Read Hot & Cold for Free Online

‘Activate your boat charm and come up on deck with me.’
    Gee whizz, lemonfizz! thought EJ. Am I the only one around here who can’t read minds?
    EJ found the little boat charm on her bracelet. It was locked into the wristband so the charm was almost pushing against the inside of her wrist. As she twisted it, the charm began to slowly pulsate. EJ looked up at Captain C2C.
    â€˜It works like acupuncture,’ the captain said. ‘The charm sends a current through your pulse—that’s why it needs to be so close to your wrist. It’s an old Chinese method and works a treat with sea-sickness. It might take a little while, but soon you’ll be feeling better. Which is just as well, because we’re rapidly approaching your drop point.’



Out on deck in the fresh air, EJ did indeed feel better. It was, however, the coldest fresh air that EJ had ever experienced—and she had been to some pretty cold places. It was as if the wind was biting her face and she could feel tiny icicles settling on her ears.
    â€˜Fresh, isn’t it?’ chuckled Captain C2C. ‘We are now in the coldest place on Earth and it’s summer time—imagine what it’s like in winter!’
    The ocean swell continued to heave and EJ watched as the black waves rose up and then dropped down again, time after time. At least now she was able to see them coming and that, along with her charm, seemed to be helping with the seasickness.
    As she stared out at the black waves, EJ wondered if she might be starting to see things, imagining things that weren’t really there. The waves seemed to turn into leaping whales—black-backed whales with white bellies, rising and diving into the swell. Hold on a minute! EJ looked harder, her eyes squinting at the water. They really were whales. Unreal! Well, real, but awesome!
    The whales were dodging the thin ice chunks floating in the sea, rising high up into the air before diving down again, creating enormous splashes as they landed back on the water. There were two whales, a mother and her baby, and it was as if they were having a morning play together.
    EJ wanted to watch them soar and dive forever but Shining Light continued to push further and further south. The floating ice chunks gave way to hard icy sheets that the ship had to break through as it moved forward. The front of the ship rose up andthen crashed down again, crushing the ice below. But the further the ship went, the thicker and harder the ice became, eventually making it impossible to break through.
    â€˜This is pretty much as far as we can take you, EJ12. You will need to make your own way across the ice shelf to the island,’ said Captain C2C. ‘Proceed to the lower deck and prepare to launch Shinemobile 3.’
    Shinemobile 3 was part jet-ski and part skimobile. It allowed agents to travel on water, land and ice, moving easily from one surface to another. EJ thought it was like riding a motorbike on skis, and probably the most fun you could have outside of the Mission Tube. It was solar-powered, ultra-light and moved almost completely without noise.
    EJ12 jumped on, turned the key and slowly revved the engine. A large set of doors opened from the lower deck and a ramp was lowered down from the ship. Straight ahead, for as far as the eye could see, there was ice—gleaming blue-ish ice. EJ locked her phone into a socket and the satellite navigation screen turned on. EJ keyed in the co-ordinates of where they thought Emperor Penguin Point was and then slowly eased off the brake, pulled back on the accelerator and slid out onto the ice. She checked the time—EJ needed to get her skates on—she had less than an hour to make the payment to Dr Hill.

    Antarctica was like a desert, a cold, white desert interrupted by giant, jagged icebergs that soared up to the skies. But A1 was right. While the ice might look smooth and flat from a distance, up close it was a much rougher ride.