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up
high.'
    'We
could use the radio tower. Lash it to the scaffold.'
    'Want
to give me a hand?'
     
    They
dressed in the airlock. Heavy Ventile coats, rubber boots and ski masks. Ghost
unwound his turban and tied his hair in a ponytail. Jane zipped her snorkel
hood and buckled gauntlets.
    'Been
outside much?' asked Ghost as he strapped Jane into a full body harness. His
voice was muffled by his mask. His eyes were hidden behind black goggles.
    'Never
in a storm.'
    'Soon
as we get out on to the walkway, grab the railing. There's a guide wire. Clip
yourself to the wire before taking another step, all right? The wind could
throw you clean over the side.'
    Ghost
handed Jane a shockproof spotlight.
    'Million
candlepower. Don't look into it. I'll climb the mast. Keep the light on me.'
    He
sealed the internal door. He spun the hatch wheel and pushed the external door.
Alarm. Warning strobes. Sudden jet- roar of wind noise as the power-assisted
hatch slid back. Jane was blasted by driving ice particles. She rocked on her
feet.
    'You
all right?' shouted Ghost.
    'It's
hell out there.'
    'Yeah.
Know what? I reckon some of us won't make it home.'

Mayday
     
    The
storm passed.
    Sian
stood on the deck and sipped coffee. Her mug broiled like a witches' brew. She
was standing on a walkway above the fresh water storage tanks. She wanted to
enjoy the sun before the long Arctic night began and the rig was left in
permanent darkness.
    Sian
often took refuge outside. She got a lot of male attention. She heard a rumour
the crewmen took a bet when she first joined the rig. First to fuck the new
girl. Four months later, nobody won the bet. She overheard Nail call her 'the
dyke'.
    She
took the job because she was bored. She was counter staff at Barclays Bank in
Portsmouth. She saw an advert:
     
    Coral
Recruitment
    Overseas
Jobs
    Oil
industry administrator
     
    Will
provide secretarial support to installation manager. Strong organisational skills
and a keen eye for detail are important aspects of the role. Good salary,
insurance, flights and negotiable bonus.
    She
took the job. Friends threw a party the night before she flew to Norway.
    They
said she was brave. They said she would have a big adventure. She would come
home with stories.
    There
used to be planes overhead. Earlier that year the blue and cloudless sky had
often been bisected by the contrails of jets patrolling the Russian frontier.
Now the sky was empty.
    She
saw a ship. A dot on the horizon. A tanker funnel. She dropped her coffee and
sprinted to an airlock intercom. Rawlins came running followed by the crew.
They gathered on the helipad. They waved and shouted. Ghost fired flares. The
tanker didn't turn or slow.
    Rawlins
had binoculars.
    'Japanese
flag,' he said. 'There are men on deck.'
    'Maybe
they saw us,' said Sian. 'It takes a while for a tanker to respond.'
    The
ship kept going.
     
    Sian
joined Jane in the observation bubble. They watched the distant ship through
the window.
    'Japanese
tanker, this is Kasker Rampart twenty kilometres east of your position.
Requesting urgent assistance, over.'
    No
reply.
    'Japanese
tanker, this is Con Amalgam refinery Kasker Rampart twenty kilometres east of
your position. We are British crewmen requesting evacuation, over. Japanese
tanker, we badly need your help. Please respond.' The ship sailed out of sight.
    'I
can't believe they didn't see us,' said Sian.
    'They
saw us,' said Jane. 'They just didn't want to stop.'
     
    'Rampart, this is Apex base .'
    'How's
it going, Simon?' asked Jane.
    'We
made less time than I hoped. We were walking into the wind. We covered less
than five kilometres '
    'The
storm has cleared. You have a window of good weather. Make the most of it.'
    'We're
weak. We're hungry .'
    'Once
you cross that second inlet you can ditch the boat. Should lighten your load.'
    'We're all pretty shattered.'
    'Hold
it together forty-eight hours and you're home and dry. A little more walking.
That's all that stands between you and the rest