Читать книгу Polar Quest - Alex Archer - Страница 14

When Annja’s alarm clock erupted at three o’clock, she moaned and wanted nothing more than to slam the snooze bar down and sleep for another year. Her dreams had been mostly scattered images of her past adventures and how many injuries she’d sustained throughout them. It felt as if she’d been reliving the greatest hits of her past rather than enjoying the deep levels of sleep that would heal her.

Despite the reckless smorgasbord of dreams, Annja woke with her rib feeling much better than it had when she’d gone to sleep. She probed around the injury and decided that it must not have been as bad as she’d feared.

“That’s something, anyway,” she said to herself as she gingerly got out of bed. Her feet touched the warm carpet and she padded into the bathroom.

Once there, she carefully stripped off the tape around her midsection. The deep purple that had colored the bruised area last night was now a light yellow. Annja frowned. Was it really possible that the sword had healed her?

She started the water for her bath and watched the clouds of steam fill up the bathroom. Annja added some soap and waited as the bubbles blossomed in the water, rapidly filling the entire tub.

She took a deep breath and finished stripping off the rest of her clothes. She felt as if she had thousands of miles of road grunge on her. She hadn’t bathed in over a day and was certain that she must have a peculiar array of scents wafting about even now.

The bathroom was filled with steam when she finally turned off the spigot. She looked at the bubbly surface and then eased herself into the bath. The water greeted her like a warm blanket and she slid all the way into the tub, letting the water cover her.

The scent of the lavender soap filled the air as the bubbles began popping from her movements in the water. She lathered up and felt as if she were molting a layer of grimy skin.

When she was done she stepped from the tub and wrapped a towel around her head and a plush robe around herself. At the mirror, she wiped off the condensation and then checked herself over. She looked fatigued, but she was rapidly waking up. She ran a brush through her moist hair and noticed there was a hair dryer plugged into a wall-mounted unit.

Annja laughed. Probably not the smartest thing to do, go running outside with wet hair. She took the hair dryer and used it until she was satisfied that her hair was completely dry.

She put on some moisturizer that contained a bit of sunblock. She knew the harsh environment would be hard on her skin.

Back in her bedroom, Annja let the robe slide to the floor and stepped into a pair of thermal underwear. Not exactly glamorous, she thought, checking herself out in the mirror. Over the thermals, she added a turtleneck shirt and then a flannel shirt on top of that before pulling on her flannel-lined jeans. She slid two pairs of thick woolen socks over her feet and then stood again.

She felt a lot thicker now.

And hungry.

The wings she’d eaten last night hadn’t done much to relieve her hunger. She poked her head out of the bedroom and wondered if the rooming house had a galley kitchen where she could find some food.

Annja wandered downstairs. A couple of people slept on couches. Beyond the sitting room, she could just make out the kitchen. The lights were on and someone moved around inside it.

Trevor.

“You’re up early,” she said.

He grinned. “Good morning to you, too. How you feeling today?”

“Actually, not all that bad.”

Trevor looked shocked. “Really? A busted rib would set a lot of people on their heels for a few weeks. But you’re okay, huh?”

“It’s only cracked and I guess it wasn’t as bad as we thought.”

“That so?”

Annja shrugged.

He gestured at the stove. “You hungry?”

“Starving.”

“There’s oatmeal. I just made a batch. It’s as fresh as we get it down here. Coffee’s in the pot. Help yourself.”

“Thanks.” Annja got herself a bowl and a mug and scooped some oatmeal into the bowl. As she poured herself a cup of coffee, Trevor came back and handed her a bottle of maple syrup.

“Not sure if you like it—”

“I do.”

He nodded. “Here you go, then.”

Annja poured some on her oatmeal and then followed Trevor out to a small laminate table. She sat and started right in on the oatmeal.

Trevor watched her for a few minutes without saying anything. Finally, he cleared his throat. “You’re up awfully early.”

Annja nodded. “I’m headed out this morning.”

“When?”

Annja checked her watch. “In about a half hour.”

“This early? Where’s the fire?”

Annja smiled. “Horlick Mountain.”

Trevor whistled. “Wow, that’s some haul. Gonna be a long day for you, Annja. I hope your ribs are up to it. Those Sno-Cats aren’t the most luxurious way to travel, if you get my meaning.”

“It’s far?”

“About five hundred kilometers. In good weather. With those Sno-Cats, you guys are going to be looking at a full day, maybe a day and a half of travel. Be better if you just flew.”

“Why aren’t we?”

Trevor smiled. “Weather. It rules the roost around here. This time of year, it’s not safe for a routine flight. We only put planes up if there’s no other alternative.”

“I see.” She sipped her coffee and moaned. “Wow, that’s good stuff.”

Trevor nodded. “I import some nice blends down here. It’s my guilty pleasure, I guess.”

“How long have you been here?” she asked.

“Nine months.”

Annja ate another spoonful of her oatmeal. “Quite a haul.”

“Money’s good. You come down here and you can earn more in a year than you do in five back in the real world. It’s a hefty cost, though, being alone and cut off from the rest of the world. Especially this time of year. The darkness can get to you. But there are benefits, too.”

“Such as?”

Trevor swallowed some coffee. “The landscape is utterly amazing. In a lot of ways, it’s like being on another planet. When you’re out there and away from any signs of civilization, you can almost imagine what it’s like to be out in space.”

Annja nodded. “You miss home?”

“All the time.”

“What about your family?”

Trevor shook his head. “Grew up in orphanages. And I don’t have any emotional attachments. I guess that’s why I’m something of a poster boy for Antarctic employees. No strings back home aside from a few friends who think I’m nuts for coming down here.”

“But you do it anyway,” Annja said.

Trevor nodded. “Maybe the real world just isn’t my cup of tea. I think I like it down here better than I ever would back there.”

Annja finished her oatmeal. Trevor stood. “You want some more?”

Annja held up her hand. “I don’t think I have time. Still have to brush my teeth and then climb into my gear. Oh—”

Trevor smiled. “I got your parka from Dunning. I’ll see you off when you come back down, if you don’t mind.”

Annja nodded. “Sure. Thanks.”

She went back upstairs and used the toilet and then brushed her teeth. Trevor seemed like a nice guy and he’d certainly been a big help to her last night. But what would make a guy like that want to run away from the real world? What had driven him down here in the first place? she wondered.

She slid a thick hat onto her head and then climbed into her snow pants and boots. She’d left the parka downstairs. She could put it on when she was headed out the door.

She took a final glimpse at her room. Comfortable, she thought. And it had certainly been a nice place to crash last night. She wondered where she’d be sleeping from here on out.

Trevor was as good as his word and met her at the bottom of the stairs by the front door. “Got everything you need?”

Annja nodded. “I think so. But honestly there’s not much to bring. Just my laptop in my bag and a few articles of clothing and toiletries. Beyond that, what’s the use?”

“You left the bathing suit at home, in other words.”

“Exactly.”

Trevor smiled and held up a small resealable bag. “Here, take this with you.”

“What’s this?”

“Some of my coffee. You seemed to like it an awful lot, and I can’t imagine where you’re going there’s anything nearly as good as this. So, please, take the bag of it. I insist.”

“Thanks, Trevor, that’s awfully nice of you.”

“Just remember me when that coffee’s the only thing keeping you from freezing your ass off out in the woolly cold.”

Annja smiled. “I will.”

From outside, she thought she could hear an engine somewhere off in the distance.

Trevor seemed to hear it, too. “Sounds like your ride,” he said.

“Guess so.”

“You be careful out there, Annja. Okay?”

She looked at him. “Why so concerned?”

Trevor shook his head. “You seem like a smart woman. I don’t like seeing good people get into things over their heads, you know?”

“Okay.”

“All I’m saying is be careful. I’ve heard what happened out there—the environmental spill and all. I just hope it’s not all that bad. Spoiling the natural beauty of this place would be a great shame. And I’d hate for you to get mixed up in any of that crap.”

Annja squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

“All right, then.”

The engine noise grew louder. Annja turned for her parka.

“Let me help you with that,” Trevor said.

“Thanks.” Annja slid into the parka and then zipped up the front. Trevor eyed her. “Ribs still feeling okay?”

“Pretty good, actually, yeah.”

“Okay then, Miss Creed, I hereby pronounce you ready for Antarctic exploration. Godspeed to you.”

Annja smiled and pulled her hood up. The engine noise had diminished to an idle right outside the door.

Annja stepped outside and felt the Antarctic morning greet her with a solid one-two punch in the blast of frigid air. She hustled over to the Sno-Cat and heaved her bag up into the cab.

She climbed up on the track and slid inside, pulling the door shut tight behind her.

“Good morning,” Dave said. “How are you feeling?”

Annja smiled. “Oh, let me tell you about that.”

Dave slid the Sno-Cat into gear. Annja looked out the window at Trevor, who still stood silhouetted in the doorway.

Just as she was about to wave goodbye, he closed the door.