Ice-Bound Promise [Wattys 2023 Shortlister]

5

5

Without thinking, Únik gripped Hatyara's furs, lifted her bodily and tossed her as far as she could towards the bank of the lake. The Ūtharan girl landed heavy, sliding almost to the edge, ending in a heap. Barsa had caught his feet, by now, and struggled to pull against the weight of the sled as it began to slip backwards towards the lake waters between pieces of broken ice.

The other dogs joined in Barsa's struggle and Únik knew, if the animals had a chance of pulling the sled from watery oblivion, she had to lighten the load. She began grabbing and tossing everything she could. Sacks of supplies, furs, even her whale hook, flew towards the bank of the lake, landing near Hatyara. The girl recovered fast and began reaching for the supplies, dragging them from the ice.

Still the hounds struggled and, with little else Únik could salvage, she jumped from the sled, landing on a tipping chunk of ice, almost falling back into the waters herself. On hands and knees, she clung to the ice, balancing it out before rising to her feet and jumping once again to a more stable part of the lake surface.

Racing to Barsa, she began to tug upon the dog's reins, digging her heels in as well as she could, but she could find no purchase. Gritting her teeth, she knew the sled was now lost, she had to save her dogs, instead. Using the reins to pull herself along, she made her way down the line until she reached the final dog, its forelegs scrambling as its hind legs dipped below the waters.

The attachment to the reins proved difficult for Únik to unfasten. Taking the tip of her furred mitten between her teeth, she dragged it off, dropping it and then did the same to the mitten on the other hand. Fingers cramping, Únik struggled with the fastening, even as the dog lost its battle to gain a foothold. The sled dragged the dog under and Únik would hear those yelps of terror for the rest of her life.

The other dogs were now becoming dragged backwards at a faster pace as the sled fell down into the depths of the lake and, one by one, the struggle to release them became nothing but desperation, their wide eyes pleading with Únik as they passed into the water, beyond sight.

"No! No!" Únik screamed as the final dog came to the edge of the hole in the ice. Barsa.

Her favourite hound's paws scratched against her hands as she held onto his reins. She could not let him go. Never. No more. She had seen her dogs, her family, disappear before her eyes, suffering as they slipped beneath the icy waters. She could not allow Barsa to die too. Cursing her freezing fingers, she leaned down, trying to bite through the tough leather.

A hand appeared beside hers. A tiny, ice blue hand, joined by another, gripping the reins. Barsa's back end had fallen into the water, now, and he howled as the combined weight of the sled and his companion dogs dragged at him. Even with the added aid from Hatyara, there was little Únik could do. The weight too much. She prepared herself to let Barsa go.

The leather of the reins snapped beneath Hatyara's hands and the momentum of pulling against the falling sled and dogs transferred back towards them. Únik, Hatyara and Barsa fell backwards onto the ice and, before Únik could think about it, she grabbed both Barsa and Hatyara, dragging them away from the treacherous hole and the slippery surface of the lake.

They all fell to the ground at the side of the lake, breaths coming fast, and Únik began to howl like one of her dogs that now descended to the bottom of the lake. She battered at the snow beside her, yowling to the sky at losing her family. Again.

Barsa came to her then, licking at her face, clambering to sit upon her legs, rubbing his face against hers. She wrapped her arms about his neck, pulling the dog into a tight embrace, his sodden fur hiding Únik's tears as they fell upon him. Her hands clutched at his fur and snapped away as they felt something even more cold than the waters and the snow.