by Chris Kurtz
She bent her head and looked closer. The field was covered with ice crystals sticking up like a garden of little diamonds. Sophia was beside her now, and the two animals walked slowly into the crystal blossoms. Flora was enchanted.
For a moment she forgot she was hungry, tired, and ill-equipped to make this journey. She forgot to worry about Oscar. She forgot to worry that there would never be a useful job for her. She kicked up her front hooves with each step and watched the ice crystals scatter in front of her.
But Sophia fell behind, picking her way along the trail tenderly.
When Flora looked back to see what was the matter, she saw a spot of red inside each of her friend’s small footprints.
“Sophia,” said Flora. “You’re bleeding.”
Sophia stopped. “Thanks for the info, Doc.” She licked her front paws, took another step and winced, but kept moving. “It’s like walking on needles.”
“Sophia, I think we just discovered one good use for hooves. Climb on my back.”
“Impossible.” Sophia swished her tail. “Does Sophia look like a circus monkey to you? Cats don’t ride pigs. They don’t ride anything if they have any dignity—and I’m saving my last shred.”
“Who’s going to laugh at you out here in the middle of nowhere?”
“I don’t care. Sophia is no monkey, and you’re no pony. Thank you.”
Flora planted herself in front of Sophia. “I know cats like to be independent and everything,” she said, “but you’re going to hurt your paws, and then I’ll really have to take care of you.”
The tip of Sophia’s tail twitched back and forth. “I suppose. But if you say a word of this to anyone...”
I won't. I promise.
Sophia leaped easily onto Flora’s broad back. Flora looked out at the two smooth lines of sled tracks. They seemed to go on forever. But the sun was shining, and the trail ahead was clear. Her spirits lifted. She took her first few steps—
“Hey, watch the claws, Sheriff,” Flora said. “You’re digging them right through the coat and into my skin.”
“Well, then, don’t walk so bumpy!” snapped Sophia.
Flora slowed down and tried to smooth out her walk. “I wonder how Oscar was able to keep going in this stuff.”
“Dog booties. Aleric was sewing some out of leather the night before they left. I think he got the idea from the sailors. All the other dogs had them.”
The tracks in front of them led out in a straight line that went on for hours. Finally the ice crystals gave way to snow that became deeper and more and more powdery. Sophia hopped down and walked lightly across the surface. The churned-up snow between the sled tracks showed that Oscar and Aleric had to work hard to keep moving forward through the powder.
Flora also found the going tough, even after the land flattened out. Her hooves sank down until her jacket was dragging in the snow. She could no longer walk. Instead, she had to leap forward, charging through it. Every third leap she had to stop and catch her breath.
Sophia studied her. “I don’t think this is working.”
“Just go ahead,” Flora panted. “You can go faster without me. When you catch up with them, let them know I’m coming.”
Sophia paused for a moment and then without a word pranced away.
Flora watched until she disappeared, then tried to struggle on, but there was no more leap in her. All she could do was flounder in the right direction. She got more and more exhausted, and, each time she stopped, she imagined Sophia getting farther and farther ahead.
She began to talk to herself to find strength.
“Never ... out ... of ... options.”
With each stroke of her legs, Flora repeated the words Luna had taught her so long ago. Then she added a phrase. “Cats may have nine lives, but pigs ... don’t ... give ... up.”
She worked like this until the light began to fade. Finally, Flora had to get some rest.
A cave was easy to make here. All she had to do was flop down and wiggle her body about. As she rested her head, she felt the soft feathers of fresh snowflakes land on her snout. Flora thought for a moment that a snowfall might be bad news, but she was too tired to be concerned.
Chapter 33
The next morning, Flora had to push her way through a heavy blanket of fresh snow. She shook it off and tried to ignore her grumbling stomach. To her surprise, Sophia was sitting a short ways off. She didn’t turn around when Flora called her name, so Flora asked, “What’s for breakfast?”
Sophia still didn’t answer. Her tail swished a half circle in the snow.
Flora looked around in every direction.
A cold, hard lump grew in her throat.
“Sophia.” Flora tried to swallow and couldn’t. Her voice shook. “Where are the sled tracks? Where are our tracks?”
“Gone,” said Sophia. “Covered over last night.”
Flora looked out again, unbelieving. All of her deep floundering from the day before had been completely cleaned up. The land was spotless and smooth. Flora felt like a tiny dot—she and Sophia, the only two things alive on the face of the earth.
Sophia stepped daintily up to Flora, shaking the snow from her paws.
“Why did you come back?” asked Flora.
“I’m sticking with my team.” Sophia sat and looked down. “I know I said sorry yesterday, but I ... um ... never properly said thank you for helping me with those rats.”
“How do you know I wasn’t trying to get in good with Big Amos?” Flora asked.
“You kept helping me even after he chained you up again.” Sophia looked long and hard into Flora’s eyes.
Flora had never been able to stare back at a cat for long, even when it was a friendly stare from Luna. But this time it was the cat that looked away eventually.
“I’ve been corrupted,” Sophia said. “I used to have unfailing cat common sense. I hardly recognize myself anymore. What kind of cat takes up with dogs and pigs? But I can’t help it. I’m a team member now, so I came back.”
Flora smiled. “We need a plan.”
“No plan is going to get us out of this mess.” Sophia sounded as tired and hungry as Flora felt. “We’re doomed. If Oscar doesn’t come back the exact same way he went, we’re finished.”
Flora nudged Sophia with her nose. “Cats are good at keeping clean,” she said. “Dogs are good at running forever without getting tired. And I think that pigs are good at being optimistic and not giving up even when things are really bad. So today we’re going to do things the pig way, okay?”
Flora explained her idea. She and Sophia would walk in a straight line away from each other until the middle of the day. Then they’d turn around, follow their paths back, and meet in the middle again. This way, Oscar and Aleric were sure to come across the tracks on their return trip.
Flora began to walk. It was no easier than before. She knew that she would go more slowly through the deep snow than her lighter friend, but she also knew that her tracks would be deeper and easier for Oscar to recognize.
When Flora turned around at midday, her heart lifted as she headed toward Sophia. She still couldn’t believe that crazy cat had come back in the night to find her. If Sophia had followed the sled tracks before they disappeared, she might have located Oscar and Aleric, which would have meant finding food and rescue. She’d had the chance to save herself. It wasn’t in her nature to make a decision for the sake of a friend. But that was what it seemed she had done.
At the end of the day, Flora and Sophia met in the middle again. When Flora saw how tired Sophia was, instead of throwing her tired body down as she wanted to, Flora slowly dug out a fresh snow cave. She and Sophia collapsed together without a word. For that, Flora was thankful. She didn’t want to have to hide her disappointment. She had silently hoped that Aleric and Oscar would have shown up by now.
Flora closed her eyes and had one happy thought. So far, there didn’t appear to be any wind or snowfall tonight to undo their hard work.
&n
bsp; Chapter 34
The morning it wasn’t the cold or the hunger pangs that woke Flora. It wasn’t a soft meow or the delicious smell of food in her dreams.
It was a big sloppy lick from a big sloppy tongue!
“Oscar!” Flora squealed, and jumped up in a spray of powder.
Sophia yowled in surprise at being woken this way, but she soon joined Flora in dancing around their friend.
Aleric stood smiling a short way off. He was still hooked to the sled, while Oscar’s line lay in the snow.
“I knew you would find us!” shouted Flora. “I knew you’d come back the same way you went.”
Oscar’s wagging tail flew up. “What are you two doing out here?”
“Looking for you.” Sophia ran with her tail high to Aleric and climbed his legs until she was in his arms. Aleric laughed.
“We were afraid you wouldn’t be strong enough to make it.” Flora bumped Oscar’s chin with her nose and got another lick in return.
“You don’t know how tough an old dog can be,” said Oscar. But Flora thought he looked rundown—exhausted even.
“We wanted to help you get the food, but we lost your tracks,” said Flora.
“Well, it’s a good thing you left some tracks yourself, because otherwise we would have passed you right by. We started back only today, and the sled is a lot heavier.”
Flora held her breath for a moment. “You found the food?” She looked over at the sled, and her mouth began watering.
Aleric had unwrapped the load and was giving Sophia something. Then he waded through the deep snow to deliver two frozen fish to Flora.
Those two fish were the sweetest things she could ever remember tasting. Aleric stayed close while she ate and, when she was done, bent down and hugged her. “You are one crazy pig, you know that? You disappear and then show up at the wildest times. What are you doing out here?”
Aleric walked back to the sled, tossed Flora two more fish, and then whistled. Oscar trudged his way to his pull line. Aleric hooked him to his harness, and they started out, the boy and dog side by side and the sled behind with Sophia on top.
They could only creep.
Flora watched for another moment and then plowed through the snow until she was out in front of Oscar. The food had revived her, and she was determined to be helpful. She was going to make a path for him. She knew getting through the deep powder would be even harder for Oscar with the heavy load. Every step she took packed the snow down and made it easier for her friend. Knowing this made the work easier for her, too.
But being homemade, the sled didn’t slide as smoothly as it should have. Sometimes Aleric stashed his pull line on the food box and dropped behind to push.
When they finally passed the stretch of deep drifts and were back on more solid snow, the company stopped for a breather. Flora made her way to where Sophia had hopped down and was watching over Oscar. He hadn’t bothered to wait for Aleric to take off the rope before collapsing.
Flora was alarmed to hear the rattling in his throat again. “Oscar, you don’t sound so good,” she said. He didn’t answer. He was too busy trying to catch his breath.
Aleric knelt by the dog’s side. “Here you go, boy. Let’s get that line off you.” He unfastened the rope and rubbed Oscar’s side for a few minutes. Then he went to check on the food boxes.
“Pulling ... is like ... medicine,” panted Oscar.
“I think you might be getting a little too much medicine on this trip,” said Sophia. “Can’t you take it easier?”
Oscar didn’t say more, and all too soon Aleric came back to hook him up. The dog struggled to his feet. Before long they came to the field of ice crystals. Flora hadn’t noticed the leather booties on Oscar’s feet until now, but there they were, just as Sophia had said.
The icy crust that supported the crystals was thick enough to hold Flora and Oscar’s weight. But the much heavier sled kept breaking through, causing the runners to end up stuck in the soft snow underneath. When this happened, Aleric had to yank the sled back through the crust and find a new path.
They would travel only a short distance before the sled would break through again. There was nothing Flora could do to help.
Finally, Aleric leaned against the sled. “Night’s coming, anyway.” Stumbling forward, he unhooked Oscar, who just lay on the snow with his sides heaving. Aleric brought out a tent and a small stove. Soon supper was cooking, and Flora could almost taste the warm fish stew.
It might have been a happy time, Flora thought. They were rescuers coming back to save the day. They had enough to eat. But there was no cheer in the small camp.
Flora and Sophia stayed near Oscar, who didn’t move from where he had dropped. When supper was ready, he wouldn’t eat. His throat was still rattling.
“Come on, boy. I’m depending on you,” Aleric coaxed. “You’re my engine. I didn’t work you too hard, did I?”
When it was time to sleep, Aleric carried him inside the tent. Flora poked her head through the opening. The boy had made a bed of blankets for Oscar next to his own bed. “You’ll feel better tomorrow, buddy,” he said.
Sophia stepped into the tent and curled up at the dog’s side. Aleric crawled inside his blankets and patted the space on the other side of him. “Come on, pig. There’s room for everyone, and this tent needs all the body heat it can get.”
Flora lay beside Aleric, thinking about the captain. How was he doing without the body heat of a pig to warm him? Then she listened to the rough sound of Oscar’s breathing a long time before she went to sleep.
Chapter 35
In the morning, Flora was the first one outside. This was going to be a hard day. She might as well have a moment to herself while she could.
The new sky showed points of light—stars that weren’t ready to leave their place yet. Like little eyes, they were watching and blinking from high above the world. She thought of the stars looking down on her mother and brothers and Luna on the farm, and she wondered how two such different places could exist in the same world.
If she ever went back, what stories she’d have to tell. Rat hunting. Captain rescuing. And now...
She pawed listlessly at the snow around the sled runners. Her coat felt like a second skin, and she was warm. But nothing could warm up her thoughts, which had turned chilly.
No way could Oscar pull that sled for another day, even with Aleric helping. The problem was, Oscar would try. There was no quit in that dog and he would pull and pull ... until he died. If Oscar didn’t make it back to camp, if this little trip failed, it wouldn’t be a disaster for them alone. Flora blinked.
Was the captain wondering why they had deserted him?
Maybe the sailor’s leg would get better and he’d hobble out to look for them. Maybe he’d stumble over their frozen bodies. Then at least the captain would know they’d been trying to help.
“See?” the sailor would say. “They reached the supplies. Just didn’t have a sled dog strong enough to get them to us.”
Sled puller, she corrected him in her mind.
Flora grunted. Her snout tingled. She looked up again at the stars.
Where were all these terrible thoughts coming from?
She walked away from the sled and stared back at it for a long time. Flora couldn’t change the cold or the snow or whether someone thought of her as food. But she could believe in herself again—just as she used to.
By the time the others were ready to go, Flora was in place. Oscar dragged himself out of the tent, looking as if the night’s sleep had not helped much. He glanced around, confused when he couldn’t see his harness on the snow. He wandered over and sniffed Aleric’s empty line before seeming to wake up to what was going on.
Oscar got in Flora’s face and growled. “This is not a job for pigs! We’re not playing now—we’re working here!”
When Flora didn’t move, he snarled and snapped at her.
Flora stepped sideways. This was not good. She wasn’t going to be
a very strong sled puller with teeth marks in her snout. She quickly slipped out of the harness and hurried to the back of the sled.
Aleric packed the tent, pots, and other equipment, then hooked himself and Oscar up to pull. The going was easier today. The crust of ice on the surface of the snow had firmed up in the night. The sled runners ran more smoothly, but Oscar still stumbled at times.
Aleric was on one side of him, pulling, and Flora walked along on the other side—but a little bit behind, so she didn’t have to face Oscar’s anger again.
She was glad to see Aleric change course to go around the hill they had slid down. On this new path, the ice crystals ended and the land gradually sloped upward. After a few minutes, the snow softened again and the sled got stuck in a small snowdrift. Aleric slipped out of his loop and went to push.
Flora didn’t hesitate.
She ran and nosed Aleric’s loop of rope around her neck. “You’ll just have to bite me,” she said to Oscar.
He lifted his lips to show his teeth, but he was breathing so hard, he couldn’t do much more.
When the sled was freed, Aleric walked to the front. He laughed. “Ho, piggy. You’re a funny one. Listen here—pigs don’t pull.” He took the loop off Flora and put it around his own shoulders. “You just be sure to make it safely back to the captain, because he would never forgive me if something happened to the pig that saved his life.”
Flora wished she could talk in a way that Aleric understood. Instead, she walked patiently behind the sled, and when it got stuck again, she walked to the front, as Aleric went back to push, and slipped into the loop.
Oscar’s sides were heaving. His legs trembled, and he made no move to stop her.
This time, when she felt Aleric pushing, she pulled with all her might. Her hooves dug in, and the sled jerked forward.
Sophia yowled in surprise.
“Whoa!” called Aleric.
Flora looked back but didn’t stop. Sophia was standing up to her stomach in soft snow where she had jumped off the sled, and Aleric was on his hands and knees, not expecting the sled to move so quickly.
