I walked half way down the hall and found a utility room door open to the right. The single dark light bulb hanging from the ceiling rocked eerily back and forth. It looked like somebody had torn through the shelves and left the whole place in disarray. My gut said Chris, but obviously, it could’ve been any of the maintenance crew.
“I’m going to need to talk to Bryan about this,” I muttered as I looked around.
I continued on down the hallway, occasionally calling out for Chris. I was getting really annoyed at the whole thing. The longer we went without power and heat, the more frigid and frightened people would become. I walked past the room that housed the massive hot water heaters, only glancing inside. A glow caught my eye, causing me to take pause. Leaning on the doorframe, I stuck my head in. The air in the dark room was warm from the hot tanks, reminding me of a basement laundry room when the dryer has been running all day. Besides the odd light, the first thing that hit me was the overwhelming scent of propane. The smell was so strong, I would’ve believed an entire container had been upturned.
I crept forward, the hairs on my neck tingling a little. When I poked my head around, I spotted what I can only call a nest. Discarded food wrappers, a pile of crumpled clothes, a stack of magazines, a blanket serving as a makeshift pillow. At first, I thought it could’ve been one of the evacuees finding a quiet corner. The closer I looked, the more obvious it became that someone had been living there for a significant amount of time.
I could hear muffled voices and footsteps above, spiking my nerves with each bump and knock.
I tried to tell myself that I was looking for the electrical tape and nothing else. If I could convince myself of that, then I wouldn’t feel as scared stepping into the room.
I used the flashlight to drive away the shadows from some of the nooks and crannies. Drawing closer, goose bumps prickling on my arms, I could get a better look at the out-of-place pile. Old boxes and empty crates created makeshift shelves. The glow that had first caught my eye came from a battery powered camping lantern. As the flashlight beam moved across the room, my eye caught one object in particular.
The glint of metal, the shape strangely familiar. It was as if something in the back of my mind screamed, LOOK! I squinted into the darkness, stepping closer and focusing the light. It was partially covered by the thin blanket. I knelt and pulled it back with a sharp snap, revealing an entire pile of the missing knobs from the kitchen stoves.
“Holy shit,” I hissed as I stepped back. What I thought was a blanket was actually a Powder Mountain jacket, one with Chris’ name sewn onto the breast.
Staring at the pile, my mind raced through what this could all mean. There was something about Chris that didn’t feel right, a way he tickled my intuition. I can’t ignore that. If Bruce thought the missing knobs were deliberate, which they obviously are… I toed the blanket and tried to focus. It’s not totally out of the realm of possibility that he could be the arsonist. He’s new in town, no one knows him…
I frantically looked around the room, searching for other signs or clues. I needed more proof than a collection of knobs and the scent of propane. He could’ve been some type of pack rat. The lack of electricity was the last thing on my mind. I needed proof. Bryan would want more than my suspicions. I became single-minded and as I searched through the room, I didn’t hear the footsteps approach from behind.
“What the hell are you doing in here,” a deep voice growled.
My blood went cold.
I jumped and span to face the man, holding the Maglite out like a sword. “There’s no point denying it. I know it was you.” I presented one of the knobs in the palm of my shaking hand. “Next time, don’t use your work clothes as…”
It wasn’t Chris. The man shielded his eyes before I got a good look at him, but I instantly knew it couldn’t be Chris. This man was taller, broad shouldered, and had a wiry, graying beard.
“You weren’t supposed to find me,” he hissed.
My heart leapt into my throat. I’d stupidly backed myself into the room, the only escape through him. I kept the flashlight pinned on his face to blind him and quickly searched the area for some type of weapon. My phone rang.
“That’s my husband. He knows I’m down here,” I warned the man. I felt along the wall with my left hand, hoping to come across anything that could help.
He squinted into the light long enough for me to see he was older, probably late fifties to early sixties. His hair was a wild mess, clothing torn and stained.
“Good. I’ve got a few things to say to him. Needs to learn how to keep his woman in line,” he spat as he reached forward with one hand.
My heel slammed against the water tank with a dull thud and I realized I was completely pinned inside the room. I didn’t have time to think about his weird comment. Panic bubbled up in my chest. I knew it would be better to act rather than react. With a scream, I swung the heavy flashlight down onto his wrist.
He let out a cry and fell to his knees. “You bitch!”
I pushed past him, giving him a hard shove as I flew by. Just as I broke into the hall, I collided with Chris. Pumped full of adrenaline, I nearly took his head off with another swing of the flashlight. It was only his voice that saved him.
“Liz! What’s going on? Are you…” He looked to me then into the room where the man was groaning.
“He attacked me,” I said. I struggled to point the light back into the dark room. “You have to help me stop…”
The old guy rushed out of the room, knocking me flat against the wall. I dropped the flashlight with a clatter and the light spun around the pitch-black hallway. Chris let out a cry as he struggled to regain his balance. Before either of us could give chase, the door leading to the inside stairwell swung open.
“I’ll go get him!” Chris shouted as he ran after.
With a trembling hand, I bent to collect the flashlight and followed on shaky legs. Could the arsonist really be here?
I gave chase. The beam bounced with every step as I ran down the hall, like something out of a bad horror film. I flung the door open and found Chris and the old guy struggling on the stairs. Chris had caught his foot and was fighting to pull him back down into the hallway. The attacker might’ve been older, but he definitely had the weight advantage over Chris. Filled with enough adrenaline to flip a car, I pulled Chris off by his collar, gave the old man another shove backwards.
I grabbed him by the throat, for the first time close enough to smell the sour booze on his skin. “You make one more move and this flashlight is coming right down on your temple, buddy.”
He struggled once. Twice. Just as I raised the flashlight above my head, he put his hands up. “All right. Enough,” he slurred.
With Chris’ help, I put him in the wrecked utility closet. After checking to make sure he wouldn’t be left with anything dangerous, I locked the door from the outside.
“Do you know that guy?” I asked, a little too harshly.
“No! Absolutely not.” His eyes bugged out with surprise. “Why would you…”
“‘Cause he has one of your jackets,” I accused, pointing down the hall.
He held his hands up and I could see in the dim light he was shaking like a leaf. “I had one stolen from the break room, ask Bryan.” I felt like I was probably overreacting a bit and took a deep breath. “What are we gonna do with him, boss?” he asked once we reached the stairwell.
My pulse thrumming, I shook my head. I couldn’t stand still. Rocking from foot to foot, I gestured wildly with the flashlight. We both looked like a couple of tweakers trying to figure out where we could get our next fix. The image made me chuckle, but I focused. “We need to get the power up and running, so… yeah, you go take care of that. I’ll go get help with all…” I waved to the locked door down the hall, still reeling from the whole situation.
“You got it.”
Still shaking as I got to the Great Hall, I ran into Bryan as he came in the slope-side door. The mayhem going
on upstairs was enough to stymie my own terror, which is saying something.
Dusty and Bryan carried Lacey in on a stretcher as the crowd gathered to gawk. From my vantage at the side, I caught a fleeting glimpse of her face, raw and blackened from burns. As I looked on in shock, Dusty shouted out for the crowd to clear a path.
“Jesus, what happened?” Charlie, Lacey’s husband, yelled as he rushed forward. Bryan handed off the handle of the board and they hurried her into the kitchen.
I was at his side in seconds, my craziness put on pause. “Why are they going in there?” I asked him quietly.
He glanced over at me, hardly startled I was there. “The prep kitchen. It’s out of the way, there’s water, and it’s easily sanitized.” The muscles in his jaw clenched.
“What happened?” I noticed a family follow from the outside. The mother clutched a small blackened dog that was originally white while the father had his hands on his young daughter’s shoulders. All of them looked terrified and in shock.
Bryan shook his head and turned his back to them as he spoke. “Stupidity. When we got there, they were standing in the snow while the mother was screaming, ‘Sophie!’ Lacey charged in, thinking it was a kid.” He sneered. “Then Sophie the dog came running from the woods.”
He glanced around the lodge and focused on me. The flashlight in my hand was still trembling, the light shaking on the floor. “What’s the matter? I just got your message about the generators. I tried calling you. You shouldn’t be going out there to try to fix those,” he said.
I waited for a group of older ladies to walk by before I responded. Keeping my voice low enough for only Bryan to hear, I continued. “I think we might have a serious problem here.”
“What do you mean? I’m sure we can just get Chris to look at the gen…”
“No. I found something downstairs. I should’ve told you about the knobs before,” I said as I held one out in the palm of my hand. “There was a man. Chris is fixing the power now. I think he might be the person setting all the fires,” I whispered harshly as I made sure no one was around.
“Chris is the one setting the fires?”
I waved my hand in frustration. “No. I thought so at first but there’s this other guy. Gah! I’m not making any…” I spotted Walt at the last second but he was practically mid-sentence by the time he reached us. I turned away wanting to conceal the tears of frustration building in my eyes.
“You know, you’re messing with the natural order of things here,” Walt grumbled. “Storms like this… all folks have to do is sit around making babies. Haven’t you ever wondered why we have so many August and September birthdays around here?”
Bryan gave a forced laugh as he pulled his wet hat off. “So, you’re going to blame me for the town’s population issues? Come on, man. I’m responsible for enough as it is, but to lay that…” He trailed off as our eyes met. I must not of been hiding my fear well because they both looked at me with concern. The thick scent of smoke filled my nostrils, reminding me of how serious this all was.
“You’re not just messing with me? You’re serious?” Bryan searched my eyes, the two of us sharing a moment of impending danger, a moment we were all too familiar with. “Okay, let’s go upstairs and we can talk about this,” Bryan said quickly. He gave Walt a nod and gestured for him to follow. “You’re probably gonna want to hear this, too.”
Moments later upstairs in the office, I perched myself on the edge of his desk. I toyed around with the one knob I’d hung on to while running back upstairs. “After you told me about that girl being found, it completely slipped my mind.”
“I know Liz, but something like that…” Bryan paced around the office, running his hands through his hair, rubbing his face. The stress and anxiety practically dripped off him.
“I know I should’ve. I’m sorry. But something really weird is going on here, isn’t it? I’m not just…”
“You have him locked up downstairs? Liz, that’s false imprisonment… or kidnapping, or, I don’t know! You can’t just…”
“He attacked me. When I came across his nest, or whatever, he went right for me.” The very idea of him trying to touch me made me shudder. A part of me wished I’d gotten the chance to whack him with the flashlight.
“What did this nest look like again?” Walt asked. He had remained mostly silent while I’d told the pair about the incident.
I shook my head, my gaze going unfocused as I tried to remember. “To be honest, I was a little too scared to notice details. But it definitely looked like somebody homeless had been living there for a while. Like, I think I noticed food from the kitchen, the wrappers the bulk food comes in, not the ones from the cafeteria. Go down and look for yourself.”
Bryan let out a frustrated grunt. “This whole thing… it really could all just be a bunch of coincidences. Somebody messing around in the kitchen, that generator has been giving us trouble for the past couple weeks,” he gestured. “How could we possibly know this guy is the arsonist?”
“What about the smell? And all the fires,” I countered. “He could’ve easily set that fire up there and then been back here before you.”
Bryan shook his head again. “Why, though? You aren’t answering that part of it. Why would anyone ever try to hide here?”
I finally lost control of my frayed nerves. “How the fuck am I supposed to know? Why don’t you go ask him yourself?” He stopped pacing and stared at me with wide eyes. I didn’t mean to shout, but he was worried about all the wrong things. “I won’t sit back and ignore my gut instinct about someone, especially when Jack is downstairs and potentially at risk.”
“I understand,” he said in a softer tone. “We’re already in kind of a high-stress situation. Given all that you and I have been through, it makes sense we would look for trouble.”
“I’m not looking for anything,” I snapped. “I’m just telling you what I’ve learned and what I saw. If I had my way, we’d be having a peaceful Christmas Eve dinner at our house tomorrow with our freakin’ family and the only thing you’d have to worry about is if the eggnog was strong enough.” I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and let it out in one shuddering breath. “Did you at least bring the guns?”
Bryan and Walt shared a look, and neither of them met my eye.
“Are you kidding me?” I laughed. “You give me crap about all this and you actually brought guns just in case?”
“Bryan mentioned it and I thought it might be a good idea,” Walt said gruffly. “Personally, I think it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“So do I,” I said with a pointed look at Bryan. He walked over to his desk and unlocked the top drawer. “No wonder I couldn’t get in there earlier,” I huffed.
He pulled out two handguns and set them on the desk. “I’m not naïve enough to think these are the only guns in the lodge right now, but it still doesn’t make me a hundred percent comfortable walking around with them. I vote we leave these locked, I’ll go talk to this guy, and we all decide what to do afterward, sound good?”
Before we had a chance to respond, the lights popped on in the hallway outside the office. I rushed to the wall and tested the light switch, giving a little whoop when the overheads flickered on.
“Well, that’s one problem solved,” I said in a fake cheerful voice. My gaze fell on Bryan. It was as if he barely noticed the power had returned. He stood hunched over the desk, his hands on either side of the two guns.
“We need to keep this quiet,” he breathed. He rocked back into his chair with a thump, like all the energy had just drained from his body. Wiping his face with his hand, he continued. “If anyone knew about this, there’d be a panic. People would try to leave or…” He focused fully on Walt for the first time. “You have to promise not to hurt this guy. If it turns out he’s the one…”
“Come on now, do you think I’m that stupid?” Walt cut in. “As much as I’d like to string the prick up by his balls, I know it’d only come back at me.”
Bryan relaxed. “All right. Let’s get Chris on board with everything. I’ll go talk to this asshole and see what I can find out.”
I cleared my throat. “While I agree we shouldn’t tell everyone, I think it might be a good idea to bring a few people into the loop.” Bryan protested, but I put my hand up. “I know what you’re going to say.”
His shoulders slumped as he walked over to me, resting a hand on either arm, forcing me to look up at him. “With everything that has been going on in the area the past couple weeks, don’t you think people are going to freak out?”
“You gotta give people some credit, son,” Walt said. “They can handle more than you think.”
I nodded, some of the anger draining from me. I wrapped my arm around his waist and gave him a quick hug. “I think if we just pull a few of the parents to the side, you know, let a couple responsible people know what might be going on, that’s about the best we can do. Strength in numbers.”
The three of us looked at each other in silence, the gravity of the situation crashing down. There was a very real chance that by declaring the town’s evacuation to Powder Mountain, we had just trapped ourselves in the same space with a prolific serial arsonist.
Before shutting the office door, Bryan jogged back inside, returning with four walkie-talkies. Tucking two into his pocket, he handed one to both Walt and me. “The Internet is already out as well as the cable. It’s only a matter of time before the cell tower at the top of the mountain gets knocked out, too. Put it to channel 6, and we’ll use that to talk. I’ll give the last one to Chris.”
Putting a hand on Bryan’s arm, I let Walt go on ahead of us. When he was out of earshot, I still whispered. “You still want to tell me this has nothing to do with us?”
“Nothing points directly to us, Liz. You gotta stop acting so paranoid. It’s the town, not us.”
“But…”
He brushed the hair from my eyes and looked at me with such love the words were wiped from my tongue. “You have every right to want to protect your family, but we are at no more or no less risk than anyone else in this building, okay?”
Trapped with the Blizzard Page 11