by Jordan Dane
Tanner listened until the ring of her cell turned into a very familiar message that her phone was “out of service.” If he was going to reach her—and redeem himself in her eyes—he had to get more creative.
On Denali 13,500 feet
The sun emerged from the storm and burned off the last of the clouds over Windy Corner. Reflecting off the sparkling snow, the sunlight was blinding, even with protective eyewear on. Bob Holden squinted into the stark white horizon set against a startling blue sky as he worked alongside his men, looking for signs of Nate and Josh.
His team was roped together for safety and used shovels, ice axes, and wand markers to prod through the snow of the slab avalanche. He instructed his team to search along the line of flow and the bottom run out where debris could be found. If they got close to Nate’s beacon, their digital trackers would flash red. An active signal would start with a slow steady beep that would end with a high-pitched rapid sound as they drew closer. To investigate the avalanche higher up the steep pitch would be too risky. They’d have to wait for the Park Service helicopter and the mountain rescue rangers for that kind of help.
Childers had received word that a B3 AStar helicopter had been deployed from the ranger station at 7,200 feet, heading for their location. As Bob worked his wand into the snow, searching for breaks in the ice underneath, he listened for the sound of a thumping rotor on the wind. A craft like a B3 AStar had a solid reputation of handling high altitudes while carrying a larger payload, with one known to have touched down on the summit of Mount Everest at just over 29,000 feet. The Park Service had one on call every climbing season. Bob used the service once before, after one of his climbers busted his ankle.
But he’d never been as grateful for help from the Park Service as he was today. The sun made it easier to believe Nate and Josh were still alive. With help coming, he indulged in the hope they wouldn’t be too late, but with each passing minute, a sense of urgency made that harder to do.
“Will you look at that?” The voice of Mike Childers broke Bob’s concentration, forcing him to look up.
Childers pointed to a raven circling above their heads. “Seeing them here at this altitude always surprises me.”
“Yeah, I know…” Bob didn’t get to finish. A coughing jag took hold of him.
Without the high winds, communicating with the others had become easier, but Bob’s voice had already turned raspy and threatened to cut out on him altogether. He shook his head at Childers, without saying another word, and grabbed his water. With the others working, he took a gulp to hydrate and watched the raven’s aerial show. The large black bird cocked its head and made a sharp cut through the sky. It targeted something higher on the mountain.
At this altitude—especially after the devastating storm—Bob couldn’t imagine what the bird spotted, but something made him stop and watch the creature. Maneuvering with ease on velvet wings, the raven swooped down in a powerful rush, zeroing in on something only it could see. In a show of control, the bird landed with pinpoint accuracy on a mound of snow that jutted out of the avalanche, a spot higher up the mountain.
Ah, hell no!
Bob wasn’t sure why he had taken such an interest in the raven, but now he was angry. Like Mike Childers, he had noticed the birds on Denali, mostly because they seemed like a stroke of bad luck the way a black cat crossing someone’s path would be. Things were bad enough, but seeing the raven messed with his head and he lost it.
“Git!” he yelled as loud as he could and waved a hand. “Damned scavenger!”
When the bird didn’t react, Bob took a step up the steep grade and stopped. The raven strutted across the ice and jammed its large beak into the snow, pecking at something beneath the surface. But when Bob realized what might be happening, he didn’t have time to explain to his team.
He had to move. Now!
“I’m going up. Don’t follow me. Brace yourselves, in case I fall.”
If he got sucked into a crevasse, he didn’t want the rest of his team to suffer the same fate. Harnessed together, the others could help him if he fell through, but Bob had to see what the raven had found—before the bird took off with it.
Kicking up snow and stumbling across the chunks of ice, Bob ran toward the raven, keeping an eye on the creature, looking for glimpses of what the bird had found. His lungs were on fire and the lactic acid in his legs made them feel wobbly, but he trudged on, struggling through the steep climb with his harness on. When he got close enough, the raven fought for its prize and squawked a complaint over his intrusion before it bounded across the snow and lifted off the mountain with ease.
Oh, no… No!
His heart sank when he saw the bird fly away. Had it taken anything? Bob stared at the creature as it circled above him, until he lost sight of it in the intense glare of the sun. He couldn’t see if the bird had anything in its beak, but as he approached the snow where the raven had landed, he found its tracks around a hole it had dug.
A glint of metal caught his eye.
Bob dropped to his knees, gasping for air. He reached down into the snow to pull out a silver clover-leaf charm. It dangled from a bracelet that he recognized.
The bracelet Zoey had made for Nate.
Bob held the bracelet in a gloved hand and raised it toward the sun, but behind his sunglasses, a tear slid down his weathered cheek. Nate and Josh had been in this very spot. Knowing that made things worse after his tracker flashed red with a slow steady beep. From all indications, it looked as if the boys had been caught in the avalanche they were searching. In a disaster like that, with the first fifteen minutes being highly critical, every second counted. Victims suffocated in minutes.
Too much time had passed for the news to be good.
Even with the droning sound of the rescue helicopter in the distance and his tracker beeping, Bob felt the last of his hope vanishing as he looked down at the tiny bracelet clutched in his shaking hand. This time he didn’t hold back. He couldn’t fight his dark thoughts any longer as he knelt slump-shouldered in the snow. Every pent-up emotion came in a rush and hit him hard.
Bob let everything go.
With the helicopter approaching, Mike Childers called to him, “You got a signal?”
He couldn’t answer. He’d seen what Denali could do to the dead.
Soon he’d be digging to retrieve the body of his only son and his boy’s best friend. He couldn’t shake the haunting picture of Nate’s lifeless eyes, clouded by death. That image would overshadow a lifetime of memories that he had of the good-natured glint in his boy’s eyes when he laughed. Nate’s skin would feel ice-cold, too. He’d never again feel the warmth of his son’s body when he hugged him. Nothing would prepare him for what could come next.
Nothing.
When he could finally move, he stuck his flagged wand deep into the snow to mark a boundary where they should look. Most people would have taken the discovery of Zoey’s four-leaf clover as a sign of good luck, but Bob only feared the worst after crossing paths with the raven. He didn’t consider himself a superstitious man, but if Nate and Josh had been trapped under an avalanche all this time, he was experienced enough to know what to expect.
The best they could hope for would be closure to an ordeal no parent should have to face.
Abbey
Near Healy, Alaska
After my last strange encounter with Nate, I talked Dad into taking me to town for a late lunch. He needed a caffeine fix and I needed to snoop into where Nate was staying. Healy wasn’t much to see, even on a good day. Guess I was desperate, but hanging out at the cabin would have driven me crazier than usual, especially with Nate being the only thing on my mind. I had been obsessed with him before, but after spending time with him on the mountain, he wasn’t a fantasy anymore.
Nate was real and it felt good to keep him all to myself—like a
beautiful secret.
If he stayed near Healy, someone in town might know his family. The tricky part about stalking him in such a small town would be asking questions without arousing curiosity, especially Dad’s.
Set against a breathtaking backdrop of snow-covered mountains, Healy had a main drag lined with real folksy-looking log-cabin buildings decked with colorful signs that lured tourists to spend money on souvenirs. Parts of it looked like an old gold-rush town, like the kind shown in Westerns or on that TV show, Northern Exposure. In Healy, Alaskan Ulu knives, walrus oosiks, homegrown jams and jellies, smoked salmon, reindeer sausage and jewelry made from moose droppings were hot commodities during the summer.
On the edge of town, the Miner’s Market and Deli sold gas and quick eats. Down the road were more tourist traps like the Three Bears Gallery, a river-rafting outfit and Rose’s Café, Dad’s personal favorite. During this time of year, the usual horde of RVs and trucks with out-of-state plates were conspicuously missing, which was fine by me. That meant we got a good place to park outside Rose’s. Next to Motel Nord Haven off the Parks Highway, the café was a red building with a metal roof that looked more like a warehouse than a café with a hand-painted sign in red and white out front.
“I smell a grizzly cheeseburger that’s got my name on it,” Dad said as he got out of our SUV and slammed the door. “What about you?”
“Nope. I’m getting a chili cheeseburger with fries.” My mouth watered already. “Don’t try to change my mind.”
“Wouldn’t think of it.”
When Dad opened the café door, a rush of noise and smells hit me—the clank of plates, loud laughter and conversations, and a whiff off the deep fryer.
“Hey, Graham,” Rose yelled from behind the counter with a big grin on her face. “It’s good to see you. Heard you and Abbey were in town. Coffee?”
“Yeah, that works.” He nodded.
Rose and her husband, Bill, owned the family-run café and knew my dad well. After we found a place to sit near a window, she brought two waters, forks wrapped in paper napkins and a coffee mug with a pot of fresh coffee, ready to pour.
“Come to see if I still had your photo hanging?” the dark haired woman joked.
On the café wall hung a picture of my dad. His local claim to fame came after he ate one of Rose’s one-pound burgers, topped with an egg, a slice of ham, with a side order of fries. Not one of his best moments, and alcohol may have been involved, but it had been good enough to immortalize him on Rose’s wall, along with countless others.
“Actually I was hoping you’d retire that photo, make room for someone else.”
“Not on your life.” She grinned. “What can I get you two?”
After we chatted Rose up, she placed our order and it didn’t take long to get our food. The platters were brimming over. As we ate, Dad got in a chatty mood. He did all the talking and that worked for me. It gave me time to scope the place out, looking for new people in town and watching the traffic drive by.
“Who are you lookin’ for?” my dad asked.
“What?” I narrowed my eyes and shook my head, like I didn’t understand. “I’m not… I’m just…”
“No rush.” Rose saved me from lying by dropping off the bill and refilling Dad’s coffee. “Good seein’ you two. Be sure to stop by before you head out.”
“Will do.” After Dad finished his coffee, he stood and got out his wallet to pay up.
“We in a hurry?” I asked. “I got things to pick up at Miner’s.”
“Like what? I just bought enough snacks to…”
“Woman stuff.”
Those two words worked every time. Dad stared at me in stunned male silence, letting what I said sink in.
“No problem. Finish your fries. I’ll be back.”
Voila! Dad quit asking questions and went to pay the bill. With him gone, it gave me alone time with Rose, a local who knew everyone. She came to wipe down our table and pick up the dirty dishes.
“Hey, Rose, you know the Holden family? Nate Holden goes to Palmer High with me. And his dad, Robert Holden, has a Denali expedition service called Stellar Mountaineering. Ever heard of them?”
“I heard that Stellar guide service is a good outfit, but I’ve never met the owner.” She shrugged. “They own property near here?”
“I think so. Or maybe they’re renting somewhere close,” I told her. “I thought that I saw Nate in town this week, but I couldn’t be sure.”
“Rentals are slow. Only the hard cores come this early in spring.” Rose cocked her head and pursed her lips. “Well, you got me, if they own a place near here. Want me to ask around?”
“Naw, that’s okay. No big deal.” I scrunched my face. “I was just curious.”
“Is he cute?” She grinned and winked. “That one you go to school with?”
Wide-eyed, I flapped my lips and sucked air like a beached salmon. When my cheeks flushed hot, I knew my face had turned bright red. Not cool.
“Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me, honey.” She shook her head and chuckled as she headed back for the counter. “If I hear anything on your new boyfriend, I’ll let you know.”
“He’s not my…”
Rose never let me finish. She left me stammering in the wake of her throaty laugh. I had a feeling that no matter what I said, she wouldn’t buy it. In a small town, rumors were as good as facts. Better, even. I heaved a sigh and made a mental note to play it smarter when I hit the Miner’s Market.
Within minutes, we had pulled into Miner’s parking lot. While Dad filled our SUV with gas, I popped inside the store, fortified with the money he’d given me for my “woman stuff.” (Money was another side benefit of using those two magical words.)
Even off season, the place was hopping. Outside, Dad had to wait in line to fill up. The clerk behind the counter, Jake Edenshaw, was a guy I’d first met three summers ago. He had a small line in front of him, but that didn’t stop the guy from glancing at the TV mounted on the wall near the register. Even with the sound off, Jake had captions running and looked as if he had an interest for something on the local news.
Using the cash Dad gave me, I replenished my stash of Kit Kats and planned to buy one token box of “woman stuff,” but changed my mind. With Jake behind the counter, no way I’d embarrass myself on purpose. I kept an eye on the checkout line, waiting to make my move when things slowed down. I needed time to talk to Jake, without anyone listening in. When he had a break, I walked up and put my junk on the counter.
“Hey, Jake.”
“Hey, Abbey. Saw your dad in here the other day.” He grinned and nodded his head. “When I saw he bought your usual stash of munchies, I figured you were in town. How’s it going?”
Jake was a tall skinny guy with long dark hair and an intense way of staring that made anyone believe he had plenty going on inside his head—but they’d be wrong.
“Good. You guys are busy as usual.” I shrugged as he rang up my stuff and I paid him. “I bet you see everyone in town eventually, huh?”
“Yeah, pretty much. Gas and food, the necessities of a full life.” Jake had a quiet voice and was real laid-back. “Hey, that reminds me.”
Without any further explanation, Jake ducked below the counter, looking for something. Jake had one consistent quality. No one could rush him. The guy would come up for air when he felt good and ready. While he dug through stuff under the counter, searching for whatever, I kept talking.
“You know the Holden family? Nate Holden goes to my high school in Palmer. His dad has a Denali guide service, Stellar Mountaineering. Ever hear of them?”
Prairie dogging it, Jake popped his head up and said, “Yeah, I heard of his dad’s trekking company, but never met the actual dude.”
I was encouraged
that Jake knew Nate’s dad by reputation. At least that was something.
“Do the Holdens have property around Healy? I thought I saw Nate in town and I wondered.”
“I’ve never heard that, but could be. You never know, right?” When he straightened up, he had a torn scrap of paper in his hand. “Got it.”
“What’s that?”
“Some guy called for you. I wrote down what he told me. Here.”
The wad of paper was wrinkled, as if it had been thrown away…maybe more than once. Although Jake’s handwriting was terrible, I eventually figured out what he’d written. Tanner had called the Miner’s Market, trying to reach me. To the untrained eye—any amateur in the ways of Tanner Lange—that note didn’t make much sense.
Have news about Silver Scorpion. Call me ASAP.
Tanner
“Weird, right?” Jake smirked like he knew something I didn’t. A very scary thought. “Dude told me Silver Scorpion was a comic book, but I never heard of it.”
“Yeah, it’s new.”
“Wow, cutting edge.” Jake raised an eyebrow and nodded real slow.
“Yeah, Jake. Hot off the press.” I smiled. “Thanks for the message.”
“Cool.”
Tanner’s message about the comic looked like a diversion. I figured he wanted me to call him, but if anyone got curious and asked questions about why he’d sent up a flare in Healy, he’d given me an out. I could make up something about him having a bizarre obsessive thing for graphic novels. I liked how intuitive my relationship with Tanner was. We didn’t have to spell things out. We both just knew.
Like I knew that whatever Tanner called me about had to be important or else he would’ve waited until I got back to town. He acted like a low-maintenance uncomplicated guy, but he had plenty of noteworthy layers. The accident that paralyzed him might have clipped his free-spirit wings a little, but he still had an outlaw soul. Tanner was never boring.