by A N Sandra
“Take that!” Golda had kept the hammer she had been fighting with in her belt and managed to use it to good effect on the frenzied maniac who jumped on her. Cattu also swiped her large saber claws across the face of a young man who didn’t die but would never look the same again as he ran off.
At last the band of attackers was subdued and wounded to the point that Barden and Golda could leave them and keep going down the road.
“They were waiting to catch escapees from the island,” Barden said.
“Can you guess how many more there are?” Golda asked.
“I have no idea,” Barden said. “We just need to find a safe place to put the bag with your samples of the totem animals and get farther away from them.”
Golda hadn’t been to the mainland other than small day trips to trade medicine for many years.
“I’m following you,” she reminded Barden. “I don’t know what I’m doing here.”
“I don’t really either,” Barden admitted. “Look at all the animal tracks.”
Crossing the narrow road were a wide variety of tracks that were so plentiful they were even visible in the moonlight.
“Those are a lion, those are a camel,” Golda puzzled over the footprints she could make out. “Why are so many different kinds of animals traveling together? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Both Ursu and Cattu looked longingly in the direction the tracks led.
“That way is straight to Noah’s compound if you didn’t take the road.” Barden frowned in thought, his face pointing in the same direction as the tracks. In fact, he looked as longingly toward that direction as Cattu and Ursu did.
Golda did not feel a pull in that direction. She knew little about Noah. What went on in his huge compound where his never-ending construction project had continued over the course of her lifetime was past speculation. Whatever he was doing had nothing to do with her. She wanted to keep her remaining samples safe for the rest of her life. It had become her sole ambition.
“Do you know where we’re going?” Golda challenged Barden, trying to jog his stationary pose.
“Yes,” he told her softly, still looking toward something she couldn’t see, not just because of the dark or the distance, but because the very essence of the thing did not call to her the way it did to them.
With regret Barden began walking forward on the road and eventually Cattu and Ursu followed him, dragging their paws with reluctance, but following just the same. Golda brought up the rear, somehow afraid that one or all of them might turn back and make a break for whatever held the mysterious pull.
As if her sack contained a fragile child Golda pulled it nearer to her core to keep it safe. The moon became obscured by clouds. Soon the stars were no longer visible either and the road became more necessary because leaving it would be dangerous in the zero visibility conditions.
“It was so warm this morning,” Golda said to Cattu in wonder as a few huge, cold drops of rain fell onto her upturned face. “But that changed.”
“It hasn’t rained for—”
“Well, it’s started now, let’s keep going.” Golda kept marching down the road before Barden could turn back to whatever was pulling the animals out of their normal habitats. She made sure to focus on one foot in front of the other, not allowing herself to feel sad about her own loss of habitat.
Chapter 22
November 22nd, Interior Alaska Homestead
Mr. Harris left for Fairbanks the day after Thanksgiving. Helena and Miss Jan had fixed a community feast for everyone to eat together in the storage building. There had been no turkey or wine, but it had been a lovely dinner. Duane had seated himself by Helena and complimented her on every course of food that was served. Later he helped wash the dishes and everyone played a game of Pictionary that was punctuated with laughter.
“It’s a perfect time to go,” Mr. Harris said, pulling on his waterproof ski gloves. “I have that amazing dinner to work off.”
“Be safe, Dad.” Helena sighed.
She knew he had a lifetime of experience in the outdoors and the best firearms money could buy, but if he didn’t come home, she didn’t know what she would do. Tawna had pleaded to go with him or for him to stay, but Joel had insisted on going alone to avoid being identified by anyone looking for him.
“I’m going to be very safe,” Mr. Harris promised. He hugged Ray and Lourdes first, and then turned to Helena and Peter, who hugged him tightly. He patted their backs before he released them. He walked across the clearing with his GPS pointed toward Fairbanks, becoming smaller and smaller in the dim winter light, and Helena felt a lump grow in her throat.
“I’m going to begin reading the book of Job, today,” she announced, looking at her assigned Bible reading. “Super fun!”
“I read it two weeks ago,” Lourdes said. “I’m on Esther now.”
“I’m doing the Gospel of John this week,” Ray said. “Gotta love someone who announces they’re the most loved right off.”
“You are the most loved by your mom,” Helena blurted out without thinking about it.
“And I don’t go rubbing it in, do I?” Ray said haughtily as he picked up his vocabulary and spelling workbook.
Peter and Lourdes both burst out laughing and Ray pretended not to notice.
Christina did math with Lourdes, while Peter sat at the computer to go over his French lesson for the day before filling out the workbook. Ray sprawled across one of the window seats with his workbook, chewing his pencil as he contemplated answers. Helena sat down in the other window seat with her e-reader turned on and the book of Job on the screen.
“I totally get Job,” Helena muttered to herself after she completed the first few chapters. He had one life, it was good, he did nothing wrong, but lost his good life because of terrible deals made behind the scenes. Helena didn’t often allow her mind to dwell on the lovely ranch she had lived in until her parents divorced. She had lost her home, and soon after that Tawna had hijacked the only family she had left. But things were being rebuilt in an unanticipated way. It had taken the threat of the end of the world, but all four kids existed together without breaking things or trading insults.
Helena looked around the room at all four young people studying under Christina’s charge. No more ranch compound, no more penthouse, but everyone was happier in the small home anyway. Helena wished that Maria could see them now.
“She wouldn’t believe it,” Helena said under her breath, trying to picture Maria’s face at the sight of Christina explaining linear algebra concepts to Lourdes. With a shake of her head Helena went on to her next subject.
“Egg salad for lunch?” Helena finally asked as she wrapped up her grammar and looked at the clock.
“Sure,” Lourdes said.
“Fine,” Peter said.
Ray was sitting at the table with Christina working on physical science. Christina was explaining the concept of leverage with some small models Mr. Todd had knocked together the day before.
Helena had already boiled the eggs for the egg salad. It had been a rhetorical question. She went to the kitchen to begin peeling the eggs.
“I can’t believe you’re not home yet!” Tawna stood in the doorway of Christina’s house, leaving the door wide open. The freezing air reached Helena in the kitchen right away.
“We’re almost done for the morning,” Christina said patiently. “Would you like to stay for lunch?”
“I want my kids home with me where they belong!” Tawna demanded.
Helena risked a peek from the kitchen. Tawna was no longer beautiful, now she looked like a wreck. She had been dyeing her hair herself. She had convinced Joel to stock several dozen boxes of hair color, but she wasn’t doing a good job and her hair was streaked and brittle. Deep lines were cut across her forehead, making her look years older. Helena suddenly realized that Tawna must have been getting Botox injections when they lived in Texas. A permanent frown made Tawna look the same on the outside as she always had on the ins
ide.
Christina nodded to Ray, who stood up, and he and Lourdes went to the front door. Tawna glowered at them as they shoved their feet into their boots and shrugged into their coats.
“See you tomorrow!” Christina said with a mild tone of voice as they left. Lourdes shut the door behind her.
“Now the whole house is freezing,” Peter complained.
“It’ll get warm again,” Christina said. “But I feel sorry for them this afternoon.”
“I’ll get Duane to invite them sledding later,” Helena said. “Tawna won’t say no to Duane.”
“Hopefully she’ll be mellowing out soon.” Christina bit her lip.
Helena remembered about her father’s plan to buy pot while in Fairbanks. She pictured him making deals with greasy haired bad guys who were missing lots of teeth in dark alleys trying to buy enough pot to fill up his backpack. She wondered what he was going to buy for Christmas presents that would leave room for all that marijuana. She wondered just how much pot it would take to truly mellow Tawna out. She wondered what he would eat on the walk home. Would he buy fried chicken while he was in Fairbanks? It was his favorite.
“We’re going to have a lot of extra egg salad.” Helena frowned. They were very careful about not wasting food. Now they would have to eat it for dinner also, or for lunch the next day.
“I’ll slip some to Ray and Lourdes for their dinner tonight. They’ll be glad to get it. Tawna just makes protein powder smoothies,” Peter offered.
“Does she have a blender?” Helena was outraged. She whisked every salad dressing and sauce by hand. If somehow Tawna had a blender…
“She has a shaker thing,” Peter explained. “Do you want me to creep over there and steal it while she sleeps?”
“Not tonight.” Helena frowned. “But maybe another time…” She thought of the backpack full of pot. “Like, next week, when Dad gets back, okay?”
“You’re getting pretty hard core,” Peter smiled.
“Survival is my only goal.” Helena said. Survival with perfectly smooth honey mustard dressing would be even better.
“Both of you still have math and science this afternoon,” Christina sighed.
“We could let you have a break,” Peter offered.
“Nice try, son.” Christina began carefully picking up Ray’s school work from the table to make room for lunch. “As soon as we’re done eating let’s just get it done, okay?”
“Okay.” Helena really wanted a break after her sandwich to read and relax, but she wanted to finish her school work even more.
Weeks ago, Helena realized that there was a finite supply of curriculum. Her mother could teach science and mathematics well past any college level out of her head, but there was only so much history, language arts, and foreign language curriculum here. When it was finished, it was finished. So, every day Helena did a little more than she was scheduled to. In the winter gloom there was only sledding, cooking, art classes and reading to pass the time anyway. It wasn’t even December and Helena had read almost all the books she needed to for her literature class for the year. She simply filled in the workbook during the time allotted to literature by writing as fast as she could, but still made the answers legible enough for her mother to correct. When spring came, Helena hoped to be done with the whole year and part of the next.
While Helena spread the egg salad on Miss Jan’s whole wheat bread, she wondered what she would do next winter when only math and science could take up part of her day. Maybe she would sleep a lot. Maybe she would try her hand at writing, since she liked to read so much. Maybe she would paint in Miss Jan’s studio. Maybe she would spend extra time with Duane. She smiled over the egg salad. That was what she really wanted to do.
“Open up! Come on, open up!” Ray was banging on the door while Helena shook her head in her snug loft and tried to insist that the noise was part of a dream. A dream that she was not going to allow into her head. A dream that—
“Helena, get up and get dressed right now!” Christina insisted from the bottom of the stairs. “I’m going right to Tawna’s, get up!”
Helena looked at the tiny clock by her bed. One fifteen a.m. Not that anyone would really have known from looking outside, because lately even the middle of the day wasn’t very bright outside. She tried to think where the clothes she had taken off were. There was a basket at the foot of her bed and, rather than figure out clean clothes, she fished the jeans and flannel shirt she had worn the day before out of the basket and put them on, hunched over because standing up was impossible in the loft.
She felt her way carefully down the stairs, aware that no matter what the problem was, it would be worse if she fell in the dark and got hurt.
“Out of the way!” Peter raced past her and reached under the kitchen sink for the fire extinguisher. He grabbed it and ran out the door.
“Crap!” Helena stuffed her feet into the boots she had left by the door and raced to Tawna’s house, where all the lights were on and she could see flickering through the windows.
Helena burst into Tawna’s house to see her mother and Peter pointing fire extinguishers at a rug that was flaming in the middle of the main living area.
“Bitch!” Tawna screamed at the top of her lungs at Christina who was concentrating on putting out the fire.
In horrible slow motion, Helena saw Tawna dive at Christina from the window seat she had been perched on. Tawna knocked Christina into the remnants of the fire. Lourdes and Ray seemed to be hypnotized in horror as Tawna and Christina rolled around in the middle of the flames.
“A little help here!” Peter yelled as he pointed his fire extinguisher at the flames by his mother’s head.
Helena wasn’t sure whether to grab the fire extinguisher her mother had dropped or to try to wrestle Tawna away from her mother. She dove for the fire extinguisher and began helping Peter spray the fire, her mother and Tawna.
Tawna was on top of Christina, pounding her head against the floor. The fire was out, although a large cloud of smoke rose from the floor. Helena took her fire extinguisher and smashed it into Tawna’s blonde head. Tawna didn’t let go of Christina. Once more Helena smashed the fire extinguisher down on Tawna’s head and as Tawna fell off of Christina, Ray tackled Helena to the ground. There was a quick scramble on the floor in which Helena could taste Ray’s sweater and hear Peter and Lourdes cursing, before Helena found herself sitting up, looking at Christina bending over Tawna.
“How many times are you gonna save her life?” Helena said out loud, but no one paid any attention.
Peter was holding Ray in a choke hold before Ray said, “I’m cool, okay? I won’t do anything, let me go.”
“God, Mom, you’re bleeding.” Helena couldn’t seem to calm down. Blood was running down Christina’s neck. Somehow her scalp had been cut during the fight.
“I’m ok. Cuts on the scalp always bleed a lot,” Christina said as she checked Tawna’s pulse and examined her pupils. “I need to you to help me bandage my head.”
“Is she okay?” Lourdes demanded to know as Christina sat back, taking a deep breath. Helena noticed that Lourdes, strangely, was holding a chicken. She wondered if she was seeing things.
“For now,” Christina said, looking up at Lourdes. “Get your first aid kit.”
With the kit open Christina directed Helena to disinfect the wound on her head and use liquid bandage to seal the cut before bandaging it.
“Now, you need to go to the pharmacy box under my bed and get out a—” Christina paused to think exactly what she wanted. “Well, just bring me the whole bottom drawer of the box.”
“I don’t know the combination to your lock,” Helena said.
“It’s Maria’s birthday,” Christina said.
Helena ran back through the snow, seriously annoyed to find that she had left the door ajar, and even though it wasn’t wide open, the whole house was freezing. She found the box, although it took several tries to make the combination work. When it did, Helena saw the t
hree drawers unfold and with a little effort, she detached the bottom one.
“Shouldn’t we get the Wilsons?” she asked as she entered Tawna’s house.
“And let them in on the fun?” Christina said, sitting with her legs crossed next to Tawna, who was still laying on the floor, but beginning to stir. “The sterilized needles are in the white packages. We’re going to give Tawna a little something to help her sleep…”
Helena did exactly as her mother said and soon Tawna had been injected with something that Helena could not pronounce, but that Christina was sure would put her to sleep for several hours. Lourdes put down her chicken (the chicken was real and not a delusion) and helped Helena carry Tawna to her bed, where they tucked her in after peeling off her outer layer of scorched clothes.
Ray and Peter were trying to straighten up the living room. Fortunately, none of the tiny houses had much furniture. Tawna had destroyed the rug, the only decorative thing in the room. The floor was clearly burned in several spots. The windows and the door were open, and the night wind had already blown away the smoke, although Helena was sure the smell would probably remain for a while.
“What happened?” Helena asked.
“She hasn’t slept well for a long time,” Lourdes said. “Not since she got sick, and she got really delusional today. She lit all the candles we had to make a shrine, to pray to some saint I’ve never heard of, and that started the fire. I didn’t even know she was Catholic.”
“I have a burn,” Ray noticed for the first time. He held up his hand where a large red welt covered part of his palm and wrist. “I must have done it when I tried to put out the candles and Mom wouldn’t let me. That was right before I went to get you.”
Christina rummaged through the drawer and gave Ray some pain medicine and rubbed Silvadene cream on the burn. As an afterthought she rubbed some on her own neck where she had been burned herself.
“Go to bed,” Christina told Ray and Lourdes. “We’re going home. I’ll set my alarm and check on your mom in four hours.”
Lourdes looked like she didn’t want Christina to leave, but finally she nodded, and Peter and Helena followed Christina out the door.
