Three hours were between him and daylight. Sleep would not be his anymore that night. He turned on the overhead reading lamp and pulled a journal and pen from his pack. He flipped through the pages stopping on a page dated November sixteenth. It was the day he’d found Luke. The words swam around on the page. He turned until the pages were blank, past all the moments and memories of Luke and Madison.
Putting pen to paper Austin began to write. He wrote about saving Ed, meeting Zack and Colin, about Charlie, and the Adita. He skipped writing about Madison’s death. There would be a better time for that than at the present. After three hours his journal was caught up to the point of meeting General Roth and his watch read 4:57. The suns would make their appearance in a few minutes. It was time to fly. He’d put Eve and Caleb out of his mind while writing, intentionally leaving pages blank to return to later. He needed to approach this search like any other mission, unemotional, unattached, and focused on the details.
***
Austin opened the hangar doors pulled the plane out onto the runway using the refueling truck. He returned to Barney’s office. He felt like he should say something, but in the end he slipped Barney’s ring from his finger and dropped it in his own pocket. He didn’t do this out of spite or because he liked the ring, but because of the future. A future where nothing of what used to be remained, even if what used to be wasn’t an altogether pleasant memory, Austin still wanted to remember.
Out on the runway Austin warmed up the plane’s engines. After fifteen minutes the plane was ready for takeoff and he taxied down the runway. As the plane ascended into the gray, Austin didn’t look back or feel regret over not visiting his home. The town of Deadbear was a piece of his history he didn’t mind leaving behind.
Flying low over the Bering Strait, Austin imagined Kyle swimming through the waters, walking across the jagged ice, spending the night on the island of the dead. He took a moment to admire his brother’s tenacity and bravery, to feel pride that they were family. As he approached Russia, Kyle’s Mercedes came into view, sitting at the edge of the sea. A lonesome, desperate image.
Austin continued towards the ends of the Earth, towards the Lena River and a ferry boat run by the undead. On the other side of that river he’d find Eve and Caleb. Relying on hope, wishing on stars, praying to unseen gods, all of these were unnecessary conveyances and never his way. He would find them. His certainty in this was a feeling, an instinct, something that couldn’t be explained with words.
The Oymyakon runway appeared in the distance. A narrow strip of land provided for a tight landing to work with, but at least the path was clear. The plane descended, touching down and coming to a stop without incident. A rush of relief didn’t flood his senses, he’d no no anxiety to wash away. He was calm and ready.
Inside a small hangar, a brief search turned up a BMW motorcycle with keys in the ignition and gas in the tank. Austin poured the last bottle of fuel additive into the bike’s tank and jumped on. He carried a backpack, a sleeping bag and nothing else. If the bike started he’d have a ride. If not, he’d walk. The bike turned on the third try to which Austin was appreciative, but didn’t take his gratitude so far as to thank anyone or consider himself lucky.
In no time at all he was riding down The Road of Bones, which proved every bit as treacherous as he’d read about and experienced in his dream. The inmates didn’t visit from the afterworld and when he arrived at the ferry, a half bent man wasn’t waiting to take him across. No matter anyway, the river was frozen around the ferry and of no use in crossing over. The bike was another thing to consider. The river, although frozen, appeared a treacherous travel by foot, let alone on a bike. In the end the bike was left behind, hidden on the ferry just in case.
Crossing the river took longer than expected and when he finally reached the shores on the other side, Austin jogged in order to make up time. An hour later he approached a mining village where a handful of shacks remained standing. He chose the one at the farthest end closest to the foothills. The shack wasn’t pretty or even weather proof, but he didn’t care. The cold didn’t bother him so much anymore.
Inside he found a single room sparingly furnished that served as the bedroom, living room and kitchen. To his surprise he also found a small bathroom, but no running water. He set his things in the corner facing the door. After another dinner of spam and crackers, Austin climbed into his sleeping bag and fell asleep, anxious to see the white haired being again. He wasn’t disappointed as his sleep was filled with vivid dreams, of visits to the worlds in-between, of strange sights and stranger beings. Some worlds were misty and cold, others dry and hot.
In the latter he came upon the white haired man. Wearing nothing more than a pair of shorts and a t-shirt wrapped around his head, Austin trudged across desert dunes. He stood upon one of the tallest peaks and gazes out over an endless sea of sand, a static brown ocean. Down below the man waited. He looked up to Austin and opened his arms wide. Before Austin could react, the desert swallowed itself, taking the man and Austin into its gaping black hole. They were deposited on top of the Siberian Mountains. He looked for the man, but he was nowhere to be found. This was not important. Austin knew this was where he would find Eve.
As soon as this thought entered his mind Austin awoke. He lay still waiting for his mind to clear. His watch read 2:05. He knew this without having to check. Outside the wind blew in gusts, each one rocking the shack’s thin walls. Amazed the structure held up this long, Austin buried himself deeper in his sleeping bag and allowed his mind to drift back into a deep slumber. The man with the white hair did not return, he’d accomplished his task, all that remained was for Austin to follow through and do his part.
***
The Siberian Mountains weren’t any less intimidating from the ground than from eight thousand feet up looking down. A narrow path led Austin into the hills. He walked for two hours listening to the sound of his boots crunching the snow. The place was desolate, where a man’s thoughts might overwhelm him, but Austin didn’t mind the quiet or his thoughts. He was focused on the task, the mission, on Eve and Caleb.
The path narrowed, winding its way up into the hazardous terrain of the mountains. A gentle mist swirled about his feet giving the illusion of walking on air. As when he’d entered the great temple hidden in the jungles of Paru, Austin felt the presence of the supernatural, which indicated to him Eve must be close. Although he sensed her, he couldn’t hear her. The farther up and in he traveled, the stronger the connection became. Soon the mist was up to his knees, tugging at his legs with invisible hands, whispering to him in a sweet seductive voice. Gruesome images floated in and out of view. Austin kept moving. One step after another, turning a blind eye and deaf ear to the spirit world.
At the turn in the path, where the precipices rose to magnificent heights, diminishing everything below, a wave of pain so excruciating knocked the air from Austin’s lungs. He fell to his knees gasping for air. Desperate seconds expired. Focus man. Focus. It’s not your pain. It’s not real. After repeating this over and over the pain subsided, and he could breathe again. From his pack he grabbed an energy packet and squeezed the contents into his mouth. His hands shook. He squeezed his fingers into a fist, opening and closing them until the shakes subsided. He swallowed the goo sitting on his tongue and waited.
From his kneeling position on the ground Austin sat with his head bowed. Remnants of pain lingered in his muscles causing him to hesitate, to not want to move too soon. A deep breath of crisp air burned inside his lungs. He released the air, went to draw another when a sudden awareness caused him to pause. He stared at the path beneath him, at the crystals making up each and every snow flake, every particle of ice unique in shape and design. The ice crystals did not interest him, they were a focusing mechanism. An excuse to not lift his head, to not see what caught his eye’s view right before the pain struck him down. Minutes ticked by, but a second was all that mattered. The second required to raise his head, to look up and see. Austin
got up on his feet, but he didn’t look, not yet. Images of what he’d seen, although brief, were very clear. Images of Eve. He wanted to shake them away, to not believe what his mind was telling him, but the truth couldn’t be dismissed.
Facing the truth was man’s most difficult task and greatest weakness. Great amounts of energy were put into avoiding truths, into creating false realities in order to cope with the harshness life throws our way, at times seemingly at random. Austin didn’t fall into this category of men, but sometimes even he wavered when faced with the unthinkable. Breathing in, he forced himself to look ahead.
Before veering off in another direction, the path he was on met a sheer wall of thick ice that extended up the side of the mountain. Spiked poles lined the path up to the wall and upon each pole a head was impaled. The eyes of the dead cried tears of blood. Blood oozed from the shredded flesh of what remained of the neck. Ignoring the heads, Austin moved closer to the wall. A gap, perhaps five feet in width, separated the mountain from the path. Austin stopped at the edge and gazed at Eve’s face frozen behind the ice. He reached out to her, but his foot slipped on the edge, sending debris tumbling into the abyss below. A moment of uncertainty before reclaiming his balance went unnoticed. His mind repeated over and over. This can’t be. She can’t be dead. Yet he knew, with no level of uncertainty, if they beheaded her, and from all appearances this was the case, no other conclusion could be arrived at other than death. If Eve was dead, then what of his son? The answer to this he couldn’t bear to consider.
Unsure how long he stood there, Austin became aware of the time. Dark would fall in less than two hours. If he hurried, he’d reach the bottom by night fall. Taking a last look upon Eve’s face, Austin begged for her to respond, but his pleas went unanswered. He turned back, heading down the path. Each step drove a stake into his heart. He began to run, not caring about his safety, not caring if he fell to his death. Thoughts of Eve and Caleb drove him to recklessness. He’d accepted Roxanne wasn’t real, which had made the pain of losing her manageable. Nothing made Eve’s death acceptable. She was dead, gone forever this time.
***
Four days and nights passed before Austin crawled from his sleeping bag to face the day. Outside the shack nothing had changed. The landscape was still frozen, the sky still gray, the three suns still sitting above the horizon. But this wasn’t accurate. Everything had changed. Caleb was missing. Eve was dead. Everything was dead. He returned to the protection of his sleeping bag, to the comatose state where he remained for another three days.
On the night of the seventh day Austin dreamt. He stood upon the deck of a majestic ship gliding through still waters of a vast ocean. The moon shown full casting a white blush upon the water. Out in the sea icebergs rose up from the water like colossal creatures of the deep. The moon’s light turned the giant black shadow creatures into glowing blue ice sculptures. The ship passed near one of the towering pieces, close enough for Austin to see the boat reflected in the surface.
The ship approached another iceberg. This one different from the others with its glass like surface and smooth face. As they came up close Austin saw Eve suspended inside the ice. He climbed the railing and leaned out as far out as he could without falling over. The ship slowed, coming to a stop in front of the iceberg. Austin reached out, touching the ice over Eve’s face, and felt a warm sensation under his fingertips. Loud voices carried over to him. Out beyond the icebergs, where the ocean appeared to drop off a sharp edge, another ship approached. Many figures moved about on the deck, and though Austin couldn’t distinguish who they were, he sensed they were foe not friend. He turned back to Eve, this was his only chance to save her, and he must free her before they arrived.
The ship suddenly lurched forward, snapping Austin sideways, and he lost his grip. He fell hard to the deck, and scrambled back onto the railing. The other ship had pulled up alongside the iceberg holding Eve. The Adita commanded the vessel, while the Svan worked the deck. A group of Svan hoisted a large metal claw out over the top of Eve’s iceberg. They lowered the claw, sunk the teeth into the iceberg and plucked it from the ocean. Austin yelled out to Eve. The sound of his voice jolted him awake. Alertness arrived swift like a light turned on in the dark. She was alive. Eve was alive. He was certain of this, but whoever or whatever had placed her in the mountain would return soon. They were coming for her. If he allowed this to happen, she would be gone forever.
Three hours until daylight. If he headed out now, he could reach her before the suns appeared, but then what? Think, he ordered his brain. His brows furrowed, his hands rubbed his head, and he thought. If her captors were coming for her wouldn’t they have to free her from the mountain? This might be his only opportunity to save her. Austin kept thinking this over, considering all that he knew, which wasn’t much. Traveling through the foothills and up into the mountains in the pitch black was not a task for the meek. This mission lacked planning, supplies, logistics, thus based on statistics would fail and should fail, but Austin wouldn’t allow failure. He wasn’t alone in this, someone was helping him, guiding him, wanting him to save Eve as much as he desired to do so. For the first time in his life, Austin put his faith in chance, in hope, in the unknown.
As Austin approached the bend, the suns pressed through the ebony curtain. Black turned to gray, night to day, with minimal transition between. Austin removed the night vision goggles, allowing his eyes to adjust before moving on. He turned the bend holding his breath, exhaling when he saw Eve was still encapsulated in the mountain side guarded by the mutilated heads. He stepped up to the edge of the path, getting as close as possible. He examined Eve’s neck, looking for signs that her body was still attached, but beyond her head the ice was solid white. Austin became aware of a presence and turned. On the path, not more than five feet away, stood the man with the stark white hair and solid white eyes. Although his slender frame bent at a slight angle, he was taller than Austin.
“It’s you. You were in my dreams,” Austin said.
The man tilted his head. “I must apologize for being rude, but she doesn’t have time for explanations Captain Reynolds. If we are to save her we must act now.”
Austin was all for acting now. “What can I do? How do I get her out of there?
“You must allow me to enter your body and mind. Do you allow this?”
Austin nodded. “And after? What happens then?”
The man stepped up to within inches of Austin. “You must give up your life for hers. Are you prepared to do so?”
Austin knew what the man was asking of him. “I’m ready.”
“Good. You must act quickly, if you have any doubts, remove them. Once we extract her, she will have mere seconds before she’s beyond saving. You must not hesitate. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” Austin assured him. “I have no doubts.”
The man took possession of Austin’s body and mind. He raised both hands, palms facing Eve, and began chanting in a low voice. The ice cracked. Bits and chunks fell into the crevice below. Soon Eve’s entire body was visible. The man inside Austin continued to chant, his words pulling Eve from the ice. Her body floated over the gap and came to lie at Austin’s feet. The man returned control over to Austin.
Austin knelt next to her and pulled out his knife. Without hesitation he cut into his wrist. Blood spewed forth, coloring the snow bright red. He lowered his wrist to her lips and the point of turning back slipped away forever. As her teeth sank into the cut, a burning sensation ran the length of his arm and he blacked out.
26 After
Austin opened his eyes. He stared at the white ceiling, listening to the noise around him, listening to them talk, waiting for them to notice he was awake, to speak to him, but they didn’t. He turned his head, recognizing that he was back in the bunker in his bedroom, and that he was alone. He blinked several times. The room was empty, yet he could still hear their voices. He turned back to the ceiling and closed his eyes. The next time he awoke, no voices fil
led the room, or his head. The only sound he heard was the steady breathing of one person, who felt very close. Eve, he thought.
“I’m right here,” she said, coming to stand next to his bed.
Austin looked at her, touched her arm, and squeezed her hand. “You’re real? I’m not dreaming?”
“You’re not dreaming,” she assured him. “How do you feel?”
Although a simple question, Austin wasn’t sure how to answer. “I’m not sure. Strange I guess.”
“Do you remember what happened?”
Bits and pieces floated at the edge of his memory. Flying to Russia, walking the Road of Bones, searching in the mountains. “I found you in the mountain. You were frozen. I thought you were dead.” He grasped her hand, remembering the desperation he’d felt upon finding her encapsulated in the mountain.
“You saved my life and that of our unborn daughter, Zevia.”
“I did? Our daughter. You’re pregnant. Yes. Yes. I remember. You named her Zevia. I think I knew that.”
“You’re going to feel disoriented, but it will soon pass.”
More memories were returning. Images of ferry boats and icebergs flickered in and out, but he disregarded these as unimportant. The piece missing, the one out of his mind’s reach, seemed to matter most. Austin retraced his steps over and over, filling in more details each time. He heard himself saying “I have no doubts” and saw himself pull out his knife. The blade sharp, the metal bright. The metal sliced into his skin. The pieces of the puzzle collided together.
He turned to Eve. “I survived.”
Eve nodded.
“Are you angry that I did it? That I decided to change?”
“No. I knew you would eventually make that decision. It’s who you are.”
“Then what’s bothering you?”
Eve of Man (The Harvest Book 2) Page 29