The Longest Winter

by Harrison Drake

  Peter saw him at the last moment and slid to a stop. He and Naomi rushed from the vehicle to Claude’s side expecting the worst.

  “He’s breathing!”

  Naomi knelt down beside the boy and saw the telltale rise and fall of his chest. “My God, what happened to him?”

  “I don’t know. But he’s freezing. Let’s get him in the car and warm him up. I saw a sign for a hospital not far back, we can probably get him there quickly. Faster than waiting for an ambulance.”

  Naomi nodded and helped lift Claude off of the ground. They laid him across the backseat of the car and draped a blanket over his body, tucking it with gentle care around him. Naomi got into the backseat and sat beside his head, her hand light against the skin of his cheeks. She brushed the hair away from the wounds on his face and cried when she saw the youthful innocence his face held. The injuries marred it, but they hadn’t taken it away. Not completely, she thought.

  Peter shut the door to the backseat and climbed back in behind the wheel, never noticing the figure standing at the top of the hill, eyes fixed upon the small car. He had been ready to chase the boy down the hill but stopped when he saw them approaching. The snow had been falling harder; with a little luck he had hoped that they might not even see the boy who was lying in the other lane.

  But they had stopped and got out. The man watched them intently, weighing his options and trying to decide what to do. They were both young, but neither looked like they would pose much of a problem. The young man was thin, not a muscle on him. The woman was petite; she barely stood taller than the car. He took two cautious steps down the snow-covered hill, but they were moving too fast. I won’t get to them in time, not without letting them know I’m coming.

  And so he watched, his eyes trailing the car until it disappeared behind the next hill, watching as his property was taken from him.

  “I still can’t believe he got lost.”

  Yuri didn’t crack a smile. “Typical male, right?”

  “All he had to do was turn around and head back the way he came.”

  “He said when they stopped the car slid one-eighty. He figures he got confused when they got back in the car, turned it around and ended up going the wrong direction.”

  “And then what? Don’t turn around when you realize you screwed up? Start trying random side roads until you get there?”

  “They should have called an ambulance,” Yuri said. “They are really lucky he did not have any sort of spinal injury the way they just up and moved him. Although I doubt they have ever dealt with this sort of thing.”

  “Starting to think they’re the lucky ones.”

  Yuri thought back to the odour on Kara’s breath earlier. Even though he knew she was just taking the edge off, trying to calm the nerves and push away the things she’d been through, he had seen too many cops go down that road. It wasn’t long before one became many and a nightcap became full blown alcoholism. It was something he knew all too well.

  “I know you have. They aren’t used to this sort of thing and have never been trained to think critically under stress. We have been through it enough times to be used to it.”

  Kara nodded. “We should head out there. See if we can help. We’ll come back later once Claude’s awake.”

  Kara and Yuri stepped out of the hospital and into a snowstorm. The fallen snow almost covered her feet as she walked to the car, really hoping Yuri would play the gentleman and brush the vehicle off. At least his boots were built more for function than fashion.

  “This might explain why they’ve yet to find the spot. Can you even see the main road from here?”

  “Not at all. Worst snowstorm I’ve seen since leaving Canada.”

  “Hop in and start the car. And hand me the brush. You stay warm.”

  Kara smiled. “Thanks, Yuri.”

  “No problem. Maybe tomorrow you should wear different boots?”

  Kara shut the door in mid-sentence then gestured as though she couldn’t hear him. Yuri shook his head as he went about removing the snow from the top of the car before scraping away the thin layer of ice that had formed on the glass.

  A few minutes later he stepped into the car, snow covering him from head to toe. “You get to do it next time.”

  “Will do. At least it’s nice and warm in here now. I called in when you were outside. They aren’t far from here. And they think they may have found where they picked up Claude.”

  Yuri put the car into drive and pulled out into the snow. “Just tell me where to go.”

  * * *

  “You’re sure this is it?”

  Peter looked around the area; then he looked at Naomi. “Yeah, I’m sure. I mean, it looks a lot different with the snow and everything, but this is it.”

  “Where was he when you found him?”

  “Over here, I think.” Peter walked out into the middle of the road. There was little to no traffic given the hour, but to be safe and protect the possible scene, a cruiser was parked at either end to block the road. Their flashing lights reflected off of the large snowflakes that fell heavy to the ground.

  “Around here?”

  Kara shone her flashlight on the road, hoping to see something that had been left behind. The snow was up to her ankles now; anything that would’ve been there was well obscured.

  “He was in this lane. Wait,” Peter said, running a few paces down the road. “I remember this rock. We parked right near it.”

  There was a large stone jutting out from the side of the hill, only an arms length from the shoulder of the road.

  “So…” Peter started. He was lost in thought, retracing the position of the vehicle and the way he had walked. “It’s such a blur. As soon as we saw him, well, I don’t remember much from there. But we got out of the car right over there and then, it was about fifteen steps or so to get to him.”

  He ran a short distance and stopped.

  “That seems right,” Naomi said. “If not, it’s really close.”

  “Stay there,” Kara said. She walked to the nearest vehicle and took out the snowbrush then returned to the spot where Peter and Naomi stood. Kara handed Peter her flashlight.

  The road revealed itself as she brushed the deep snow aside, pushing it left and right until the asphalt was fully visible. She kept brushing, creating a larger and larger hole in the freshly fallen snow until…

  “There.” Kara pointed at the road. “Bloodstains. Peter? The light.”

  He moved his arm and the cone of light passed across the disturbed snow, twinkling as it went, until it fell on the crimson patches of blood that stood deep red against the dark grey road.

  “Why is it so red?”

  “It froze before it could dry,” Kara said. She looked over to the hill beside the road and looked up to its crest. “That’s a long way to fall, could account for his injuries.”

  Yuri had come up behind Kara, watching as she looked through the snow.

  “Especially if he was running when he fell,” he said. “Shall we?”

  “Think we can make it up there?”

  “I don’t see why not. Stay low, and ladies first.”

  “So you can catch me if I fall, right?”

  “No, so you will not see me fall. You would hold that over me for ages.”

  “If you’re really going up there, just wait a second.” Kara looked behind her to see one of the local officers walking away from them and toward his cruiser. He returned with four road flares, long cylinders that always made Kara think of sticks of dynamite. Each one had a two-inch spike at the bottom, solid enough to drive into the road to stand the flare up. “Use these. Should make the climb a little easier.”

  Kara and Yuri both nodded. “Good idea,” Yuri said. “Get a couple of officers to the top of the hill from
the other side, there has to be a road or something that will take them there.”

  The officer nodded then began speaking French into his radio.

  The climb was slow going, even with help from a pair of substitute pickaxes. Both Kara and Yuri slipped on a few occasions, but the flares held. They were winded when they reached the top; their clothes were soaked from the snow and sweat and the cold wind bit to the bone. Kara looked back, her gaze reaching down to the road below.

  “Shit, Yuri. He’s lucky to be alive.”

  Yuri turned and looked as well, then took two stumbling steps backwards.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, just never been good with heights. Gives me vertigo.”

  “If he was running from someone, he was probably going in a straight line.” Kara looked back down to the road to see where she had brushed the snow away. It had already begun to fill in, the road barely visible through the new snow. Only the difference in height gave it away. She turned around and pointed. “This way.”

  Kara took the lead, any concerns regarding the depth of the snow long gone. Guess there was no point in having Yuri brush the car off, she thought. The snow clung to her clothing, cold and damp, which in turn clung to her skin. They hadn’t prepared for this weather, although it appeared neither had the majority of North-Western Europe. Record snowfall, it had said on the radio; police were urging people to stay off the roads, stay indoors and to be prepared for power outages. The storm had stalled above the area and just sat there, unleashing its beautiful fury on the world below.

  Visibility was reduced to only a few strides ahead, leaving Kara and Yuri to cover ground at a slower pace than they had hoped. “Better to take it easy and be prepared,” Yuri had said when they started out. “Claude had said the man was close behind him. It can’t be far or I would assume he would have caught him. A man against a ten-year-old boy? Not much of a race in most cases.”

  Kara agreed and moved her hand to her pistol, the butt sticking up from her holster. The light of the moon was almost blocked by the thick clouds and what broke through was just enough to cast a glow on the flurries that swirled about them. Their flashlights lit the way forward, but also acted as beacons announcing their approach. They walked for several minutes, trudging through the snow.

  “Do you see that?”

  Kara shook her light side to side, casting shadows on a building a few metres ahead.

  Yuri nodded and the pair moved forward.

  Kara keyed the mike on her radio. “We’ve found a building in the field. Looks old. Mostly made of cinder blocks. How far are the other officers?”

  “Detective, we’re not sure. We entered the field east of your position, but I think we’re a ways back. The nearest road was almost two kilometres over. We used the GPS and we’re walking a straight line back to where you were.”

  “Okay, pick it up. We’re looking for a door now.”

  Kara and Yuri moved around the south side of the building. It was about the size of a ranch house, a large square footprint with a flat roof, and simply constructed. It was built for function rather than aesthetics and Kara assumed it had been a farmer’s outbuilding, although for what purpose she wasn’t sure. Cheap and easy to build, just cinder blocks and mortar, it bore the marks of a do-it-yourself job.

  They continued around to the east side and found themselves standing in front of a large steel door.

  Yuri reached for the handle and hoped for the best. “Locked,” he said.

  “Do you think this is it?”

  “Looks like it could be. There probably isn’t much else around here where Claude could have come from.”

  “So Jacques may still be inside?”

  “Look around the other side for a window. I will stay at the door.”

  Kara nodded and walked toward the north. She rounded the corner and was hit by a strong gust of wind and snow. She buried her face in her jacket and waited for it to die down. A few more steps along the north wall brought her beneath a small window near the roof of the building.

  It was just as Claude had described.

  Kara shone her light at the window and saw blood on the frame.

  “Yuri, this is it. We need to get inside.”

  “Wait for backup,” he said.

  “Jacques may be in there, I’m coming around the front.”

  Yuri knew better than to argue. He hadn’t worked with Kara long but already knew, and had heard, of her stubbornness. When she had a hunch, she acted on it.

  “Think you can drop that door?”

  Yuri shook his head. “It’s steel. But I’ll try.”

  He stepped back and delivered three solid kicks to the deadbolt.

  Nothing.

  “Fuck that hurt. That thing is not going anywhere. We would need a ram to get through it.” Yuri reached for his gun.

  “Seriously? That never works. You’ll just hit one of us with the ricochet. You’ve seen too many movies.” Kara shook her head. “Come around the side. You can boost me through the window.”

  “You are not going in there alone.”

  “If he’s in there, he knows we’re here now. We don’t have a choice.”

  Yuri nodded. “Fine. But get that door open ASAP.”

  “Okay.”

  A minute later Kara was inside, her arms scraped from scrambling through the window. She crouched low, her gun in her right hand and the flashlight in her left. Her hands were crossed at the wrist, backs together with one hand bracing the other. Almost no light came in through the window and the inside was dark. Kara wasn’t even sure there were lights in the building.

  Please don’t die on me, she thought, a silent prayer to the light she held. The beam moved across the floor and walls, revealing ropes, chains and patches of dried blood. There were two bowls on the floor, only a few grains of white rice left stuck to the sides. Empty plastic cups lay on their sides. The room smelled faintly of urine and excrement, a smell that would’ve been worse were it not for the cold.

  Kara moved toward the open door, another one made of steel, and leaned out slowly, carefully, casting her light into the next room. Empty. There were two bowls of rice on the floor, their contents spilled. He’d been coming to feed them when he found Claude escaping.

  Another door to her left. She moved toward it, the shapes of furniture becoming visible as she approached. It was Spartan in nature, a simple coffee table in the middle and a couch against the wall. An old TV set sat on a pair of upside-down milk crates and a microwave sat on the floor beside it. A half-eaten plate of pasta had been left on the table.

  Not a sound came from anywhere within the building.

  They’re already gone.

  Kara moved up and pressed herself against the wall beside the open doorway. A quick lean and a pass of the light revealed most of the room. She came back behind cover then leaned out once more, this time while crouching. It was a simple tactic. Lean out once, and the bad guys can see you. Lean out again at the same height, and the bad guys can put a bullet in your head. Always change position, change the timing, change anything that will keep them guessing.

  It didn’t matter though; the room was clear.

  The light crossed another steel door and Kara thought about the layout and size. She keyed her mike and spoke in a soft voice. “Knock twice, Yuri.”

  Two sharp knocks sounded. Kara breathed deep and turned her back to the door, her flashlight shining on an open doorway into an uncleared room. She backed up, then put the flashlight on her shoulder and held it with her chin. She reached her free hand behind her and felt for the deadbolt, then turned it and heard the click as it disengaged.

  Yuri tried the handle again. Still nothing.

  “There must be another lock.”

  Kara turned to look at the
door and saw a solid bolt near the top. She stood on her tiptoes and reached for the bar. A clattering came from the room behind her followed by the sounds of motion, sounds that were getting louder.

  “Stop there!” she yelled, but the movement continued. She turned her light toward the noise and saw the light reflect from a pair of eyes low to the ground. The creature stopped and stared at Kara, then began chattering loudly. It bared its teeth and leaned back, preparing to leap. Kara fired two rounds and the animal fell to the ground.

  Yuri was hammering at the door, kicking repeatedly against it trying to break it open. “I’m fine. It was a raccoon. Little bastard tried to come at me.”

  She reached up and unbolted the door then opened it. Yuri stepped in from the snow, his pistol in his hands. He shone his light on the deceased animal.

  “Think he was alone?”

  “I hope so. Probably just getting out of the cold. And probably smelled the food that was left out.” Kara lit up the doorway across the room. “Still haven’t cleared in there yet.”

  Yuri nodded and moved up, taking a position against the wall beside the open door. Kara moved up, crouched, then peered around the corner and into the room, her light illuminating the right half. She leaned back in behind cover then leaned out once more, standing this time, and cleared the other side. A dining table and chairs sat in the middle, and there was a fridge and sink against the one wall.

  Kara’s hand came up, a quick signal to Yuri, then she moved in toward a closed door on the other end of the room. Yuri took position on the other side of the door. The handle was on his side and when Kara was ready, he turned the handle and threw the door open hard. The door hit the wall behind it and bounced back part way.

  At least there was no one hiding behind it. Kara leaned in, lighting up a small bathroom that looked as though it had never been cleaned – or had the toilet flushed.