Dark and Stormy

by Traci Tyne Hilton

  Getting stuck outside all night in a snow storm was deadly.

  “If he is wandering, Troy and Xavier will find him.”

  I tried to make eye contact with Isaac, but he looked away. He didn’t believe what he was saying either.

  Bel laughed under her breath at something Si said, and left.

  Garret put his guitar down. “You’re freaking out, Dani, and that’s not going to help anyone. If you really want to pray about this, I’ll pray with you.”

  Isaac reached for my hand, subtly, but I got it. Praying together was kind of a thing around here. A territory kind of thing. I closed my eyes for a second to shut all of them out. “I’ll go back to my room and pray. Good night.”

  Isaac got up and walked back towards my room with me. “He’ll be fine, Dani.”

  I stared at his face. He had a deep crease between his eyes. “You don’t mean that.”

  “I don’t know.” He took my hand in his and pressed it. “But I have been praying, and we need to trust God.”

  A cold draft filtered down the hall as the door opened with the groan of old hinges. I could hear Troy greeting the guys with a negative answer. It was up to Xavier now.

  “I have a favor to ask.” Isaac spoke low. It was hard to hear him. “Would you stay in Gretchen’s room tonight?” He blushed. I knew what he was thinking.

  “Of course.” I kept his hand in mine and walked down to Gretchen’s room, which would have three empty beds in it, like mine did. I stopped at the door and bit my lip. Now would be a great time for Isaac to kiss me, since I was scared, it was dark, and we were alone.

  He leaned in to go for the kiss but paused, so close, but way too far away. “Just…keep praying.” His voice was a whisper.

  I pressed my lips together and stared into his eyes. Enough light filtered in from the common room around the corner that I could see the outline of his face, bristling with a two-day beard. I wanted to press my lips against his rough cheek, but refrained. I wasn’t going to throw myself at a man, ever.

  He didn’t kiss me, which was probably a good quality in him, definitely one my dad would approve of, but as I stumbled into the cold, dark bedroom and found the empty bunk of Gretchen’s roommate, I didn’t appreciate it. I had a brick of worry pressing down on me that a kiss would have done well to dispel, I imagined. I pressed my face against the pillow. Oh well. He’d kiss me someday.

  The room was too dark, and too quiet, and it was too early to sleep. I laid awake for about an hour before I couldn’t take it anymore. “Gretchen?” my whisper echoed in the almost silent room. She didn’t answer. “Gretchen?” I lifted myself up on my elbow and flicked on the small light by the bed.

  Gretchen’s bed was empty.

  Irritation grated at me. Stupid, sneaky Gretchen. I flopped back on my pillow and had exactly two seconds of self-pity, then I dragged myself out of the warm bed and into the chilly hallway to find her.

  I headed to the RA’s room first. Gretchen had gone to bed at the same time Cadence had. They were probably bunking together.

  The door creaked as I opened it.

  Cadence had a room to herself, with just one bed. Her alarm clock let off just enough light to show that Cadence was alone. I let the door swing slowly shut behind me. Maybe Gretchen had gone to my room, to wait for me.

  I padded down the hall, the indoor/outdoor rug rough against my bare toes.

  The storm outside crashed against the windows.

  A shiver started at my kneecaps and traced its way up my whole body, stopping just short of my temples. The storm had been going on far longer than predicted, and the sharp, cold tang in the air reminded me of too many winters at home—my mom out on rescue calls while we waited, praying she’d come back.

  I hurried to my room. The radiator clacked to life and the dusty warm smell of the old pipes enveloped me.

  Gretchen wasn’t there, but the patchwork blanket I had shoved in my suitcase at the last minute, sacrificing two pairs of shoes for, was. I wrapped it around my shoulders. It still smelled like my mom’s homemade laundry soap.

  The dorm hall on the other side of my door was long, and full of cold, empty rooms. Gretchen was probably in one of them with Garrett. I sunk down to my bed. What was the point in finding them?

  I didn’t sleep well and got up early. The dark morning would linger for hours. I slipped my feet into a pair of warm, wooly socks and made my way into the common room with my blanket wrapped around me.

  If Rolf had been smart, he'd dug himself a snow cave and stayed still. If he had been stupid, he would have holed up against a building somewhere as shelter against the bitter wind. If he had done that, he would be hurting this morning, but he might not be dead.

  If he was a complete idiot he would have wandered around until he got lost in the woods, and his frozen corpse would be waiting for some student to discover while hiking—maybe even a few months from now. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  That was probably not what had happened.

  Si, Xavier, Troy, and Isaac were up and drinking coffee when I joined them. The warm, slightly bitter aroma embraced me like a hug.

  Cadence followed me in, and paused behind me to scratch my back. “Sleep well?”

  I shifted to the side. Just because we were all alive didn’t mean there was any reason to touch each other.

  The toaster popped, and Si grabbed two pieces of the bread I had toted in the day before.

  Garret pushed the front door open with a blast of frozen air. He stomped the snow off his shoes and shrugged out of his coat. “I just did the rounds and didn’t see Rolf anywhere.”

  I shuffled over to the coffee pot and poured myself a cup. “If he was out there all night, he won’t be easy to find.” I yawned.

  Xavier sat down on the floor next to me. “What do you mean?”

  I didn’t want to go into it, but if they were determined to wander around in the dark looking for Rolf, at the very least, they should learn how to look. “If he wasn’t sitting by any of the buildings last night, or in the buildings, then he has wandered off into the woods. He got lost or headed there on purpose. If he was smart he dug himself in. Snow is a great insulator. So you should go into the woods and look around for great big piles of snow.” It was a lot of words early in the morning so I put my lips on my coffee mug and closed my eyes.

  “What if he took to the road?”

  I chose not to make eye contact. “Then look for drifts of snow along the road.”

  “How do you know?” Xavier and his sister had grown up with Si in Tonga, so I could understand him not knowing a thing at all about snow, but I didn’t appreciate him doubting me.

  “Home is a place they call the Alps of Oregon.”

  “Oh yeah?” Xavier didn’t sound convinced. I didn’t care, and I didn’t choose to answer. Guys like him never wanted to trust girls like me. They know everything without being told, and I have always looked too young and too naïve to know anything at all.

  NINE

  Isaac Daniels

  I didn’t like the way Xavier was staring at Dani. So much contempt in the morning for a girl who clearly knew what she was talking about. I yawned and slung my arm over her shoulder.

  She didn’t shrug me off as quickly as I thought she would.

  Xavier turned away.

  I leaned dangerously close (for the morning) to Dani. “Let’s get out of here.” I whispered.

  “Yes, please.” She slipped into a pair of snow boots and grabbed a coat.

  I had been out looking for Rolf already once this morning. I hadn’t gone far, just checking out the sheltered corners of the buildings and that kind of thing.

  The stillness of the morning—no wind, no snow falling—and the brightness of the lowering moon on the snow gave the campus an otherworldly feeling. I ought to be used to it by now, the snow had been around for a while, but every time I stepped out into the frozen landscape, I was struck by it all over again.

  “Should we s
tart looking for a snow cave?”

  Dani blew onto her gloveless fingers, and then wrapped her coat sleeves around them again. “Probably. But let’s start by looking for footprints.”

  I stared at the fresh snow.

  “There is new snow,” she said, reading my mind “But it blew so hard that most of it piled up. If he wandered off into the woods we can probably still see the outlines of his trail.”

  “Okay.” I narrowed my eyes, and shined the flashlight towards the woods as we walked, hoping not to find anything at all. The only thing I wanted to find was a voice mail from Rolf telling us what time he was coming back to the school.

  We passed the boys' dorm, and I glanced at the broken awning. It had tilted during the storm, as though the wind had shoved it over, but it hadn’t collapsed. Neither had the roof. I paused to look up at the eaves. “Looks like we all panicked for nothing,” I mumbled.

  Dani stared at the window in the side door. “What’s that?” She stepped forward, cupped her hands around her eyes, and pressed them to the window trying to see in the dark building. “Can I see your flashlight?”

  I passed it to her. The roof was perfectly fine. No new damage at all. I pressed on the leaning posts to see how much give they had. They swayed, but didn’t fall.

  “Isaac, what is that?” Dani’s face was pale. She held the flashlight so it cast its light on the floor of the hall. The light caught on a piece of reflective tape, like what you’d see on a ski jacket. She moved the flashlight around, revealing a lump that was about person sized. My gut fell to my knees.

  “How cold do you think it got in there last night?”

  Dani shivered. “Cold, but safe.” She grabbed the door knob and rattled it. “Rolf? Are you okay?” She hollered, with her face close to the window.

  I placed my gloved hand over her small, cold one, and lifted it off of the knob. “Let me.” I had the key, but I felt like I was working underwater as I pulled it out of my pocket and moved it to the door.

  The door groaned open just as slowly, and Dani pushed passed me before I could force myself to step inside and check out the…shape on the floor.

  I watched her like she was on television. She flicked on the lights, which crackled to life, and then moved her flashlight beam over the shape on the floor. The reflective tape was on a coat. The coat was on a person. The person was face down, at an angle. It could have been Rolf, but the back of his head was bloody so it was hard to tell at first.

  The room spun. My head felt like it was full of sand that was slowly falling to my feet. I reached out for Dani, but she was already on her knees, beside the body, Rolf’s wrist in her hand.

  “Call 911.” Her voice came out clear and strong, through the fog in my head.

  “Yes. Right.” I did it. Then I hung up and called 411, the Swedish emergency number. The operator asked me questions I didn’t understand, so I just started talking. “Tillgiven School. Skola. School. Brunn Vatten. Body. We found a dead body. His name is Rolf. What should we do?”

  The operator spoke in soothing, clear English, but the only thing I really understood was that she was sending help.

  Dani had moved. She was staking out the hall, looking at the floor, the doorways, the walls.

  I shoved the phone in my pocket and took a deep breath.

  “Call Dr. Hoffen.” Dani was on her tiptoes examining the top of the frame of the door we had come in through.

  “Right, of course.” I took another deep breath. I had to pull myself together, I knew that, but I had never seen a dead body before. Not even at a funeral. I just…hadn’t done it yet. My stomach twisted.

  I stepped outside again and stared at the back of the Hoffen’s house, the back door illuminated by the porch light, inviting me in. I wanted to walk across the snowy yard and talk to him face-to-face. Man-to-man. Or maybe shut myself behind the door of his house. But I would never do that. Not while Dani was being such a trooper. I swallowed my fear and dialed my boss’s number.

  “Yes?” Dr. Hoffen’s voice cracked like he hadn’t talked much yet this morning.

  “Rolf’s in the boys' dorm.” My voice cracked like I was going to break. I coughed.

  “Great!” Dr. Hoffen sounded relieved.

  “No, not great. I think he’s dead.”

  “What?” Dr. Hoffen stepped out of the back door of his house and stood on the step, his hand shading his eyes.

  I waved. “I called emergency. They’re on their way.”

  Dr. Hoffen bounded across the snowy yard between the buildings.

  Dani came out and rested her hand on my elbow. “Are you okay?” Her voice was low and calm, like she had done this kind of thing before. “Do you need to sit down?”

  I was not going to sit down while my 19-year-old girlfriend handled a murder scene. Not a chance.

  Dr. Hoffen stopped in front of us, his breathing labored. “Dr. Hoffen, I think you should see this.” Dani led Dr. Hoffen into the boys’ dorm. I leaned against one of the loose poles and took a deep breath.

  If the building hadn’t collapsed, how had Rolf gotten his head bashed in?

  Dr. Hoffen sucked in a sharp breath, as though the sight of Rolf had stricken him wordless, which made sense to me.

  Dani knelt down next to the body, and I forced myself to step closer and really look at him. The back of his head was thick with congealed blood, but looking at it closer, it wasn’t totally smashed in. No gory brains or anything. But it did look sort of indented.

  “He doesn’t have a pulse. He’s very cold.” Dani stroked the back of Rolf’s hand gently. Then she lifted his coat and shirt, just enough to show an inch or so of skin. “He’s been dead most of the night, I think. See that bluish color?” Rolf was laying on his stomach, and the bit she had revealed was tinged blue where it touched the ground, like he was extra cold. Dani pressed her lips together for a moment. “It’s called liver mortis. It takes a few hours for a body to do that once the person has died.” She tugged his shirt down gently with her fingertips and rocked back on her heals.

  “How do you know?” Dr. Hoffen turned from the body. His eyes were wide with shock and amazement. Exactly what I was feeling.

  “My mom…” Dani swallowed. “She ran the search and rescue in the Wallowa mountains. Every winter we’d get a call. Sometimes we couldn’t find them in time.” She looked at Rolf with tenderness brimming over her eyes.

  Dr. Hoffen placed his hand on Dani’s back. “What happened to your mom?”

  Dani stood up, effectively brushing off Dr. Hoffen’s comfort. “She said it was time for younger folks to take over. Though I didn’t know how much younger she wanted. Drew and I were only ten and twelve when she made us start helping her.” Dani sighed. “But obviously Rolf didn’t get lost in the woods. Someone did this to him on purpose.”

  I exhaled slowly. When Dani and I were wandering around Europe looking for her sister, I had noticed that Dani was tightly strung—she seemed to jump to active defense quicker than a person usually did. And she also seemed to have an unusually strong desire for keeping someone bigger and stronger around to protect her. It was an attractive quality in a girl, I admit. Most girls don’t seem to think they need a man to protect them.

  But if this wariness and fear was the result of too much death at a young age…you can’t change the past. But if I could, I would take it all away from her so that she could have peace and feel in all her life as confident as she seemed now.

  My thoughts had strayed while Dr. Hoffen and Dani continued to talk. Sirens filled the air, and I realized the ambulance and police were here.

  Dani was pointing to the doorjamb, while I pulled myself back into the now. “At first I thought it was from the awning coming loose, but to me it looks like it has been forced. Don’t you think?”

  Dr. Hoffen pushed his glasses up his nose and swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Dr. Hoffen was a good man. But he was a man of words, not action, and he didn’t seem to have an answer for Dani’s concerns.<
br />
  TEN

  Dani Honeywell

  As soon as I saw Rolf through the glass, I knew he was dead. It was less my “homeschool forensics” education and more instinct, but I knew it. I couldn’t see clearly since the light was out, but I could tell, in part because of the way his body was splayed across the floor as though it had been pushed. And of course from the way he just…didn’t move. No slight rise and fall from breathing. No response at all to my banging on the door. He was gone. Completely.

  Which meant I didn’t really need to worry about him.

  Isaac, on the other hand, looked ready to faint. When he caught sight of Rolf all of the healthy color drained from his face. He was a yellowish-white as though the need to vomit was fighting the need to faint. The last thing I needed was for Isaac to puke and faint at the same time, thus choking to death as he fell over and banged his head.

  I didn’t want to overstate the case with the mountain rescue thing. It’s not like I spent every weekend in the winter dragging bodies off the mountain, but it doesn’t take many death scenes in early adolescence to make an impact. Mom had never put us into danger—so she says. Since we were both still alive, I guess it was true. But I had been on a few rescues that had turned into “recoveries.” And our little cabin was situated in such a way that it made a good staging place for the coroner. He didn’t leave bodies with us, but he had picked them up from our house plenty of times. Most bodies weren’t found in a place he could get to easily in his rig. And each time we played host family to the deceased, mom gave us an anatomy lesson. Instinct being heightened by experience, I could tell Rolf was dead and that Isaac was not handling it well.

  But he made the calls he needed to make, and I found myself on the fringes of the crime scene as the Swedish version of the coroner looked over the body, and the police spread out, first taking the measure of the hall and dorm rooms, and eventually spreading out across the campus in quadrants. I watched them map out their sections, and note everything they saw.