The face was human, but when the creature spoke, you could clearly see the bolts in his jawbone right beneath the skin. Just the other day, the assistant had seen Gozen reach out, snatch a songbird from the air, and casually break its neck, tossing the light, brightly colored body aside. The assistant didn’t know whether Gozen had morals or ethics or any sense of right or wrong. Mostly what he had been given was extreme, astonishing power.
“Gozen,” the Uber-Director said again as the hulking thing stood near him, at attention. “It’s almost time. Prepare your troops.”
“Yes, sir,” Gozen said without moving. His voice sounded like a tape of a human voice played too slowly.
A chill went down the assistant’s back.
42
AS IT TURNED OUT, all the world-saving started the next day.
Now, someone who doesn’t know better might think that playing with penguins wouldn’t really do a lot to prevent the apocalypse, but hey, we were just there to help.
“Look at this! I’m a penguin!” Angel yelled, flinging herself onto her stomach and sliding down a steep, hard-packed snow slope. She raced incredibly fast toward the bottom, where about twenty emperor penguins waited for her, flapping their wings.
“Me next!” Gazzy didn’t wait for Angel to get out of the way, he just threw himself down the slope, cackling maniacally. He collided with her, of course, causing her to skid into a few penguins who, frankly, should have been paying more attention. Two of the big heavy birds went down, one right on top of Gazzy. I heard his breath whoosh out from where I was standing, taking scientific notes.
Here’s a sample of my contribution to the world’s scientific knowledge.
Place: Lucir station, Antarctica
Date: Remind me to check and fill in later
Time: Hard to tell, what with the midnight sun and all, and I hocked my watch ages ago
Subjects: Emperor penguins
Quantity: Twenty-seven adults — no way to tell at a glance who’s male or female, and I ain’t checking under their hoods. Twelve fuzzums little chickums. Five avian-Americans.
Size: These penguins are surprisingly big — about four feet tall. Solid and heavy, judging from the way Gazzy whoofed when one fell on him. I’d say — sixty pounds? We’re talking major birds here.
Birds’ condition: They’re hefty little suckers, built for comfort and speed. And they’re sure not feeling the cold. I’d put them on the “chunky” end of the scale.
Activity: Basically, sliding on ice, just for fun. Leaping into the frigid water every once in a while, then popping back out as if shot from a toaster. Noticeably fishy smell afterward. One barfed up part of an octopus, almost on Iggy’s boots. Good thing his vision was out again. I almost heaved myself.
“How’s it going?” Brian Carey asked, snowshoeing up to us. He and Sue-Ann, who was with him, had clipboards and special pens that wrote in extreme weather. Did I mention how freaking cold it was? Like, thanks, Mom!
-Sue-Ann looked at the penguins popping up out of the water and laughed. “They’re so cute —,” she began, as a whole horde of the tuxedoed birds shot up onto the ice. They were squawking and waddling away from the water as fast as they could.
And then suddenly an enormous creature surged out of the ocean, grabbed Sue-Ann by a leg, and sank back into the black depths.
43
“LEOPARD SEAL!” BRIAN YELLED, throwing down his clipboard and racing toward the water. “Get help! Get Paul and the others!”
-Sue-Ann’s head bobbed out of the water, and she screamed, but she was choked off as the seal dragged her under again. It was huge, with a watermelon-sized head, its sharp-toothed jaws clamped around Sue-Ann’s leg.
“Go!” I ordered Gazzy, who was staring at the water. There were splotches of darkness in the water, and the ice at the opening was faintly tinged with pink. “Go! And the rest of you, get back to the station!”
Immediately, without question, Gazzy grabbed Iggy, and they, Nudge, and Angel started slipping and running over the snow back to the station. I heard Gazzy yelling for help.
“It’ll thrash her around in the water till she’s dead!” Brian cried, leaning over the sharp edge of the ice. “Sue! Hang on!” He looked back toward the station helplessly, and then shouted and waved his arms as the seal surfaced again.
He couldn’t jump in — he’d get sucked beneath the ice and never find his way out. Or the leopard seal would get him.
“Come on!” I told Fang, and ran to a quick takeoff. He was right behind me, and we stayed low, swooping over the water, trying to see. A dark shadow almost ten feet long showed that the seal was still close to the surface.
“Grab her as soon as it comes up again,” I shouted, and Fang nodded, grimly determined. Together we flew low, six feet above the water, in tight circles, ready to pounce in a second. Already a rescue team was rushing toward us. Paul was carrying a harpoon.