Veiled Existence

by Barbara Pietron

  Carolyn retrieved her cup and raised it to her lips, but didn’t drink. She narrowed her eyes over the plastic lid. “And you think your parents are gonna let that fly?”

  Jeni turned her head and met Carolyn’s questioning gaze. “It’s definitely a long shot. I’d have to do some awfully creative talking.” The girls stared at each other for a moment, Jeni thinking that if Carolyn would go with her she’d have a much better chance.

  With that thought in mind, she poked the screen of her phone, bringing up a social media site. “Let’s see if I can find this guy so I know if we’ve met. He said his name was…” She rested the hand holding the phone on her knee, thinking. “Dave?” Her thumb skimmed over the screen. “Dale! That was it.”

  Knowing her friend was an avid enthusiast of the opposite sex, Jeni turned her phone toward Carolyn. “He doesn’t look familiar. But he does look harmless. And he said he’s Ice’s friend.”

  Carolyn reached for the phone. After browsing the site for a few seconds, she grunted. “I knew it. Ice does have hot friends.” She passed the phone back. “If by some miracle you get permission to go with this guy, I’ll go with you.”

  Jeni jumped when her phone rang, thinking it was too soon for Dale to call back. Reading the display as she scooped the phone from her bed, she saw she was right. “Hi, Mom.”

  “Hey, did you make it to Grandad Bluff?”

  “No. Sorry, Mom.” Her mom had expected to hear from her when she arrived at the park. “Carolyn and I are still on the boat.” Her throat closed up and it took a moment before she could continue. “Ice hasn’t shown up yet and I haven’t heard from him.”

  “Aw honey, and here I thought I didn’t hear from you because you were having fun. Well, I’m sure there’s an explanation. You know the cell reception along the river road is spotty. He could be held up somewhere and unable to make a call.”

  “Yeah. Maybe.” Jeni sniffed. She could keep a fortress around her feelings when she had to, but talking to her mom always seemed to break down the walls.

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine. He’s not that late yet.” She paused. “Listen honey, why don’t you girls meet us for lunch? That’s what I was calling about in the first place. We’re going to a place that’s right on the waterfront, just a few blocks from the boat. So when Ice shows up, you’ll be nearby.”

  Jeni wished she could be in that same frame of mind, where things had a reasonable explanation and outcome. “Yeah, okay.” Although she wasn’t hungry, it would be an opportunity to talk to her mom face to face.

  After ending the call, Jeni said to Carolyn, “We’re meeting everyone for lunch in about fifteen minutes.” She turned to the mirror hanging over the small desk and grimaced at her red-rimmed eyes. “Ugh. I guess I’d better make myself presentable.”

  Carolyn picked up a hairbrush. “So what are you going to say?”

  “I guess I’ll assume Dale is coming. I’d prefer to have a plan, even if I have to cancel later.”

  They tested some different ideas as Jeni fixed her eyeliner and mascara, and then ran through the mostly fabricated scenario as they walked to the restaurant, making sure they had the details synced. Jeni hated to lie, so she told herself that the end would justify the means.

  Grasping the handle of the restaurant door, she paused to look at Carolyn. “You know you’re the best friend ever, right?” No matter how small the odds of getting permission to leave the boat, they were doubled as soon as her friend agreed to go with her.

  “Uh…yeah,” Carolyn said, smiling.

  Sucking in a deep breath, Jeni pulled the door open and stepped inside. Her mom must’ve been watching for them, because she was halfway across the restaurant before Jeni spied the group of family. She gathered Jeni into a hug. “Hi honey. Have you heard anything?”

  “Actually, yeah, I have,” Jeni said, drawing back. “Ice is sick. He forgot his phone in his car last night and felt so lousy he waited until his roommate got back this morning and asked him to go get it for him.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.” Her mom gave her another brief squeeze. “I know how much you were looking forward to seeing him. But we’ll be in St. Paul in a couple days. Hopefully he’ll be feeling better by then.”

  “I feel really bad for him. Being sick when you live in a dorm really sucks. If he just wants some soup, he has to get dressed and go to a dining hall.”

  Her mom’s eyes tightened and Jeni knew she’d roused her maternal sympathy. “What about his roommate?”

  Jeni made a negative noise in the back of her throat. “His roommate doesn’t care. He’s a guy, Mom. Besides, he’s leaving to see his girlfriend for a few days.”

  “Oh.” Her mom frowned.

  “Here’s the thing, though.” Jeni glanced sideways at Carolyn. “Dale, one of Ice’s friends from home, is gonna stop in because he’s in the city. He can’t stay long, but he did offer to pick up Carolyn and me in Red Wing in the morning and drop us in Minneapolis.”

  As her mom’s eyes narrowed, drawing her eyebrows downward, Jeni added, “The boat will be in St. Paul the next day anyway, but this way Ice won’t be alone and I’ll have one more day to spend with him.”

  “Mmm.” Her eyes flicked to Carolyn. “It doesn’t seem right to make Carolyn hang out with your sick boyfriend.”

  “It’s okay, Mrs. Stonewall. I know how much it means to Jeni,” Carolyn said.

  Jeni would owe her a huge favor after this.

  “Well, that’s pretty nice, because I wouldn’t want you going alone.” Mouth pressed into a flat line, her mom’s gaze shifted from one girl to the other. “So who is this friend of Ice’s? Do you know him?”

  “I’m not sure if I met Dale or not, but Nik knows him too, and you could meet him when he picks us up.”

  Jeni’s mom crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips, considering. “And you’d stay in Ice’s dorm room?”

  “Yeah, they’re allowed to have guests. And Ice’s roommate will be gone, so there will be room for us.”

  Her mom sighed. “Let me think about it. And I’ll have to run it by Dad.”

  “Still haven’t heard from Ice?” said a voice from behind Jeni.

  She turned to see Aunt Jessie. “Actually, I have.” Jeni began to repeat her story as her mom herded them toward the row of tables pushed together by the wait staff. By the end of lunch, the majority of the family had heard or caught on that Ice was sick. While talking to Josie, Jeni couldn’t help but notice Tyler glance her way wearing a bland expression. No sympathy there.

  Last night while she and Carolyn played backgammon in the Iowa Lounge, Tyler hovered on the fringes of family groups looking bored. Jeni hadn’t seen the blonde girl at any meals or elsewhere on the boat and she wondered if her cousin regretted blowing off Carolyn. Too bad. It was his loss.

  She nodded to the waitress who asked if she was finished with her food. More than half the chicken Caesar salad remained in the bowl, but Jeni had tried to push it around to look as if she’d eaten. Her stomach churned with worry and nerves. She was too far down the table to guess if her mom had broached the subject with her dad. She wasn’t going to push, though. If the timing wasn’t right, her dad would say no just so he wouldn’t have to think about it.

  Anxious to stay on the good side of her parents, Jeni had put her phone in her purse while they ate. Retrieving it now, she saw that Dale had sent a text. “I have an appointment to talk to the pastor of the church tomorrow. I’ll leave early and can pick you up in Red Wing around 9:30.”

  Jeni’s stomach rolled and she was glad she hadn’t eaten much. Her mom was now involved with figuring out the bill. Elbowing Carolyn, Jeni turned the phone so she could read Dale’s text.

  “What’re you going to tell him?” Carolyn murmured.

  Jeni shrugged. “That we’re on, I guess.” She let Dale know she’d be bringing a friend and t
hat she’d try to find out where the boat would be docked. After she sent the message, she said to Carolyn, “I figure I can always cancel.”

  But she wasn’t sure she would cancel.

  Even if her parents said no.

  Memories surfaced.

  Like carbonation bubbles relinquishing their hold and rushing through liquid to join the air, flashbacks of Ice’s journey to this place arose. Panic swelled at the back of his throat as the truth of his predicament took shape.

  He’d been taken.

  Bewitched and kidnapped by a monster wearing an angel’s face.

  His muscles tensed as he opened his eyes, but his gaze fell only on a crumbling wall of stone. A light behind his back cast his shadow at the base of the wall and a distant echo of trickling water hinted at the cavernous nature of the space. With every inhale, his nostrils protested the putrid stench of rot.

  Ice remained still, letting the rest of the memories come, needing as much information as possible before showing signs that he was awake.

  He recalled the party and the uncanny appearance of the girl, Elletre, waiting at his Jeep. His forehead creased at the memory of his phone clattering to the pavement when she’d grasped his wrist in a hold stronger than any man’s. He’d whipped his other hand around in an attempt to smash his keys into her head, but she was lightning quick. In an instant, she had him pinned against the side of the Jeep with her body, his hands held fast.

  “We’ve hardly had a chance to get to know each other,” she’d murmured close to his ear, nuzzling his neck.

  Ice recalled the surge of horror as he struggled against her freakish strength.

  “Now, now,” her sultry voice had admonished. “You might want to cooperate if you really care about your girlfriend, Jeni.”

  He probably should have continued to fight, but Jeni’s name stilled his efforts and he met Elletre’s glittering eyes, boring into her with his stare. “What have you done to Jeni?”

  “Nothing,” she taunted in an unconvincing innocent tone. “She’s just fine. As long as you do what I want.”

  “Which is?” The last time his heart had pounded this hard, he’d been caught in a trap and a cannibalistic Windigo was coming at him with an axe. Somehow this seemed worse. A swift death is always preferable to torture, and Ice read the certainty of torment in Elletre’s gaze.

  Then she’d raised his hands up to either side of his head, pinioning them against the car window, and pressed her mouth on his. Unable to help himself, Ice shuddered at the memory of the scaly feel of her lips, defying their glossy, supple appearance. Bile had climbed to the back of his throat as he clenched his jaw tightly.

  Her comment when she drew away was mocking. “You need to loosen up, Ice.” Shivers of revulsion ran down his spine when her softly curved mouth emitted an old hag’s cackle. Then she’d released him.

  Ice remembered his brain screaming at him to run, even as his traitorous body climbed into the driver’s seat of the Jeep. The warnings in his head slowly diminished, becoming faint. The world had grown soft and grainy at the edges.

  His recollections of what happened after that were patchy. In his mind’s eye, Ice saw flashes of street lights and traffic lights accompanied by the echo of Elletre’s voice. He remembered trekking through a wooded area, then crawling on his hands and knees in the dark, his shoulders scraping stone walls. His feet, shoes and the bottom of his jeans were still damp from a smelly passage they’d slogged through.

  Ice’s pulse picked up pace as he assessed his current status. His hands were bound in front of him. His feet, however, were free, which shed a bleak outlook on his chances of escape. If Elletre thought he had anywhere to run, she would’ve tied his legs.

  He rolled to his back, and then to his opposite side, bracing himself for confrontation. The light came from a lantern which sat a few feet away from him, reflecting off the misty air. Utter blackness surrounded the pool of brightness. Unless Elletre was hidden in the dark, it seemed he was alone. Was this it then? She’d left him in the center of some kind of underground maze? Destined to stumble around, lost, until he perished?

  No. If that was her intent, she wouldn’t have left behind a lantern to facilitate his escape. Ice felt like she was coming back.

  She had plans for him.

  Ice focused on the lamp to keep his mind from running away with thoughts of what might lie beyond the pool of light. Since he’d been able to recall the details of the party, he wished he remembered more of how he got here. But knowing that memory can be fickle, he decided not to dwell on it, hoping the specifics of the journey might yet materialize.

  For the first time, he was dealing with something beyond his Ojibwe knowledge base. He didn’t know if Elletre was human with spiritual abilities or if she was some kind of supernatural being. Her seemingly preternatural strength had easily overpowered him—like a mouse pinned down by a cat. And her kiss…nausea rolled in his stomach. The kiss was a witch’s spell, instantly charming him into submission and addling his thoughts.

  He’d been her target from the start. When he and his roommate entered the living room at the party, she’d looked their way, as if sensing him there. Then she virtually materialized in the kitchen and outside at his car. And she knew Jeni’s name.

  His right shoulder protested the pressure of his body weight so Ice shifted to his back and sat up. He rolled the joint gently, testing for injury. Lifting his shoulder upward triggered the greatest pain and with it came the recollection of being yanked through a tight space. Now that he was sitting, a dull throb at the base of his skull also reminded him of the blow that had knocked him unconscious.

  Folding his legs to the side, Ice managed to get on his feet and stand. He wavered unsteadily for a moment then snagged the handle on the lantern. The mist was thicker here than close to the ground, and harder to breathe. Mounds of loose gravel littered the floor and he navigated cautiously, stopping often to lift the lantern and examine his surroundings.

  He was in a large cave, about fifteen feet high and man-made, judging by the massive brick pillars bolstering the natural rock. Fallen pipes, some easily a foot in diameter, were scattered throughout the rubble of rock and crumbling brick. Moving toward the sound of water, Ice discovered a moderate waterfall coming from the ceiling above a jumble of broken, arched brick structures and large pipes. Mucous slime mold hung like stalactites from the ceiling, and Ice’s gaze fell to the sludgy stains on his jacket, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

  As he moved, the light of the lantern caught on a sharp piece of broken pipe—something he’d been hoping to find in his exploration. Setting the lamp on the ground, Ice knelt and applied the rope binding his wrists to the jagged edge, moving his arms up and down, using the pipe as a saw. It was a slow process and his strained shoulder opposed the motion, but Ice persisted, taking only a few short breaks.

  As the fibers began to wear through, bolstering his determination, he increased the pace of his movements along with the pressure on the pipe’s edge. The last strands snapped, freeing his hands and supplying a brief jolt of triumph. He rested for a moment, shaking out his arms, before picking up the lantern and rising to his feet.

  In a side tunnel littered with round plastic disks, Ice discovered the first clue to his whereabouts. A white disk with red lettering read “Kingsbury Beer, Every Drop…Draft Smooth.” Dropping it, he picked up a dark green circle featuring the name “Blatz” enclosed by a white triangle. Another smaller piece, which looked much older, said “Drewrys Beer.”

  They were keg caps. He was in an old brewery cellar.

  Throughout his expedition, Ice continually returned to the spot where he’d awakened, not wanting to lose his frame of reference. As his light revealed countless tunnels and passages, his spirits plummeted. The place was a maze. If he wandered too far, he’d surely get lost.

  Panic itched at his brain. He still had no
recollection of where and how he and Elletre had entered the cave system. As terrified as he was of her, Ice began to hope that she was coming back. She may be his only hope of getting out of here.

  His breathing grew labored from inhaling the damp fog and he hunkered down to take in some of the drier air close to the ground. Then the dull ache in his shoulder reminded him that he’d been heaved through a small space.

  That was a clue, at least. If he could find a small hole or passage, it might be the way out.

  Poking around until he found a piece of fallen pipe that was a reasonable size to carry, Ice dragged it behind him, drawing a line in the gravelly ground that would direct him back to his starting point. He mapped the large space, without traveling any side tunnels, cutting the area into pizza slices. About two thirds of the way around, Ice yelped in excitement when he spotted a small opening at ground level.

  Setting the lantern close to the hole, he squatted, catching his breath while examining the area. Mounds of loose stone extended out from the opening in rows, as if something had been dragged along the ground. His heart pounded with hope.

  Leaning closer, he noticed that the air on the other side, though still rank, was an improvement on the atmosphere in the cavern he was in. Also, water rushed somewhere in the distance—perhaps the same water that’d soaked his shoes and jeans.

  Although at ground level on the cavern side, the opening was at the top of the adjoining passageway. Gravity would facilitate his descent to the ground, but if he discovered he’d made a mistake, and wanted to return to the cavern, Ice wasn’t sure he could make it back. Elletre had yanked him through the opening the first time.

  He weighed his choices. Stumble around in an unknown cave system? Or wait for his captor to return and try to bargain his way out?

  After lunch, Jeni and Carolyn took the shuttle to Grandad Bluff. Since she could do nothing for Ice and was waiting for a verdict from her mom, Jeni’s nerves were stretched thin. She decided distraction was her best option. And she knew Carolyn was interested in seeing the park.