Thirteen

STACY AND HER wolves wasted no time in beginning to repair the abandoned sailboat. The first thing they needed to do was to prop the boat up to keep it from rocking as ocean water sloshed around the rocks of the cave. Everest and Atlas dragged huge driftwood logs over as Wink positioned himself under the boat to lift it with his back. Wink lifted each side of the boat just long enough for Everest and Atlas to push the driftwood under the boat. They worked quickly, and the boat was soon stabilized. Stacy had them bring another driftwood log over to lean up against the boat. Using her knife, she carved horizontal notches into the wood about a foot apart from each other so that she (and Page and Molly) would be able to quickly climb up onto the deck of the boat and back down to the cave floor.

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 pack, 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.