“You mind explaining to me again just what makes the North Spire a place worth visiting for a young man like yourself?”
Felix smiled.
“I’m a photographer,” he said.
“Like weddings and stuff?”
“Not exactly,” he said.
“Ahhh…” The truck driver grinned at him, a knowing look in his eyes. “I get it. There are some pretty girls up in that tower. Never figured any of em would be into that kind of thing, though.”
Felix sighed.
“Look, I’m just going up there to take some photos of what life in a remote outpost is all about,” he said. “300 people, living in the heart of Alaska, in a single building… It makes for interesting photography content.”
The truck driver didn’t appear to be listening to him. He was staring ahead of them, frowning as the snowfall thickened, obscuring their view forward.
“Are you expecting it to pay well?” asked the driver.
“I’m hoping so,” said Felix. “I’m really, really hoping so.”
He’d been hoping in much the same way at the start of his last two adventure photography outings, along the coast of the Great Lakes, and then up into the Canadian wilderness. He’d bought his expensive winter outer layers for that one, and the photos he’d taken had ended up on a stock photo website depository and earned him essentially nothing.
The truck driver muttered something under his breath and slowed down substantially as they passed through a windblown curtain of white dust. They’d been on the road for hours, and the small talk was beginning to wear on Felix.
“You’re not expecting me to wait around for you, are ya?” asked the driver.
Felix shook his head.
“No,” he said. “I’ll pay for a ride back from one of the locals once I’m done.”
The truck driver made an inquisitive humming noise.
“It doesn’t really work like that in North Spire,” he said. “The main cause of death for the people there is driving on these here ice roads during the dead of winter. I doubt any of them will be fixin to head south for a few months, bare minimum.”
“Well, then I guess I’ll give you a call,” said Felix.
“It’s gonna be four, maybe five times what you paid me for the trip out.”
“What?” Felix frowned. He didn’t have that much. He was hoping to make money off his soon to be taken photos of the area as soon as he could get them online, but it wasn’t a sure thing.
“It’s the ice storm, kid,” said the driver. “You seem like a decent fellow. Motivated, not like all those other lazy twenty somethings. I wish you well.”
The snowfall in front of them slowed, and Felix could see his destination on the horizon. It looked even stranger in person than he’d expected.
All of the approximately 300 inhabitants of North Spire lived in a single ten story tower, the “spire” from which it took its name. Felix could see a few other buildings nearby, tiny and insignificant in comparison.
The town did not look especially inviting. Snow and ice coated the outside of the spire, with long icicles hanging from window outcroppings, giving off the appearance of crystalline teeth. The tower was constructed out of unornamented concrete, and aside from a large satellite dish jutting up from the roof, it looked entirely unremarkable. It wasn’t the kind of thing anyone would pay to look at.
“Hasn’t changed a bit since the last time I was here,” said the driver. “Interesting people inside.”
He slowed to a stop a few hundred yards out from what appeared to be the front entrance.
“You aren’t going to bring me all the way up?” asked Felix.
“Nope,” he said. “Doesn’t look like they’ve shoveled their section of the road yet today. Best not to risk it.”
Felix nodded and buried his frustration. He took off one of his gloves to shake the man’s hand, thanked him for the ride, and then climbed out of the cab, pulling his bag onto his shoulder as his feet crunched into the snow.
The truck made a slow six point turn and then started off in the direction it’d come from. Felix’s hand felt cold, and it took him longer than it should have to connect that fact to his missing glove, still laying on the seat of the truck.
“Hey!” he shouted. “Hold on!”
He took three running steps after the truck, building up just enough speed to make the fourth step, the one that lost traction and threw him into an uncoordinated forward sprawl, particularly brutal. Felix landed hard on his chest, and it took a second for him to catch his breath.
He heard footsteps approaching from behind him in that second.
CHAPTER 2
“Do you know where you are, son?"
Felix turned around slowly, tucking his exposed hand into his jacket pocket. Through the falling snow, he could see an older man standing in the space between him and the spire.
"In your town," said Felix. He smiled and raised his hand. "My name is Felix. I'm a photographer."
The man didn't say anything. It only took a moment for the silence to become uncomfortable.
"I came to take some photos," he continued.
The old man started walking toward him. One of his legs dragged with each step, and he took his time.
"Now why would you want to do a thing like that?" The old man smiled. Far off behind him, Felix saw another man exiting out of the heavy metal door of the building.
"The same reason anyone would," said Felix. "Because there’s money in it. And honestly, your town is really interesting to me."
He smiled, catching the man's gaze. The old man sighed and slowly shook his head.
“I’m Mayor Senhaji,” he said.
“Felix Honlan,” said Felix.
The other man was standing at the mayor’s shoulder. He was taller and about a decade younger than the mayor, and from his hat and stereotypical uniform, Felix had him pegged as the local sheriff.
“Felix,” said the mayor. “These are hard times for North Spire.”
Felix opened his mouth to respond and then thought better of it. His exposed hand was beginning to feel the biting cold of the Alaskan north in throbbing detail.
“We’re going to take you inside,” said the mayor. “We’re going to look through your stuff. We have to make sure that you’re a… good person, before we can allow you to do anything.”
“Hurry up with it, Bart,” snapped the sheriff. “It doesn’t need explanation.”
Mayor Senhaji took a deep breath and then nodded. The sheriff stomped over to Felix and seized him roughly by the arm. The mayor took his bag, and started dragging it across the snow.
The area directly around the building’s entrance was clear of snow. A set of stairs led up to a metal set of double doors that looked more appropriate for a military installation than anything civilian. The sheriff heaved one open with a hard pull, and the mayor guided Felix inside.
He stood in what looked like the main lobby of an apartment complex, except much more comfortable and inviting. Several mismatched couches and chairs lined the walls, and the receptionist’s desk looked as though it had been overhauled into a minibar. Doors across the back led to stairways up and down, and there didn’t appear to be an elevator.
“Uh, there’s something you should know,” said Felix. “Something that I doubt either of you are going to like.”
The mayor’s features looked softer and more open in the light. He met Felix’s eye and nodded his head, inviting him to continue.
“The truck driver mentioned that an ice storm was on its way in when he dropped me off,” said Felix. “He said it would cost more for the ride back, enough that I’m essentially, uh, stranded.”
“You little shit!” The sheriff swung, hitting Felix in the back of the head with a rough, open palmed strike. He tumbled forward to the ground, his landing padded by his thick snow jacket and the carpet.
The door in the back of the room opened, and about a dozen people silently filed in. Felix pulled himse
lf up into a sitting position, only to be greeted by a kick to the chest. He coughed hard and fell backward.
“Burke,” said Mayor Senhaji. “This is not helpful.”
“We don’t need another mouth to feed,” said the sheriff. “Especially not one we can’t trust. There’s no reason we have to let him inside.”
Felix was dazed, but still very much aware of the conversation.
“If you send me outside in this weather, it’s a death sentence,” he said.
The sheriff crouched down, putting his face across from Felix’s.
“I know that,” he said. The sheriff swung again, slapping Felix hard across the face. The pain burned harsh enough to bring tears to his eyes. Felix groaned and made an attempt at standing up, and reclaiming what little dignity he had left. He made it up to one knee.
“Enough.”
A woman stepped forward, her attention focused on the action. She had reddish blonde hair, and an attractive, slightly freckled face. Her eyes were like emerald gemstones against her pale skin, and the tight t-shirt and yoga pants she had on outlined the interesting curves of her body, large breasts and toned butt. She was of medium height, a little shorter than Felix, and her hips swayed from side to side with each step.
“This doesn’t concern you, witch!” snapped the sheriff.
The woman looked like she didn’t even hear him. She walked over to where Felix was on the ground and crouched down next to him.
“Can you stand?” she asked. Felix nodded.
“Stella,” said the mayor. “Are you taking responsibility for him?”
The woman nodded.
“Yes,” she said. “Dani and I will be his host family.”
The room was silent and tense. Felix sensed how much was going unsaid.
“If he does anything out of line,” said the sheriff. “I’ll throw him out.”
The woman smiled.
“No,” she said. “You won’t.”
She helped Felix to his feet and started walking. He picked up his bag, grimacing at its weight, and followed behind her.
CHAPTER 3
Felix walked behind her as the two of them made their way up three uniform flights of stairs. The woman pushed through the door on the landing there into a hallway with maroon red carpeting and white walls and finally slowed to a stop.
“Thank you,” said Felix. “Look, I didn’t come here to cause trouble, for myself or for you.”
“Too late.” The woman smiled at him, and then reached out her hand. “Stella.”
“Felix,” he said. “Does your town always greet travelers so brusquely?”
Stella shook her head.
“It’s not my town,” she said. “I’ve only been here for a few years.”
“Sorry.”
“But to answer your question, the way you were treated, the paranoia of the sheriff and mayor, that’s only been the case for the past few months.”
She started walking again, slowing to a stop in front of one of the many identical doors lining either side of the hallway.
“You can leave your stuff here, in my apartment,” said Stella.
“Thanks,” said Felix. Stella swung the door open, and he followed her through it.
The apartment was sparsely decorated and clean. A couch and flat screen TV sat in the center of the living room. A small kitchen and dining room area extended off one edge.
“It’s just me and my daughter here,” said Stella. “You shouldn’t have to worry about-“
“Mom?” One of the doors swung open, and a teenage girl stepped out from behind it. She had shoulder length brown hair, which was slicked back into a single wet lock. Her eyes were blue, and she was only wearing a towel, a towel which was on the small side.
“Uh, hi,” said Felix. The girl turned a deep shade of red.
“Mom!” She stormed off, glaring over her shoulder at Stella, who let out a chuckle.
“That’s my daughter, Danica,” she said. “I probably should have let her know that we had company.”
Felix frowned. He glanced around the apartment a second time. Other than the room the girl had just stepped out of, which was the bathroom, there were only two other doors.
“Where should I put my bag?” he asked. “And my winter stuff?”
“Leave it next to the couch,” said Stella.
Felix stripped out of his outerwear and dropped his bag in the spot she’d indicated, pausing to take his camera from his bag. He turned to face Stella again, only to find her watching him carefully.
“You’re a photographer?” she asked.
“Yup.”
“And you came to take a look at the crystal caves?”
Felix raised an eyebrow.
“Uh, no,” he said. “I don’t know anything about any caves.”
“The Modrin Crystal Caves.” Stella smiled in a mischievous way. “They’re within walking distance of the town, you know.”
Felix ran a hand through his hair. He’d planned on getting photos from inside the spire, and doing what he could to document the lives of the people of the town. But an undocumented cave could be an even better find, and potentially net him enough to get home in just a few shots.
“How long would it take to get there and back?” he asked.
“You could do it in a couple of hours” said Stella. “Certainly before nightfall, even with the limited amount of daylight we get here.”
“Alright,” he said. “And the sheriff won’t stop me, or attack me, when I head out? Or come back in?”
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t,” said Stella.
Felix nodded slowly.
“What’s the catch?” he asked. “There has to be a reason why you’re being so helpful.”
Stella’s smile spread into a full blown grin.
“There is,” she said. “I’m doing some… research. Part of it involves collecting samples from the nearby area at regular intervals. I need you to bring me a crystal from within the cave.”
Felix frowned.
“Maybe I should hold off for a little bit,” he said. “I mean, I just got here, and I…“
Felix trailed off, his eyes watching Stella as she began to move. She pulled something out of her pocket and stepped in close to Felix. Before he could react, she’d put a necklace over his head. He blinked at her wordlessly, feeling bewildered.
“For good luck,” said Stella. “The caves are due west from here.”
He looked down at the necklace and noticed that what he’d taken for a pendant was actually a small compass attached to a chain.
“Wait, hold on!”
Stella grabbed his jacket and snow pants and pushed them into his arms. Felix sputtered, trying to think of another objection as she guided him toward the door.
“I’m not used to the cold yet,” he said.
“You’ll get used to it.”
“What about… polar bears?”
“They’re uncommon.”
“Just, hold on a second!”
Stella shoved him into the hallway. She crossed her arms and looked at him flatly.
“I’ve stuck my neck out for you,” she said. “It’s your turn to repay the favor. And trust me, the photos you get from the cave will make the trip worthwhile.”
Felix sighed and massaged his temples.
“Alright, whatever.”
CHAPTER 4
Felix was in the process of pulling on his snow clothes in the hallway when the door to Stella’s apartment opened. He looked up, expecting to see his host there, offering another piece of dubious advice. Instead, the girl he’d seen in the towel, now dressed in sweatpants and a sleeveless blouse, stood smiling at him.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m Danica.”
“Felix.” He forced a smile onto his face, though he knew it probably looked as unenthusiastic as he felt.
“I’m sorry about my mom,” she said. “She can be a bit authoritative sometimes.”
Felix shrugged.
“Yeah,
well, I appreciate the fact that she’s helping me, even if it comes at a cost.”
He finished tying his boots and pulling the cuff of his snow pants over them, and then looked up at Danica. She looked almost nothing like Stella, but she was beautiful in her own right. Her body was slender, petite, and girlish.
“You don’t have any gloves?” she asked.
Felix blinked, remembering what had happened when the truck driver had dropped him off.
“Just the one,” he said, holding up what he had left.
“Wait here,” said Danica. She disappeared back into the apartment for a minute, and then returned, carrying a pair of bright pink mittens in her hands.
“Oh…” Felix forced another smile. “Thanks, Danica.”
“You can call me Dani,” she said. “And be careful. The snow is starting to pick up. Don’t be afraid to turn back if you have to. I’ll talk to my mom.”
“Thank you,” said Felix. “Seriously, thank you. I appreciate the help.”
Dani looked as though she was trying to contain a grin. She failed at it, and her face lit up, cute little dimples popping into visibility as the expression took hold on her face.
“No problem,” she said. She turned to leave.
“Hey,” said Felix. “What’s going on in this town?”
She looked over her shoulder at him.
“I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you,” she said. “Please, Felix. Be really careful.”
The hallway and stairwell were empty of people. Felix wondered what everyone in the spire did during the day as he made his way back into the front lobby. He expected to see the mayor or the sheriff waiting there, but they were both gone.
A strange sense of incongruity took hold of him as he pushed the front door open and stepped out into the snow. It felt as though he was leaving an apartment building or hotel, but there was almost nothing waiting for him outside. Two other buildings sat within a stone’s throw of the spire, but they looked empty, and at least for the moment, unused.
“How the fuck did I end up here?” he muttered to himself. Felix walked down the steps carefully. The wind was cold, and it drew his attention to the split lip the sheriff had given him with that heavy handed slap.
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