Monique began to cry and put her head down on the top of the table. Ginger rubbed her back and tried to calm her friend’s emotions. When Monique sat back up in her chair, she said, “The sad part of all this is that those responsible for damaging this mountain and causing the death of my son will never understand what they have done to the mountain, the humans, and other life forms that live here. They are only concerned about their profit margin. I do not seek revenge on those responsible for Ahti’s death, but I do hope they are reminded of their deeds when their God calls them to his gates for judging.”
Natalie passed Monique a tissue to dry her eyes. As they sat the hot food on the table, Charles returned to the cabin. When he stepped into the back door, Sally walked up to him and slid into his arms. As he held her, she began to cry. Charles looked around the room for an explanation for the tears, but the girls all began to giggle. Monique spoke to Charles and said, “I am afraid I am the one responsible for Sally’s tears. I cried over Ahti and upset everyone.”
As Charles joined the girls at the table, he explained that the snow had begun falling higher up in the mountains and they would be getting the snow in an hour or so.
Charles had no more than finished his sentence before the sound of upset goats echoed around the mountain. Ginger ran to the back door and grabbed her rifle on the way. As she ran around the end of the cabin so she could see the barn, she got a glimpse of a large black bear sneaking along the fence. As Natalie joined her, Ginger fired a shot over the head of the bear, hoping to frighten it off. Instead, the bear rose up on his hind legs and tried to climb over the top of the fence. The girls had seen enough. They both pulled the trigger on their rifles within moments of each other. The bear fell backwards and then rolled over onto its feet. The girls knew that had wounded the bear so they had to finish killing it. The next two shots dropped the bear in its tracks.
The girls walked out to where the bear laid on the ground and checked to be certain it was dead. They stood looking at each other for a moment and then Ginger said, “I really did not want to kill this bear, but now that it is dead, we need to care for it. We can tan the hide and use it to keep warm, the meat will have to be canned and stored in the cellar. I am not fond of bear meat, but we can use it in stews and chili.” Natalie said, “If we had let the bear live, it would have simply returned and killed the goats tonight.”
Charles, Sally, and Monique joined the girls. They dragged the bear to a tree and hung it with its head hanging down. Then Monique said, “The bear can wait until after we eat supper.” Natalie said, “I would prefer to gut the bear and do the nasty work before I eat. I sometime cannot keep my belly from revolting as I dress an animal. I will do the deed and then join everyone after I clean up.” Ginger stepped up beside Natalie, pulled her knife from her belt and headed towards the bear. Sally giggled and turned her back. Monique took hold of Sally’s hand and said, “You and I can go put the coffee pot on to perk. Charles, Ginger, and Natalie don’t need our assistance.”
When the three returned to the cabin, Sally and Monique put hot food down on the table. As the friends sat and ate supper, Ginger said, “We will be up most of the night getting the meat into jars and canning them. I suggest we get started right after we finish eating.” Sally looked up from her plate and asked, “Would you mind teaching this city girl how to properly prepare meat for storage. It is a skill I should know how to do, since I am now a homesteader.” Monique got up to pour some coffee and said, “We can all help with the canning. The wind has started to blow and the snow is now coming down. We will need to get the meat cut up and into the jars before what is outside freezes.”
***
Ginger, Natalie, Monique, and Charles had walked down to the main road and then towards the west, where the hotel was to be built. They had planned to spend a couple days looking around to see how far the project had advanced.
After hiking for over eight hours, they decided they should set up camp before they ran out of time. The sun would set in another hour or so and they would need to gather firewood before it got too dark. As they pitched two tents and settled in for the night, Blackjack showed up. When Monique asked about Blacky and Fatin, Blackjack said that his father and sister were spending the night with Sally to help protect the ranch and the goats. Blackjack explained that Sally had spent some time target practicing with her rifle. Monique asked if Sally was afraid to be alone. Blackjack explained that she had fed the goats and then taken a bath out on the porch. He said, “She did not seem too concerned about being alone. I heard her singing as she washed her body in the hot water. I think she was very happy to have some time alone.”
Before daylight the following morning, Ginger and Natalie got up and stoked the fire. Then they walked a short distance from the campsite to dig two cathole latrines and have some privacy. Ginger said, “When we return home from this foray, I intend to hike into town and find myself a man to seduce.” Natalie put her fingers to her lips and acted surprised at her friend’s words. Ginger chided Natalie and said, “Don’t kid me, girlfriend. I know you are as horny as I am. I suggest we both make the trip to town before you work up blisters on your fingers.” Ginger heard Natalie giggling in the darkness to her left.
As the girls returned to the campsite with their shovel, Charles and Monique had gotten out of bed and started breakfast. They ate as they packed up the campsite, and discussed their plans for the day. Monique said, “I think we should mingle with a few of the towns’ people and possibly the work crews to find out if the financiers still intend to continue destroying the mountain. I suspect we will soon have our answers.”
When they got close to where the five-lane highway began, they were astounded at how much of the mountain the crews had leveled. They decided to walk along the southern side of the highway, up on an old animal trail that skirted the construction site and would eventually meander down into the city. As they walked, they were able to look down on the proposed site for the hotel and see where the crews had dumped thousands of truckloads of debris and dirt over the side of the mountain. Ginger commented that the recent snowmelt had already washed some of the loose dirt down into the valley below. They found no sign of any construction going on and decided the story that the foreman had sent the workers home seemed to be rooted in fact.
When they arrived in the city, they went to their friend’s home and set up their tents in the backyard. The lady who owned the property, Rebecca, was planning to live there full time. After healing her badly burned body after a boating accident, she now planned to move into the cabin. Rebecca’s real estate man had an offer on her home, which was located somewhere along the Gulf of Mexico. Once the house sold, she would be moving. Ginger had corresponded with Rebecca whenever possible, but she was not certain how extensive Rebecca’s injuries really were. The last letter Ginger received explained that she was welcome to use the cabin if she ever needed while visiting the city.
Once the campsite was ready and a fire was burning in the fire pit, they spent the next hour cutting and splitting wood to keep the fire burning for the night. Then they cut and split some more wood to put into the woodpile under a lean-to. That wood would repay the homeowner for the use of the campsite and outhouse. Once they had finished their work, they decided to visit the sports bar down the road for some supper and a few drinks.
As they stepped into the bar, they realized the place was very busy. A waitress spoke to them as they found a table and sat down; she soon came to their table to take their order. The woman took their drink order and then gave them menus. While they decided upon what they wanted to eat, they overheard a conversation at the next table about the highway construction. They heard a man state that the project was dead, but the others at the table just shrugged off his comments.
When the waitress returned with their drink order, she wrote down their food order and headed off towards the kitchen. As she talked to the bartender, a cook from the kitchen walked behind the bar and changed the station on all
six televisions throughout the bar to a local news station. Then the man turned the volume up so everyone could hear the telecast. A woman was interviewing the governor of the state. He stated that he had cancelled all highway and facility construction in the Seine Mountains. He explained that he had recently flown over the area with the Department of Natural Resources and saw what was taking place there. He looked into the camera and said, “The corporations and privately owned casinos will not be allowed to do any further damage to the mountains. As of today, the entire project is cancelled.” He continued to look into the camera as he said, “I could not believe the damage I saw as I flew over the mountain a few days ago. This mountain belongs to God, not the greedy corporate CEOs and the greedy casino owners. I realize that the damage to the mountain will eventually heal itself; however, the ancient gravesites that the construction crews intentionally destroyed are forever lost. I intend to hold those in the State Government who approved this project be held accountable to me.”
As the cook turned the television channel back to the original sports station, the chatter in the bar got very loud. Soon it was obvious that most everyone was celebrating the Governor’s decision. Charles, Monique, Natalie, and Ginger sat looking at each other in silence. They could not believe that the fight to save the mountain was over.
As the four ate their supper, Monique wrote a poem on the back of her placemat. When she finished writing, Charles asked if he could read the poem. Monique slid it across the table, and then smiled at him. He asked if he could read the poem aloud. Monique nodded her head as Charles began reading.
The Seine Mountain Highway
Hush my Ahti and I shall sing
A song for you to ponder
A tale of those who fought and died
To save a mountain’s soul
A band of warriors, brave and true
Whose magic grew from eyes that flew
A man who died from fangs so cold
A raven born in caves of gold
As humans slashed and tore the earth
The mountain’s soul began to scream
Within the earth lies ancient souls
Our forefather’s bones, their mountain homes
The machines of man, which have no soul
Now mix their bones with gravel stones
To build a road to fill their need
Corporate theft – casino greed
The warriors fought to save their homes
Their magic strong – the dead fight on
Within good time, the fight is won
The backers lose – their coin now gone
They pull the plug – the projects dead
The mountain breathes and begins to heal
The greed of man – will not destroy
This mountains fabled lore
***
The following morning, the four decided to pack up and return to the cabin. They needed to talk to Blacky and tell him the good news.
As soon as breakfast was over, they loaded up their backpacks and headed out across the mountain. The sun was out and the air warmed as they walked. Soon the mountain seemed to take a deep breath, as if it felt relief that no further damage would take place. Charles was the first to speak of the change he felt. He tried to explain that the spirit of the mountain had changed.
As they walked, Monique stopped and looked around her. She felt the mountain speak to her and she listened. Charles stepped beside her and waited for her to look at him. When she turned to face him, she said, “The Seine Mountains are healing themselves. The scar is healing over and the spirit of our ancestors is once again strong.” Charles hugged Monique and said, “I need to fly over the damaged forests and see for myself what is happening.” Monique looked Charles in the eyes and asked, “May I join you. Would you allow me to look through your eyes as you fly over the mountain?” Charles smiled and said, “You may want to sit down and lean back against a tree. You may become nauseous.” Ginger laughed and said, “Believe me, Monique. Charles is not kidding around. I puked when I flew with him for the first time.”
When Charles took the life form of a raven, he circled over the girls for a few moments and watched Monique sit down beside a large tree. He quickly joined life forces with her and allowed her to look through his eyes. As he soared into the air, he followed an updraft, gained altitude and then headed north towards the construction area. As he got close to where the huge excavating machinery had carved a wide path towards the east, they saw that trees were beginning to grow from the barren soil, and in places, the swamp was beginning to gain a new hold. As they arrived at the location where the workers had poured a huge concrete floor that would have been the first floor of the hotel, they saw oak trees growing up through the concrete; pushing large chunks of the thick reinforced concrete upwards.
Monique leaned over and vomited between Ginger and Natalie’s boots. The girls stepped back from Monique, hoping she would be okay. Just as a gentle warm breeze blew in a light misty rain, Charles returned and landed beside Monique’s prone body. He released his grip over Monique’s mind and watched her look up into his eyes. She giggled and said, “Someone needs a bath. There is a horrible odor floating through the air.” Then she looked down and realized that she had been sick. She stood up, wobbled around a little, and then leaned back against the tree. As she looked into Charles eyes, she said, “Within a year, the entire mountain will have healed over.”
As the girls pulled their backpacks onto their shoulders and prepared to move on, a skunk wandered out of the forest and stepped onto the trail. It walked a short distance ahead of them, stopped, and turned to look back. Monique spoke to the animal and said, “I love you, Ahti. Go in peace.”
Chapter 5 – Monique - The Icing of Planet Earth
The news reporter on the television made a surprising statement. He told his audience they should begin collecting every drop of oil sludge and as many tar balls as they could gather along the Gulf of Mexico’s coastline. He looked directly into the camera and said, “The people of planet Earth may need the petroleum products to heat their homes if we enter a planet wide winter.”
Within the hour, the president of the United States appeared on every major national television channel to explain the climatic changes expected to occur on planet Earth. The president explained that the oil had contaminated the Gulf of Mexico and most of the Atlantic Ocean, and now natural gas was spewing from the uncapped well at the bottom of the Gulf. He explained that the currents that circulated around the Gulf of Mexico and out into the Atlantic Ocean would continue to spread the heavy crude oil. He went on to say, “As you have all certainly heard, a small boat in the area ignited the natural gas and now the burning gas plume is igniting the oil floating on the surface of the water. The company that owns the damaged oil well seems unable to plug the well a mile below the surface and has now abandoned their efforts due to the burning gas and oil. The smoke from the burning oil is choking the Earth’s atmosphere and is blocking a large portion of the sun’s heating effect. The scientists have today announced that a planet wide winter may certainly follow this event.”
As the scientists watched and tried to comprehend what was happening a mile under the surface of the Gulf, one of the leading news agencies attached a name to the event. The headlines that raced around the world read, The Icing of Planet Earth.
***
Rebecca had tried to outrun the wall of burning sea that shook the air behind her boat like a sonic boom. She had been taking pictures of the oil floating on the surface of the gulf when she first smelled the acrid odor of gas. She turned the boat around as quickly as possible, but the boat’s engine ignited the gas. The gas and oil began to burn uncontrollably as it rolled across the water in a wall of fire that consumed her and the boat. She felt the heat on her back and realized that her tee shirt and shorts were on fire. She used her hands to extinguish the flames and then got down low in the boat and poured water from the thermos jug over her head. She kept the throttle fu
ll open as she stripped the still smoldering clothes from her body. As she stood naked in the speeding boat, she could feel the incredible sting from the burns on her body. The waves splashing over the bow as she sped across the water helped relieve some of the pain. She turned from side to side trying to get as much water to splash over her as possible. As she ran from the wall of flames behind her, she realized that she needed to keep the boat running straight and true if she was to outrun the fire.
Within a few minutes time, she had outrun the flames, so she slowed the boat slightly. She opened the beverage cooler and began using the cold water to cool her burned skin. Her hair fell out in clumps as she washed her head and face, but she realized that her skin was starting to blister. She could not see her back, but she could see that the cheeks of her butt and the back of her legs had black patches where the skin had actually burned. The water was cold, but she continued to rinse her body in hopes the water would prevent third degree burns from developing. She could see that the end of her nose was blistering and the side of her face felt as if the fire continued to burn there. She put more water on her face, but it did little to relieve the pain.
Ronnie Coleinger: A Winter Collection Page 10
