by StacyPlays
While Paisley went off to find some materials to patch the crack in the side of the boat, Stacy took down the sail and removed the mildewy cushions from the pillows in the cabin and carried them down the beach to rinse them off. Page and Molly accompanied her, chasing gulls along the rocky shoreline. Pearl was already there, swimming happily in the ocean. Page dove into the water to swim with her. Stacy set about washing the sail and the cushions while keeping a watchful eye on Page as she tried her best to keep up with Pearl, who was swimming circles around her. Molly stayed on the shore, running away from the waves as they rolled in. Wait a minute, what am I thinking? I can’t put Molly on a boat and sail into the middle of the ocean if she refuses to swim. I don’t know if she even knows how! Stacy looked at the little dog.
“Okay, Molly,” she said in a calm voice. “You’re going to have your first swimming lesson today.”
Stacy set her washing aside on some rocks to dry and ran back to the boat. She scurried up the driftwood log with the notches and climbed down into the boat’s cabin and retrieved the swimming goggles she’d found. These are obviously meant for a human, but who says I can’t use them on a dog? Stacy walked back down to the beach where Molly was sitting. She bent down and delicately strapped the goggles around the dog’s head, tucking the strap under her floppy ears. Page and Pearl swam over to see what Stacy was doing.
“Pearl!” Stacy said with a sudden dawn of realization. “You can help me, actually!”
Stacy stood and picked Molly up, placing her on top of Pearl’s back.
“There you go, Molly,” Stacy cooed. “Pearl is going to take you for a little ride, nothing to be afraid of.”
Molly glared up at Stacy as Pearl set off on a slow swim in the calm ocean. Pearl made a couple of gentle turns, keeping Molly above the water.
“It’s okay, Molly!” Stacy called to the little dog, who was clinging to Pearl like her life depended on it. “You’re doing great!”
Suddenly, a mischievous grin appeared on Pearl’s face. She dove down under the water. Molly hit the water with all four of her paws and began to swim wildly. Stacy and Page cheered from the shore until they realized the little dog was sinking. Luckily, Pearl acted fast and swam under Molly as she sank, and pushed her up to the surface. Molly lay splayed out on Pearl’s back as the mermaid-like wolf swam back to the shore.
Molly stumbled off Pearl’s back and collapsed dramatically onto the beach. When she noticed that Stacy and Page were unfazed by her performance, she stood up and shook off for what seemed to Stacy to be an entire minute. Water droplets flew from Molly’s gigantic ears as she turned her head in circles, flapping them. The goggles flew off and landed several feet away from Molly. Then she walked forward, shaking her entire body and wiggling her butt rapidly.
“Are you okay, Molly?” Stacy asked earnestly.
The little dog offered a snort and then smugly walked up the beach and onto the sailboat.
Stacy sighed and bent down to pick up the goggles. “I guess we won’t be trying that again anytime soon.”
Stacy and Page walked back up into the sea cave to find Paisley and Basil huddled around a fire. On top of it was the cooking pot from the boat.
“Ooh, whatcha making?” Stacy asked. “Is this lunch?”
Stacy bent over the pot and took a deep breath in and recoiled in disgust. Inside the pot was a disgusting stew of mussels and slimy kelp. Paisley stirred the sticky concoction with a branch. There is no way I’m eating that. Just then, Stacy looked over at Noah, who had brought a bunch of clay he’d found around the beach over to the side of the boat with the large crack in it. A wave of realization washed over Stacy. Oh! Oh! Paisley is making a glue for the crack. Genius! We can fill the crack with the clay—it will harden and expand as it dries, and then we can seal it with Paisley’s glue!
Stacy and the wolves repaired the crack until the sun began to set. They sat back and admired their work while Page and Molly napped and Ribsy brought fresh-caught fish for supper into the cave.
A couple days passed. The days were short and consisted mainly of working on the boat, late-night bonfires on the beach, and early-morning dips in the ocean when it was more likely there wouldn’t be villagers nearby. Stacy slept in the tiny cabin on the boat along with Page, Molly, Wink, Paisley, and Ribsy. The other wolves—Everest, Atlas, Basil, and Noah—preferred to sleep on the deck of the boat. And Pearl, of course, liked sleeping on a flat rock at the base of the boat, where she could dip into a pool of water whenever she felt like it.
Stacy finished repairing all the tears in the sail, and Noah and Atlas helped her fasten it back on the boat. She’d spent a few hours carving a rune into the wall of the sea cave explaining where they intended to sail. She also made several attempts to get Molly back in the water for swimming practice, but each attempt was met with an increasing level of resistance. Stacy wasn’t sure if she should force Molly into the water or give up altogether and just adapt one of the boat’s life jackets to fit the small dog. But then, one morning, Stacy awoke with a thought in her head that she absolutely hated at first. But as the sun rose and the idea sank in, Stacy realized it was the only way. Basil should take Page and Molly back to the taiga, Everest. I’ve been thinking about it, and it’s not safe for them to come with us. Basil is so fast! If we secure both dogs on either side of her in the saddlebag, they could all be back in the taiga in time for whatever Addison is making for dinner tonight. It will be safer for them than coming with us. You know I’m right.
Everest came and sat down beside Stacy. She could tell he was mulling over everything Stacy had been thinking. We could even send Wink with them for added protection, Stacy added in case Everest wasn’t convinced. Basil would have to run a bit slower, but they’d be safe together. Think about it . . . your camouflage power and Noah’s underwater breathing will both come in handy on our trip. But speed and invincibility . . . those aren’t really things we need on an island surrounded by the ocean.
Everest nodded glumly. Stacy knew he wasn’t too keen on the idea. After all, Stacy couldn’t think of a time when she had been separated from her wolves like this. For as long as she could remember, it had been just her and her pack of six wolves in the taiga. But now they’d been away from Addison and Tucker for a considerable amount of time—and were going to separate from Wink and Basil. Stacy was comforted by the knowledge that the separation wouldn’t be for long. She would go and get the mesa pack settled on an island in the ocean and then return to the taiga as soon as possible. It would be summer soon, and Stacy had decided she would love nothing more than to work at the animal hospital and volunteer at the animal shelter in the village. She couldn’t wait to learn from Dr. Kay and Ezra. As for school in the fall, she still wasn’t sure how she felt about it. But having a nice summer in the taiga—with Page, Molly, Milquetoast, Pipsqueak, and all six wolves—sounded like the best thing in the world to her right now.
Stacy spent the rest of the morning reinforcing the pack that Basil would wear to carry Page and Molly. Stacy knew that Page was a few pounds heavier than Molly, so she sewed a small pocket in Molly’s side of the pack where she could store a few items to distribute the weight evenly on Basil’s back. This would help Basil run faster. Inside of it, Stacy placed a few pebbles and shells from the beach—the pebbles were just to add some extra weight to Molly’s side, but the shells she wanted back at the cave, so she could display them on her bookshelf and remember her time living at the ocean. She also added a few fish-skin treats for them to eat on the way. I’m not sure packing these in Molly’s side is a smart idea. I hope Page gets at least a couple of them and Molly doesn’t just help herself.
And then—whether Stacy liked it or not—it was time for Page, Molly, Basil, and Wink to head home to the taiga. Stacy walked with them to the little cove where they had spent their first night at the beach. Everest and Noah came along to say their good-byes as well. Even though it had been her idea, Stacy hated saying good-bye to these members of her pac
k, and she started to cry. She bent down to hug them each.
“Page, tell Milo to send word via the bats that you all made it home safe,” Stacy said, scratching behind the dog’s ears. “And give Addison, Tucker, and the cats lots of kisses from me.”
Stacy, Everest, and Noah watched for as long as they could as Basil and Wink climbed out of the cove, up the switchbacks, and out of their sight. Stacy, Everest, and Noah returned to the sea cave where the mesa pack was hanging out—all the work on the boat was complete. They had a quiet supper and an even quieter evening. Stacy didn’t realize how much she would miss Page and Molly—and also how noticeable it was that Wink and Basil (the two goofballs of her pack) were absent. She decided to go to bed in the ship’s cabin early and decode more of the tundra explorer’s journal.
We arrived in the tundra late last night to what can only be described as a bittersweet discovery. Diamond is pregnant again. This is, of course, thrilling news as it means we will soon have even more wolves with, we can only presume, more unique abilities. It presents a rather dire logistical problem, however, as the tundra is severely lacking in resources these days. The current litter is not even a year old and growing fast. Without any other adult pack members to lighten the load, it’s far too much work for Ames to provide for five young pups and another litter on the way. My first inclination is to relocate the pups. Yes, they are young. But they are gifted, after all, and they have each other. If we move them while they are young, they will adapt. We are taking a very hands-off approach to interacting with the pups now, as we want them to be self-sufficient and slightly apprehensive of humans. The nearby taiga would be an excellent home biome for the pack: plenty of food and shelter. It should be easy for them to survive, and thrive, there. And we will be able to check in on them, from a distance, and intervene if necessary.
Stacy read the journal entry a second time. And then she read it a third. This is it. Finally. This is the answer to how my pack of Arctic wolves came to the taiga. It was a piece of the story Stacy had been missing for so long, but now that she had it—she wanted more. She was desperate to keep reading, but her eyes—tired from swimming and crying that day—could not stay open another minute. Stacy blew out her candle and tried to quiet her mind. But she knew that sleep would not come easily.
Fourteen
STACY WOKE UP. It was still dark out, but she was surprised to see that Atlas, Ribsy, Everest, and Paisley had managed to lift the boat off the driftwood logs as the morning tide came in. They want to leave? Now? Stacy hesitated . . . she knew today was the day they should try to sail toward the little islands on the map. The weather had been calm last night, and with Page and Molly gone and Pearl completely healed, there was nothing standing in their way. Stacy hadn’t planned on setting sail for the islands until the sun had come up and they could see where they were going, but now that she thought about it, it was smarter to do it in the cover of darkness, to be sure they didn’t run into any other ships. Besides, who knows if I’ll even be able to get the boat to work. This may end up being just a practice run.
Stacy donned the yellow rain jacket, as the sun was still not up and Tucker was not around to make the boat’s cabin warm. Stacy wished Tucker was there just as much as she wished Addison was with her. Addison would know how to sail this boat better than me. She would have read something in a book sometime or at least have better instincts about it. I don’t know what I’m doing.
Stacy climbed the couple stairs from the boat’s tiny cabin and looked around the sea cave. The tide was high, causing the boat to rise in the water to the point where its mast was almost poking the top of the cave. Everest and Noah were pulling up the boat’s anchor that had been keeping it in the cave. The boat began to glide out of the cave with the current, and with one last powerful tug, the two wolves heaved the heavy metal anchor on deck.
Stacy’s legs wobbled as the boat rocked up and down with the ocean’s powerful early morning waves. She grabbed onto the closest wolf to her—Ribsy’s bony frame—and steadied herself. What am I doing? I don’t have the foggiest clue how to captain a sailboat. I’m going to get us all killed. Just as Stacy was about to tell her wolves that she wanted to literally jump ship, Atlas sprang into action. He unfurled the boat’s sail and instructed Noah to tie a knot at the base of the mast.
“Atlas!” Stacy exclaimed. “Of course!” Atlas took his position at the front of the boat and filled the sail with a powerful gust of wind. The boat surged forward, cutting forcefully through the water. Stacy was amazed and let out a huge sigh of relief. Atlas can do this. He can control the wind! He can do things like use the wind to jump really, really high or send a gust of wind to push me backward to save me from falling off a cliff. Of course he can fill a sail with it too!
Stacy looked behind her as they sailed away from the coast. She could still see the small sea cave, the cove, the rocky point, and the villagers’ beach, but all those landmarks appeared smaller and smaller by the minute. She looked above the cove to the series of switchbacks that Basil and Wink had run up on their way home to the taiga. Stacy felt a little nervous about traveling even farther away from her home—and from Page and Molly, who were probably already back in the cave with Milquetoast and Pipsqueak—but Stacy knew she would be safe with her wolves. And by that, Stacy wasn’t just thinking about Everest and Noah. Sure, she felt completely safe in their company. She always had. But she also felt safe with Atlas, Ribsy, Paisley, and Pearl. They were part of her crazy wolf family now—a fact that Stacy couldn’t be happier about.
Stacy looked one more time at the fading coastline in the distance and then reached over and hugged Paisley as she turned to face the rising sun. Stacy squinted to look around the boat at her new pack. Paisley was standing next to Stacy, her bandanna rippling in the wind. Atlas worked the sail while Everest stood near the ship’s wheel, guiding it every so often to keep the boat on course. Noah was at the very front of the boat, basking in all the water droplets that were spraying up in his face. Ribsy was lounging in the ship’s cabin. Stacy turned around in a full circle. Someone is missing. Wait . . . where’s Pearl?
Stacy ran into the cabin to see if Pearl was hiding on the bench or somewhere Stacy couldn’t see from the deck. But only Ribsy was down there, sprawled out on the cushions Stacy had cleaned. Stacy was about to rush back out onto the deck to tell Atlas that Pearl was missing when something caught her eye. She climbed up into the large porthole above the platform that Ribsy was sleeping on and pressed her nose to the glass. There was Pearl, swimming alongside the boat, weaving gracefully through schools of fish and stingrays. Wow. She really is like a mermaid. Stacy happily sat curled up in the porthole watching Pearl swim for what must have been close to an hour. The agile wolf never tired, and Stacy never tired of taking in all of the interesting marine life they were passing: jellyfish, cuttlefish, sand tiger sharks, and eels. Suddenly, several gray shapes appeared swimming next to her. Stacy focused her eyes and gasped. Dolphins! A pod of ten or fifteen dolphins caught up to the sailboat and began swimming around it. Stacy ran out of the cabin and onto the deck just in time to see one of the dolphins from the pod leap out of the water and jump completely over the bow of the boat. Mouth agape, Stacy watched the dolphin as it soared in the air. Pearl followed the dolphin’s lead and also jumped out of the water and over the sailboat. Stacy almost couldn’t believe it. But of course, she did believe it. These wolves were incredible and, as far as Stacy was concerned, there was nothing they couldn’t do.
Atlas lowered the sail and slowed the boat down while Noah jumped into the ocean to join Pearl and the dolphins. The pod stayed with the boat for twenty minutes or so, and in that time, Stacy and the other wolves were so busy watching Pearl and Noah playing in the ocean with the dolphins that they didn’t look up once. If they had, they surely would have seen the ominous black clouds roll in and the lightning striking the ocean in the distance. . . .
Fifteen
BEFORE STACY COULD retrieve the life jacket f
rom the boat’s cabin, the storm was upon them. The deck of the boat was slick with rainwater, and Stacy knew if she tried to maneuver toward the stairs, she’d slip and fall. She feared for her life like she never had before. She was more scared than when the taiga forest had been engulfed in flames. More panicked than when an avalanche swept her hundreds of feet off a cliff and buried her under snow. And more frightened than she’d been when she was staring down the barrel of a farmer’s shotgun. Because right now, Stacy and her wolves were completely at the mercy of the sea. There was nothing they could do to escape the huge waves that were crashing down on top of the boat’s deck. All they could do was ride out the storm and hope they survived.
The small sailboat rocked back and forth wildly as it was pummeled by one huge wave after another. Noah and Pearl watched in horror from the sea as they swam alongside the boat, waiting to see if Stacy or one of the wolves was going to fall overboard and need rescuing. Stacy was relieved that Ribsy and Paisley were safe at least—they were huddled together in the ship’s small cabin. On the deck, Atlas was doing all he could to keep the sail from being torn to shreds in the storm’s fierce winds. Stacy was at the wheel of the boat, trying in vain to keep it sailing in a straight line. Everest stood behind her, keeping Stacy secure between him and the wheel, but every couple minutes, a giant wave would come crashing down and send them sliding backward on the deck. They’d spend the next minute fighting their way back to the wheel only to repeat the process a minute later.
“Rocks ahead!” Stacy screamed at the top of her lungs to Everest and Atlas. Those weren’t on the map, Stacy thought to herself as she caught glimpses of the formidable rocks in between the wave’s sizable swells. I’ll have to try to steer the boat around them! Stacy turned the boat’s wheel just in time to narrowly avoid the first large rock. Yes! Maybe I can do this! She wiped the rain and wet hair away from her eyes and looked ahead.
