Beneath a Winter Moon

by Shawson M Hebert

  “Okay, so you are right,” Thomas said dryly. “Now tell me more. What they’ve said is that four people have disappeared up there…”

  Steven cut him off, “No one said anything about disappearing.”

  “Okay—then tell me what to call it?”

  “I call it greenhorn newbies wanting to be mountain men and deciding on the wrong stretch of country at the wrong time of the year. Happens all the time, Thomas, you know that. So, a couple times it has happened up in Sukwacha land.”

  “Wait,” Thomas started.

  “That’s what the locals call this area…due to a few cliff formations in the north.”

  “No, that’s not what I meant,” Thomas finished. “Four people, right?”

  Thomas could see Steven’s helmet nodding.

  “So, four greenhorns—that still equals four missing persons.”

  “I guess,” Thomas heard over the static. Daniel and Thomas exchanged puzzled glances. Thomas leaned forward to get a better look at Steven.

  “You guess? So—were those supposed greenhorns with guides or locals who knew the area or were they alone?”

  Steven was silent for a moment. And then shrugged. “Two men were dropped in the area about two years ago. They were amateur spelunkers who wanted to explore caverns in an area. Word has it that they had some satellite images that led them to believe there are some huge unexplored caverns in the area.”

  Thomas and Daniel waited, exchanging glances.

  Steven adjusted some controls and pointed to the altimeter. Jenny seemed to know what he meant, nodded, and made some changes. She took over for Steven as he continued.

  “Anyway,” Steven said, “They were dropped in, given a pickup time to be back at the same location. They had all the safety equipment they could possibly need. The story is that they never radioed in, never showed up for the return flight, and nothing was ever found of them. There was a week-long search, but nothing turned up.”

  “And the other two?” Daniel asked.

  “The other two were poachers. Do you guys remember the Sand Bluff outpost and guides?”

  Daniel spoke up, “Poachers from that outfit? I heard about that last year. A guide and a civilian.”

  The helicopter lurched, buffeted by heavy winds. Thomas noticed that they had flown into a heavy flurry of snow.

  “Rumor has it that he was poaching, anyway,” Steven said. “Best place to do it as far as the Wildlife Management was concerned.” He saw the puzzled looks on Daniel and Thomas’s faces. “They had no rangers in the area.” He explained.

  Delmar, sleeping soundly and without a helmet, snored loudly.

  “Fellow by the name of Jeff Parker was guiding some rich client from Saskatchewan. They were poaching for bear, supposedly.”

  “No one ever found out anything about them?” Thomas asked.

  “Yes—that’s why I’m saying they didn’t just disappear. There was plenty of evidence. All pointing to a bear. Maybe two. There were some of the client’s remains and some blood from the guide. Evidence all over their camp. Apparently, at least one bear caught them at night.”

  There was silence as Thomas and Daniel exchanged worried glances. They knew why they didn’t have the details about the deaths. No government that relied on hunting as its primary industry would want something like that spreading.

  Steven sighed heavily through the headset and turned to look at them.

  “There,” he pointed a gloved finger at their faces, “the looks on your mugs are exactly why the authorities kept this one as close to them as they could. Can you imagine what would happen to business if news like that got out into the cities…hell…anywhere?”

  Thomas nodded. He could imagine.

  “It wasn’t kept secret…it just wasn’t put all over the front pages. Most of the clients who come up here are the types that need their hands held. They need to be led right to the animals that they are hunting and then need damned near everything done for them right down to the trigger-pull. They are city slickers who want a photo shot with their rifle and bear. They want to impress their girlfriends and their mistresses and their friends at the country clubs.” Seeing the frowns staring back at him, he smiled. “Present company excluded, of course.”

  He turned back to the controls. “You tell them a grizzly ripped up a greenhorn and his local guide up in these mountains—well it would be the same as yelling ‘shark’ at a beach. We’d lose our shirts for who knows how many seasons.”

  “What about us,” Thomas asked, “We are your friends. When were you going to tell us?”

  Thomas saw Jenny look at Steven. Steven didn’t say anything.

  Jenny spoke up, “Remember, Thomas, we were not even planning for a hunt this season. We are still setting everything up. It was an honest mistake. We just didn’t think about it. Besides, the area of that bear attack is much farther north than we will be hunting.”

  “But…” Thomas started.

  “We forgot, Thomas…but as soon as we heard the old man was talking to you, we remembered and were going be sure to tell you.”

  There was a moment of silence, and then Steven asked, “Would it have made a difference? Does it make one now? We can turn around, you guys. This was not about money for us as much as it was having some company as we chart some of the northern section thoroughly…and besides, Del practically begged. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that he was on his knees when he talked to me on the phone. He is really convincing you know…he really wants this hunt.”

  Thomas looked at Daniel. Daniel cocked his head and shrugged a shoulder. They both knew that, for Delmar, these revelations would not matter in the slightest.

  “No,” Daniel said, “We don’t want to turn around. It’s okay.”

  Thomas stroked Jack’s thick fur. A chill ran down his spine as he imagined two men being surprised by one of the huge Grizzlies…maybe even a pair of them. “So—they never found the bear? No more attacks?”

  Steven shook his head, “No. They could not find a trail, and no, there hasn’t been another attack anywhere, much less up in that section.”

  Through it all, Delmar snored.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Turbulence began to rock the aircraft about an hour later. The sudden, violent jerking of the aircraft woke Daniel and Delmar just as it prevented Thomas from dozing off. Jack buried his head in Thomas’s lap in protest as Thomas looked out his window. Outside there was a white-out. The snow was so thick that Thomas could not see anything. The helicopter rocked and rolled…and Thomas felt ill.

  Delmar grinned at Thomas when he saw the worried look on his face. He shook his head and shouted over the whir of the rotors that there was nothing to worry about. Thomas saw that his friend had not yet donned a helmet, so he pointed behind the big man and motioned for him to put one on. Delmar rolled his eyes but obliged Thomas and strapped on the helmet. He poked Daniel in the arm and then pointed to Thomas and Jack. He grinned again at Thomas, then folded his arms and closed his eyes once more.

  “We are over the lake, now,” Jenny said, “The winds are bad so keep yourselves strapped in. Be mindful of the E-Raft.”

  Thomas could have gone his entire life without that last statement. The thought of crashing into the icy water and trying to get the life raft to inflate made him feel even more ill.

  Steven’s voice blasted over the intercom as he radioed the cabin. “Crazy Horse one to Southern Base. Come in Kyle. How do you read, over?” He was radioing Kyle Ross, who was taking care of the cabin. He had agreed to stay there after they got the horses on site. Thomas knew Kyle and liked him, although he did believe the younger man was a bit immature.

  There was static and then, “…Kyle. I read garbled …how far…”

  “Roger Kyle, you read my signal as garbled. We are twelve minutes from the LZ, copy?”

  “Twelve minutes out, copy,” Kyle replied through static.

  “Have you taken a wind reading, Kyle?” It was Jenny’s voice.
r />   “Roger, wind reading about fifteen minutes ago. Gusting in….red. Copy?”

  “Copy”

  “We’ve got near white out conditions, Steven,” Kyle said. “…to abort.”

  “Roger, Kyle, I copy. I want to get closer to the LZ before making the call. Copy?”

  “Roger. Also, weather conditions at the northern LZ appear to be better. The storm … through there already. Copy?”

  “Roger Kyle. Weather at Northern pad is good.”

  “Roger.”

  “Will check back in seven minutes, copy?”

  “Seven … copy.”

  The aircraft bucked and rolled as if in battle. Thomas hated this and he tightly closed his eyes and held onto Jack. Daniel reached over and gripped his friend’s shoulder to help reassure him. It helped, but Thomas kept his eyes shut.

  Steven did not like the situation but knew that it would be far worse to attempt to make it back to the airfield. They would have to fight this all the way back and although he felt his fuel would hold, he didn’t want to chance it. If he could not land at the lakeshore LZ, he would abort to the northern LZ. He had also mapped out two hasty landing zones that were fairly close to the lakeshore cabin. The closer he could get to the cabin, the better and once down it would just be a matter of sitting tight until the storm passed.

  Jenny smiled at her husband. They’d been though situations like this a dozen times and she was more than confident in him. Steven was among the best, she knew, and she trusted his abilities and instincts completely.

  The three friends could feel the aircraft descending. Although Steven was trying to make the descent as smooth as possible, the buffeting winds and downdrafts over the lake tugged and pulled at the aircraft. Even Delmar was awake and interested, now. The three companions were silent as they began to see glimpses of the lake below them. Thomas could just make out the northern side of the lake and the blinking lights surrounding the landing zone. The LZ was in a clearing between the cabin and the dock; nearly seventy feet wide with six blinking red strobes set up to help Steven and Jenny see the LZ through the heavy snow.

  Steven spoke up, “We’re on approach, Kyle. Copy?”

  “Copy. Winds still gusting in the red,” Kyle’s voice squawked in static over the radio.

  “Roger, Kyle. I’ve got the LZ and am going to make an attempt.”

  The nose of the helicopter tilted upward as Steven brought it over the LZ and much lower to the ground. Thomas looked out the window and saw the red landing lights looming closer and closer. Delmar looked at Daniel and gave him a thumbs-up. Daniel turned to his window and anxiously watched. The helicopter rocked in all directions and then violently plummeted. The nose of the aircraft dove wildly and the tail shifted with a force that tossed the men against their seats. The helicopter was almost thrown into a flat spin. Just as Thomas was about to lose his lunch, Steven regained control and pulled the helicopter back into a hover, far above the LZ.

  Steven tried once more after hovering high above the winds for a few minutes, but the results were even worse. Thomas did get sick the second time.

  “Not going to try that again,” Steven said to Jenny. She nodded.

  “We’re going back up, guys,” he said through the mic. “We’ll regroup and come up with an alternate LZ. We’ve got a couple of options.”

  The men remained silent, letting the pilots do their jobs. Thomas pulled a do-rag from the pocket of his rucksack and wiped his mouth.

  “Thank goodness for yak-sacks,” he said, smiling feebly and holding up the secured paper sack.

  His friends laughed.

  Once they were back above the winds, Steven contacted Kyle. “Winds aren’t going to allow a landing at the cabin LZ. Any change for LZ two at the Northern camp?”

  “I’m still going by the last radar report—same as before. It showed fairly clear for camp two.”

  “Roger. We are going to head there and sit out the storm at that LZ. See if you can get an update while I am on the move. I’ll contact you in five.”

  “Roger.”

  “Keep some coffee on for us…we shouldn’t have to stay up there long.”

  “Roger, Crazy Horse.”

  Steven turned the helicopter north, dipped the nose into the wind, and headed for camp two. “You heard me, guys? We are headed to camp two to land and sit for a while to give the storm some time to move south. There’s nothing up there but some framework and lumber, but I doubt anyone will want to leave the bird in this storm anyway.”

  “How long will we have to sit there,” Delmar asked.

  “Probably not more than an hour or two, hopefully less.”

  Delmar looked at his two friends, shrugged, and then leaned back and closed his eyes. Thomas smirked. He was still reeling from the feeling of helplessness that he’d experienced just moments ago. Sleep was impossible. He looked over to Daniel and saw that he had one hand tightly wrapped into the seat’s nylon webbing. Thomas knew the aborted landing had shaken him, too.

  Within minutes, they were hovering above camp two, only to find that, while the snowfall was lighter, the winds were just as bad if not worse. Steven decided not to waste making an attempt when he found that the aircraft was being rocked by the winds while over one-hundred feet in altitude. He muttered a curse, pulled his mic away from his mouth, and started talking with Jenny. Thomas could make out some of the words over the whirring engine and howling winds but not enough to understand. He saw Jenny nodding her head in agreement. She noticed his stare and she smiled and winked. She pulled her mic back over her lips and told him to sit back and not to worry.

  Thomas managed a shaky grin. “Reassure me some more,” he said, holding his mic close to his mouth.

  Steven spoke up. "We are going farther north, where we can get on the opposite side of this storm. There are some nice areas we can put down up on the high points of the cliffs. Great view. You’ll love it.”

  Delmar opened his eyes again. “More delays? Geez…how much are we paying you guys, again?”

  Steven grimaced. “Not enough, my friend, not enough.” He flipped a switch on the console. “Kyle, we are not going to make the camp two landing. It’s clearer but the winds are worse, copy?”

  The reply was only static.

  “Give me two clicks if you understand.”

  Two distinct static-filled clicks.

  “Roger. We are going north on the bluffs. Check your map for that LZ that I named High Sierra.”

  No clicks.

  “It’s circled in red with ‘H’ ‘S.’ Give me three if you understand."

  Two clicks.

  “Damned interference,” Steven muttered. “Radio check in ten, copy?”

  Two clicks.

  Ten minutes later the snow slacked off to a point where Thomas could clearly see the ground below. Jack slept, nose firmly embedded under the flap of Thomas’s jacket. Thomas saw mountain peaks and high cliff facings. These were not high mountains, but were very jagged and rough looking. The areas not covered with snow had rocky landscapes dotted with tall, green pines and evergreens.

  “We are coming up on the new LZ,” Steven said. “The winds have died down with the passing of the storm but the air is thinner up here. I really need to set her down due to fuel constraints, so it might be rocky, but we are landing if at all possible.” He looked purposely at Thomas, and winked. “At least I can see where I am going, now.”

  “Nice,” Thomas said.

  Thomas watched as they hovered over a clearing atop a high bluff. At first sight, the forest’s edge looked ominously close to the bluff but as they approached, he could see that there was at least one hundred yards between the thick forest and the cliff facing. Patches of thick snow littered the rocky, flat surface and there were large rock formations and boulders protruding through the white powder. He finally saw the LZ that Steven had his eyes on, about fifty feet from the cliff’s edge. Thomas’s stomach felt queasy as he got a look over the ledge. He guessed it was a fairly st
eep drop, maybe two hundred feet to the thickly forested valley below. The clouds were still thick and gray, but the snow had stopped. Thomas could see the thin glow of the sun as it began to make its last stand against the horizon. Beams of sunlight shone in all directions as shafts of gold and yellow found cracks through the thick clouds. He thought he was being silly when he felt the slight lump in his throat. The beauty of this evening mountain scene was nothing short of breathtaking.

  “Fantastic,” Daniel said. “Wish I had my camera handy.”

  They were surprised to see that Delmar was no longer asleep. He was also enjoying the view. “Yeah,” he said in reply to Daniel, “You could get some awesome shots right now.”

  They heard Steven trying to make contact with Kyle and they all felt a bit of relief when two static clicks came through the headset. “Here we go,” Steven said, indicating it was time to land. The helicopter rocked, but not with the same intensity as before. Thomas saw that the ground was coming up fast but he was happy to note that they were still at least fifty feet, maybe more, from the edge of the cliff. He wondered why they were not closer to the forests edge. He suddenly felt his stomach lurch skyward and saw that the ground was suddenly coming up fast…really fast. His blank stare turned to a look of shock as the helicopter’s tail pitched violently down as its nose shot skyward. Jack’s snout came out from under Thomas’s jacket. Thomas instinctively pulled the dog close, holding him tightly. He heard Steven cursing as he struggled to gain control of the helicopter. Thomas had the slightest feeling of reassurance, seeing the ground was close and he realized that although the aircraft was dipping and rocking wildly, there wasn’t far to fall.

  It happened within seconds. Just as Thomas felt the pontoon under his feet connect with the ground, there was a horrible and violent shudder accompanied by the thunderous whack, whack, whack, of the blades as their tips made contact with snow and rock. Jenny yelled something, and the rest of the aircraft hit the ground hard, spun violently, and hopped off the ground several times before coming to a full stop. Thomas buried his face into Jack’s fur and held him tight. The entire cabin shook as if it there was an earthquake as the broken and beaten rotors still whirred.