Peter--The Assault

PETER—THE ASSAULT

Ned raced across to the rail gate.   The metal ladder hung intact down the side of the ship.  At its foot floating in the brash ice, two polar bears Nochoska and another, Petuk.  Ropes trailing from their mouths attached to a kayak bobbing about in the brash.

Ned climbed over and, clinging to the metal banister, descended.  Nochoska emerging, shook and snorted and watched as Ned climbed into the kayak, then he and Petuk, heads hardly visible above the scattered ice, drew the kayak into the open water, where Ned began paddling vigorously.

The two bears swimming side by side pulled the boat steadily through the dark blue sea of Beijick Bay - the breeze whipping up wavelets.  The pale blue sky above tinged with pink on the horizon.  Not far away, gleaming in the sunshine, two large icebergs drifting towards the open sea.  Beyond them Ned could make out the shore of Howlett’s Island.  The rugged brown headland patched with snow was where they would find safety.   

Inshore winds impeded their progress.  Halfway across the bay, shouts and cries were heard on the SS RADEX EXPLORER.  Ned turned.  The motor launch was being lowered into the sea.

“We’re being chased, Nochoska!” he cried, redoubling his efforts with the paddle. The two bears just ploughed on.  Alas, they were no match for the launch. The powerful inboard motor sent it surging forward. Five minutes later, Ned’s heart sank; a quick glance and he could clearly make out the sealskin-coated men aboard. But when he looked to the front, Nochoska and Petuk had changed direction. Ned gulped.  They were heading for the nearest iceberg.

As they drew closer, the weather-beaten battlements of ice loomed menacingly above them. Ned felt nervous. The wind dropped as they moved easily across the becalmed waters of a cove of ice and entered a cave at the foot of a towering buttress of ice.

The sounds of the motorboat and seabirds’ cries were all suddenly lost and Ned closed his eyes as they passed beneath a portcullis of jagged giant icicles, whose dagger points hung forbiddingly above them.  The roar of the motorboat and seabirds’ cries all suddenly banished as they glided into a glistening world, whose silence was broken by the plash of Ned’s paddle and the occasional ominous crack of ice. The kayak sped along a narrow channel of bottle- green water that turned to a sombre blue as the light diminished.

Aboard the motor launch Petty Officer Timpson ordered “Cut the engine!”  The craft began to stutter, slow and bob in the waters at a safe distance from the formidable iceberg. Timpson stared through his binoculars thoughtfully, watching as the kayak was swallowed by the iceberg.

 “We’re not going in there,” he said earnestly “I’ve seen those things topple and disintegrate.  It’s too dangerous.”  The three hooded crewmen watched with fascination.  A fourth sat apart at the stern. An indescribably ugly man, long hair falling from his hood, his face a bush of whiskers, long incisor teeth, hanging over his bottom lip. He got up and leaning over the side, let out a terrible scream that made his companions shiver with fear.

Timpson waited for kayak to reappear, then shook his head. “To the ship,” he barked.  With a roar, the engines came back to life.  

In the ice tunnel Ned was overawed by the gloomy, glistening world around him and wondered where Nochoska was taking them.  Beneath the shadowy but clear water he could make out the bed of ice about six metres down. When a shaft of bright light appeared ahead, Ned felt a sense of relief.

The tunnel of ice abruptly ended, opening up into a grand hall whose walls were curtains of ice.  A brilliant beam of light burst into this grand chamber through a crevasse that zigzagged across a ceiling draped with stalactites.  The kayak was now upon a kingfisher blue lake whose shores were surrounded by labyrinths of ice.

Nochoska seemed to be heading to a bank that lay some distance before them. Ned was distracted by a snort. He turned. Three walrus, their large bulbous bodies moving swiftly beneath the waters like submarines.  To his horror, two of them swam alongside Petuk, turning and slashing at her. Petuk released the rope and, swerving round, began to defend herself. The third walrus swam beneath Nochoska, somersaulting and trying to strike at her belly. She let go of the rope and disappeared beneath the surface. Ned paddled frantically for the ice shore and pulled the kayak clear.

In front of him now, the once tranquil waters boiled with motion as the polar bears did battle with the walrus.  At moments the walrus seemed to leap out of the water and then fell back, with great explosions of water sending waves lapping the shore. The combatants charged and swerved and crashed. The force and confusion were so great. Ned could not make out amongst the swirling bodies who was winning. He stood aghast, helpless as pools of blood began to appear in great patches.  It had never once occurred to him that the walrus would be enemies. Heads appeared momentarily, gasped at the air and disappeared as the struggle ensued. Then one of the walrus floated immobile like a grey island in the lake. The battle continued.  Suddenly in a swirling whirlpool of water Ned was aware of two dark shapes slipping towards the tunnel. For some moments nothing happened.

“Nochoska! Nochoska!” Ned called, running to the edge of the lake. The bloodied head of the bear appeared in the middle of the lake and slowly made its way towards the shore. He emerged from the waters, slashes across his legs seeping blood. He shook himself.

Ned raced forward. “Nochoska! Nochoska!”  Put his arm around his neck. “Where is Petuk?”  Nochoska shook his head and stared for a moment at the lake. Moving towards the rope, he began to pull the kayak across the shelf of ice. Ned stopped, paralysed, between the lake and the departing Nochoska.. Staring at the lake, the bloodstained body of Patuk had emerged, floating limp in the centre of the pool, limbs outstretched.

Overwhelmed with anguish, Ned stood, head bowed motionless. A fierce bark rang out at the top the shelf.  Nochoska was standing on the rise, turning his head as good as to say “Come, come away.” Ned couldn’t move. There was a huge symphony of cracks; the ice beneath his feet began to quake, the walls shudder.  Nochoska’s bark became almost a snarl.  Confused, Ned scrambled up the incline to the crest.

SUBSCRIPT

Ned had never realized until now that the walrus did not want to expel the oil explorers. This will have a serious effect on the plot.  The loss of  Petuk, a close friend, has triggered a memory of his former life and how his family must feel the loss of his presence.