Arctic Freeze Read online

  TO CHLOE, WHO IS A DREAM READER —KJE

  CONTENTS

  TITLE PAGE

  DEDICATION

  CHAPTER 1: SHORTS IN THE SNOW

  CHAPTER 2: A SINKING FEELING

  CHAPTER 3: UPSTREAM BATTLE

  CHAPTER 4: A SWARM OF TROUBLE

  CHAPTER 5: TEAM RED TAKES A HIKE

  CHAPTER 6: A HIGH POINT

  CHAPTER 7: STRAIGHT INTO THE CIRCLE

  CHAPTER 8: A COINCIDENCE?

  CHAPTER 9: SHORT CUT, LONG FALL

  CHAPTER 10: ARCTIC BLAST

  TEASER

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ALSO AVAILABLE

  COPYRIGHT

  In the summer sun, the snow was a fierce white. Dev squinted, trying to make out the trail. The dogs forged ahead, and the slice of the sled’s runners on the ice filled Dev’s ears. He glanced over his shoulder at the other sleds. His teammates were only a few lengths behind him.

  Working together, the dogs pulled Dev’s sled almost effortlessly. Dev focused on the lead dog, on his right. She was a reliable husky, mostly white with a pale caramel-colored frosting on her head and back. Tucker. He said her name to himself. He trusted her to be steady and find the path.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a bald eagle. The bird rode an air current, soaring in the blue sky without a single flap of its wings. Dev took a deep breath. The cold air stunned his nostrils.

  This scene was everything he had imagined when he sent in his application for The Wild Life, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to trek through extreme habitats, gathering animal facts in hopes of winning the entire race … and a million dollars.

  Of course, that money would be split between the four members of the team, but Dev didn’t have a problem with that. He wasn’t in it for the money. He just wanted the chance to do something new, something different, something challenging. Now, he was driving a team of huskies through the frosty wilderness in northern Alaska, heading toward the Arctic Circle. He was certain he had made the right choice.

  On one side of the sled he saw a lanky moose with mighty antlers, on the other a polar bear, floating on a chunk of Arctic ice. Then his eyes focused in on something directly ahead, right in the dogs’ path. It looked like a man—a man wearing plaid shorts and sandals. The dogs did not slow down, and the person did not move. Only when the lead dog was nearly on top of the man did Dev realize it was his dad …

  A splash of water tickled Dev’s face and swept his thoughts back to the waking world. Even though he had woken up hours ago, he couldn’t shake the dream. It had been the most vivid of his life, and now it was haunting him. It had seemed so real, right down to his dad’s outfit. But why was his dad, who planned for absolutely everything, wearing shorts in the snow? Dev suspected it had something to do with the way he’d left things with his father before the race began. If it had been up to his dad, Dev would be wearing shorts right now, sitting in front of a computer at science camp.

  Maybe that was why the dream was taking over his thoughts when there were far better things to think about, like the race. The Wild Life was not a dream. He was competing in it! He was on the third leg! And he was in the middle of a chilly, rushing Alaskan stream!

  “Are we there yet?” he called out, trying to regain his focus. He had not known his three teammates before the start of the race, but they had all earned his trust. The four members of Team Red—Sage, Russell, Mari, and Dev—had learned a lot in the race’s first two legs. After challenging courses in the Amazon rain forest and the Great Barrier Reef, they were currently in second place. At least they had been in second at the start of the day when the teams all began the trek into the Arctic.

  “We’ll get there when we find what we’re looking for.” That was Sage, the self-appointed leader of Team Red. Her straight strawberry-blonde hair swung with each sure-footed stride. She didn’t need to turn around for Dev to feel the intensity of her steely gaze. It was a good thing Sage took charge, because no one else wanted that responsibility. Not even Dev. Especially not Dev. “You do remember that you’re the one with the GPS, don’t you?”

  That was true. When they were selecting supplies, Dev always went for the gadgets. For this leg of the race, he chose the fancy GPS so he could help plan their routes. Alaska was a big place. They didn’t have time to get lost.

  Dev glanced around, taking in the lush green of the leaves. There were key differences from his dream. It was summer, which meant that the snow had melted. They were near the coast in southern Alaska. Instead of dogsleds, they were on foot. And right now, both his feet were dry inside a pair of waist-high waders—the waterproof overalls that fishermen usually wear. The waders were way cooler than plaid shorts. That was for sure.

  “Mari, where are we going to find a grizzly bear?” Dev asked. He knew Mari would be nice, and there was a chance she could actually answer the question. Mari had a sixth sense for animals. She knew almost everything about them, which really came in handy on a race that was all about animals and ecosystems.

  “Well, going by what you showed us on the GPS, this stream connects with a river,” Mari replied. Unlike Sage, she did turn around, her warm brown eyes locking with Dev’s. With all the sun, her tan skin had deepened to a rich caramel since the first leg of the race. “It should be on the other side of this bank. There’s a good chance salmon will be swimming upstream in that river, and grizzlies will be waiting for them.”

  That was right. Dev remembered now. Their first challenge had been to track down a grizzly bear, but grizzlies could be unpredictable. Mari had recommended staying as far away from them as possible. The team’s chaperone, Javier, had said that was a good idea. Even though Javier was not allowed to give the team hints, he was as cool as a guide could get. He would sometimes offer advice, especially in dangerous situations.

  Everyone agreed it might be easiest—and safest—to find a bear where there was a reliable food source. That way, the bear would be focused on the food, so the kids could take a picture and move on as quickly as possible.

  Taking the picture would be up to Dev. He was in charge of the ancam, which was kind of like a walkie-talkie and a camera all in one. The race organizers sent the teams clues over the ancam, and then the teams sent the answers back. Usually, the answers were in the form of photos. That’s what they had to do now. Once they sent in a picture of a grizzly, they would get the next clue. Dev patted the team’s trusty ancam. He had it safely stashed in the inside pocket of his jacket.

  “We may see lots of grizzlies,” Mari added. “They know that the salmon are starting to swim upstream this time of year, returning to the place where they were born so they can spawn.”

  “I know what spawning means in a video game,” Russell called from the bank of the stream. “But I don’t think the salmon are coming back to life after being killed by an acid-breathing dragon.”

  “Not exactly,” Mari said without even cracking a smile. “Spawning is when fish lay and fertilize eggs, so new fish can be born. Salmon do it in the exact same place where they hatched years before. Some swim thousands of miles to get there.”

  Dev admired Mari. She had all this knowledge, but she was super humble about it.

  “So, if Dev is right, the river will be on the other side of that hill,” Sage announced. “We’re climbing up to see if there are any bears.” She, Russell, and Javier quickly disappeared over the grassy bank while Mari and Dev made their way to the edge of the stream.

  Dev was starting to feel like his head was back in the race. He thought ahead to what angle might be good for the grizzly photo. The sun was strong. He’d have to be careful that it didn’t mess up the light in the picture. Sometimes there was only enough time for one good shot.

  With his mind on th
e photo, he didn’t notice that the floor of the stream bed was getting mucky as they neared the shore. Mari must not have noticed either. The water was above his knees when he realized he was stuck.

  “Um, I can’t move,” Mari announced from behind him.

  “I can’t either,” Dev said, his tone even.

  “I mean it,” Mari said. Her pitch was rising high above the rush of the brisk water.

  “I know, but you have to stay calm,” Dev said. “I think we’re stuck in some kind of quicksand. If you struggle, you could sink deeper.” Dev’s words came out slow and steady, but his mind was in a frenzied whirl—trying to solve the problem like a puzzle, trying to do what he did best.

  THE ARCTIC

  The Arctic is the region at the northernmost part of Earth. It is marked by an imaginary line that circles the top of the planet. The Antarctic is on the other side, on the southernmost part of the planet. The points at the very top and bottom are called the North Pole and the South Pole.

  The Arctic region includes the northern parts of Greenland, Russia, Scandinavia, Canada, and Alaska, which is one of the United States. Despite the especially long and cold winters, people still live in these regions. Many are native to the Arctic, including the Inuit, Sami (sometimes called Laplanders), Greenlanders, and Yakuts.

  “We’re in Alaska! What is quicksand doing here?” Mari was not taking Dev’s advice well. She was anything but calm.

  “Quicksand is just very wet sand,” Dev said. “You can find it anywhere, under the right conditions.”

  “That’s very reassuring,” Mari mumbled. “I’m so glad the conditions are right.”

  Dev had to laugh. He’d never heard Mari be sarcastic before.

  “We’ll be fine. We’re not in that deep. We just need a little help,” he tried to reassure her. “Guys! Come back! Guys!”

  Nothing. Dev’s calls seemed to be swallowed by the sound of the stream. The rest of the team was upwind, on the other side of the bank. The moving air would carry the sound waves in the opposite direction. Their teammates would never hear him.

  “Okay, Mari,” he began. He tried to think through what quicksand was and how it worked. “Here’s what we have to do. Quicksand is denser than we are, so we can float on it. We just have to tilt forward, and let the quicksand hold us up.”

  “Are you crazy?” Mari said under her breath. She stared at the quicksand as if it were alive, like a clawed fist would reach out at any moment and pull her down. She took a deep breath and screamed, “Help! Help! You guys!”

  “I’m not crazy.” Dev tried to sound as sane as possible. “Think about it. You can float on water. This quicksand is way more dense than that. It’s thicker! It can hold us.” Dev couldn’t even remember where he had read it, but he knew that quicksand was just sand that had more water around it. The water made the sand slippery, so the grains didn’t stick together to make a more solid surface. It was hard to explain. Dev realized he probably did sound crazy. Science didn’t make much sense when it felt like the ground was sucking you down, but they had not sunk any deeper. That was reassuring.

  Dev dropped his backpack to shed weight. Then he pitched his body forward. He could feel the muck spread under his chest as his feet lifted from the floor of the riverbed.

  “Stay there,” he advised Mari. “Don’t move. I’ll get you out.”

  Mari didn’t say anything, but watched Dev as he searched for some leverage in the spongy dirt. With bent knees, he began to monkey crawl across the muddy sand. His chin grazed the muck with each push of his knees and elbows. He tried to make himself as flat as possible, to spread out over the surface so he wouldn’t sink.

  A sharp, ripe aroma rose from the wet earth. The cold goo oozed all around Dev. He pushed himself farther and finally fumbled onto solid ground. Then he rolled over and filled his lungs with air. As he breathed in, he looked back at Mari. He was less than ten feet from her, but it felt like miles.

  “What’s going on?” a voice called from above.

  “Sage! Help!” Mari called.

  Dev forced himself up to sit. “We’re stuck! It’s quicksand!”

  Sage, Russell, and Javier scrambled down the hill, their faces confused and scared.

  “Quick, Russell, grab that branch!” Javier directed. Russell lifted a long, gnarled stick from the edge of the bank. He held one end out to their guide.

  “I think we came up the bank about there,” Sage said, pointing. “Maybe it’s safer?”

  Russell and Javier judged the footing and stepped carefully. Javier held out the branch as far as he could.

  Mari grabbed it with stiff red hands. The mud slurped as she braced herself and tried to tug her legs from the thick muck. “No good,” she said.

  “Undo your waders,” Javier directed.

  “What?” Mari asked.

  “You have long underwear on, right?”

  Mari nodded.

  “If you unlatch your waders and wiggle your legs a little, I think we’ll be able to get you out.”

  Javier dragged a log from the bank. He stretched himself across it. As soon as Mari had unbuckled her waterproof overalls, she reached out to him. She wriggled around and pulled her legs out, one at a time. Javier guided her as she lurched on her knees through the shallow mud, landing on solid ground next to Dev. Her thick dark braid was crusted with mud.

  “Sorry. I couldn’t do it like you,” she said to Dev.

  “Doesn’t matter.” When he slapped his hand against her backpack, he couldn’t help but think how lucky she was. The bag’s extra weight could have pulled her down.

  “That was a close call,” Javier said, dragging his hand across his forehead. “I hadn’t thought we’d have a problem this far inland. Quicksand can be much worse.”

  “My bag’s still in there,” Dev said, motioning. The hiking pack was halfway submerged in the sand.

  Javier shook his head. “Leave it,” he said, leaning on the branch. “No way am I letting anyone get close to it. Maybe the race organizers will retrieve it for you. I can request dry clothes at the next pit stop.”

  “How’d you get out?” Russell asked.

  Dev shrugged. Normally, he would have made a joke about not being “in too deep,” but he held himself back. He was too shaken to joke around, and for Dev, that was saying something.

  “Do you have the ancam?” Sage questioned. Her voice was apologetic.

  “Yep,” Dev said, patting his chest pocket.

  Sage looked relieved. Dev got it. She was concerned about her teammates, but she also was practical. They were still running a race, after all.

  CREATURE FEATURE

  BROWN BEAR

  SCIENTIFIC NAME: Ursus arctos

  TYPE: mammal

  RANGE: widely spread across northern sections of North America, Europe, and Asia

  FOOD: berries; nuts; fruit; roots; fish, especially salmon; and mammals, from rodents to moose

  “Grizzly bear” is a type of brown bear. This name is only used in North America. It refers to the same subspecies of brown bear found in Russia, Europe, and Asia.

  Brown bears have long snouts and small rounded ears. They have a pronounced hump on their shoulders, which is actually extra, bulky muscle to make them good diggers. With their strong shoulders and extra-long claws, brown bears dig up plenty of roots for dinner, and underground dens for hibernating through the frigid winter months.

  Brown bears are typically brown (no surprise there), but grizzly bears have thick fur that is often white at its tips. This is how they got their nickname, since “grizzled” means “graying.”

  “Are you sure you guys are okay?” Javier asked, looking from Dev to Mari.

  “I’m sure,” Dev insisted.

  “Yeah,” said Mari. She gulped from her canteen.

  Russell handed Dev his water bottle. “Here, man.” As he took it, Dev realized that Russell’s smile was not as wide as usual, his kind eyes more serious.

  “When you guys are up to
it, there’s a whole posse of grizzlies just over the bank,” Sage informed them. That was good news. Dev needed a plan. He did not need anything else to distract him from the race.

  Mari borrowed an extra pair of waders from Sage. They were two sizes too big, but she used a bungee cord as a makeshift belt. She knotted it tight and started up the incline with the others.

  “Take me to the grizzlies,” Dev said. “I can’t bear the suspense!”

  “I can’t bear your bad jokes,” Russell mumbled. He gave Dev a sturdy knock with his elbow.

  But when they reached the top of the hill, they were all speechless. There was a steep, rugged drop on the other side. The river was wide, bordered by lush green trees and grasses that jutted out between ancient gray boulders. The waterway took turns, meandering around high banks and the rocky shore. Not very far upstream was a crystal-clear waterfall that stretched the full width of the river.

  Perched on the higher level of the waterfall were four grizzly bears. Another three stood on the lower level, chest-deep. The two groups faced each other, surveying the crashing water between them.

  “I thought grizzlies were solitary,” Sage whispered.

  “They are. Except for moms and cubs, they usually live alone,” Mari confirmed. “But they put up with other bears this time of year. They all want in on the food fest.”

  That’s when Dev saw the fish. Where the water cascaded downward, silver fish arced into the air, battling the plunging current. The fish were salmon, and everywhere Dev saw one, there was also a giant brown bear. The bears stood with their heads tilted to the side. As soon as a fish blasted out of the water, a bear’s mighty jaws snapped on it.

  “They’re just leaping into the bears’ mouths,” Sage said.

  “It looks like that,” Javier responded, “but scientists say that for every fish that is caught, one hundred get by.”

  “The bears have a surefire strategy,” Russell said. “It’s impressive.”