Polaris

by Beth Bowland

  Polaris

  Beth Bowland

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author makes no claims to, but instead acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the word marks mentioned in this work of fiction.

  Copyright © 2016 by Beth Bowland

  POLARIS by Beth Bowland

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America by Month9Books, LLC.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  ISBN: 978-1-942664-97-0

  Published by Tantrum Books for Month9Books, Raleigh, NC 27609

  Cover Designed by Beetiful Book Covers

  Cover Copyright © 2016 Tantrum Books for Month9Books

  To all the planetariums of the world who fill kids with wonder and awe.

  Polaris

  Prologue

  The snow crunched beneath the visitor’s feet with each unsteady step he took into the deep drifts. He shivered as he pulled his shirt closer around his neck to prevent the icy wind from blowing more flurries down his back. He hated the cold, but he pressed on. His pants and shirt were a few sizes too big, as were the old black boots. Not surprising considering he’d removed them from a dumpster he’d passed while in town earlier.

  The visitor traveled place to place, his anonymity protected by the aura this time cloaking him under the guise of a teenage boy. For over sixty years, he’d walked this path, doing what they told him, while silently loathing them for not giving him what he desired. He was a visitor on a mission to fulfill his fate. And this time, he’d get it right.

  He continued along the road until he spotted a soft glow of light in the distance. The house sat toward the end of the long country road … alone, like the visitor. He approached the house and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. It was an old farmhouse with a large wraparound porch. Two large picture windows framed either side of the front door, covered in heavy velour draperies with just a peek of sheer fabric exposed down the center. The smell of burning wood drifted from the chimney in gray smoky clouds that stood out against the crisp black sky. The roof, pine trees, and bushes, shouldered a thick blanket of snow, unlike the porch that appeared to have had a recent shoveling.

  The visitor ascended the stairs, pausing midway to examine his surroundings. After a deep breath, he continued up and rang the doorbell.

  The front door flew open, and then a boy rushed past the visitor, wearing blue jeans and an oversized hoodie. On his feet he wore work boots.

  “Did you see them?” the boy yelled as he slid across the porch. His boots made a scratchy, squeaky sound against the icy wood flooring. The boy stared at the sky. “They came from that direction.” He pointed. “I saw one of them.”

  The visitor stood silently and watched the boy race back and forth across the length of the porch. The boy leaned over the banister seemingly to get a better view of the sky until a clump of snow fell from the roof and plopped onto his face.

  “Nuts!” the boy muttered. He wiped his face with the sleeve of his hoodie. Then he stared at the visitor. “Hey, you’re not my friend, Parker. Who are you?” The boy stepped back slowly into the doorway.

  The visitor allowed his eyes to scan the boy’s features. He was an average-looking boy with fair skin, sandy-brown hair, and a slender build. “You rushed out and didn’t give me a chance to say anything. My name is Nakal.”

  “What are you doing out here? You lost or something?”

  Nakal nodded. “Yes.”

  The boy shrugged and said, “Well, I’m not allowed to have people I don’t know inside when I’m here by myself,” he said as he reached behind his back for the door handle.

  Nakal pulled his shirt up tighter around his neck and shivered. “I understand, but if I could just come in for a few minutes … I’m so cold and I don’t think I can walk any farther.”

  “I guess I can’t let you freeze out here,” the boy said. “My name is Aaron. You can come in for a little while and warm up. But you gotta leave before Mom comes back or she’ll freak.”

  Nakal nodded and followed the boy inside.

  “You can have a seat near the fireplace. That should warm you up pretty fast,” said Aaron.

  Nakal sat in the old recliner and took in his new surroundings. The house was cozy and nicely decorated in an old-fashioned way. It displayed the kind of warmth portrayed in the old Rockwell paintings he’d studied. He’d be comfortable there.

  Chapter 1

  Aaron’s living room smelled like the metal workshop area at his middle school. He was not sure exactly what the odor was but he knew who it was coming from. He also knew his mother’s hypersensitive nose would not be pleased.

  Aaron looked at Nakal, who reminded him of someone in his seventh grade class. Nakal’s ivory skin seemed to have an olive undertone—almost as if he was malnourished or ill— but he looked to be average height and weight. His dark eyes were expressionless, and there was a teardrop-shaped birthmark on the side of his neck.

  Aaron’s attention was quickly diverted when a beeping sound came from the television.

  **BREAKING NEWS**

  The news station has been flooded with calls from panic-stricken viewers on the extraordinary meteor display this evening. Authorities are investigating and have confirmed that one of the meteors did impact somewhere along Old Country Road 1217. Further investigations will continue at daylight. Stay tuned for weather. A massive blizzard has shifted directions and is headed our way.

  “Whoa!” Aaron danced around the room. “I knew it’d hit. I felt the entire house shake.”

  Nakal didn’t respond, only continued to stare at the TV.

  “You never answered my question.” Aaron sat in the chair across from Nakal. “Did you see it? I mean you had to have. It lit up the entire sky.”

  “I think I saw something, but I wasn’t really paying attention,” Nakal said, not removing his gaze from the TV.

  Aaron crinkled his forehead, and as he prepared to ask his next question, his mother walked in the front door, causing him to jump.

  His mother stopped in the doorway, attempting to balance several bags in her arms while closing the door with her foot. She noticed Nakal and shot her son a questioning gaze.

  “Hey, Mom,” said Aaron. “Uh, this is Nakal. He was lost and ended up at our house. I didn’t think you’d mind me letting him in ‘cause it’s so cold outside. Nakal, this is my mother, Mrs. Martin.”

  Aaron removed the bags from her arms. Before he could walk away, she grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him close to her.

  “What did I tell you about allowing strangers inside the house?” Mrs. Martin’s voice was low and tense. Deep wrinkles crossed her forehead.

  Aaron adjusted the bags in his arms and shrugged. “I know,” he whispered. “But he was freezing. What if I didn’t let him in and he froze on our front porch. I thought that would make you madder, so I let him in.”

  She crinkled her nose and looked at Aaron.

  Aaron immediately shook his head. “It’s not me,” he whispered. “It’s Nakal,” he said quickly before running the bags of groceries into the kitchen and returning, not wanting to miss anything.

  Mrs. Martin removed her coat and placed it in the closet. “Nakal, where are your parents?” She sat on the couch.

  Nakal pursed his lips together slightly before speaking. “I’m not sure. I just remember riding in the car for a
bunch of days. Dad stopped the car so we could stretch our legs.” He paused to rub the side of his face. “Then I went behind a tree to use the bathroom, and that’s when I heard the car pull off. I just started walking, and I ended up here.”

  Aaron’s mother sighed and kicked off her shoes. “What? You’re kidding me! They just left you? Have you tried calling them?” She pulled her cellphone from her purse. “I’m going to call the police. How old are you?”

  “I’m thirteen. Um … my dad got a new cellphone before we left, and I never memorized the number.”

  “You and Aaron are the same age,” she said as she punched the buttons on her cell and placed it against her ear. She shifted the position of her phone and looked at the screen. “No signal. It’s too late to drive back into town and the roads are getting slick. Well … ” she said to Aaron. “I suppose he can stay here tonight. But I’m going to keep trying to get a call to go through. If I can’t get the police to come out here, we’ll go to the police station first thing tomorrow morning to see if they can find his parents.”

  “Okay.” Aaron went outside, grabbed the rest of the bags, and carried them into the kitchen.

  “Nakal. Do you want something to eat?” Mrs. Martin asked as she followed Aaron.

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Aaron, take him upstairs to get cleaned up. Show him where the towels are.” Mrs. Martin looked back at Nakal. “And give him a pair of your pajamas to put on.”

  Aaron nodded and went into the living room motioning for Nakal to follow him. As they went up the stairs, Nakal lightly touched each portrait that hung on the wall as they passed.

  “This one is my room,” Aaron said.

  Nakal walked in and stood in the center of Aaron’s personal planetarium. A chunk of the northern hemisphere was expertly painted across the ceiling and upper walls.

  “When I was little, my father and I went on a tour of NASA and he created this for me after we got back,” Aaron said. ”

  “When will he be home?”

  Aaron shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe tomorrow or the next day.”

  Aaron retrieved a pair of pajamas from his top dresser drawer and handed them to his guest. “Here. You can put these on after you shower. You’ll find towels in the cabinet next to the sink.”

  Nakal reached for the pajamas and slightly bumped Aaron’s hand.

  Aaron jumped and shuffled back a few steps. “Why are your hands so hot?” He tried to touch Nakal again, but the other boy immediately moved out of the way.

  “Uh … maybe I’m catching a cold or something,” he mumbled.

  “You probably got some sort of creepin’ crud from being out in that weather for so long.” Aaron’s face contorted as he wiped his hands against his jeans. “I’ll let my mom know.”

  “NO!” Nakal yelled. Then he softened his tone. “It’s just that your mother has been so nice about all of this. I don’t want to worry her. I’m fine,” he said before walking across the hallway toward the bathroom.

  Aaron sighed with relief when Nakal shut the bathroom door. He slumped down onto the floor and stared at his ceiling.

  There was a light tap on the bedroom door right before Mrs. Martin poked her head in. “Everything okay?”

  Aaron started to mention Nakal’s fever until he noticed the strained look on his mother’s face. “Mom, what’s wrong?”

  Mrs. Martin nervously rubbed the back of her neck. “Nothing, sweetie. Just have a few things on my mind.”

  “Did you talk to Dad today?”

  “Yes, I spoke to him this morning, and he’s going to try really hard to come home tomorrow night after they finish breaking down the campsite. But there is a severe weather warning out there. Blizzard conditions are supposed to hit.” Mrs. Martin looked toward the bathroom and whispered, “I’m still unable to get an outside line. Are you okay with him staying in your room?”

  Aaron nodded. “Yeah, it’ll be okay.”

  “It’s hard to believe that parents would just leave their kid on the side of the road. You’d think they would at least drive around and look for him.” Mrs. Martin straightened a jacket that was thrown across the desk chair. “And he kinda smells like he’s been near something burning.” She shrugged.

  “Yeah, I smelled that as soon as he walked in,” Aaron said.

  “Well, be easy on him. He’s had a tough day. We’re at least five miles from the main road. Just by the look of his clothes you can tell his family was really struggling. Give him something out of your closet to wear tomorrow.”

  “Okay, Mom.”

  Mrs. Martin reached down and ran her fingers through Aaron’s hair. “Okay, well, I’ll see you in the morning, but wake me if you feel uncomfortable with him.”

  Aaron rolled his eyes, “Don’t worry about me. I can handle him.” His mom left the room.

  Several minutes later, Nakal emerged from the bathroom dressed in Aaron’s pajamas and holding his old clothes in his arms.

  “Where should I put these?” he asked.

  Aaron pointed to the laundry hamper in the corner of his room. As Nakal walked by, Aaron immediately caught a whiff of the odor he’d smelled earlier. He quickly dismissed the thought that Nakal hadn’t actually washed but rather assumed the smell was still on the other boy’s old clothes.

  Nakal dumped his clothes as Aaron watched him walk around his room looking at different items. Nakal stopped in front of a picture of Aaron with his dad, both dressed in hiking gear. In the photo Aaron stood on a large striped rock, leaning over his father’s shoulders and hugging his neck.

  “That’s my dad, Greg Martin,” Aaron said. “He works for a climate research center. That picture was taken during a trip to Colorado last year.” Aaron picked up the picture. “We went hiking and skiing together. My dad’s a cool guy. He’s on another trip right now.”

  Nakal took the picture from Aaron and ran his finger over the photograph. “Why didn’t you go with him?”

  Aaron shrugged then sighed. “School.” He retrieved the picture from Nakal’s grasp. “You never did mention where you’re from.”

  “We’re from a small town in south New Mexico.” Nakal moved over to the bookcase and admired the model cars displayed on top.

  Aaron quickly shuffled over to the map of the United States that hung over his desk and located New Mexico. He let out a long slow whistle. “And you guys drove all the way here to Montana?” He allowed his finger to trace an invisible path north.

  Nakal nodded but never turned around to look at Aaron.

  “What were you guys coming up here for?”

  “Dad said something about having a new job lined up.” Nakal pushed a few of the cars around, turning them to face in the opposite direction before picking up one of them. He examined it closely. “Did your dad help you put these together?”

  “Yeah,” Aaron responded and took the car from Nakal, gently placing it back in its place, and moved the others back to their original positions.

  Nakal turned his attention to Aaron’s wall. It was covered in several Honor Society awards, Science Junior Honor Society, Science Olympiad and Math Club certificates, along with a plaque from Space Camp.

  Nakal pointed toward the bunk beds. “Which one should I sleep in?”

  “You can have the top bunk.” Aaron pointed. “I like the bottom one because it has more room.”

  Nakal climbed up the ladder and sighed as he lay down.

  However, Aaron wasn’t tired yet and, being intrigued by his new roommate, wanted more information. But when Aaron’s next question was cut off by the sound of Nakal’s snoring, he decided to take his mother’s advice—give Nakal a break and allow him to sleep.

  Aaron hit the light switch, flopped down onto his bed, and stared at the brightly lit moon that shone through the window. He felt himself dozing off when he noticed something outside his window. He lifted his head from the pillow and noticed a bird that had sat at the edge of the roof begin w
alking toward the window. A little flicker of light caught his eye. The bird wore a small gold chain around its neck.

  “What the heck?” Aaron mumbled as he sat up. “Is that bird looking around my room?” He crawled down to the edge of his bed to get a closer look and noticed the chain had a tiny medallion attached to it

  The bird looked directly at Aaron, causing him to immediately duck behind the footboard in a poor attempt to get out of view. Holding his breath, he gave a sideways glance toward the window. The bird’s head moved in a circling motion as its eyes roamed around, searching.

  Aaron watched as the bird appeared to look up toward the upper bunk where Nakal slept. The bird then nodded before flying away. Aaron moved to the edge of his bed and looked at his dresser mirror that gave him a view of Nakal illuminated in the moonlight that shone through the window. He saw Nakal sitting up staring at the window. Aaron leaned over a bit further, which made the bed squeak causing Nakal to turn his head toward the mirror. Nakal’s eyes appeared to glow as tiny amber electrical sparks flickered from them. Aaron gasped and quickly lay back down, pulling the sheet over his head. He pretended to be asleep, but watched through the sheet as Nakal’s shadow leaned down and looked at him.

  Aaron held his breath and did not release it until the shadow retreated back into the upper bunk.

  Chapter 2

  Nothingness.

  That’s what Aaron’s best friend Parker heard the elderly man at the gas station say to him. They disappeared into nothingness.

  Now, Parker was running, his rubber boots making an odd crunchy sound against the new-fallen snow. He headed toward a back road that led to the Old Washington Bridge. His breath formed streams of steamy smoke along the side of his face. He resembled a human steam engine. He continued to plow his way through the woods, not stopping until he came to a clearing. It was the road that led to the bridge.