We crossed the Arctic Circle on the twentieth of February, in an area of the sea between Baffin Island and Greenland called the Davis Strait, inadvertently following Amundsen's route of a century before. At some point, the ice closed tight above us, ending surface sightings. There was a high-powered light on the sail, however, which allowed the periscope to function as an underwater camera. The video could be shown on any monitor in the sub, but Coombs had found a way to improve on this: While taking inventory of the remaining artifacts in the Big Room, Robles had turned up a number of eighty-inch high-definition flat plasma displays. These were intended for supercomputer simulations (the computer itself-an experimental Cray-was still in the box), but Coombs didn't think there would be any harm in setting a few up around the control room and linking them to the periscope. The first time they were turned on, they elicited gasps. These were not just pictures on TV; they were vivid undersea windows, on which we could watch the milky jade icescape passing above, and every glowing mite streaming by. It made some of the guys claustrophobic, but for me in my ignorance it was too abstract to be really scary, just amazing.
As we followed the converging lines of longitude to the top of the world, gossip and speculation ran rampant: What was our objective? The unofficial consensus seemed to be that we were heading for Alaska via the Arctic Ocean, and this quickly became such an accepted matter of common knowledge (or wishful thinking) that people spoke of it openly, as in, "When we get to Alaska-" or "I can't wait till we get to Alaska so I can-" The minute this reached the ears of Coombs, he took me aside, and said, "You know what the 'butt' on a ship is?"
"The stern?"
"No. On old sailing ships they called the drinking-water cask the 'butt.' It was kind of like the watercooler-sailors would stand around it and gossip, just like people in offices do today. Used to do, I mean. Understand?"
I nodded sagely.
He said, "Sometimes the talk would be out of order, even mutinous. The kind of thing that could lead to the scuttling of the ship. You know what they called that kind of talk?"
"Scuttlebutt?"
He deflated a little. "Yes, scuttlebutt. Maybe you also know the expression, 'Loose Lips Sink Ships.' You let those kids know I won't have it. Not in my control room, not anywhere. Our destination is classified, and it'll remain classified until such time as I find it prudent to reveal it. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"I don't want to have to make an example of anyone."
"No, sir."
"Dismissed."
When I told Julian about the directive, he acted as though it confirmed his Alaska hypothesis.
"How can you be so sure?" I asked.
"Come on, it's obvious. It's America, it's frozen solid, it's geographically isolated, there's a strong military presence, and we can use the Arctic Ocean as a shortcut. There's even a huge Trident submarine base just south of there in Bangor, Washington. Do I have to go on?"
"Have you heard anything about this from Robles?" I knew Julian was understudying for the quartermaster position presently filled by Robles.
"Of course not, but he's got us learning the sextant, the NAVSAT, the loran, the radar, the Fathometer, the SINS, the gyrocompass, and the accelerometer-if I can't estimate where we're going, it'd be pretty sad."
"You said it, not me." I nudged him playfully, but he wouldn't crack a smile. For some reason it had become imperative for me to get him to smile, but he just wouldn't do it.
Julian Noteiro was interesting, an unusual combination of strength, intelligence, character, and good looks. I had never liked people who were too competent because they made me feel inadequate, yet Julian was not stuck-up. You couldn't call him humble, but he was not self-obsessed. Order was his way of coping. Having come from a troubled working-class family with alcohol issues, anything irrational galled him, and in this need for control I saw something of myself. Perhaps I felt that if he would smile, it would mean I could, too.
Ignoring my nudge, he said, "You'll know I'm right when we make a ninety-degree course change into Lancaster Sound. Wait and see."
Cowper had another opinion.
"Alaska, you say?" he asked from behind the door.
"That's the scuttlebutt."
"That doesn't make sense. Not west of Greenland. Our approach would have to be up the eastern side, where there's some depth to work with."
"Wouldn't that take longer, though?"
"Sure, but you're not gonna save time if you get hung up in the shallows. That ice is gonna be thick as a bastid this time a year, and this beast needs a lot of elbow room, especially at these latitudes. The nearer you get to magnetic north, the harder it is to navigate." He conferred with Sandoval out of earshot. After a moment he said, "Sandoval thinks Alaska is impossible. He says the last he heard there was a war going on there between coastal defenses and an armada of refugee ships. Food supplies from the lower forty-eight had been cut off, so you had starvation, you had cold, you had panic-"
"Not to mention Xombies," I said.
"Sure. Anchorage is a big city-had to be pretty bad. Doesn't sound like much of a haven. Not to mention there's a good chance the Russians may have mined the approaches to the Arctic Ocean. I know we did-while I was in command, I found active mine coordinates in the safe. Coombs knows that."
"Then what's he up to?"
"Give us a while to think on it. And Lulu?"
"Yes?"
"Neither one of us is doing too well in here, but me with my ticker… you never can tell. And if I go, he's gonna go right after, if you know what I mean. Just in case, I wanted to tell you again what's in my heart. You still got that baby picture?"
"Yes."
"Well, look at it when I'm gone. Don't think badly of me-it's what's in my heart that counts."
I wanted to reply, Easy for you to say, but I held my tongue-this was obviously important to him. Frustrated as I felt, I couldn't hurt his feelings, and the thought that he might die-after everything we'd survived so far-it was unthinkable. He was all I had.
There was a hush in the control room, making me feel even more conspicuous than usual as I found a place to sit. On-screen I could see an immense black object suspended in pale ice, like a seedpod in dirty cotton. It was fat at the sides and ridged down the center, narrowing to a wedge just above us. It looked ready to split along that seam and spill its contents on our heads.
"What's that?" I whispered.
"It's a ship," Julian said impatiently. "The hull of an ocean liner, trapped in the ice. She's about nine hundred feet long."
Kranuski was speaking to Coombs: "She's not doing too well, sir. About a ten-degree list to port, heavy at the bow. You can see where the ice is staving her in-there's a flooded compartment in there."
"So she's sinking?" Albemarle asked, listening in. "Why the hell are we underneath her?"
Ignoring the civilian, Kranuski went on, "We're not picking up any sounds, so the flooding must have stopped for now. They build these babies with a lot of redundancy-she can survive a few flooded baffles. But you never know. If we're going to have a look at her topside, we better do it quick."
Coombs asked, "Is that your recommendation?"
"Yes, sir. We can't afford to pass up any potential windfall, and this is a big one."
"What about you, Mr. Robles?"
Without taking his heavy-lidded eyes off the screen, Robles said, "Why not?"
We made a wide circle around the stranded liner, searching for openings, and almost immediately lucked into what we were looking for: a thinly frozen-over polynya winding like a river through the ice. It was miles long, and we had actually already crossed beneath it several times that morning. We deliberately followed it as near to the ship as possible-about fourteen hundred yards west-and surfaced well clear of any floes. The sun was dim and low in the sky, but at least it was daylight. Topside relays were organized so everyone could get a taste of the outdoors, but most didn't use their allotted five minutes. It was too cold.
The captain accompanied me up to the bridge, and from there I had a good view of the slushy lead and high banks of ice that just went on and on. But there was one peculiar feature in the emptiness, a tall white shape like a wedding cake.
Coombs was letting me report. "The ship is directly ahead. It's definitely a cruise ship. It doesn't look damaged, but… I can't see any signs of life. No fire or smoke, or movement of any kind."
"What about lifeboats?" Coombs prompted me.
"Most of the lifeboats are gone-on this side anyway. Looks like they must have abandoned ship."
"Exactly," Coombs said. "So you want to take a walk out there?"
"Yeah right," I said, shocked to think he was being funny.
"We're organizing a boarding party. We're well beyond the survivability threshold, and that ship is stone cold. I'm asking if you'd like to go along."
Alarm bells went off in my head. "Um… I'm fine here."
"Your reluctance wouldn't have anything to do with St. John's, would it?"
"Yes, sir."
"What if I were to tell you I need you out there to get medicine for someone? Someone you know, who might die without it?"
"Mr. Cowper."
"What do you say?"
I looked off at that lonely white spire, trapped like a bug in amber. "Who else is going?"
"Well, we can't afford to spare any Navy personnel, but your Mr. Monte has agreed to go, as well as Mr. Noteiro, Mr. DeLuca, and Mr. Albemarle. These men are essential to the boat, so I don't send them lightly. I'll also expect you to assemble a team of thirty of your brightest volunteers. You'll be responsible for them on the ice, so make sure they can handle the hike."
"Commander Coombs, sir?"
"Yes?"
"Can I have your word as an officer and a gentleman that you won't leave us out there?"
There was a long, tense pause, then a sigh. "Miss Pangloss, I cannot give you that assurance."
I blinked, dumbfounded.
He went on, "But let me say this: In the absence of any perceived threat to this vessel, I will not submerge. Is that good enough?"
"Based on whose perception, though?"
"I'm not going to bargain with you about what constitutes a threat. Any radar contact, any sonar contact, anything odd whatsoever, and we dive. That's the mission."
"But not just to get rid of us?"
"Now you're hurting my feelings."
In the time it took to gather and outfit the boarding party, the sun fell below the horizon, leaving only a greenish glow.
"This is all the daylight you're gonna see," Albemarle said, giving us a final once-over as we lined up on deck. "Let's not waste it."
We were all wearing the same winter gear I'd become accustomed to, and I helped a few people snug their fastenings.
"I know how to do it," Hector said irritably.
"Shut your trap," his stepfather, Albemarle, told him. "Let the little girl show ya how before you freeze your ass off."
"Sorry," I whispered to Hector, cinching in his hood. He ignored me, staring straight ahead.
"Aww, look what a good boy he's being," Jake said. "Give mamma a kiss."
"Oh be quiet," I said, blushing.
We left the submarine. Her hull had drifted up against the ice shelf, and it was a small matter to lay a plank across and simply walk down. The crunchy surface was as stable as solid ground and less slippery than the deck. Those thirty boys could hardly contain themselves, being away from the sub for the first time in weeks-it was like a snow day. Cole had finally gotten over his shock, and Julian was actually smiling. They had no inkling of the anxieties of myself and the men, waiting to see if Coombs would ditch us here. Why had we all agreed to this? Guilt, maybe. In short order we were trooping toward the ship.
The ship.
It was a floating luxury hotel-an unearthly resort planted in the middle of nowhere, with vertical tiers of balconies and fanciful space-age architecture. Her winged funnel was swept back, a sleeker, flimsier version of our fairwater, and the curving banks of windows at her bridge were like wraparound sunglasses on a friendly shark. I could make out her name through a layer of frost: Northern Queen. She looked very top-heavy. Coombs had said she could carry over three thousand people.
"Let's just hope it really is an abandoned ship," said Noteiro, short of breath.
"Yeah," agreed Monte.
"But I don't know. Wouldn't they have taken all the boats, then? Why'd they leave that big motor launch? It all looks rushed and half-assed to me. Look how the lines are crossed."
"Obviously they were in a hurry," said Albemarle.
"Or maybe they went day-sailing," DeLuca said, irritated at the empty speculation. "What the hell good does it do to talk about it?"
"Gus is right. We should all be focusing on the really important things, like finding him a smoke."
"Damn straight."
As we neared the thing, we began to appreciate the amount of snow and ice on it. I had assumed the ship was simply painted white, but it could have been any color beneath the thick, knobby glaze that coated everything. Ice festooned the railings like grotesque roots, and lines that had lowered lifeboats were stiff with congealed drippings-it reminded me of the weird formations my mother and I had seen at Carlsbad Caverns. That ship could have been here forever, encased in its mantle of solitude. I kept glancing back to make sure I could still see the sub.
"Jesus! It's a wonder she ain't capsized, carrying all that extra tonnage."
"We shouldn't get any closer if there's a chance she'll flip."
DeLuca erupted. "Will you guys shut up? Can't you see she's been here for ages? She's solid as a damn rock. Let's do what we came here to do and have a little less fantasyland, can we please?"
We crossed beneath the anchors and the long-snouted bow to the vessel's port side. There most of the lifeboats were in place, and only a few ropes plumbed the surface like candle-wicks. It wasn't easy to approach the hull because of buckled and refrozen ice, but there was a gangway, a covered stair that climbed the sheer wall of the ship to a large, open doorway.
"Well, that's convenient," said DeLuca.
Noteiro said, "Them stairs been down awhile."
"Shouldn't we try to hail her again?" Albemarle said.
"If they couldn't hear the boat's whistle, they'll never hear us."
"They might." He pulled a megaphone out of a bag, and said, "ATTENTION CRUISE SHIP. ATTENTION CRUISE SHIP. IS THERE ANYONE ABOARD? REPEAT: IS THERE ANYONE ABOARD?" We waited, straining for any sound, but there was no reply. Albemarle said, "Try firing a couple of rounds in the air."
DeLuca shrugged the shotgun off his shoulder, aimed it out at the void, and squeezed off a shot. The bang rippled away skittishly to the horizon. Pumping the smoking shell out, he said, "Waste of good ammunition, you ask me."
"We didn't," said Monte.
DeLuca fired again.
"ATTENTION CRUISE SHIP-IS ANYONE THERE? WE COME IN PEACE." The acres of frosted-over windows remained blank. I didn't like standing there with that dead colossus leaning over us.
"Take us to your leader," Jake muttered.
"ALL RIGHT, THEN. WE'RE COMING ABOARD." Ed Albemarle put away the bullhorn and took out his faithful hammer. "Let's go," he said.
Smashing ice off each step, Albemarle led the way up, followed by the other three men, me, and the boys. The stairs were not quite level; it was a little disturbing to climb that overhanging cliff with nothing more than a slippery handrail between you and a bone-shattering fall. The higher we went, the more steeply the ship seemed to lean out. About thirty feet up, I suddenly realized there was no one behind me. Hector had stopped, blocking the line.
"I have to go back," he said firmly. "I'm going back down."
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing-I just can't…" He shook his head, paralyzed with fear. "This isn't safe."
From behind him, Julian said, "C'mon, we're almost there!"
"Shut up!" Hector snapped, "Go around if you want to!"
"There's no room to pass," retorted Julian. "Come on, dude. It's cold."
"Don't push me!"
I went down to him. "Hey, it's okay," I said. "Just don't look down."
"Where the hell am I supposed to look? Everything looks like it's falling. I keep feeling like we're starting to tip over." He had a point.
"What's wrong back there?" Albemarle said from above. "Get a move on, son!"
"Ignore them," I told Hector. "Listen, you know what they do to keep horses from panicking on steep trails? They lead them along blindfolded."
"Screw that!"
"Just take my hand, then. Here." I took my giant glove off and stuffed it in my pocket. "Take my hand before it freezes."
"No way." He was starting to tremble violently.
"Please-I'm going to get frostbite if you don't hold my hand."
He stared at my dainty fingers for a second, then ripped off his left glove with his teeth and grabbed me. He was so scared he nearly dragged me down on top of him.
"Good!" I grunted. "That's good! Awesome! Don't pull-you're okay! Now just look at me. Just focus on me, nothing else. Try taking a step."
"I cah. I cah ooob." I took the glove from his mouth, and he said, "I can't move."
"You can do it. Just take a deep breath and relax. This is just like the stairs on the boat, no different."
He closed his eyes, clutching me hard, and took a wild step.
"That's the way! Now you're doing it," I urged gently. "Don't stop-keep it up. We're just walkin' upstairs, yessiree…"
"Is he coming or isn't he?" I heard DeLuca growl from above.
"Do you mind?" I shot back.
Hector was relaxing a little, creeping faster bit by bit. Then he let go of my hand. "I got it," he said, eyes still closed. "You go on-I got it under control."
"Seriously?"
"I just don't want to trip over you. Go! I'm right behind you." Hunched and groping the rail like a blind man, he followed me the rest of the way up.
The doorway opened onto a broad enclosed deck with high windows. In ordinary daylight, it would have been a sunny place, but in this iced-over twilight it was a cave. A mini-glacier had formed inside the door, fanning across the teak promenade like an octopus, and the men had considerately chopped a path through it. They wielded flashlights and a device called a thermograph, probing for spots of warmth amid the pitch-black restaurants and shops opposite the windows. DeLuca had his shotgun at the ready, but the place looked more than deserted: It looked fossilized.
Once we were all gathered inside, Albemarle said, "All right. Everybody listening? Here's the plan: We're gonna divide into five squads, seven to a squad. Four of the squads will be led by me and the other three men; the fifth will be led by Officer Lulu, unless she thinks one of you is better suited for the job. That's up to her.
"Each squad has a specific objective, which they are to fulfill as fast as possible before regrouping back here. Vic's squad is to go up top and flash Coombs that we're aboard and that the ship is clear. Then they are to proceed to the bridge and find out what's functional and what's not, check the PA system, and make an announcement to the rest of us about the status of this barge. Vic knows what to do.
"Gus DeLuca's group is to find the radio shack and see if we can call out. Since the sub can't reveal its position by sending radio signals, it may be possible for some of us to be rescued from here by sending a Mayday. At the very least we may be able to contact someone who can catch us up on current events.
"My squad is heading belowdecks to inspect the power plant and the pumps. See if it's possible to stabilize her some. Emilio will be taking his people on a tour of ship's stores. The rest will accompany Officer Lulu to the infirmary, where they will be expected to stock up on a few medical necessities." He handed me a flashlight and a printed list. "Any questions?"
There were too many to ask.
"Good. Here are your squads."
He held up a roster and we gathered around his light. Under my name I read: Hector Albemarle, Jacob Bartholomew, Julian Noteiro, Shawn Dickey, Lemuel Sanchez, and Cole Hayes-all of them boys in my crib. Coombs had thought of everything. It hurt my feelings that they seemed disappointed to be going with me instead of with the men. I heard Julian muttering about how he didn't come here to "raid a damn drugstore." Hector was still sour-faced from before.
Albemarle said, "I'll expect you all back here within ninety minutes. Ninety minutes! Anyone not back here in an hour and a half may find themselves left behind. Get moving."
It was a pretty disorganized scavenger hunt. Since the first thing we all needed was a map, everyone ran up and down the promenade looking for an information booth or a large diagram saying YOU ARE HERE. As it happened, there were touch-screen computers for just this purpose, but they were all dead.
While we were rifling the check-in desk at the lobby, Julian called us back out to the promenade, and said, "I don't think we need a map." Handing out souvenir flashlights, he led us to a sign next door to the gift shop. Above a green cross were the words FIRST AID STATION.
"Oh man," said Hector.
I was giddy with relief. What I had thought would be a trying ordeal was over before it had begun-no fumbling through dark mazes, no getting lost or left behind. No humiliation. I gave silent thanks for Coombs's mercy.
"You know what this means, don't you?" Julian said.
"Hell yeah," Cole replied. "Means we home free."
"It means we got the pussy assignment. They don't trust us with a real job."
"That sucks," said Shawn. "I wanted to scope out the Galleria."
"Give me a break," I said, though what Julian said was certainly true. I didn't care. Except for him and Shawn, the others were on my side, grateful for the reprieve.
We filed into a waiting room with magazine racks and a block of yellowish ice that had been a fish tank. Our first indication that things would not be so simple was the shattered glass in the reception window. The second was black spatters of dried blood everywhere we shined our flashlights.
"Dude, is that blood?" Shawn asked.
"Where?" asked Cole, whipping his light around. "Oh shit."
Hector said, "Not good, man, not good. Let's get out of here."
"Hey," said Julian calmly. "It's a first-aid station? So somebody was bleeding, big deal. Attempt to chill."
"I'm plenty chilled, thanks," said Jake.
Pushing through a swinging door to the interior rooms, we entered a real mess. The place had been ransacked. Filing cabinets were overturned, spilling paper everywhere; furniture was broken; latex gloves, cotton swabs, and other medical supplies were scattered about; and anything locked had been broken open-there were loose pills frozen to the floor in a pebbly mosaic. Nothing I could identify from my list.
"Whoa, this shit's been jacked up," said Cole.
Julian nodded. "Somebody beat us to it."
"Totally," said Shawn. "Yo, check it out: Prednisone. Cool." He pocketed it.
Searching smashed drawers, I said, "They were here." I couldn't bring myself to speak the word.
Lemuel piped up from the rear, "Xombies." His voice was soft and high-pitched for such a big guy, and perhaps because he didn't talk much it always caught our attention.
"Yes," I said. "We need to tell Albemarle and the others."
"I think they're gone," said Lemuel at the doorway.
"Then we better go after them," I said.
Julian held up his hands. "Can we just not panic? Seriously."
"Nobody's panicking," I said with annoyance. "But we have to let them know."
"Let them know what? That the clinic's been looted? I mean come on! What the hell difference does it make? It's still a dead ship, and besides, it's twenty below in here-unless those Exoids have antifreeze in their veins, they're rock-solid." He seemed energized by this turn of events. "Environmental survivability threshold, remember?"
"You're right, man," said Hector. "So what should we do?"
I didn't like him directing this question to Julian. "Okay," I said quickly, "so as far as you guys are concerned, we should proceed with the mission? You're cool with that?"
They all looked at each other in the wavering flashlight beams. There were hesitant nods and nervous shrugging, but the gist of it seemed to be a wary willingness to go. Julian said, "Like I give a crap about 'the mission.' Let's just do something."
"Why did you even volunteer to come?" I asked irritably.
"Same as everyone else-to stretch my legs. Why? Why did you come? To get in good with Harv?" Here it was, their suspicion that I was the commander's toady.
I hadn't told anyone I'd found Cowper, or about the drugs he needed. It suddenly occurred to me that we were all waiting for someone to tell us what to do, that every second I dithered a pressure of anxiety and resentment was building against me. Trying not to be bossy and waiting for a clear signal from them was not the polite, respectful, and humble leadership I intended. It was an abdication of responsibility, and they rightfully despised me for confirming their low expectations. Wake up, girlfriend, cried my mother's Oprah-fortified voice in my head.
"Listen," I said, "there's still an hour and twelve minutes. Here's what we're going to do…"