sick or anything. We were just getting some fresh air. We’re ready to go now!” Jack started walking toward the chopper.

Annie grabbed Nancy’s arm and walked with her. “Did you have fun on the mountain?” Annie asked, trying to keep Nancy’s attention off Jack. “What happened? What did you see?”

“We saw lots of things, but I was worried about you guys the whole time,” said Nancy. “Your parents must be frantic back at the station!”

“They had their own expedition today,” said Annie. “They study penguins.”

Peep!

“What was that?” asked Nancy.

Jack did his weird cough again.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Jack?” Nancy called after him.

“I’m perfect,” he said.

As the three of them approached the others, they were greeted with cheers. Nancy must have told everyone that we’re just little kids, Jack thought.

“So glad you’re safe, young man!” said Ali, the biologist. He slapped Jack on the back.

Penny peeped, and Jack coughed.

“Sorry you couldn’t make it up to the top,” said Kim, the photographer.

“That’s okay,” said Annie. “We still got a good story.”

“Did you now?” said Lucy, the space scientist.

“Yes, a
really
good story!” said Annie.

“Excellent, but you mustn’t tell a soul,” said Tony, the journalist, “or one of us will steal it!” Tony laughed, and the others laughed with him.

“Okay, we’ll keep it a secret.” Annie smiled.

Pete opened the door of the chopper.

“Brave little kids first,” said Nancy.

Oh, brother,
thought Jack.

Nancy ushered Jack and Annie toward the helicopter. They scrambled up the steps, climbed aboard, and sat down.

As the others climbed in and got settled, Jack loosened his seat belt so he could buckle up without crushing Penny.

Peep!

Jack coughed. But to his relief, Pete started the engine. The rotor blades began to spin.

“Headphones!” yelled Nancy.

Everyone pulled on their headphones.

Nancy gave Jack and Annie a big smile and a thumbs-up sign as the helicopter lifted off the mountain slope.

“I love late spring evenings in Antarctica,” Nancy said to the group.

Jack looked out the window. The evening sky was lavender with streaks of pink.

“This light always reminds me that we’re in a different world from the world back home,” said Nancy.

Jack and Annie smiled at each other. If only the others knew how many different worlds there really were.

The chopper swept up through the soft light of the cold sky,
   up the slope of the burning mountain,
     past the orange-red lake of boiling lava,
       over white fields of ice and snow,
until finally it landed at the heliport, where the
red bus was waiting.

The chopper blades stopped spinning. Pete gave the signal. Then Jack and Annie followed Nancy and the others out of the helicopter.

Jack held Penny in place under his parka as he boarded the red bus. He sat with Annie near the back.

Nancy took the driver’s seat and started the engine. As the bus rolled along, Jack peeked inside his parka. Penny looked up at him. She blinked a few times, as if she was a little worried. Jack patted her gently until she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Jack kept patting the front of his parka to comfort Penny. He looked out the window and patted the baby penguin the whole ride. As Penny snuggled close to Jack, none of his worries of the day mattered anymore: his fear of falling into the lava lake, his dread of altitude sickness, his embarrassment at being caught by Nancy. All the cares and confusions of the day were wiped away by his feelings for the orphan penguin.

When the red bus stopped at the station, Jack and Annie followed everyone down the aisle and climbed off. As the others stood talking in a group, Jack and Annie started walking away.

“We’re leaving now! Bye, Nancy!” said Annie. “Bye, everyone!”

“Thanks for everything!” called Jack.

“Oh, no you don’t!” said Nancy. She grabbed them both by the sleeves of their parkas. “I’m not letting you two out of my sight again, not until I hand-deliver you to your parents.”

“But—but … our parents are still on their penguin expedition,” said Annie.

“Then I’ll take you to where you’re staying,” said Nancy. “Come on.” Clutching their parkas, she started walking them toward the buildings. “You all must be staying at the wildlife quarters, right?”

“Uh—yes,” said Jack.

Nancy led Jack and Annie to a building at the edge of the compound. “Well, here you are. Home safe and sound.”

“Thanks!” said Annie.

“Bye!” said Jack. He was desperate to get away with Penny.

“Wait—” said Nancy.

Oh, no. What now?
thought Jack.

“I’m still worried about you guys,” said Nancy. “Are your parents really here to study penguins? I want you to tell me the true story now.”

Annie heaved a sigh. “Okay. The true story is that Jack and I came alone to Antarctica in a magic tree house—”

“Annie!” said Jack.

But Annie kept talking. “It belongs to Morgan le Fay of Camelot. Morgan wants us to find the fourth secret of happiness for Merlin the magician. See, he’s very sad. And as soon as we leave Antarctica, we’re headed for Camelot to cheer him up.”

Nancy just stared at Annie. Jack held his breath, afraid Nancy would finally have her heart attack.

But Nancy burst out laughing and shook her head. “Where did
that
come from?” she said. “You guys are so cute! How do you think up this stuff? Seriously now, tell me the truth.”

“Well …,” started Jack.

“Oh, look!” said Annie. “Mom! Dad!”

“What?” said Jack.

“There they are!” said Annie. She pointed to a couple bundled up in parkas, goggles, and ski masks. They were walking toward a building.

“Oh—right!” said Jack. “Mom! Dad!”

The couple kept walking and disappeared behind the building.

“They didn’t hear us!” said Annie. “We better
go! They’ll wonder where we are. Bye, Nancy! Thanks for everything!”

“Nancy, you coming with us for coffee?” Tony yelled, standing by the bus.

“You should go, Nancy,” said Annie. “We’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” said Nancy, sighing. “Bye, guys. Run and catch up with your folks.”

Peep!

Jack coughed his funny cough.

“And take care of that cough of yours, Jack!” said Nancy.

“Don’t worry, I will!” said Jack.

Then Jack and Annie took off. They ran behind the building. They stopped and peeked back around the corner. They watched Nancy walk off with Tony and the others.

“Let’s go,” said Jack. He and Annie hurried away from all the buildings at McMurdo Station.

Jack put his arms around Penny as they crossed the icy slope and ran to the cliff near the seashore.

The tree house was still there, tucked under the overhang. Annie climbed in through the window. Jack followed her, careful not to let Penny slip out of his parka.