by Lex Sinclair
Title Page
THE FROZEN MAN
Lex Sinclair
Publisher Information
The Frozen Man Published in 2014 by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
The right of Lex Sinclair to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998
Copyright © 2014 Lex Sinclair
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
1
Somewhere high above the moon shone - but in North Wales a January blizzard choked the sky with snow. The wind gusted full-force on a deserted stretch of hidden road where The Travellers Pub was situated a hundred meters or so from the deep forest, high up in the mountains. The cars and vans parked in the lay- by opposite the large pub, belonging to the campers and drivers caught in the storm, were already covered in a thick layer of snow, and it was only dusk.
Headlights of a grey Vauxhall dimly broke through the swirling storm, tyres crunching over the snow-carpeted surface. Tom squinted through the windscreen, passed the wipers at the timber construction on the right hand side of the road protruding from the pine trees behind it. ‘Oh, thank God,’ he said, relaxing his tense shoulders, relieved. As the pub came into view, Kate now realised what her husband’s comment meant.
Tom indicated to turn off the hazardous road into the lay-by. He used the gearshift to slow the car, rather than the brake pedal and chance sliding uncontrollably into a parked vehicle; or worse still, down the steep mountain slope, where they would almost certainly crash through the barriers off the meandering road, over the edge and plummet off the mountain to their horrifying deaths. No thank you. He’d been fortunate enough to have kept them on the road this far; risking going any further in these extreme conditions, when there was a pub they could get a drink and hopefully get something to eat, would be imprudent. He brought the car to a halt, but left the engine running as it was blowing hot air on them from the vents. They were facing the pub across the road; although it was still barely visible through the incessant snowfall.
Tom and Kate had been married for three years, and they had been seeing one another for seven years. The first two years of their marriage were bliss, until the honeymoon years had gradually passed. This was the first year since they’d been together that had had its difficulties. They had always bickered from the start, but an hour later they kissed and made up. However, last year had been completely different. Tom irritated Kate immensely for a number reasons, some insignificant, some not, and she no longer felt the way she used to towards him.
She still loved him; just not with the same passion and fervour as she once felt.
Last summer they both decided that it was the right time to start a family.
Then a week before Christmas, Kate had been informed by her gynaecologist that she was unable to conceive. Needless to say she was devastated by the news. It still hadn’t quite sunk in yet that no matter how hard they tried, she would never fall pregnant. Kate didn’t think it ever would. She would merely live out her life with a void in her soul that could not be filled.
Tom, upset as he was, told her it didn’t matter, and had mentioned how they should consider keeping an eye out in the local paper for any pups or kittens that required a good home. She knew he was only trying to help. But a pup or a kitten was one thing; having a child, you yourself brought into the world was another matter entirely. Tom would never understand that because he wasn’t a woman. He’d comforted her for a while afterwards, but then (although he never said out loud) he’d grown tired of her crying and complaining. He advised her to seek professional help, because when he came home after a long day at work she would be sprawled out in bed, sobbing under the covers. He said it depressed him, knowing there was nothing he could do.
Now, here they were in North Wales - snowbound.
Tom had brought her up here in the freezing temperatures on a camping trip for the weekend, hoping to take her mind off the baby situation and to rekindle their love. Kate always had a keen interest for camping out in the woodlands.
Yet they had been caught in the blizzard that afternoon, unable to find a safe secure spot where they could erect their tent.
Tom had annoyed her for most of the ride with his usual talk; claiming that he knew what she was going through. How the hell did he know what she was going through? He had no idea whatsoever. He was a guy for Christ sake! He kept on about how she would feel much better if they got a dog. In truth, she probably would feel somewhat happier if they did have a pup to make a fuss over, but that still wouldn’t change the fact that she could never have children of her own. If he could fathom that, maybe he would shut up and talk about something else for a change.
The Travellers was a two-storey building, which appeared to be a lot more than your average drinking bar. Lights shone a welcoming glow from inside, so surely it had to be open.
Tom zipped his coat up before turning the headlights off and killing the engine. As he pushed the door open the wind blew hard enough to buffet all the stationed vehicles in the lay-by. The door was very nearly ripped out of his firm grasp. He kept his head down against the flurry and held his gloved hand out for Kate to grab hold of before they cautiously crossed the road to the pub.
***
Outside the wind sounded like a shrill scream. Charles raised his head uneasily from his drink and then back again. He was a heavy set middle-aged man with a worn, sagging, wrinkled face and a smoker’s evident respiration.
Behind him snow billowed through the creaking timber door, which had unexpectedly opened. When the amplified wind hit Charles, it caused him to laugh in his smoker’s surprised husky chuckle. The man and woman who entered the pub had a darker shade of pink on their frozen cheeks than Charles’s flushed complexion.
Tom and Kate closed the door shut on the howling wind and removed their woollen gloves. Kate stood next to the frost-traced window, shivering. She shook her blonde hair, spraying a dreamy sugar puff of snow on the Persian rug beside the crackling fire. She scanned the warm cosy interior as Tom headed to the bar to order drinks from the tall, slender, bald-headed landlord with a thick moustache.
The mahogany bar was on the right. The shelves behind the bar were lit with soft bulbs. In the centre of the room there were five tables and a row of dark red leatherette booths on the left. Each table and booth held a candle in an orange lantern. Against the far wall a blue-cloth pool table was in use. There was also a dartboard and a jukebox.
Kate went and sat in one of the vacant booths alongside the window and watched the wind blow veils of snow across the frozen pathway.
Derek, the landlord, stopped speaking quietly to Charles, who looked at least ten years older than he actually was due to the deeply etched lines on his rugged features.
‘Caught out there in that God-awful blizzard, huh?’ Derek said, in a warm, friendly tone.
‘Yeah. We were damn lucky to have stumbled in here when we did.’ Tom smiled.
Derek nodded, agreeing. ‘You can say that again. Anyway, how can I help you?’
‘Well,
I wondered if you served cooked meals, or are we too late? And also do you know anywhere close by that my wife and I can stay for the night?’
‘Food will be served in about an hour. As far as the sleeping arrangements go, you can stay here with the other campers, until this storm eases off. You’ll have to bring your sleeping bags from your car and sleep in the booths or on the floor. I’m not telling you what to do mister - but although you and your wife won’t exactly be comfortable sleeping in here with a lot of strangers, it’ll be much safer and a lot warmer than sleeping out there in your car.’
Tom nodded. ‘No, I’m gonna take your advice. We’re not from here. We’re from Herefordshire. And by the looks of things out there,’ he said, pointing to the window, ‘I’d rather not take a chance sleeping in the car. We were being rocked back and forth out there.’
Derek smiled, approving of his wise decision. ‘No one expected the weather to be this extreme, except for Charles here.’ Derek gestured at the man seated at the bar. ‘Almost everyone else is up here was hoping to camp out in the forest, just like you and your wife.’
Tom counted eight people in the pub all together.
‘Now, will you like something to drink while you wait for me to bring the menus?’
‘Yes, please. That would be great. Thanks.’ Tom stood at the bar, waiting patiently for the drinks he’d ordered, when he met Charles’s worn, genial gaze.
‘How are ya?’ Charles asked, taking another deep inhale of his cigarette.
‘Not too bad under the circumstances, I suppose,’ Tom said.
Charles blew a cloud of blue-grey smoke into the air and said, ‘Let me buy this round.’
Tom looked at him closely, not sure if he heard him clearly. ‘Say it again?’
‘Lemme buy these drinks for you, okay?’
Tom shrugged. ‘Uh... what the hell. All right. But you let me buy you a drink later on.’
Charles handed a five pound note to Derek. Tom thanked Charles once again, and then carried the drinks back to the booth where Kate sat. He put the two glasses of Coke on the coasters and took a seat opposite her. ‘That guy smoking at the bar bought these drinks for us. Ain’t that nice of him?’ he said in almost a whisper.
Kate reluctantly looked away from the frost-traced window and glimpsed the man sitting on the stool at the bar. She agreed with Tom that it was indeed a nice gesture, considering he was a complete stranger. Then they studied the menus and gave their order to Derek, who then left the bar to go into the kitchen.
Behind Tom in the top corner of the far wall was a TV. Two young men were playing pool and watching Sky Sports News, but the picture had become fuzzy and the sound cut off every now and again.
Tom wanted to break the growing silence between him and Kate yet couldn’t think of anything worth while to say. He was aware of the problems they were going through and desperately wanted everything to return to how it had been previously. Nevertheless, he wasn’t stupid, he knew that things would never be the quite same again, not after Kate had found out she would never be able to have children of her own. It was something he couldn’t alter or make better no matter how hard he tried. He’d suggested a lot of alternatives but nothing he mentioned seemed to make his wife feel any better or take the pain away.
They sipped their Cokes and Tom made some small talk about the pub and the extreme weather conditions, although he soon grew tired of being positive when all he got in response was negative feedback, false smiles, and one-word answers.
A young waitress wearing an apron, with long brown hair and come-to-bed- with-me eyes brought their food to the table. Tom thanked her. The waitress - who according to her nametag was Rhian - gave him a flirtatious grin. Then she ambled away to get the utensils. Tom saw that the young waitress was probably about eighteen or nineteen years of age and used a fake tan. He couldn’t help notice her voluptuous, natural breasts through the flimsy white blouse. She handed them a knife and fork each so they could eat their steak and chips. It became apparent to Tom that Rhian was well aware of her terrific assets. She used them to charm and to attract the opposite sex whenever she had the opportunity. Although, unbeknownst to Tom that was as far as it went - Rhian was well-known to the locals as a ‘cock tease.’
He didn’t dare sneak another look at her sinuous gait, as she disappeared back into the kitchen. He wasn’t on the best of terms with Kate right now. If she caught him ogling another woman, she might get up and leave him.
Kate may have been depressed, but she wolfed down her steak and chips nearly as fast and ravenously as her husband. They hadn’t eaten since ten o’clock in the morning. They were starving and needed something solid in their stomachs to give them energy and to warm them up.
Tom finished his dinner and put the cutlery on the plate and leaned back in the booth. He washed down the last mouthful with the dregs of his Coke, and announced cheerfully, ‘God, I needed that. That filled a hole in my belly. Did you enjoy your food?’
Kate nodded. ‘Yes; it was delicious.’
‘I’ll go get us another drink,’ he said getting up and carrying the empty glasses back to the bar. Yet as he did this the TV cut off, and the overhead lights blinked out all at the same time.
‘Aw shit!’ Derek said, loud enough for everyone to hear. ‘Power cut.’
Tom made it to the bar safely in the gloom, only because the candles on each and every table provided him with efficient light. Charles met Tom’s troubled gaze and rolled his eyes, as though to say, ‘Here we go again.’ They were obviously used to power cuts up here in the North of Wales in the extreme winter weather conditions. That thought comforted Tom.
‘Don’t look so worried,’ Charles said, as if reading his mind. ‘It’s not uncommon for this to happen. Derek might even get the power back on before you know it.’
‘Good,’ Tom muttered.
‘Why don’t you sit down for a minute?’ he said, gesturing for Tom to take a seat on the empty stool next to him.
Tom sat down. ‘What usually happens when the power goes out? Do they ask us to leave?’
Charles laughed his rattlebox smoker’s laugh and shook his head. ‘No. God no... Although a lot of people will rush to their cars outside to get their sleeping bags and an extra pair of thermals. We usually sit around the fire over there,’ he said, nodding to the fireplace next to the coat hangers, ‘and tell stories. Like what they used to do when I was a young boy. Everyone moans about how the power goes out, but as soon as they’re warm and sitting shoulder to shoulder in a circle over there, listening to someone’s tale - usually one of mine - they’re enjoying themselves more than they would if they were throwing arrows at a dartboard, playing a game of pool or watching whatever nonsense is on the TV nowadays. Of course, they’d never admit it, otherwise Derek would disconnect the TV and get rid of the other accessories, or at least put ‘Out of Order’ stickers on them permanently.’
Tom smiled. ‘Is that’s what’s gonna happen now?’
‘This storm is pretty bad. I don’t think we’re gonna get the power back on until the morning. The generator hasn’t been working too well, either. But you go and tell your partner over there she’s got nothing to worry about.’
Tom glanced over his shoulder at Kate, who was staring at him with a concerned expression visibly mapped over her countenance. Charles had seen how Kate looked long before he did. Already this kind man had paid for their drinks and now given him some good advice. ‘Let me buy you a drink when Derek comes back. Okay?’
‘Aye,’ Charles said, sensing it was important for Tom to reciprocate his generosity.
Tom headed back to the booth and dutifully told Kate she had nothing to worry about, like Charles had said; that a power cut was perfectly normal, and they were used to this type of emergency. He sat next to his wife with an arm wrapped around her to assure her everything would be fine.
When Derek returned from the kitchen, with Rhian following him, all the customers stopped talking amongst themselves and paid strict attention to the landlord standing in the centre of the room. ‘The power is gonna be down until sometime tomorrow, by the looks of things. But before any of you who aren’t local residents start fretting, there’s no need to be alarmed. You can still sleep here tonight. The fire will be on all night, and the bar will be open until midnight. There are no more cooked meals now, but we do have peanuts, crisps and some pork pies, which I can serve up for a snack later on.
‘I’m not stopping you from leaving. But I do suggest that you stay here for the night, until this storm eases. You don’t need me or the Met office to tell you it’s too dangerous for anyone to be driving or walking out there tonight. The choice is, of course, yours, though.’ Derek shrugged his shoulders and then returned behind the mahogany bar with nothing else to say.
The two young men who had been playing pool and watching the TV stepped outside to their van to get their sleeping bags and some Energy Power Bars.
Tom watched as the door closed behind them. ‘Should I go out to the car and get our stuff, hon?’
Kate didn’t respond immediately; instead she merely slumped in the booth in a daze. ‘Yeah, okay. Just be careful,’ she said.
‘I will... I’ll get our sleeping bags and our coffee flasks. We’ll be warm, anyway. The fire is going to be on all night.’
Kate forced a smile for him as he stood up, and said in haste, ‘I’m sorry I’ve been such a bitch lately.’
Tom frowned. He wasn’t sure why Kate felt it was necessary to say what she did just then, as though something ghastly was going to befall him. ‘You haven’t been a bitch ever, Kate. We’ve just been through a rough patch; happens to the best of couples.’ He paused to let what he said sink in, and then continued. ‘I’ll get us some pillows, too.’ With that said he headed towards the entrance and opened the door to the howling wind, amplified for a second, prior to him closing the door behind.
