*The sun slowly crept out of the huge ocean. Down the beach, you could see a family--a mother, a father, and two young sisters. The two sisters came running up the beach and jumped into the water splashing each other with cold, salty water. Both parents laughed as they sat up and watched their young kids having fun. The older sister, who was ten years-old, dived into the water and swam half a mile out while her younger sister, age six, was cheering her on. A few minutes later, the older sister swam back to join her sisters on the beach and together they walked back to their parents. “Beep, beep,” the parents asked, but the older sister couldn’t understand them. “Beep, beep.” Now all her family was talking, but they couldn’t speak, except in beeps. “Beep, Beep, Beep,” louder and louder until it seemed as if her parents were screaming at her…*
      Beep Beep Beep. Veronica turned off the alarm clock at her bedside by knocking it to the floor. She did not want to wake up from her dream. She wanted so badly to feel the water course over her skin. Reluctantly she got up to put on her green fuzzy socks, black slippers, a fuzzy hat, and a purple winter coat. Veronica strolled to the door and opened it so quickly that the handle hit the wall with an enormous THUMP. She walked down the hall to her younger sister Lily’s room to wake her up. Veronica crept into the small but warm room that held her sleeping sister. Every morning, Veronica woke Lily up the same way. She took a few steps back then launched herself at the bed aiming directly toward Lily’s feet. Veronica then wrapped her arms tightly around the little feet and tickled them until her younger sister woke up laughing. Veronica loosened her grip and let her sister push her away. 
      “Come on, silly goose, let’s get some breakfast,” Veronica sputtered trying not to laugh too hard.
“Can we race?” Lily asked innocently.	
      Veronica could not help but laugh. Veronica knew Lily was one of the fastest six year-olds in the world. No one would even think about going up against Lily because that would automatically mean a loss. Veronica agreed to a fair race to the kitchen and with that they were off. Whenever Veronica looked at her sister she couldn’t help but smile. Lily loved to run almost as much as Veronica loved to swim. 
      In five seconds flat Lily reached the kitchen. Ten seconds later Veronica arrived out of breath.
      “Don’t worry, sis, you’ll win next time,” Lily smirked. Veronica simply shook her head and looked at her mother. 
      “Help yourselves to anything on the counter. There are pancakes, hash browns, a variety of omelets, and hot chocolate for you guys,” their mother Scarlet said, looking up from her newspaper at her kids who were just staring at her, “Go eat, you two. We have a very busy day today.” Scarlet clapped her hands twice to get them moving. 
      Veronica grabbed two plates off the top cupboard and handed one to Lily. Veronica strolled by the rows of food, grabbing the ones she thought were most delicious. Veronica grabbed two pancakes, a veggie omelet filled with vegetables and cheese, and a steaming hot chocolate that was almost too hot to touch. Right by her side, Lily took one pancake, almost a third of the hash browns, half an omelet filled with meats and vegetables, and a steaming hot chocolate. Veronica glanced at her sister and shook her head.
“How can such a small person eat that much food?” Veronica wondered.
“What? Running gives me an appetite,” Lily said, as if reading Veronica’s mind.
      Across the room, Scarlet crossed over to her daughters and said, “Sit down you two. We need to talk about what's going to happen today.”
      Veronica took a chair near the wall with Lily sitting to her right. Scarlet sat in a chair to the left. One seat in the middle stayed empty. It was meant for their father, who left early every morning so he could go to the lab. As Veronica and Lily ate their breakfasts, Scarlet talked about their upcoming day. 
      “Today I am going to help your father out at the laboratory. We will be in the radiation room, so we will not be able to have contact with each other for the whole day. Veronica, you need to be extra safe while you take Lily to the gym. Your father discovered more crevices in the ice, so remember to watch your step.” As the last word left Scarlet’s mouth, the phone rang. She excused herself and left to answer the phone. When she came back fifteen minutes later, her daughters were just washing the plates after finishing their breakfast.
      “That was your father. He said they need me there right now. Will you guys be okay on your own?” Scarlet asked.
“Yes, Mother, now please go. You’re going to be late,” Veronica said exasperated.
      Scarlet laughed and gave them both a bear hug. In the next minute, she was driving away in the truck.
      At 2 pm, Veronica got ready to go to the gym. She packed her and Lily’s bathing suits for the indoor pool, two pairs of sneakers, a rope in case they got in any kind trouble on the ice, a few scarves and gloves in case the weather shifted, and a satellite phone. After she packed, Veronica and Lily put on the heaviest coats they could find. The weather was supposed to get below zero degrees.   
      They walked three blocks in the freezing cold before they got to the gym.
      Veronica pushed the heavy glass doors open to go into the enormous heated gym. Lily covered her nose because the scent of sweat and hard work was too strong. Veronica nodded and walked straight in. The first room they walked into was shaped like a dome and had offices in the center. On the walls were eight wood doors that led to different exercise rooms.
“What do you want to do first, swim or run?” Veronica asked Lily. 
      “I want to swim; it’s too hot to run. Can we run after we swim a few laps?” Lily asked politely. 
“Of course, come on! Swimming is the second door,” Veronica said with a smile.
      Veronica and Lily walked through the second door and into the locker room. They quickly changed into their bathing suits and went into the pool area. The room had an enormous pool in the center and a small hot tub to the right. Veronica felt a sudden urge to jump in to the pool. She ran to the diving board, climbed up, and did the best front tuck into the pool that anyone ever saw. Veronica emerged from beneath the water, flipping her black hair back and causing it to make a tiny splash before it sank again. 
“What are you waiting for-- an invitation?” Veronica called to Lily.
Lily ran to the diving board. “Cannonball!” Lily yelled.
      With that she jumped off the board, wrapped her hands around her knees, and splashed into the pool. Lily surfaced near her sister and they both broke out in laughter. 
      After almost two hours of swimming, the girls’ skin looked old and wrinkly compared to their normal smooth-skinned selves. They went back into the girl’s locker room to change into their running clothes and gym shoes. From there they walked straight out into the hall and into the room straight ahead. The room was designed to appear as a midsummer’s day track. In the center was a fifty foot tall room with statues of world class runners all around. The sisters walked onto the track and began stretching.
“Can you put some music on?” Lily asked her big sister
      “Sure let me see if I can get his attention,” Veronica stood up and walked to the center of the track. She then raised her arms and started flapping them like a lunatic. Veronica started shouting “HEY! LOOK OVER HERE! LOOK! I’M RIGHT HERE!” Finally she caught the sound booth guys’ attention. Veronica then held up two fingers meaning soundtrack two. The sound booth guy nodded and pressed a button. Immediately ‘Good Life’ by One Republic rang though the track room.
Veronica danced back to Lily. 
      “Alright, we have the music and we stretched. Are you ready to run?” As soon as the last word left Veronica’s mouth, she knew the answer. Lily ran up to the starting mark and looked back at Veronica with pleading eyes. 
      After an hour of running, the girls were wiped out. They walked to the corner of the track course and grabbed two water bottles. In ten minutes they were rehydrated and ready to go. Veronica and Lily got dressed and put all the equipment back in the bag. The sisters opened the heavy glass doors to the outside world and a gust of wind sprayed them. Veronica held Lily’s hand while walking down the icy steps. Veronica took a bad step and tumbled down three steps. Luckily, the pull on Lily’s arm made her let go or else she would have fallen to. Lily was forced to watch Veronica tumble down knowing she could not do anything to help. Veronica landed on her back blinking wildly at the gloomy sky. The backpack that was once on her back was sprawled a foot away. Lily raced down the steps and helped her sister sit up. 
      “Are you alright? You have to be hurt!” Lily sputtered, too stunned                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   to ask any real questions.
      “Yeah, I’m alright, just dizzy. Check if anything is damaged in the backpack,” Veronica said.
      Lily raced to the bag and pulled all the objects out starting with the gym shoes ending with the satellite phone. 
“Yeah, they’re all okay!” Lily shouted to her sister.
      Lily stuffed all the objects back in, putting the satellite phone in last. She helped Veronica to a standing position
“Can you walk?”
“Of course, I can!”
      Veronica was leaning on Lily’s shoulder. She did not want to put too, much weight on Lily and make her topple over.
      “Right foot, left foot, repeat. Right foot, left foot, repeat,” Veronica thought to herself. “Right foot, left foot, right, no right, not down, up! Come on, legs, don’t fail me now!” Veronica began to sink as her feet slowly and painfully gave into the pressure.  “I’m too weak. How will I get Lily home? Mom’s going to kill me.”
      Veronica was dragging Lily down, and Lily tried to keep her up, but it was useless. Veronica’s hand drifted down. She felt the backpack on Lily’s back and tried to pull herself up, but it only dragged the bag down. The backpack fell off Lily’s back and hit the ice directly. The ice cracked for a brief second and all was quiet. 
Lily looked at Veronica in plain horror. 
       “Don’t worry, the ice will freeze over any min--.”  Veronica’s face went from shock to disbelief, then from pale to white.  
      The ice was cracking as if more weight was being added to it. The ice was like a thin thread stretching to the point where it was ready to break.
“Don’t move,” Veronica instructed.
      Lily was on the verge of tears now. Veronica swept her hand ever so gently towards the bag. CRACK. The ice was stretching thin. Veronica had to act quickly even though she could not move her legs without pain. Veronica threw herself at the bag but fell short and crashed onto the ice. CRACK! Veronica felt herself falling, falling into an empty void of nothingness. 
      All she thought of was her father teaching her safety. Sadly, Dr. Thomas did not think one of his kids would fall into nothingness. Veronica had to act fast if she had any chance of getting out of this hole. She squinted to catch a better view of her surroundings. She saw that there were splinters in the ice and if she could snatch on to one of the splinters, she would be safe. Veronica was at least 15 feet from the surface. This was her only time to make a move. Veronica stretched out her hands and feet so they would land on a splinter. The idea didn’t go the way she planned. Her hands and feet were getting cut and scraped and the ice was too slippery. 	
      “It’s now or never,” Veronica gritted her teeth and pushed herself even harder. Her right hand snagged in a splinter. Her right and left legs quickly found splinters to hook on to as well.
      “If I fall, I die. Great load of confidence inner self,” Veronica felt defeated but kept holding on.
      Above the surface, Lily was shouting Veronica’s name. Lily knew Veronica would be too far down the hole to save her. The rope she brought was an easy twenty feet long. What if it was too late? She could be in the water with no way out. Lily knew she had to act quickly or else her sister would be gone forever. Lily took one step forward and launched herself at the back pack the way she saw Veronica do it every morning. Lily made the jump and was on top of the backpack. She opened it and took the rope and satellite phone out. She tied the rope around the phone three times and double-knotted it. She took the sharp part of the phone and dug it into the ice away from the crack. Lily took the other side of the rope and threw it into the hole. She breathed and counted to five. Then, with all her might, She yelled Veronica’s name down the hole.
      In the hole, Veronica heard a faint noise. The noise was growing louder and louder, echoing as it traveled towards her. When the noise reached her, Veronica realized it was Lily calling. Veronica sucked in her stomach and with all the power she had left, called up to Lily.
      Lily heard Veronica’s plea for help and it broke her heart. Again Lily breathed to gain control of her emotions. 
“Do you see the rope?” Lily called to Veronica.  
      “Yes, but it’s stuck. The end of the rope fell in a rock right above my hand. I can’t reach it!” Veronica called up
      Lily took the rope closest to her and swung it back and forth so the rope below could come loose. 
The rope was on the edge of the hole. Slowly but surely the rope was freed. 
“Okay! It’s out! I’m going to grab on now!” Veronica yelled.
      Veronica put all her weight on her left arm. Her right arm swung limply toward her side. Veronica didn’t have much strength left but gathered the last bits she had and focused them all toward her arms. Her right arm swung up to the rope and grabbed on. She cried in pain but didn’t let go.
      Lily felt the rope tighten and pulled with all her might. Lily starred in amazement as she saw Veronica’s face appear through the dark. Then her body, part by part, started to appear. Veronica kept climbing.
      Veronica saw Lily peering into the crack, encouraging her to keep climbing. Veronica thought back to the dream she had less than twenty-four hours ago in a warm bed. Lily cheering her on while she swam. Lily had always been cheering her on. Veronica just now realized it. Veronica felt a sudden boost in her energy and kept climbing. 
      Mr. and Mrs. Eliot got home around nine pm. They were both expecting to see the two sisters waiting in the living room with open arms. However, when the parents got home no one came to welcome them. Mr. and Mrs. Eliot looked at each other with worried eyes.
      “Veronica, are you here? Come out, honey,” Mrs. Eliot cried
      “This isn’t funny!” Mr. Eliot bellowed.
      Still the parents heard nothing as if there was nothing in the world except them and their worry. Mr. and Mrs. Eliot split up to search for their children in the house. After a few minutes of searching, they declared the children were not in the house. Mrs. Eliot called the police while Mr. Eliot got the truck ready to take off. When Mrs. Eliot hung up the phone, she ran to the car and the engine started.
      “Where should we start? They could be anywhere!” Mrs. Eliot sobbed
      “They should have gone to the gym. They have to be either there or on the way there,” Mr. Eliot said calmly.
      Veronica was climbing closer and closer to the top. Lily sat in wait to help her sister. Lily saw Veronica’s head peek out and gasp for air. As Veronica hoisted herself up, Lily tried to help. When Veronica was finally out of the hole, she gave her sister a huge hug. They both had thought they would never see each other again. When they finally separated, Veronica yawned. Her eyes looked so tired. 
      “Go to sleep, mom and dad probably know we are missing and are looking for us now. We could just stay put until they find us,” Lily suggested.
      “That’s probably a good idea, but I will not let you be up all by yourself,” Veronica yawned again. “Okay, maybe for a few minutes. Then you have to sleep.”
      Lily smiled and nodded. Veronica lay down where she was and in seconds was sound asleep. Lily was watching the sky, but slowly her eyes started to close. Lily tried not to fall asleep, but she did anyway. Soon, the two sisters were sound asleep.
      Lily was the first to wake. She woke up with a jolt and screamed. Veronica was still beside her but they were in a metal object. Veronica jolted up after hearing the scream
“What happened?” Veronica asked, “Where are we?”
      “It’s all right. You two are in good care,” the doctor said smoothly, coming through the archway.
      The doctor reached into the bag he was carrying and took out a sharp needle. He held it up and said, “This will help you sleep. In a few hours you will be awake and be able to see your family. Your mother and father are waiting at the hospital.  Okay?”
      Veronica and Lily nodded. The doctor injected the needle into the sister’s arms and they fell back to sleep.
Antarctica’s Ice, 6-8, p. 1


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