All of which was not to suggest that Deut was carved from a block of wood. No, she was a healthy, fit, young human with a responsive body that was swimming in a sea of God-given sensations. Sometimes, as she lay in a tub of warm water, bathing herself down there through the cotton fabric of her undergarments, well, the warmth would spread throughout her body in a most delicious way. And sometimes, with her legs straddling the cushiony seat of a sno-go, she could feel the deep vibrations of the engine down there, and lots of bumps in the trail would make for a fun ride. Surely, that was a gift and not a sin.
The odd thing was that thinking about the ranger sometimes stirred those same sensations. Now that was troubling, especially since, short of a miraculous rebirth on his part, Jace Kuliak was doomed to burn in eternal torment and was not someone Poppy would ever allow in the keep.
None of which prevented her from dreaming about him once. Or more than once, actually. They were weird dreams. He was both piloting the Mail Day plane overhead while at the same time helping her carry jugs of hot soup from a clearwater creek. Odd. She was making fun of his ponytail, though in truth she really liked it.
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Sidebar: Raven Song
RS1 1.0
May they always dwell
in purple beds on mountain crags.
May they always dwell
in purple beds on barren ice.
May they always dwell
on plastic mats on ocean gyres.
Caw! Caw!
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Dedication
For my sister Marie
If it turns out that God really does exist,
when you get to Heaven,
please make a case to Saint Peter
for springing me from Hell.
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by David Marusek
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
“Saved by the Blood of the Crucified One” S. J. Henderson, 1902, Public Domain
“Down in the River to Pray” traditional folk song, Public Domain
The Holy Bible
King James Version, 1611, Public Domain
NASB: “Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org”
Cover Design © 2017 by David Marusek
Photograph used under the cover art: Alaska_amo_2014025_lrg.jpg. NASA Earth Observatory images by Jesse Allen and Jeff Schmatltz, using data from the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LPDAAC) and the LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response. Image has been cropped and state boundary overlay removed.
Published by A Stack of Firewood Press
An imprint of General Genius LLC
Fairbanks, Alaska
ISBN 978-0-9988633-0-6 (epub)
ISBN 978-0-9988633-1-3 (mobi)
ISBN 978-0-9988633-2-0 (softcover)
Version 1.0.0
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List of Characters and Glossary
Families
Bunyan
Dell — mid-50s. Evangelical pastor of the Blood of Victory Church which he keeps in his home. Preaches the pre-Tribulation Rapture. Lives on Stubborn Mountain Trail midway between the town of McHardy and the Prophecy household.
Chas — eldest of four sons. 25 years old. Navy SEAL and veteran of Iraq/Afghanistan Wars.
Scarlett — only daughter. 13 years old. Energetic and outgoing. Sharp tongue.
Prophecy
Poppy — 79 years old. Real name Marvin Johnson. Believes in pre-millennial post-Tribulation Rapture. Desires a family of 21 children. Brings family to Alaska to sit out the Apocalypse.
Mama — 41 years old. Real name Crystal Johnson. Mother of 17 children. Currently on vacation in Heaven.
Adam — eldest born. 25 years old. A calm, capable, dependable, slightly reserved young man. Fiancé to Sue Krae.
Hosea — 2nd born. 23 years old. A warm-hearted, genuine, spiritual, not too bright man.
Proverbs — 3rd born. 21 years old. A fiery, impulsive, attractive, energetic young man. Holds the record for number of whippings received as disciplinary punishment. Victim of grievous childhood accident, he sometimes wears a leather patch on his right eye. Together with Adam and Hosea referred to as “the boys.”
Sarai — 4th born. 19 years old. Eldest girl (by five minutes). A fraternal (heterozygotic) twin of Deuteronomy. Sometimes bossy. The unfortunate “twice-blessed twin of a twin.”
Deuteronomy (“Deut”) — 5th born. 19 years old. Sarai’s twin. Very sweet, dutiful, devout, and perhaps a little naive. Beloved by all the younger siblings. Together with Sarai and II Corinthians known as “the girls.”
I Corinthians (“Corny”) — 6th born. 17 years old. Male. Eldest of the “middle kids.” A bit of a bully.
II Corinthians (“Cora”) — 7th born. 15 years old. Female. Very reliable and helpful. Dreams of an independent life.
Solomon (“Solly”) — 8th born. 13 years old. Male.
Frankincense (“Frankie”) — 9th born. 12 years old. Female. Identical (monozygotic) twin to Myrrh.
Myrrh — 10th born. 12 years old. Female. Twin to Frankincense.
Ithamar (“Ithy”) — 11th born. 10 years old. Male. Average kid, constant companion to Uzziel.
Incense — 12th child (stillborn). Female. Considered a member of the family who resides in Heaven. A place is set for her at the table.
Uzziel (“Uzzie”) — 13th born. 8 years old. Male. Eldest of the “little kids.” Beloved by all. Possibly the smartest kid in the bunch.
Revelation (“Revie”) — 14th born. 6 years old. Female.
Pharisees (“See Saw”) — 15th born. 5 years old. Female.
Numbers (“Nummy”) — 16th born. 3 years old. Male. Extremely jealous of his little brother.
Elzaphan (“Elzie”) — 17th born. 18 months old. Male. The spoiled baby of the family. A little tyrant to all his siblings.
Crystal Louise Puddingpot (“Crissy Lou”) — Family dog. Female German Shepherd mix. Considers herself Uzziel’s dog.
Calgary — Female tabby cat.
Lawther
Rex — Mid-50s. Middle-class, Republican, small business owner of Greatland Action Sports in Wallis, Alaska. Pentecostal church elder and deacon. Honest to a fault. Good father. Pillar of community. Candidate for state office.
Cindy — 48 years old. Helpmeet to husband Rex. Homeschools kids. Volunteers in community projects.
Ginger — 19 years old. Homeschooled. Bright, fearless. Devout Christian young woman. High achiever.
Rory — 18 years old. Average student. Quit homeschooling in junior high. On high school wrestling team. Student pilot. Mechanic. Falls desperately in love with Deuteronomy.
Keagan — family dog. Male whippet.
Sulzer
Ed — 82 years old. Lives at McHardy airstrip. Paints Alaska kitsch landscapes on goldpans.
Virginia (“Ginny”) — 72 years old. Also a goldpan painter. Acts as unofficial postmaster of McHardy.
Tetlin
Vera — early 40s. Beloved governor of Alaska. Losing 2008 vice-presidential candidate.
Bradd — early 40s. Snowmachine racing champion. Oil pipeline worker. “First Dude” of the state of Alaska.
Taiga (“Tye”) — 20-year-old daughter.
Others
Orion Beehymer — mid-80s. Long-time McHardy area land baron. Sold house to Jace and Stubborn Mountain Mine to the Prophecy family.
Beezus — a high-ranking devil who torments Poppy Prophecy.
Agent Bertolli — special agent of the FBI.
Jeff Bridges (“Not Jeff Bridges,” “NJB”) — full name: Jefferson Beaumont Bridges. Poppy Prophecy’s friend and business mentor. Shady background.
Kelly Cobweal — Tea Party resident of McHardy. Owns McHardy Hotel and Saloon.
&
nbsp; Danielle — mid-20s. French girl who visits Jace in Alaska.
Sue Krae — 22 years old. From Soldotna, Alaska. Fiancée of Adam Prophecy.
Jace Kuliak — late 20s. National Park Service Backcountry Ranger who lives year-round in McHardy. His sister Kate Kapoor, her husband Darshan, and their son Luke live in Littleton, Colorado.
Ethan Parkhurst Masterson — mid 40s. National Park Service Law Enforcement Ranger. Jace’s colleague and supervisor. Extreme advocate of public wilderness.
Agent Nabor — federal special agent of the FIAS.
Ned Nellis — longtime bush pilot and owner of Nellis Air Service in Gulkana, Alaska. Runs the McHardy mail route.
Evelyn Rodgers — National Park Service superintendent stationed in Copper Center, Alaska.
Yurek Rutz — just because.
Barbara Jean de Saul — seeker of enlightenment who lives in McHardy.
D. “Beaver” Swayne — early 30s. Colonel, commander of the Alaska Liberty Force.
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Glossary
ALF — Alaska Liberty Force. An Alaska-based citizen’s militia under the command of Colonel D. Beaver Swayne.
Arctic Entry — a small room adjoining the exterior door of a house, usually unheated. A place to don and store outdoor boots and garments. Also known as mudroom or wannigan.
HIS CREATIONS LLC — the Prophecy handcrafts business.
Lower 48 — the contiguous states of the United States of America. That is, the fifty states minus Alaska and Hawaii.
Outside — anywhere not in Alaska.
Shadow — the “buddy system” imposed on the Prophecy children so that no one is ever alone. Its purpose is to deny Satan opportunity for leading them astray.
The Slide — the steep hillside made of mine tailings beneath the adit to Stubborn Mountain Mine. A footpath zig-zags up it.
Sno-go, Snowmachine, Snowmobile — all terms for a motorized sled for traveling on snowy terrain.
Tired Iron — an antique snowmachine.
Touron — a disparaging term for tourist.
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Up/Down Conventions Used in This Work
River, stream — Every river or stream begins at a source or sources (headwaters, glacier, lake, drainage basin) and ends at a mouth or mouths, where its water flows into another body of water. Going upstream or upriver means moving toward the source, while going downstream or downriver means moving toward the mouth.
Tunnel — An adit or mine entrance can be considered the mouth of a mine tunnel. Going up tunnel is moving away from the entrance further into the mine. Going down tunnel means moving toward the entrance from inside the mine.
Roads, trails — Traveling toward the origin of a road (or trail) is considered going up the road. Moving away from the origin is going down it. However, designating a place as an origin point is a subjective matter that can change according to each traveler’s point of view.
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Reading List
A Land Gone Lonesome, Dan O’Neill, Counterpoint, New York, 2006
Chapter 18, Are ETs & UFOs Real?, Dr. Jason Lisle, Answers in Genesis, December 6, 2007,
The Belief Instinct, Jesse Bering, WW Norton & Co., New York, 2011
The Copper Spike, Lone E. Janson, Alaska Northwest Publishing Company, Anchorage, 1976
“DNA is Not Destiny: The New Science of Epigenetics Rewrites the Rules of Disease, Heredity, and Identity,” Ethan Watters, Discover Magazine, November 22, 2006
Going Rogue: An American Life, Sarah Palin, Harper, New York, 2009
Last Ape Standing: The Seven-Million-Year Story of How and Why We Survived, Chip Walter, Walker & Company, January 29, 2013. Copyright © William J. (Chip) Walter, Jr.
Millions Disappear: Fact or Fiction?, by P. S. R. BB Bookstore, Copyright © 1989 by P. S. R.
Pilgrim’s Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier, Tom Kizzia, Crown, New York, 2013
Acknowledgements
Much thanks to Deb Vanasse and Elyse Guttenberg, each of whom collaborated with me on trying to write a book about our celebrity governor. Neither project got off the ground, but working on them helped me shape the parody character who eventually became Vera Tetlin.
Thanks to Ramey Wood for the loan of the eyepatch.
Beta Readers
Thanks to Sandra Boatwright, Terry Boren, Kay Kenyon, Deb Vanasse, and Gary Wolfe for reading and commenting on the early drafts of this book. Their feedback has been essential to its development.
Thanks, too, to Sarah Campbell for editing the manuscript and to Don Pendergrast for his insights into NPS culture. Of course, I am solely responsible for the portrayal of the park service and its personnel. Thanks to KJ Kirby and Sharron Albert for proofreading the completed manuscript.
Patrons of the Arts
No public tax dollars or foundation money has gone into the creation of this work. Individual contributions, however, have helped keep me in the writer’s seat through the lean times, and I would like to thank Ruth Nicolas, O.D. and Kimberly Sherrill, M.D. especially for their patronage.
Errors and Whatnot
Writing, even writing fiction, requires a great deal of knowledge about the world. There’s a near certainty that one of more errors of fact are lurking somewhere in this book, despite the author’s Herculean effort to root them out. If you, the reader, come across a genuine error and are the first person to alert the author at
You are welcome to share your opinions too, and if you succeed in convincing the author to alter the text as a consequence (possible but not likely), your input will also be acknowledged.
For purposes of easy reference, each scene sequence in the text is labeled along the right margin. Please use these labels when reporting errors or whatnot.
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