Stupid Penguin

“Haru, I know we both agreed on going somewhere cooler but isn't this a bit on the extreme side?”

Sea ice and the cool blue sky enveloped their entire view for miles around. It was frozen wilderness void of life.

“Nah, it's not like we’re dealing with the frigid cold and howling winds of a blizzard. This is technically beautiful weather for an environment as cold as this.”

“But I don’t even see a single sign of life around us though.”

“There’s no need to worry about that. It’s actually much safer for us if we don’t encounter anything.”

“If you say so.”

“We’re definitely bundled up well enough, but I’m most excited to try out these boots I was able to make with your magic.”

“These clunky things you made me wear? They aren’t as lightweight as my normal shoes.”

“Yeah they're going to make things so much easier. You'll see what I mean later.”

“Ok. So what exactly is it that you planned out here Haru?”

“We’re going to meet up with a friend of mine and go for a little helicopter ride.”

“Is that why you have that GPS on again?”

“Yup. We don’t have to go too much further either. I just wanted to warm up with a little walk before we got on board.”

“Well you definitely picked the wrong place for that.”

“You know exactly what I meant.”

He playfully made a face at her as she smiled back at him.

“So remind me why it is that we both have a pair of ice axes if this is just a walk.”

He grits his teeth, looks away and mutters something under his breath.

“There may be a little bit of climbing today.”

“Uh, what was that Haru? Speak up.”

“There’s just going to be just a little bit of climbing for us to do today. It's not high at all I promise.”

“You could’ve just told me it's not like I didn’t enjoy the rock climbing we did. It was just that stupid hanging tent that I didn’t like.”

“Oh, well that went smoother than I thought it would go. I guess now I can tell you the full plan.”

“Yeah that would be greatly appreciated.”

“My friend landed the helicopter on a decent sized glacier that we’re going to climb. Then we’re going to have a scenic little ride on the way to a mountain top for some heliskiing.”

“What in the world is heliskiing?”

“It's an extreme type of skiing on dangerous slopes that are only accessible by helicopter.”

“That sounds cool. I’m looking forward to it.”

Their walk toward the helicopter was seemingly uneventful until a penguin darted out of the water beside them from a seal breathing hole in the ice. It completely ignored them as it waddled past them at full speed with its little wings spread wide, right toward the direction they had just walked from.

“Well that was random. It looks like there's another one in the water that it left behind.”

“No way that looks much bigger.”

“Are you sure?”

Haru’s eyes widened as he looked back at the water.

“Oh no! We have to start running right now!”

“Wait why!”

“I really hope I’m wrong, but we might be in serious trouble. If what I just saw was a pod of killer whales, then we don't have much time left. We need to pull out the ice picks and run for the glacier now!”

The floor shook behind them and began to crack into pieces.

“What is happening?!”

She looked behind her as they both ran only to see the ice behind them in segments as waves came crashing over the ice.

“What do killer whales have to do with the fact that the floor is falling apart like in a video game?!”

“That penguin was being chased and used us as bait so it could escape. So now we are the ones being hunted!”

“But I thought they don’t attack people?!”

“Why don't you go jump in the water and let them know that?!”

“Oh ha ha aren’t you so funny!”

“Look, the helicopter is right up ahead of us!”

“We have to climb that!”

“Yeah when we get closer I want you to click your heels together and pull out the axes”.

“And why exactly am I clicking my heels together?”

“It's going to activate the crampon mode and the spikes will come out. Then we can stab into the ice with the axes and our boots in order to climb to the top.”

Behind them the relentless pod of killer whales kept charging at the ice from below. Just as they managed to leap onto the side of the glacier to begin their climb, a wave of water crashed into the ice below them from the tail of the whale beside them. They both let out a huge sigh of relief as they ascended.

“So do killer whales always hunt like that?”

“Yeah they really live up to their name. If they find prey somewhere unreachable to them, they find a way to get them into the water. And them breaking the ground and trying to wash us into the water with those waves isn’t even the scariest part of their hunts. They normally toss smaller prey into the air with their tails to concuss them and get their entrails to pop out.”

“Eww Haru, I did not need to know that. Especially since they are still below us as we climb.”

“Oops sorry I got a little too excited and over did it.”

“I’ll forgive you this time, but only because it is kind of cute when you nerd out about animals.”

Haru couldn’t help but smile. Just as they reached the ledge and could see the helicopter, they felt their bodies start to tilt backwards. The whirling of the helicopter began to drown out all other noises.

“Hurry and run to the helicopter! The glacier is flipping!”

Haru grabs Minori across her waist and jumps right into the backseats of the helicopter just as it took off. They look down as the glacier completes its flip revealing the dark blue ice that was once hiding in the water.

“Now that was a close call.”

“You got that right.”

Minori reaches over to the pilot after putting on a helmet with a built in headset.

“That was some stellar timing on your part too. Hey wait a minute. Aren’t you Ichika?”

“Yup! The one and only.””

“You are such a life saver yet again. I could just hug you if you weren’t flying right now. Just how many vehicles do you know how to operate anyway?”

“There are quite a few, but it's just become a hobby of mine to be able to operate all of the machines. Plus it gives me a good excuse to join in on some of Haru’s adventures whenever he gives me time to prepare.”

She glares over at Haru.

“I know I know I'm sorry Ichika.”

“Just what did you do to get her to look at you like that?”

His face grimaces.

“I may have not given her enough notice before our little safari trip so she couldn’t join us with the lion cubs.”

“Oh I see. You definitely deserved that look.”

“Just whose side are you on?”

“Hers. Definitely hers.”

Ichika cracked a smile.

“Well it looks like we’re here at the steep mountain you asked for.”

They conjure up skis in the back seat before preparing to hop out.

“This is perfect. I promise I’ll take you to see those cubs sometime soon.”

“You better! Stay safe down there. I’ll still be flying around here so just give me a call if you run into any problems.”

“Thanks Ichika, you’re the best. Alright Minori, I'll race you to the bottom.”

“Get ready to lose!”

They both hop off of the helicopter and start zipping down the mountains’ forty five degree drop.

“Ahhhh! This is amazing!”

“Now halfway down the mountainside, they start to dodge more and more trees until a sluff avalanche fills the air with snow blocking their vision. Minori goes flying into the air after skiing over a fallen tree and crashes upside down into another. Haru stops after witnessing it and looks up into the tree.”

“Would you look at that? You crashed just as badly as I did when we had that zorb ball race. Looks like I won this round.”

“Just get me down from here already.”

“Haha ok.”

He took off his skis and climbed up to get her down. He carried her down as she shivered.

“Yeah I think this is my limit for the cold. We can go back to somewhere warmer.”

“Ok I know just where we should go.”