“I said that we would never split up again,” Fang said, and my heart leaped in panic. “And I meant it. We have to keep the flock together to survive. But you might want to think about cutting me a break now and then.”

He gave me a last, long look that I could hardly stand, afraid of what I might see in it. Turning, he began to duck out the low doorway when Gazzy raced up, breathing hard.

“I can’t find Angel anywhere,” he panted.

“Maybe she’s just out flying,” I said.

“She would have told someone,” Gazzy said. “Total’s gone too. Maybe they went walking or something, but it’s getting bad out there — listen to that wind.” He pointed toward the window, and then I realized that the awful wailing and shrieking that I had assumed was just me, panicking inside my head, was actually outside, and weather caused.

We heard voices out in the hall, and then Michael Papa leaned through our doorway. “Is Akila in here, by any chance? Last I saw, she was outside with Total and Angel, but that was an hour ago. Have they checked in with you?”

Fang’s eyes met mine, the tension of a few moments ago completely forgotten.

“Get the others,” I told him, and he nodded. “Tell them to dress warm.”

Chapter 51

51

“WELL, THIS SUCKS BIG-TIME,” Total said, and Angel agreed. She swallowed hard and tried to calm down. If Max were here, what would she do? Angel grimaced — Max wouldn’t have gotten herself into this situation.

“It’s okay,” Total said soothingly to Akila. He turned to Angel. “Tell her it’s going to be okay.”

Angel sent thoughts into Akila’s mind. She felt Akila’s fear and confusion, but also a tough determination. Akila wasn’t prepared to die here. She would do anything to get out.

Us too, Angel told her. Everything will be okay. We’ll get out. Max will come for us. Max always comes for us. To herself, she thought: I’ve got to stop getting into things where Max has to come for me.

Akila quieted and quit struggling against the ice.

They were probably about a mile from Lucir station. Angel could picture the exact terrain they had crossed, and she could also picture what it would look like from the air. Everything had been fine: They had plenty of time before sunset, she had Total and Akila with her, and there had been a clear trail of penguin tracks for her to follow. All she had wanted to do was get close to a baby penguin — maybe even touch it. If she sent the parents no-harm thoughts, they would probably let her. A baby penguin would feel so soft and downy.