Ahtna broke the silence, “Do you always greet a guest with a gun?”
“Decidedly not!” said Hirsh holding the coffee pot. “Welcome, and please join us for coffee,” extending a steaming cup toward Ahtna. The ladies nodded their welcome. The young man accepted the cup silently, but retreated until spruce covered his back. Ahtna snapped his finger and pointed to the ground. The Lab immediately moved beside him and calmly sat on his haunches, alert, watching his master.
Hirsh said, “Believe me, I fully understand how uncomfortable you feel under the threat of guns. I can’t persuade them to put them away either. I can only hope we have a friendly conversation. I think I recognize you as the young man I’ve seen about town.”
The young man nodded and said, “Yes, we’ve seen each other.”
“Friends, this is Ahtna… please, make him feel welcome,” said Mac and stared pointedly at Tony. All introduced themselves, except Tony who just glowered defiantly. Jack remained asleep on the cot in the morning sun, softly snoring.
“Ahtna, would you like some breakfast?” asked Judy.
“I’ve eaten, thanks.” He sipped his coffee, “…any sugar?”
“You bet… coming up.”
“Aaah… then, do you reside in town?” Hirsh asked.
“I live in Ahtna country,” he answered sweeping his arm around the horizon.
“Really? Then are you familiar with the countryside?” Judy asked, studying the young man. Ahtna was dressed in layers of trimmed leather clothing, covered with a heavy fur trimmed vest, and wearing modern walking boots. His dark long hair was bound behind him but otherwise looked flyaway unkempt.
He didn’t answer immediately, studying Judy with his questioning stare, then replied, “I was born not far from here. I’ve spent most winters of my life as a boy trapping the high lakes with my grandfather… and then I was sent away to boarding school in Anchorage.”
“Ahtna, I desperately need to ask you about this area. But to be honest, you seem guarded, maybe reluctant. Does our presence here concern you?”
Again he paused before answering; “You’re more perceptive than your friend, here,” nodding at Tony. “Maybe so, after what’s happened. White men have often been unpredictable and cruel to my people.” Again, his studied stare awaited reaction.
“Ahtna, I’ve spent my entire adult life as a nurse treating and caring for native people in Alaska. I’ve learned how your people have been mistreated. I know enough not to ask for your trust based on just our assurances; may I go on?”
“I suppose, but I’ve heard so much of that line from my father that I brush it off.”
“Okay, then appealing to you personally, Onita and I are pregnant. We need to find a safe and suitable place for all of us to spend the winter… well, not just the winter, but to settle down as a family, begin new lives. We’ve been fleeing the plague, hiding from bandits and traveling for weeks. We’d hoped that Lake Louise and this area would be that place. Are you still troubled or will you help us?”
“Is that where you were all headed… Lake Louise?”
“Yes.”
“Then, you won’t like what you’ll find there.”
“Why is that?”
“The white man’s disease. Hundreds of bodies and worse.”
“There are four lodges. Surely not all of them,” replied Pappy.
“Then go see for yourself,” the young man said coldly.
Judy glowered at Pappy. “Ahtna, would you tell us what you’ve seen?”
“Maybe you should all go see it for yourselves to believe.”
“Ahtna… please… tell us.”
He stared at Judy, considering. “The lakes were everyone’s idea of the perfect escape. They were overwhelmed. Hundreds of cars were abandoned along the road. People killed one another. Some camped alongside the road or in the woods when they couldn’t get there… and you can’t get there either. They all died. Too many even to guess. Then the wolves and the ravens found them… I stay away from there. Deadly place.”
“Oh, my God!” said Judy.
Mac could appreciate Ahtna’s logic. From what they’d seen elsewhere, Ahtna was surely telling the truth. Could there be any doubt? Mac looked away, churning the news in his mind. There wasn’t a thread of silver lining in the story. Back on the road... maybe head for Tok or Canada. They needed a break.
Nearly overcome, Judy asked, “Ahtna, we’re desperate; do you know of anywhere else?”
Ahtna sighed. After a long pause, he said, “There is another place.” Surprised, everyone faced him. “I intended it for myself. I was headed there when I discovered your camp.”
“At Lake Louise?” asked Judy. “Didn’t you say it wasn’t safe?”
“No, no… another lake. It’s a new lodge, still under construction.”
“Is it habitable?” Mac asked, but he was ready for nearly any safe place which kept them out the weather and warm.
“You’ll like it. It was designed as a sporting lodge for guests. The hunting lodge is finished, but the guest rooms haven’t been yet.”
“You’re willing to share a lodge with us?” asked Judy softly.
“I wouldn’t be so cruel as to lead you on. But you’d better talk to that old man.”
“He’ll listen to reason after he settles down.”
“Maybe. His blood is still hot… and reminds me of living in boarding school again.”
“Leave him to me,” said Judy.
“Where is it?” Mac asked.
“Place called Old Man Lake,” he replied.
Mac was thunderstruck. Cynically he thought… was all this an act to take revenge on Tony? Maybe sending him on a wild goose chase? On the other hand, the name had to be a coincidence? His mind was flooded with uncertainty. He had to be sure. If Tony’s suspicions were true, he didn’t want another family row or worse.
“Is it far?” Mac asked quietly.
“Not really… up ahead aways, then off to the west.”
“Care to take a little ride in the quad?”
Ahtna stared without answering, pondering the request. “Still can’t bring yourself to trust this boy, can you?”
“I think they’d all appreciate a report.”
“You mean yours, because I just gave them mine.”
“What can it hurt? You game?”
“Tell you what… I left a heavy pack of traps in the trees. We’ll take them with us and then you can drop me off. Come back here and make your report. Then, you can all decide without me whether they follow you back. How’s that?”
“Fair enough…good even.”
For those who hadn’t heard the conversation, Mac explained the plan.
Judy said, “I’ll pack some food for you both.”
Tony said, “You’re not going off alone with that…”
Judy bellowed, “Dammit Tony, back off!”
The road to Lake Louise wound among rolling hills of glacier lake lowlands. Unencumbered by the trailer, the quad easily handled the trackless snow. Shortly, Ahtna pointed west through an open gate onto Old Well Road. For Mac the name and the direction of the road seemed reassuring. The road blended with the surrounding blanket of snow so well that Mac lost his bearings. But Ahtna’s black Lab bounded ahead, confidently leading.
Ahtna called a halt at a meandering creek shrouded in snow. “The ice looks too marginal to cross, yet,” he explained. “We cut through the woods from here less than a mile.”
He handed Mac his rifle, and said, “You carry the guns. I’ll carry my heavy traps,” and smiled broadly. The man could read his mind and Mac was relieved by the arrangement. “Follow me, but watch where I step when we cross this creek. It’s deeper than it looks.”
Ahtna crossed upstream through slick c
obbles, but thereafter the walk was gentle grades through spruce forest. Carrying the heavy pack of steel traps, Ahtna set a brisk pace, obviously fit and comfortable hiking. He deftly avoided obstacles and walked soundlessly. Soon Mac puffed to keep up.
Nearing the top of a low rise, Ahtna halted and waived Mac behind him. Ahtna snapped his fingers for the Lab to sit. Lowering his head, he advanced, peering over the rise, then knelt and signaled for Mac to come forward low.
Ahtna whispered, “Wolves… raise your head slow and easy.”
They watched a pack of a dozen animals casually lope across a meadow and disappear into a spruce wood. “Healthy looking pack,” Mac said.
“This is about as close as you want to get to the pack. They’re no longer afraid of the smell of people. Too many easy corpses. Heads up,” and he slipped his rifle off Mac’s shoulder. Mac was happy that Ahtna was now armed.
Ahtna waited, listening intently before walking on. Fortunately, Ahtna’s pace was more cautious, avoiding brush and choosing his steps. Mac could now keep pace.
Unexpectedly, the forest opened onto a cobalt blue lake running broadly north, rimmed with a band of brightly reflecting ice as if stroked by a paintbrush. The pristine lake dazzled among scoured bedrock boulders and scattered boreal forest creating a majestic scene. Ahtna turned north skirting a low rise to the shore of the lake. Beyond a dense copse of spruce stood Ahtna’s lodge.
“My God, Ahtna, it’s gorgeous!”
42
Yukon River Bridge, October 25th. Since Piquk arrived, Lazlo and Ernie had not visited the military kitchen. Returning, they discovered the wooden passage door of the garage had been torn off its hinges and onions scattered in a trail outside.
“Looks like a sow with cubs,” said Ernie, looking at tracks.
“Damn,” said Laz, “and if they’re anything like Sally, they’ll be back for more.”
“Sally?”
“Resident sow of the oilfield… always teaching her cubs new break-in tricks.
“We’ve waited too long to reinforce this rickety old building. Now that they know where to find food, they’ll try to get in anywhere. Let’s haul over one of those shipping containers and store everything where they can’t get in.”
“Then let’s put it handy beside the cabin,” said Lazlo.
“Then we attract the bears over near us.”
“Then we add them to our new locker… nice tender cub would be good.”
“Kill three grizzly bears just like that?” Ernie snapped his fingers for emphasis.
“Okay… I get it. So, let’s clean up this mess and save the perishables.”
Immaculate only days earlier, the kitchen now looked like a Seattle produce wharf forsaken at day’s end. The bears had trashed and sampled every pallet of perishable vegetables and spread their leavings everywhere.
They spent the day cleaning, sorting and hauling food into the shipping container. Unfortunately when the task wasn’t finished by dark, the bears returned, broke into the military kitchen again, and consumed much of what remained.
Meanwhile, a flock of ravens found the cache of frozen moose hanging from the pipeline. Their ravaging required moving that meat as well. Working all day, they stowed all food in the military shipping container adjacent to the cabin porch.
But Ernie was still anxious about bears. “You know, I wouldn’t want to be headed for the privy if a grizz was prowling just around the corner.”
“Puppy will warn us first, believe me,” replied Lazlo.
“Yea, but then what?”
“We chase ‘em off.”
“There you go again, just like a tourist!” Ernie snapped his fingers.
“Okay, okay… you win again. Maybe we could make a rifle port in the door.”
“Or you could step outside, blow a bear whistle, stand tall, and wave your arms.”
“Hey, you’re the ranger,” said Lazlo. “Your job.”
“I think we’d better cut a rifle port first thing in the morning.”
The bears returned twice during the night rattling the steel doors of the shipping container. The bears tried shaking the heavy wooden door of the cabin, frightening everyone. Lazlo stood back with the rifle, but Puppy’s intense snarling sent them away.
Next morning when the men explained their plan for rifle ports, Piquk surprised them by saying firmly, “Bears won’t be back.”
“Really! Why not?” Lazlo asked.
“Storm is coming. Fat bears dig a nest, now,” she said.
Lazlo wasn’t about to question her native wisdom, but the previous night was terrifying. “We should be ready if they try that door again.”
“Better be ready with firewood,” replied Piquk. “By morning you won’t like working outside.”
“I think she’s right,” said Christie. “Now’s the time.”
“Yea, we’ve neglected cutting firewood. Coupla days’ supply wouldn’t hurt.”
“More,” said Piquk quietly. “Better for a week.”
True to her prediction, the weather blew up an ice storm lasting three days, and then turned bitterly cold. Piquk tended the barrel stove skillfully. She taught the men to cut firewood shorter and thicker to ensure a warmer, longer burning fire.
Thanks to Piquk, the cabin remained comfortably warm, unlike a visit to the privy which became a dangerous ordeal. Piquk directed them make custom Styrofoam cutouts sized for each person’s butt, complete with special care instructions.
Piquk improved dramatically as her baby flourished with good food and loving attention from a whole family of surrogate parents.
The four adults settled into a comfortable daily routine, completing minor chores early in the morning and finding many small tasks to occupy their time. The women began making baby clothes and tailoring adult parkas, anticipating using material adapted from military issue.
The women chatted endlessly in their native tongue. Lazlo came to realize the vast cultural differences between Christie and himself. Fortunately, they daily reinforced their intimacy sharing experiences and whispered pillow talk. Only a sliding canvas curtain separated them from close proximity to the others and Lazlo was far too self conscious for anything more than cuddling.
By then, Christie was fully aware of her changing body, but hadn’t yet found the moment to tell Lazlo. Piquk discerned Christie’s condition and the two of them openly discussed her pregnancy in their native tongue. She teased Christie about her apparent abstinence. Even in the close proximity of a cabin, such restraint was not customary in her family. Piquk attempted to arrange private time for the couple, but on each occasion, Ernie blundered into the scene.
With little to do but rearrange and fuss with gear, Lazlo churned with plans for the day they would finally leave. The men incessantly puttered, suffocating with boredom and the short early-winter days. As a relief, Ernie prepared the most elaborate meals their larder could provide,
The women were much better adjusted to living as life was bestowed, chatting happily and nearly always occupied with some beneficial activity. The women seldom gave thought to leaving, content that the moment would be ripe only when the conjunction of supernatural forces made it so.
43
Old Man Lake, Copper River Lowland, October 31st.
“So seeing is believing?” asked Ahtna. “Any more suspicions?”
“Wow! I confess… I did have doubts. Faith comes hard after all that’s happened. So here’s a sanctuary more than I could have imagined. And looks untouched by anything but the snow!”
“It was to be called Fowler’s Paradise Lodge and was almost ready, but never occupied by anyone but the Fowlers and me. This was their dream. You won’t find anything better anywhere in Alaska.
“Truly a paradise refuge beyond words. Just the place we’ve been seek
ing.”
“It would be a shame to see their dream wither away.”
“Sounds like more than casual interest. Were you involved?”
“Yea… I happened to meet the owners while they were surveying the land. I wasn’t happy at first, but they got my brother and me involved. We were to be the lodge hunting and fishing guides. It was a life that appealed to me. But now… who knows what’s next. Let’s just take care of this place as long as we can.”
“Do you know what happened to your brother… or the owners?”
Ahtna stared at Max doubtfully, and then responded slowly, “Mac… I’ll tell just you… but then I don’t want to talk about it again. When all this began, I was in the hills scouting sign to lay my trap lines for winter. Grandfather hadn’t been feeling well and begged off, but I went anyway. On my way back, I found my brother on the side of the trail, too sick to walk. He told me that our grandparents had died and that he had come to find me. My brother and I were close. I buried him in a special place of ours…” He took a trembling breath. “I don’t have a clue about what happened to the Fowlers… or their daughter and her dog. I’ve even looked for graves. They loved this place and wouldn’t have abandoned it. I hope they didn’t flee into the woods where the wolves found them. They were city folk, but even so, special people for us.”
“Ahtna, words aren’t adequate to tell you how sympathetic I am. You’ve rescued us when we needed it desperately. We thank you for trusting us especially considering the manner of our meeting.”
“Well, this lodge isn’t mine anyway… and truthfully, I never realized how dismal life would be walking around town without talking to a living person for more than a month. I began talking to myself just to hear a voice. I found I need the reassurance of nearby people. But enough of that or you’ll be late getting back. I’ll show you around.”
Flight To Pandemonium Page 43