The Arctic Code Read Online Free PDF

she’d get to sleep, but she nodded. Uncle Jack leaned over, kissed the top of her head, and left the room. She dressed for bed and brushed her teeth, and as she closed her bedroom door, she called downstairs, “Good night, Uncle Jack. Love you.”
    â€œLove you, Ell Bell. Night.”
    Eleanor climbed into bed. She tried to fall asleep but couldn’t stop the thoughts barreling toward her. Her mom was working with the G.E.T., and she hadn’t said anything about it. Eleanor felt a bit betrayed. But her disappointment at that was overshadowed by her fear. She imagined her mom, lost and alone at thetop of the world, stumbling away from her across a wasteland of ice, a desolate emptiness beating at her from all sides. A fierce wind tore at her, dissolving her in the distance, swallowing her up into the white void.
    Eleanor clamped her eyes shut and shook her head. It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be. Her mom was fine, just like Uncle Jack said. But she pulled up her Sync.
    
    . . .
    She waited.
    . . .
    
    . . .
    She fought back tears.
    . . .
    
    . . .
    S omething rang in the middle of the night. Eleanor shot awake and grabbed her Sync but realized, staring at the blank screen, it’d been the sound of a phone. Uncle Jack’s phone down in the living room. He always slept on the couch, refusing to use Eleanor’s mother’s room. Eleanor crept from her bed and opened her doorjust a crack, wide enough to listen. In the silence of the house, she could hear his hushed voice murmuring up the stairs.
    â€œYes, this is him. . . . Okay. . . . Oh no. . . . Is she—I see. . . . So when was the last time—? . . . Uh-huh.”
    It was about her mom. Eleanor knew it. She bolted from her room, down the stairs, into the living room.
    Uncle Jack looked up as she came in but held his index finger to his lips. “So what’s the next step?” he said.
    â€œWhat is it?” Eleanor whispered.
    Uncle Jack ignored her. “Yes, she’s here with me now. I can tell her.”
    Eleanor leaned in, her whole body trembling. “Tell me what?”
    Uncle Jack held up the palm of his hand to silence her. “Yes, she has it. . . . Okay. Okay, that sounds good. Thank you for the call. Please keep me updated the minute you know more. . . . Thank you.”
    The second he hung up, Eleanor raised her voice. “Uncle Jack, what—?”
    â€œEleanor, I will explain, but I need you to—”
    â€œJust tell me!”
    â€œI’m trying, but you need to stay calm. You need to listen carefully. Okay?”
    She backed up from him and settled her shaking as best she could. “Okay.”
    â€œOkay.” He took a deep breath. “Now. The expedition your mother took onto the ice sheet has not returned.”
    â€œShe’s LOST?”
    â€œNo, listen. They’ve lost contact is all. She’s probably fine, but they wanted to keep us informed.”
    â€œShe’s lost on the ice sheet!” Eleanor couldn’t stop the shaking now. Her breathing and her voice turned frantic. “How can she be fine?”
    â€œShe texted you, didn’t she? She and her partner have food and equipment. They know how to survive on the ice. The G.E.T. is searching for them. They’ll find her, but they need your help.”
    â€œWhat, what can I— We can go up there! We can help search!”
    â€œWe’re not going to the Arctic,” he said. “They just need your Sync. They can use it to help locate your mom. The G.E.T. is sending someone to pick it up in the morning.”
    Eleanor stopped shaking. Her body went cold. “They want my Sync?”
    â€œYes.”
    An alarm blared at the back of her mind. “They can’t take my Sync.”
    â€œEleanor, if it will help find her—”
    â€œNo. It’s the only way I have to contact her. Or for her to contact