Stranger King (7 page)

Halfway through the night, the first withdrawal symptoms arrived and Calvin gave them dried leaves to chew into a paste as they walked.

Chapter Eleven

On the
eighth day, the chemical withdrawal far behind them like a hazy nightmare, they crested the rolling hills and Kamloops lay stretched out before them, the buildings still standing proudly, the rivers still running clean and crisp under the moonlight.

Kozol walked ahead, looking down at the city with quiet judgment. He turned to Lena and said, “We’ll resupply here. We’ll split up into three groups of three. One team will go into the city to look for supplies and gather information, one team will stay here and make camp, and I need the last to refill our water supply. I’ll stay. Calvin will lead the team into the city. That means you’re on fresh water duty.”

*

Janiya, Lena, and Elias made their way down into the valley, following the paths of other roads until they reached the waterfront. They rested, drinking from the river, passing the purifier between them. The water was oddly warm. Lena coughed slightly as it went down, feeling like she had just slurped bathwater.

Janiya heard the click of a gun first, her head darting around as she picked up Lena’s pistol. She watched the trees and called out, “I know you’re there, come out!”

Yet no one came.

Lena gestured to Elias to grab their canteens. They did not know how much longer they would have to restock safely. When they refilled all of their containers, Lena stood, passing a third of them to Janiya. Reluctantly, she put the pistol back in Lena’s holster and helped them carry the water up the mountain.

*

They made it to camp just as the sun was rising. All three went under the reflective tenting, the dark space warm with the breath of the others. They lay side by side as the sun grew bright enough to pierce through the shielding with ease.

Calvin’s group had still not returned.

*

It was almost evening again when Kozol pulled Lena out of the tent. She put on her jacket, feeling almost cold after a long day in the hot tent.

Kozol asked, “How long do we wait?”

Lena frowned.

Kozol replied, “I’m not a fool. I’m not risking the rest of us for three, but I’m not in a great position to make this decision. Especially since… Well, it might be better with three less…”

“They don’t know yet?”

“I don’t think they do.”

Kozol said quietly, “You know how to get there now. If by midnight they’re not back, I’m going after him. Get the others there. We’ll meet you if we can.”

“If he’s not back, he might be dead,” Lena replied, more harshly than she meant to.

“Then I’ll see him in hell,” Kozol replied, angrily storming back into the tent.

She sighed and looked over the mountains down to the south. They would be going too far north soon; this was the last highway junction that could take her to Kelowna. She half wondered if she should try to go south, but in her heart, she knew, her father was either dead or had long fled the city. He was not a man to wait around for rescue.

She heard the whirring of an old army helicopter and looked upward, curious at the strange sight. She stood transfixed, watching it fly overhead.

At least they were not alone.

*

Calvin arrived a few hours later, Henry and Charlotte trailing behind him with large packs on their backs. Kozol greeted them cordially, though Lena could see his face light up at seeing Calvin safe.

Charlotte and Henry split up the food among the others as Calvin gathered them just outside their structure.

“We have learned some information,” Calvin said. “It’s not something you’ll want to hear, but it’s necessary. I want everyone to make the right decision for themselves. We may not want to continue east.”

“What’s wrong?” Janiya asked, looking at the other two in his group.

“The creatures have moved inland. They’ve invaded all of North America. People have gone missing. Others have been infected and have been dying. Whatever plague they’re carrying may even be airborne now.”

“And the colonies?” Jean asked. “Is it possible for us to go elsewhere? P-180 must have sent a response, at the very least.”

“All communications have failed,” Charlotte stated, “All ships have been destroyed.”

“By the creatures?” Jean asked.

“By us,” Calvin admitted.

There was a pregnant pause before Calvin said, “The government made a decision. The infection cannot spread to the colonies, and if the creatures learn of them they too would be in danger. All records of the space colonies have been destroyed. There was an order, it was carried out weeks ago. There is no longer a way off this planet unless…”

“Unless the creatures are taking us off planet,” Lena finished.

“Do you think they are?” Janiya asked.

“I don’t know,” Calvin admitted, “There were so few people in the town … the ones there, they looked ill. It’s growing colder, yes, but there’s no corpses. Radios aren’t picking anything else up. The best bet might be to get out of North America entirely, but it may be worse elsewhere and who knows what will happen if we’re caught trying to leave. The best way may be to simply disappear.”

“We need more information than that,” Kozol said.

“What we need to do is get to the base,” Lena said. “Look, we’re at least eight days away now and we’re lucky we’ve all made it this far. It’s our best shot.”

“And then what?” Janiya asked. “We sit in a hole all together while the world ends? We can fight back. We can survive.”

“How?” Lena asked skeptically. “Nine of us, injured and frostbitten and sunburnt? Five guns, maybe, among all of us? Taking down an unknown force with unknown weaponry? This is not our battle.”

The two glared at each other as Calvin interrupted, “Look. The point is this. The highways will split from here. We can go north and try to get to the base and possibly freeze to death, or we can go south and try to find some safety with the Americans and possibly be shot or abducted or whatever other grizzly fate these aliens have for us.”

It was the first time anyone had said the word out loud and they looked at him in a strange fear. Humans had a foothold in the frontier of space and yet they’d never encountered aliens before. Over a hundred years of listening, searching, with no contact and now no one wanted to admit the possibility. It seemed too impossible.

“North,” Lena said quietly.

Janiya sighed, “North.”

The rest followed, voting unanimously to continue their trek. Without further question, they broke up the camp and began their journey out of the city.

*

Janiya came out of the tent, her head hung slightly as the others watched for any sign of activity. “Snake bite,” Janiya muttered to Lena in shame. “All because of a stupid snake. If I had more supplies or more time… I should have been able to help her.”

“We can’t linger,” Kozol said.

“I know,” Lena said quietly, “I’ll deal with it.”

Lena went into the tent, knife in hand. Shannon shuddered in her arms until it was over. Lena refused to cry as she came back out of the tent. Janiya tried to reach out to her in comfort, but Lena pushed her hand away, walking off into the forest by herself.

*

Golden was all but abandoned when they reached the town limits. Calvin was charmed as a deer walked up the street and held its snout out for food. He gently reached out, stroking the creature’s side until it grew impatient and walked away.

The snow was sticking here. The winter was strong enough even to counteract the effects of the sun. It would be the last settlement until the base, Kozol warned, so they must raid what they could before the final trek into the mountains.

Janiya and Lena set out together. Janiya handed over a green knitted hat to Lena. She turned it over in her hands, looking up at the other woman for an explanation.

“I was making it for Shannon,” she explained with a sad smile. “She always got cold ears the minute there was a chill in the air. I thought you might have a similar problem. Interior girls always catch cold easily. I would hate for you to get sick.”

Lena smiled, putting the hat over her ears.

“Be good to it,” Janiya warned; “I don’t know when I’ll next get my hands on some yarn.”

“Thank you. I’ll treasure it.”

Janiya scoffed, but her face softened when she realized Lena’s sincerity.

“You’re welcome,” she said kindly.

*

As the snow whipped around the tent on a dark day after they’d left Golden behind, Lena held a shivering Janiya to her.

“This the first time I’ve really seen winter,” Janiya admitted. “They always told me out of the city it would be worse. They say everything’s reverting on the planet, they say it might swing entirely back into an ice age. I always thought it was bullshit, but after today…”

Lena said, “My father told me that his great-great-grandfather died in the Iqaluit explosions. He said that the story was that there was an utter pure whiteness; all you could see was white, and it was cold, colder than any human had ever felt. And then it was all gone. The radiation travelled through Canada quickly, like a poison. The sky went almost orange. We had screwed up the planet so much already and then, just when things were coming back to life, we nearly destroyed it all over again. The story goes that after that my great-great-grandmother was one of the first immigrants to Eneres. Eneres, I’m told, was beautiful. Cool, the air sweet … paradise.”

Janiya laughed, “Bull. For one, how would anyone know what the explosions were like and live to tell about it? Two, if she had fled, why on earth would any of your ancestors come back?”

Lena shook her head. “I figured that out myself when I was about twelve. When I called him out on it, he said that we weren’t the type to give up on our homeland. He said it was our duty to fight until the very end. I believe his exact words were ‘paradise is for assholes.’”

Janiya chuckled, pulling Lena closer to her.

Lena muttered, “Figures. It decides to wait to snow until the end of the world.”

Janiya said nothing, quietly snoring. Lena smiled, curling closer and closing her eyes. She was still wearing her green toque when she finally fell asleep.

*

They crossed over the archaic line between British Columbia and Alberta the next day, after two days of marching through the old glacier fields. Their party reached the summit of a mountain just before daybreak. They paused, watching the spectacle of light breaking over the frosted peaks.

Calvin said quietly, “After the greatest clouds, the sun.”

Kozol continued hiking, the others slowly following him until only Lena and Calvin stood behind. They shared the moment, saying nothing, before they continued down the mountain.

*

They pushed through the early daylight, Kozol promising them a quick end to the journey. The base was built in the side of the mountain that was in their sights. They only had a few kilometers to go now.

Janiya was moving slower, falling behind the others. Lena stayed back with her, offering an arm to help steady her friend as they made their way downward. They rested for few moments and Lena realized Janiya’s ankle was swollen.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Lena asked, taking off her friend’s shoe and binding the swelling as much as she could with her sock.

Janiya winced. “I just tripped, I didn’t want to make a big deal about it. It’s not much longer. We can rest when we’re there.”

Lena crouched down to pull Janiya onto her back. Janiya protested at first, but held on to her as Lena stood and began carrying her the last kilometer through the snow.

The group ahead stopped and Lena paused, Janiya turning slightly to see what was happening.

The three cougars prowled through the trees, golden eyes intent on their straggling group. The rising sun glowed on their dun colored coats. Lena’s hand went to her holster, her heart skipping a beat as she realized there were no bullets left. She had used the last days ago to snare a coyote for the evening meal.

“Stay in a group,” Kozol ordered loudly, “And follow me. We can make it to the entrance from here. Don’t run.”

Lena walked as softly as she could, Janiya weighing heavy on her back. She heard the snap of a twig underfoot, cursing herself as she almost stumbled.

“I thought they don’t hunt in packs,” Janiya whispered.

“They don’t usually,” Lena replied. “It’s a mom and her two little ones. She’s teaching them how to kill on their own.”

Lena could see the entrance a hundred meters away, two hefty iron doors rusted in the snowfall. It seemed like someone had already brushed them off.

The mother cougar approached them. Lena glanced back and froze as she realized the creature was sizing her up. The others walked faster, going as quickly as they could. Yet the cougar did not follow them, her eyes fixed on Lena and Janiya.

Kozol turned to look at Lena.

Lena hissed, “You guys go. Get the shelter open. I’ll run for it when you’re safely inside.” She took a very careful step backwards. The cougar lowered her head, her mouth open, panting, her eyes focused.

“They want me,” Janiya whispered, “Leave me here, there’s no point in both of us going down. We have too many anyway. Leave me.”

Lena did not answer, walking slowly as the others continued through the trees behind them. Her eyes did not leave the cougar’s.

The cougar had what she wanted, alone and isolated from the others. Why didn’t she strike?

The cougar moved toward her, her cubs following. Lena kept walking, staring at the creature, and unconsciously baring her teeth.

The cougar snarled deep in her throat and Janiya gasped into Lena’s shoulder.

Lena ran.

She made it a few meters before the creature’s paw knocked her leg out. Lena twisted, throwing Janiya in front of her. She kicked out with her other leg, freeing herself as she shuffled back. The cougar struck again, her teeth coming down on Lena’s injured leg. Lena closed her eyes, pain stealing her breath. She fought with fists, elbows, anything. Then a shot rang through the mountain air.

She opened her eyes as the cubs fled and the cougar limped away, blood running down her side.

“Damn. I was hoping to get a cleaner shot than that.”