Chapter thirteen

Three weeks had passed since Bette and the other activists had arrived at the North Pole. They had discovered a group of hunters but were unable to catch them. They had been tracking them for almost a week now and Bette was getting very agitated.
Bette: “I can’t believe that these guys can just get away with what they are doing!”
Jessica: “I know you’re upset Bette, but you have to try to remain calm, that’s the only way we can save those baby seals.”
Bette: “I know, but still, I hate this.”
Jessica: “Stay together everyone, there’s some thin ice ahead of us.”
The group carefully maneuvered its way through the spots of thin ice. Today would be a good day, the wind wasn’t too hard and there were no storms announced. Bette thought about Tina while they walked. She had kept her promise to her and called her every night. Being away from each other for the first time had made them both realize that they loved one another even more than they thought. Bette was counting the days till she would finally be home and see her wife again. Even though she had made quite a few new friends here, she still longed for Tina. She felt like a part of her was missing and the only thing that could make her whole again was Tina. Thinking of Tina made Bette feel a little warmer inside and brought a smile upon her face.

After walking for three hours, they decided to take a short stop and eat something. The hunters were still nowhere in sight. After everyone finished their snack, they continued walking, pulling their equipment with them. Suddenly, they saw the hunters. They were murdering little baby seals and nobody was stopping them. Bette was so angry at them that she threw her bag on the ice and started running towards them.
Jessica: “Bette, come back! There is nothing you can do by yourself!”
Jessica told the others to wait where they were and she would get Bette. Roxanne offered to come along and they both ran towards Bette.
Roxanne: “Bette, stop! There’s some thin ice in front of you!”
Bette didn’t hear her friends calling her, she didn’t even think to watch out for thin ice, the only thing in her mind was stopping those hunters. When she was only 100 feet away from the hunters, they heard her screaming.
Bette: “Stop you *****! Leave those seals alone!”
They quickly gathered the fur they had gained and their belongings and boarded their ship. Bette just kept running until she reached the baby seals. The sight she saw was the most awful one she had ever seen. There were dead baby seals and blood everywhere. She ran towards the ship, which had started moving. The ice around the ship started breaking and a crack formed in the ice, to the place where Bette was. She was unaware of what was happening, blinded by her determination to stop the hunters, and as the ice cracked under her feet, she fell in the water. The cold water surprised her and quickly took over her body. She felt her body getting colder and started swimming to the surface. The panic and angst rose within her when she couldn’t find the hole she had fallen through. The air in her lungs was slowly escaping her and she lost consciousness.