Beauty and the beard

by Crowne, K. C.

  I grabbed my camera bag and retractable trekking pole and headed out the door. In the lobby, I stopped to ask the front desk assistant if there were any hunters in the area. I’d found that local hunters knew best where to find a particular species in their natural habitat.

  She told me to go over to the local diner across the road. Lots of locals hung out there in the mornings for breakfast and to socialize over coffee. I thanked her and went outside to my rented SUV.

  I put my camera bag and trekking pole into the passenger side of the SUV and crossed the street to grab a coffee myself and to chit-chat with the locals.

  “Hello, there,” I greeted a group of hunters who were sharing a table over breakfast in the small diner. “My name is Lindsay Gemmer and I’m a wildlife photographer. I was wondering if I could bother you for a moment of your time?”

  “Sure, young lady have a seat if you’d like,” one of the men offered.

  “Thank you, sir,” I thanked him. I took a seat and ordered a coffee from the waitress.

  “How can we help you?” asked a second hunter. He was an older gentleman with a long white beard and wearing a bright orange cap.

  “I was wondering if any of you gentlemen have come across a Ptarmigan nest while hunting and can tell me where to find it? I want to photograph one in its natural habitat,” I explained to them.

  The hunters conversed amongst themselves for a moment trying to remember where they might have noticed a nest. The man with the long white beard did his best to explain to me the way to get the closest to a nest that they had seen a while back.

  “Hope it’s still there,” he said.

  Basically, it sounded like I’d have to leave the main road and take a couple of off-road trails, and then do some hiking. It sounded confusing.

  “Do you think you can draw me a map? Or, give me landmarks of where I might turn onto the trails?” I asked him.

  “Sure,” he agreed and took a pen to napkin. Soon after, I had a make-shift map with a few landmarks pointed out.

  I finished my coffee and thanked the hunters. I asked for a refill in a to-go cup and paid for my coffee with the twenty-dollar bill that I had in my pocket, shoving the change back down inside. I stepped outside into the sunshine and looked up at the sky. What a beautiful day. Cold but sunny.

  I had spent an hour in the diner conversing with the men and wanted to get a move on. It got dark around 4:30 p.m. these days and the last thing I wanted was to be tasked with racing the darkness back down the mountainside.

  Back across the road, I got into my SUV and headed out of town to connect with the road that traveled up to my mountain ridge destination. Studying the napkin map, I looked for the first landmark that indicated a turn off from the main road onto an off-road dirt trail.

  I was starting to think that I had traveled too far up the mountain when I saw the make-shift road sign that marked the first trial. I turned onto the dirt trail and watched my mileage to the next landmark and turn off.

  The man had said it should be about two miles down this road. Just like he had said, there was a huge, single boulder at the fork of the two trails. I was to go to the right there. I turned and followed the new trail for about a half mile. The hunter had said that I would notice the dirt trail widen significantly and that’s where I should pull off and park. There should be a walking path through the high grasses that hunters used heading down the embankment into the forest.

  I pulled the SUV over to the side of the road and got out to take a look. Just like the hunter had said, there was a narrow, rocky path leading down the embankment through the grasses into the woods. Now, I just had to find the location of the nest.

  I put on my gloves and knit cap, pulling my coat’s hood over it. I grabbed my camera, the lenses, and pulled the camera strap over my head. Then, I looked for my cell phone.

  Shit! I had forgotten my phone back in the room at the lodge! Not only did I forget my phone, but I had also forgotten my entire purse with my ID and wallet. Crap!

  As an experienced outdoorswoman, I knew better than to go off hiking alone into the wilderness without any connection to the outside world. I looked up at the sun and saw that it had passed the high noon point. If I went back now, I might as well just call it a day. I needed time to hike and find the nest then observe and photograph it. There was no way I’d be able to make it down the mountain and back up there today in time to do all of that.

  Against my better judgment, I decided to go ahead without my phone. I retrieved my trekking pole, extended it, and started down the hillside into the tree line.

  I picked up on the trail that the hunters had told me about and followed it for about a mile before I came to a rocky precipice. The hunters had said that if I followed along above it, I’d see naturally made switchbacks leading down that I should be able to navigate.

  Soon enough, I saw what the hunters were referring to and began the descent on the first switchback. As I was coming around the turn of the last switchback, I thought that I heard voices. Who would be out here? I froze in my tracks to get a better listen.

  Sure enough, I heard two male voices talking back and forth. Hunters? It had to be. The hunters who I had conversed with back at the diner hadn’t mentioned any homes being around here. And it made sense that it would be a popular area for hunting. I had already come across deer, and what appeared to be moose tracks, while hiking to this point.

  The men weren't in sight, so I positioned myself behind the trunk of a thick pine tree to see if I could get a better look. I waited for a moment and listened. They seemed to be arguing amongst themselves which made me feel a bit nervous. I stole a peek around the tree trunk and caught sight of them about thirty yards away from me. A little too close for comfort.

  From my distance, I could make out some of their features. One man was much burlier than the other who was tall and lanky. The tall man was holding something. Is that a shovel? Why would they have a shovel out here?

  As I watched, I realized that it was indeed a shovel. The tall man leaned in with the shovel and then straightened back up, appearing to be digging a deep hole. I could see the metal of the shovel reflect in the sunlight, shining through the trees, as he swung it around to offload some dirt.

  Listening, I heard the big man yell something about the hole being deep enough. He seemed to be agitated at the other man. Then, the tall, lanky man yelled back that it had to be deeper so that “the body” would stay buried.

  I felt a chill run through my body. Now, I was scared. I tucked myself back behind the tree so that I could think. My first reaction was to run back up the switchbacks the way I had come. The men obviously hadn’t noticed me hiking down the mountainside, so if I was quiet enough, they shouldn’t notice me climbing back up.

  But what if I was witnessing a crime? A murder? They didn’t know that I was there. I could snap a photo or two of their faces and take the pictures to the local authorities and tell them what I had heard. I felt that it was my duty to do so.

  Quietly, I lifted my camera to my eye and peered around the tree once again. I zoomed in on the men and focused the lens. Snap. Snap.

  The men were concentrating on their task and didn’t take notice of me. I watched through my lens as the skinny man shoved the tip of the shovel down into the earth with one final thrust and nodded in satisfaction. Then, both men bent down and picked up what appeared to be a rolled-up carpet.

  Snap. Snap.

  I just knew that there was a body in that carpet. Fighting my fear, I made sure to get one more closeup of both of the men’s faces. They both had raggedy features. The burly man had a long, disheveled, brown beard with a matching head of unkempt hair. The tall, skinny man had a lean, sallow face with a long, red scar planted on one cheek. He was wearing a black ski cap with sandy blond hair whisking out from the sides. I snapped a picture of him right when he hefted his side of the rug into the grave, and as he smirked, I captured his toothless grin.
/>   As I snapped the skinny man’s picture, through the lens, I saw his eyes turn in my direction. His mouth made an “O” shape as his eyes squinted and focused on me. Oh, shit.

  “Hey!” the skinny man screeched at me. “Hey, you!” He pointed in my direction as he grabbed his companion’s flannel coat and whirled him around.

  “Wha?” the burly man asked.

  Pointing at me with a bony finger, the lanky man yelled, “Look you idiot! It’s a girl! She saw us!”

  The burly man’s eyes narrowed and found me. He scowled and bellowed, “Stop!” while taking two enormous steps in my direction. I didn’t wait for a second longer. I let my camera fall to my breasts and turned on my heels to attack the switchbacks leading back up the steep, rocky hillside.

  I heard the men’s footsteps crunching in the snow behind me.

  My heart was beating out of my chest and my breath came in shallow gasps, but I kept on pulling myself up the precipice. I used my trekking pole to keep my balance and grabbed at thin saplings with my free hand to help pull me up. Whirling around the bend of the last switchback, I took a glance down at the men. Ugh, they were gaining on me fast!

  I raced up the last switchback and followed the precipice back to the path that had led me down there. When I reached the path, I turned to look once again before disappearing into the trees. The big man was just reaching the top of the hillside. His face was bright red, his breath came out in quick icy puffs.

  Our eyes met. He glared at me and reached under his flannel coat, into his waistline. “Stop!” he yelled again as a black shiny object emerged from his pants.

  He has a gun! The air shattered.

  CRACK.

  A bullet whizzed over my head.

  “Next time I won’t miss. Stop where you are!” the man roared at me.

  I wasn’t about to let there be a next time or let these men catch me. The big man kept his pistol pointed in my direction as he began to continue pursuing me. The skinny man, who had bent over to try and catch his breath, straightened up and followed pursuit. I took off into the trees.

  Crack.

  The gun went off again. The thunder from the gunshot echoed through the mountaintop silence. Startled birds abruptly flew from their hiding spots in the mountain willow behind me, and for a second, I had thought the men had caught up with me. Seeing the birds, I sighed a breath of relief and kept on running up the path, this time not stopping to look back.

  After what seemed like an eternity, I made it to the tree line leading to the embankment where my SUV was parked up on the shoulder. There’s my car! Gasping for air, I forced myself to keep on going. I pulled myself up the embankment, falling twice, as I half crawled, half ran up the rocky hillside to my SUV. I fumbled with the keys which were looped to my pants belt loop and they fell from my frozen fingers into the snow at my feet.

  SHIT! I began to cry.

  Hot tears were falling down my frozen cheeks. I reached into the hole where the keys had boroughed themselves, and to my relief, quickly retrieved them. I put the car key into the keyhole, heaved open the door, and pulled myself up into the driver’s seat, throwing my pole and camera inside.

  As the engine roared into life, I threw the SUV into reverse and positioned it to face the dirt road which was slightly snow covered now. When did it start to snow? Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the two men emerge from the tree line and begin the climb up the embankment. The burly man was waving his pistol at me. I saw his lips form the word, “Stop!” I threw the gears into drive and peeled out onto the road.

  Ding!

  A bullet had hit the side of the SUV, I realized. I cried out in fear and pushed down on the gas pedal even harder.

  Hysterically, I flew down the snow-covered dirt trail not knowing where I was going, focusing only on my need to get the hell out of there. I was heading in the opposite direction than I had originally come, but there was no way I could turn around now. I took several deep breaths to try and calm myself down.

  I knew that the men could easily follow the tracks of the SUV to find me. And they probably knew the area a lot better than I did. Hell, I didn’t have a clue where this road led. It could lead to a dead end for all I knew, and the men would quickly find me.

  With these thoughts running through my head, I began to hyperventilate. I pushed down on the gas pedal, urging the SUV to go faster. I just wanted to get as far away as I could as quickly as I could.

  By the time I saw the sharp curve in the road looming before me, it was too late. I turned the wheel too hard, trying to compensate, and the wheels started to slide to the right.

  I’m not going to make it... was my last thought before the SUV whisked around the sharp bend, lost its grip on the icy trail, and barrelled sideways down the steep embankment. Before I knew what had happened, the SUV was in a fast tailspin.

  I felt sick.

  My stomach lurched.

  I looked up just as the SUV pitched toward a tree, head-on.

  With a crash, I heard the windshield shatter and watched as tiny shards of glass flew around my face. It all happened in slow motion. The last thing that I saw was a close up of the steering wheel as my forehead banged off of it.

  3

  Cole

  Another day, another job to do. But I wouldn’t trade in my life for anything.

  Bella and I got breakfast before heading down to the resort to check in with Brad for the day. Not that I had to check in, but I wanted to gloat about how I got all of the wood cut for both buildings yesterday all by my lonesome.

  “Brad, what’s up, man?” I asked my brother, lightly rapping on his open office door.

  “Cole! Come in, brother,” he called out. “What can I do for you on this fine morning?”

  Bella pushed her way inside the small office before I could open the door. She hurried to Brad and nuzzled him with her nose.

  “What’s up, Bella?” Brad asked her, rubbing her behind the ears. She ate up every second of the attention.

  I walked in and faced him as he sat at his desk, behind his computer.

  “Just wanted to let you know that I won’t be needing your help after all. Well, not for the wood cutting, anyway,” I informed him, hands on hips.

  “You got all the wood cut yesterday? For both buildings?” he asked, slightly amused.

  “Yes, I did. All by my lonesome. Who’s got the bigger muscles now?” I asked, jokingly, pretending to flex my bicep.

  “Um, do I really have to answer that?” Brad asked, grinning.

  “Yes.”

  I really did want an answer.

  “I would never admit that your muscles are bigger than mine. But they are definitely bigger than Dax’s,” he decided.

  I laughed. “You know I’m gonna tell him you said that,” I said.

  Brad laughed in response. “I’d expect nothing less.”

  “I’m heading up to check out the ski lifts. Looks like the usual snowfall. Nothing major. What you up to today?” I asked him.

  “Nothing too much. Going to do some inventory in the afternoon after I finish these schedules. I promised Angela and the boys that I’d be home for taco night.” Brad informed me, smiling to himself.

  Taco night. I grinned at my older brother. The married life suited him well.

  “You go, family man,” I kidded. Then more seriously, “I admire you. Taking care of those boys after Sam died. Not sure that I’d be able to handle it.” I admitted.

  “Cole, you pretend to be such a hard ass. But I know that you’d make a great husband and father one day,” Brad told me. He was smiling at me, but I could tell that he really meant it.

  “A husband? A dad? No way!” I said, chuckling, trying to picture it. I had no interest in a serious relationship. Women were nothing but trouble.

  “Maybe one day,” Brad mused.

  “Maybe,” I answered, highly doubting it as I turned to leave his office.

  “Taco night,�
� I pondered quietly, mostly to myself. Tacos sounded good, but I could have them without a wife and kids. I nodded at Brad as I left his office.

  “Let me know what’s going on with the ski lifts, will you?” he yelled after me.

  “Will do,” I answered. “Come on, Bella,” I called after her.

  Bella reluctantly left Brad’s skillful ear massage and followed me outside to the truck, where we headed up to the ski lifts. The roads and walkways were still clear from yesterday and I was glad that I didn’t have to spend time plowing or salting them today. At least, not yet.

  I saw Harley as soon as I pulled up to lodge’s parking area. He appeared to be tinkering with the lift’s control box. I parked close to the bottom of the lifts, where the main mechanics that operated them were located. Gears were positioned down here and up at the top to keep the lifts going up and down the mountainside proficiently.

  I hoped that the problem was with these lower gears as it would be easier to deal with them. If not, I’d have to lug all my tools up the mountainside. Probably on a quad, or snowmobile, if one could make it up the slippery slope. Or, I’d be taking a ride up the mountainside on the ski lift myself.

  “Harley, what’s happening?” I called out as I opened the passenger side door for Bella. She hopped out and ran over to greet my youngest brother.

  Patting Bella on the head, he replied, “Just trying to get a head start on figuring out what the problem is. The lift got slower and slower yesterday. I think it might stop altogether today,” he informed me.

  “Let me take a look,” I offered as he moved aside to let me see.

  I pushed the green button which initialized the startup of the motor and then pulled the outer lever to start up the gears. The motor whined and hesitated before slowly working up the power to turn the gears and put the heavy lifts into motion.

  “Yeah, I think the motor is shot,” I told Harley. “Listen to it whine. The gears all look good to me. At least these ones do. And the upper gears are newer than these ones. There’s no breakage. Look greased up good. It’s the motor, it’s struggling.” I said disappointedly. It would be a costly repair.