The Polar Bear Explorers' Club by Alex Bell (books for 8th graders TXT) 📕

cold moonlight. He looked livid. ‘I don’t want your pity! And I don’t want your friendship, either! I just want to live long enough to get through this expedition and return to my own team. That’s it!’

He untied the rope around his waist, turned away and started walking towards the shelter of the bridge. Stella hurried after him. She really felt she needed to say something, to make some effort to soften the harsh words she had spoken before.

‘Ethan, look—’ she began.

‘Will you leave me alone?’ he snapped. ‘You’re right, okay? I am selfish. And it’s cost me more than you can ever imagine.’

He stormed off. There seemed to be nothing more to say, and nothing more to do, other than follow Ethan across the deck to the bridge. Stella glanced at the night sky, which was now thick with falling snowflakes, and knew that fresh snow meant there was practically zero chance of finding Beanie’s narwhal in the morning. It would be buried deep by then, and they’d have no way of knowing where to look for it. Stella knew Ethan was right – Beanie should never have brought such a special thing on the expedition with him – but she still felt terrible for her friend anyway. And she felt terrible for Ethan too.

The magician opened the door to the bridge and the three of them joined Beanie inside. He had settled himself in the corner and was calmly organising a jar of green jellybeans into identical piles. There was a big brass navigational wheel in the centre, which was covered in red flakes of rust, and there were maps on the walls that had almost completely crumbled away. The room had a damp, shut-up smell about it, but at least it was four walls and a roof, and they’d be able to stay dry for the night.

Shay unzipped his bag and handed around blankets, which everyone took in silence. Stella was just about to turn away when Shay held something else out to her. It was a little bird made from dozens of tiny beads and gemstones, shimmering in jade and green.

‘Oh, it’s a hummingbird!’ Stella exclaimed, taking it from Shay.

‘Actually, it’s a dream-snatcher,’ Shay replied. He tapped it once, firmly, on the head, and the little bird suddenly came to life, rapidly flapping its wings and flitting around Stella. Lowering his voice so that only Stella could hear, he said, ‘I thought it might help with that nightmare of yours.’

Stella thought about denying she’d ever had a nightmare, but she could tell from the expression on Shay’s face that there would be no point.

‘It’s all right, Sparky,’ he said softly. ‘The night is full of good and bad dreams for each of us. I had terrible nightmares when I was little, so my grandmother made me this. Dream-snatchers don’t like the taste of good dreams – they’re too sugary for them – but they go mad for nightmares. Gobble them up the second they arrive, which means they never even have a chance to reach you.’

Stella looked up at the little dream-snatcher, which was beating its wings so fast that it hovered in the air right over her head, just like a hummingbird. Stella returned her gaze to Shay. ‘What were your bad dreams about?’ she asked, then immediately wished she hadn’t in case Shay thought she was being nosy.

He didn’t seem to mind though, and said, ‘I dreamt I was a wolf caught in a trap. There was trouble, you see, between the wild wolves and the village where I grew up. Being a wolf whisperer isn’t always fun. In fact, sometimes it’s just no fun at all. Hang it up nearby where you’re sleeping,’ he said. ‘That way you’ll be protected.’

Stella whispered her thanks, then went to join Beanie in the corner. He wordlessly pushed one of the piles of jellybeans over to her and they sat and ate them together in silence. Then Stella hung the dream-snatcher from the nearby navigational wheel before lying down next to her friend.

The Polar Bear explorers all drew up the hoods of their cloaks, and the fur linings felt snug and warm against their ears. Looking at Ethan’s bare, blond head, Stella wondered if he regretted not taking Beanie up on his offer to loan him his hat. But, if he did, he didn’t say anything. In fact, no one was in much of a chatting mood at all. It had been a long day. Without another word to each other, the explorers bedded down, and went to sleep.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

That night, Stella had one of the nicest dreams she could ever remember having. She was tucked up in bed, and someone was reading her a bedtime story. At first Stella assumed it was Felix, but then she realised that it wasn’t his voice, and that the hands holding the enormous book which masked the reader’s face were actually a woman’s. She had a delicate silver charm bracelet dangling from her wrist. There was a unicorn charm, along with other charms Stella couldn’t make out properly, and they made a tinkling noise every time the woman moved her hand to turn the page.

‘When the first unicorn came to the Icelands,’ she read, ‘it searched high and low for a home of its own where it would be safe from the yetis.’

She snapped her fingers and, out of thin air, a tiny unicorn made of snow appeared on Stella’s bed, prancing excitedly up and down the covers, leaving little frosted hoofmarks in its wake. Stella clapped her hands together, delighted.

‘The unicorn soon found itself in a beautiful ice garden …’ the voice went on, and Stella watched as snow flowers and ice trees began growing up from her blanket, filling the air with the scent of magic and petals …

But then, all of a sudden, something went wrong. Stella heard another voice, raised in anger. The book dropped from the woman’s hands, and the