Daunting Days of Winter

by Ray Gorham

  Jennifer rubbed the sides of her head in an effort to ward off a headache, then dropped onto the frozen steps. She sat in silence, with neither Sean nor Gabe knowing what to say. Finally Jennifer spoke. “It’s okay, Gabe. I went a week or so trying to hate all of you, but I wasn’t very good at it. Leah’s dad’s face kept coming back to me, and I think I would have been just as demanding as he was. I just hate the situation we’re in, not being able to know.” She looked at Sean. “Why did he lock Lois up if she went along with him?”

  “She said she came home from school and confronted him. Told him how someone else had been arrested. He panicked and hit her. When she woke up she was secured in her little prison. She said he was trying to make her death look natural, so we wouldn’t figure it out. Thought if he could get rid of her, then he was safe as long as he didn’t out and out kill her. Another week or so and he might have gotten away with it.”

  “Now,” Gabe said. “The big problem we have is letting your husband know he can come home. Do you know where he went?”

  “He went to his parents place in Idaho. It’s three hundred miles from here.”

  “How can we get word to him, any ideas?”

  Jennifer shook her head. “He promised to come get us in April and take us up there if the situation is good. I don’t know any way to get ahold of him sooner.”

  “I do.”

  The three adults swung around to see David standing in the snow by the corner of the house, a huge grin on his face.

  “Dad told me where to find a guy with a radio.”

  CHAPTER 45

  Saturday, March 3rd

  Moyie Springs, ID

  “Come in. Come in, my friend.” Roman’s grin lit up his face as he ushered Kyle into the front room of his modest home. “You are late, but congratulations are for you, you know.”

  “Did you get ahold of Frank?” Kyle sensed something in his new friend’s mood and was hopeful that Roman had gotten news from Deer Creek that would be helpful.

  “Yes, yes. I talk to Frank yesterday, finally. Have very nice conversation.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Said that you can go home, and that you have new baby girl.”

  “He said I have what?”

  “He said it is girl. Congratulations.”

  Kyle shook his head. “No, that can’t be right. Was he talking about my daughter Emma? It was her birthday last week.”

  Roman frowned and tugged on his chin as he consulted his notebook. “No. Says new baby girl. You think it was going to be baby boy or something?”

  Kyle sighed. “No, I think maybe you talked to the wrong person. My wife wasn’t pregnant. I don’t think you spoke to Frank, or at least not the right one. Can we try again?”

  “You have more money?”

  “I didn’t bring any with me. I didn’t think I’d need it.”

  Roman looked at Kyle, perplexed. “I not have much gas, you know. Took long time to get Frank. I pretty sure he the right one. You know David?”

  Kyle nodded. “He’s my son.”

  Roman smiled triumphantly. “See. I got right guy then. Frank say that David come talk to him few days before. Said you are free man.” Roman paused and looked at Kyle sternly. “You killer or something?”

  “No. I promise you that I’m not. Just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Is my family safe?”

  “Frank say they all safe. But he did say new baby girl. You sure your wife not pregnant?”

  “I’m positive. What else did he say?”

  Roman went over the short list of questions and smiled at Kyle when he was done. “Not bad for simple Polack, no?”

  Kyle smiled, his head swimming with the news. “You did wonderful, Roman. I can’t thank you enough.”

  “That silver buy me good food, so I am good. Congratulations on everything, that you can go home, and baby girl. I loved my baby girl.”

  Kyle shook his head and grinned. “I think you’ve somehow got that message mixed up. I was home a month ago, and I’m positive Jennifer wasn’t pregnant.”

  “Humph,” Roman grunted. “Let’s see. You talk to me, I talk to Frank, who talk to David, who talk to Frank, who talk to me, who talk to you. Could be some confusion, but I think not.”

  “There’s obviously some confusion there.”

  “I don’t think so. I pretty sure you have new baby girl. That good thing, you know.”

  “No, you’re wrong.” Kyle let out an exasperated laugh. “There has to be a language issue or something.”

  Roman stiffened a little. “You not like my English?”

  “I’m sorry. Your English is really good, but maybe you misunderstood something that was said. How long have you lived here?”

  “I am in America three years and five months now. Know only just a little bit of English when I get here.”

  “You really are doing great with it. Where did you come from?”

  “I come from Poland. That’s why I Polack.”

  “Oh, that’s right. I forgot you’d said that. How’d you end up in Northern Idaho? It a long way from Poland.”

  “You want me tell you the story?”

  Kyle nodded. “Sure, I’m curious. Idaho is such a long way from home for you.”

  “I tell you story then. Sit down. It take little while.” Roman pointed to an old leather couch pushed up against the far wall and waited for Kyle to sit. “Comfy?”

  Kyle nodded.

  “Okay. Where to start?” He thought for a second then smiled. “You know Ronald Reagan?”

  “I was too young to vote for him, but I know about him. Why?”

  “Ronald Reagan come to Poland when I am younger. My father, he talk about Reagan all the time after he came to Poland. Said Reagan helped make Poland free, so I can get good job and vote like an American. After that, as I grow up, I always think I should go to America, to live there, but I never do. Anyway, I get married. Very nice girl and very beautiful. Polish women are very beautiful, you know.”

  “I didn’t know that, but I’m glad to hear it. Thanks.”

  “You are very welcome. Anyway, I get married, and I have job, and then we have children, first a boy, and then baby girl, like you.”

  Kyle shook his head, causing Roman to laugh heartily.

  “So then I have wife and children, but no money, because family is very expensive in Poland. So I think I never get to come to America, only see it on TV, but that okay, because at least I have job and family. I can be happy in Poland. No problem. But then my life change. Malina, my wife, she have job cleaning offices at night so we have money and can buy a house maybe, not live in apartment forever. Anyway, one day, Malina taking kids to school in the morning, and she very tired, she work very hard, you know, and Malina,” Roman paused and wiped at his eyes, swallowed, and looked away. After a short silence he continued, struggling to tell the story. “I am sorry.” He cleared his throat. “Malina very tired, and she fall asleep while driving, just for short moment. There was red light. She went through and hit truck, which make very big fire.” Roman waved his hands over his head mimicking a large explosion.

  Kyle wiped tears from his own eyes. “I’m so sorry, Roman. I can’t imagine losing my family like that. It must have been very difficult for you.”

  Roman rocked back and forth in an exaggerated nodding motion, looking out the window for a long minute to compose himself. “Yes, very difficult. Very difficult. After few months, life not so good. I want to kill myself, but then I think, maybe I go to America instead. We have money in bank for house, and I get little bit from insurance, so I can do it. I buy picture book about America, and look at different places. I grow up and live in Warsaw, which is very big city, and very old, and very crowded. Not so nice, I think. But Idaho, it has trees, and mountains, and lakes, and not so many people. Very beautiful, like a dream for me, so I pick here.”

  Roman paused, and Kyle wasn’t sure if the story was complete or if Roman was gathering his thoughts. “How have y
ou liked it so far?” he prodded.

  Roman thought a second. “Idaho pretty good. Very nice people, and better than killing self, but I rather have Malina and my children.” He wiped away a lingering tear. “But here, at least I don’t see place of crash every day. I just keep the good memories, so that is better.”

  CHAPTER 46

  Sunday, March 11th

  Western Montana

  Kyle unfastened his belt and dropped his pants, then squatted back against a fallen tree for support. As was their morning routine, Garfield was tethered to a tree on the riverbank while Kyle retired to the woods for his daily constitutional. Being early spring, large enough leaves were as yet unavailable, so Kyle had piled several strips of birch bark nearby and was proceeding with the work at hand.

  Bracing himself with his elbows, his mind wandered back over the past couple of weeks. To his relief, his father was doing much better, and Kyle, despite the loss of his mother, had had a remarkably encouraging visit. Moyie Springs was weathering the situation amazingly well. It had a good community structure, a barter market was established, basic healthcare was available, and defenses were secure. The fact that there were no major population centers close by was a benefit as well, although what news was coming through from the cities indicated that at this point the worst of the anarchy had burned through, and those who had survived were now in the process of reestablishing some kind of stability.

  Collin was also in good hands, having bonded deeply with Gene over the past week and showing signs of being a normal ten year old boy, not a war vet with PTSD. Ideally, Kyle would have liked to find the boy’s family but only knew that his mother had disappeared after their first move from Seattle. It later came out that Collin’s dad was a career military guy, who, despite what seemed like regular attempts, had only been able to see Collin once or twice a year after divorcing Collin’s mom. At least if Collin wasn’t able to be with his own family, Kyle’s dad was a good person to be with.

  As a father himself, the thing that haunted Kyle the most about Collin’s situation was what Collin’s father must be going through. A seemingly decent parent separated from his kid and unable, for the foreseeable future, to contact him or even know of his well-being. Kyle had experienced a version of that for eleven weeks, the longest eleven weeks of his life, but at least he’d had a pretty good idea where his kids were and knew they were in a safe community. For any parents who traveled or had family in cities that fell apart, Kyle imagined the anxiety would be beyond description.

  Kyle was fumbling with the strips of bark when he heard a strange noise from near the river, then Garfield let out a stressed, high-pitched squeal. The noise unnerved Kyle, and he paused before reacting, listening for it again. It took only a few seconds before a deep, rumbling growl rolled through the forest, setting the hairs on the back of his neck on end. Kyle jerked his pants up and hitched his belt before grabbing his handgun from the tree he’d been leaning against.

  Kyle had wandered away from Garfield in search of bark but could clearly hear his horse, panicked and frantic, neighing in desperation and thrashing against the reins that secured him to the tree. Gun in hand, Kyle dashed through the forest towards the highway, using his arms to shield his face from the branches. He burst onto the road and began to sprint towards Garfield.

  The bear was on the far side of the horse, no more than twenty feet away and approaching at a run. Because Garfield was bucking and thrashing so wildly, it made shooting at the attacking animal too risky, so Kyle fired two shots, hoping to frighten the bear off. Whether or not the bear registered the shots, Kyle couldn’t tell. The animal kept charging and was now just steps from the horse.

  Kyle, still fifty yards away, yelled as he ran, trying to draw the bear’s attention from the meal that had been so generously secured for it by the side of the river. Kyle had only taken a couple more steps and was still yelling, when the bear reared up and swiped at the horse, its powerful black paw swinging down in a blur towards the terrified animal. Garfield continued to spin and kick, but being tethered to the tree, his frantic efforts to evade the bear were futile. The tree whipped from side to side with the horse’s tugs, but both the rope and the tree held firm. Garfield spun away from the strike, revealing a long gash with bright crimson streaks of blood on the horse’s rear haunch.

  The animals separated briefly, and Kyle hurriedly fired off a shot, but it was poorly aimed, and despite the size of the target, he didn’t expect he’d hit the bear. Lightning quick, the bear struck again with the single-minded determination of an animal recently emerged from months of hibernation driving it forward. The second blow, aimed at the horse’s head, staggered the animal, and the sound of the impact resonated in Kyle’s ears. The next swing was aimed at the neck, but somehow Garfield avoided it, though Kyle could see streams of blood on the horse from the cuts to his face and rear. The combined sounds of the injured horse and the attacking bear all but drowned out Kyle’s shouts as he ran towards them.

  With the animals still too close together and Kyle still too far away to shoot accurately, he just kept running, desperate to get to his horse before the bear killed him or maimed him further. The bear continued to attack, undeterred by Kyle’s appearance or the gunshots, the prospect of fresh meat too tantalizing to resist. The bear lunged with his mouth and clamped down on the back of Garfield’s neck, then twisted violently back and forth, viciously tearing the flesh and dragging poor Garfield to the ground.

  Kyle was closer now. With the animals on the ground and thrashing less, he had a better opportunity to get off a clean shot. He skidded to a stop and raised his gun once again. Even with the bear’s teeth sunk deep in his neck, Garfield was still fighting, and with the two heads close together, it meant Kyle had to take good aim. His first shot was slightly high, splashing into the river behind them. He was pretty sure the second shot caught the bear in the shoulder but passed through, as there was another splash in the water, though this time Kyle finally got the bear’s attention.

  The bear released its hold on Garfield and rose up on its hind legs. Kyle fired again, hitting the animal in the chest. It roared and swung its head furiously from side to side, and Kyle quickly fired again, hitting it somewhere in the upper body. At thirty yards, and from the shoulder of the road looking down on the animals, which were below him on a slight decline near the river’s edge, he wasn’t sure where exactly the bullet had hit. Kyle had once read an article that told of a grizzly bear in Alaska that had killed and eaten three people. When the bear was finally killed, authorities found it had been shot more than a dozen times with three different weapons. Here he was, alone on the side of the road, firing 9mm bullets into a five hundred pound black bear, and the thought that he was just making the bear angry crossed his mind. He fired again, then took a few steps back towards the forest, hoping at least for a little cover if the animal came after him.

  The bear’s attention was drawn back to Garfield, who still had a lot of life left and was struggling to get back on his feet. The bear lunged at the horse again, slashing its stomach and opening a long gash that bled profusely. Kyle was halfway across the road and had just shot at the bear again when the creature reared up, bellowed at him, then spun and retreated towards the river. The bear crashed into the shallow water, splashing loudly as it crossed to the heavily wooded hillside.

  Kyle fired at the bear once more as he hurried towards Garfield, dropping to his knees beside the bloodied animal, which was now trying to get back on his feet as blood pumped in streams from multiple wounds onto the ground. Garfield whinnied as Kyle rubbed the horse’s head. “I’m so sorry,” he stammered, unsure what to do.

  Garfield reacted to the touch, pulling away and trying to rear, but restrained by the reins still tied to the tree. Kyle pulled out a knife and slashed the leather straps, freeing the horse, who pulled away and somehow managed to stay on his feet, the muscles in his legs and sides trembling from the shock of the bear attack. Garfield struggled to walk, staggerin
g on the rocky ground. Kyle led him by the reins to the road where the surface was flat and stable, then tried to inspect the wounds of the skittish animal.

  He glanced over his shoulder to where the bear had disappeared into the trees on the far side of the river, but saw no trace of it, then turned his attention back to his horse. “Doesn’t look good, Garfield,” he said, as he watched a severed artery on the back leg pump out a steady stream of blood. Kyle applied pressure on the vein, trying to close the wound, but Garfield pulled away. “It’s okay, boy,” he soothed, running his hands along the length of the animal. Kyle was not much of a horse person, but over the last few weeks he’d grown more and more attached to the animal as they’d traveled, and he’d formed a close bond with the horse.

  Kyle released the straps of the saddle, then gently lifted it from Garfield’s back and set it on the ground. Blood dripped from the horse’s face and ran down three of his legs. Kyle looked helplessly at Garfield, trying to see some way he could help the poor horse, but uncertain what could be done, even if he were able to get it to a vet. They’d passed a house a mile back, but there was no assurance the resident would be willing or able to help, or that Garfield would even be alive when he returned.

  The blood was running so fast that it pooled on the road by Garfield’s hooves, the horse’s orange hair now mostly matted and dark with blood. Garfield eyed Kyle, flicked his tail weakly from side to side, and let out a pitiful whinny. The horse staggered forward, and Kyle walked along beside him, tenderly rubbing his neck and leading him slowly along the road. They walked back and forth on the road for ten minutes until Garfield began to lose strength, finally lowering himself to the ground and sprawling over onto his uninjured side, his legs kicking weakly in front of him.

  Kyle knelt beside him, certain it was only a matter of time before the horse passed on and not willing to abandon him before he took his last breath. Leaning back against an old Ford Taurus on the side of the road, Kyle stroked Garfield’s head, while the animal emitted pitiful noises as his life slowly drained away. Garfield’s eyes closed, but his chest still expanded and contracted weakly, his breaths becoming more and more shallow.