The Icy Quest

Chapter 16

Pagoniá glanced around what appeared to be a harbor, looking for possible transportation options to get them to Antarctica.

"Follow me!" Tilepátheia yelled, sprinting towards the one lone ship in the harbor, which was slowly moving away from the dock. Just in time, Tilepátheia leaped onto the deck of the ship, followed closely behind by Pagoniá and Pozhar. They all landed in a heap on the deck, thankful that they had managed the leap before it was too late. Luckily for them, there was no one on deck, and they were able to quickly take cover behind some large shipping containers at the front of the ship.

"How did you know this was the right ship?" Pozhar asked Tilepátheia, gasping for air as he tried to recover from the exertion of getting onto the ship.

"How do you think?" Tilepátheia replied smugly.

"You read somebody's mind," Pozhar and Pagoniá said in unison.

"Yep," Tilepátheia confirmed with a satisfied grin. "Now, we need to find somewhere to hide for the rest of the journey.

"How about one of these shipping containers right here," Pozhar suggested. "I could pick the lock if anybody has hairpins or something like that."

"I just happen to have what you need," Tilepátheia declared with satisfaction. It only took a minute for Pozhar to successfully pick the lock. They all entered the container carefully, feeling their way in the dark until they located a small open space just big enough for them to sit down for the journey and later spread out their sleeping bags for the night.

Pozhar pulled a folded paper out of his bag along with a flashlight. He set the flashlight upright in the middle of their small open area with the beam aimed at the top of the shipping container. It provided enough dim lighting that they could at least see one another. He then unfolded the paper he had retrieved from his bag, revealing a detailed map of Antarctica, which included a mark on the same location that the asterisk had been on the lithograph.

"I think we should start plotting our route," Pozhar stated. "We have plenty of time on our hands, and we certainly need to know where we are going and how to get there." He pointed to a mostly straight line that he had drawn on the map. "On foot, it would take us about a week to get to the spot marked on the lithograph. I tried to make the trip as short as possible with regards to distance, but I had to map our way around the mountains because traveling through the mountains would be a lot harder and take more time. I have mapped specific locations where we should end every day and set up camp. If we go faster or slower than expected, I might have to change those plans, but for the most part, I have it figured out," he explained.

"I don't think we need to start plotting our route. It looks like you've already taken care of that task," Pagoniá joked. "But how are we going to figure out where we are as we're traveling? Isn't the whole area just a bunch of endless ice and snow?"

"I'm working on that," Pozhar assured her. "But there are at least some landmarks that we can't miss, like that mountain," he explained, pointing at a spot on the map.

"Since you are working on that problem, I should probably take this time to do some more practice with my powers," Pagoniá stated. "We're probably going to need them."

"I'll take inventory," Tilepatheia announced, starting to dig through the bags.

"You packed books for a trip to Antarctica?" Tilepátheia demanded incredulously as she examined the contents of Pagoniá's bag.

"Yes, I did," Pagoniá answered with a shrug. "I like books."

"You are such a bibliophage," Tilepátheia proclaimed with a laugh.

"I am not! I only read most of the time, not all of the time," Pagoniá objected playfully.

"If you know what the word bibliophage means, then you definitely are one," Tilepátheia teased.

"Ok. Maybe," Pagoniá conceded with a laugh.

"What kind of food do we have?" Pozhar inquired, breaking into the conversation.

"Peanut butter sandwiches, carrots, and applesauce," Tilepátheia answered matter-of-factly.

"That's it?" Pozhar asked, wrinkling his brow. "That's not much variety."

"It has enough macronutrients to sustain us for the journey," Tilepátheia snapped impatiently. "What do you want, a four-course meal?"

"Yes, please!" Pozhar exclaimed, ready to needle Tilepátheia some more.

"Let's stop this conversation right here," Pagoniá interrupted before Tilepátheia could start an argument. Pozhar unrolled his sleeping bag and stretched out on top of it.

"I'm going to take a nap," he informed Pagoniá and Tilepátheia happily, his eyes already closed.

Now that everything was quiet once again, Pagoniá refocused her thoughts on practicing her powers and closed her eyes. Moments later, she created some ice. She could feel its coldness in the palm of her hand. She focused harder, trying to feel it with the senses of her mind rather than her body. All of a sudden, something clicked. She no longer felt the ice in her hand. Instead, she felt it in her mind. She mentally willed it to move, to be lifted up. When she opened her eyes, she was shocked to see it suspended in the air above her palm.

"I did it!" she whooped, throwing her hands in the air and sending the small piece of ice crashing into the top of the shipping container. Pagoniá was ecstatic over her accomplishment and at the same time completely exhausted. Lifting the ice just that little bit had been extremely draining. She still had a long way to go in developing her powers, but she was satisfied with her achievement for the day. Pagoniá rolled out her sleeping bag and quickly joined Pozhar in sleep while Tilepátheia continued her mindless rummaging through bags and supplies.

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Well, Pagoniá can throw ice at people now. Comment and vote, please!