by Alda Grand
“We stick to the plan,” Einar said loudly and everything snapped back into focus for Lana, “grab me my rifle and you get going. I’ll hold him off.”
Lana ran inside and threw on her down jacket and grabbed Einar's rifle leaning against the wall. She looked around at the cabin one last time, the few days they had spent together was now gone, all happiness destroyed by the approaching car and the man inside.
Einar stood behind the large boulder at the side of the road, never taking his eyes off the approaching car. She stepped out of the cabin and Einar spun around as if something had pushed him back with force, then the sound of a rifle shot reverberated around the canyon. Einar fell back against the boulder, the binoculars falling from his hand and sliding over the edge and tumbling towards the glacial run off river below. Another shot rang out and his legs collapsed out from under him, then a third hit the rock where his head had been moments before and kicked up a cloud of dust.
Lana felt all the blood drain from her body and she shouted, “No,” as the rifle slipped from her hands that felt disconnected from her body. She was frozen to the spot until a clod of gravel exploded in front of her as another bullet was fired. Lana looked up to the sloping cliff face that towered over the cabin and saw him, his rifle slung over his shoulder and he was moving nimbly for a man his size as he jumped from rock to rock making his way down towards the road. He was less then two minutes away from the cabin.
“Run,” Einar shouted as he rolled over onto his stomach to see the gunman climbing down. Blood pooled underneath him. They were only ten metres apart from each other, if she went to him now it would be all over. Fear coursed through her body and she stood locked to the spot. “I love you Lana,” Einar shouted and spat out a mouthful of blood, “run” he shouted at her in a bellowing roar. Her stasis was broken and her legs began to pound along the gravel road as her lungs gasped in great burning lungfuls of air. She ran down the thin dirt road towards the lip of the glacier. Her heart pounded as her feet kicked up a cloud of dust, she felt like she was running through thick honey unable to move fast enough.
Another shot rang out and she turned to look back. Her whole world flipped and her mouth filled with dirt as she tripped and fell hard on her knees, her hands breaking her fall and shredding on the sharp flinty surface. The wind was knocked out of her and she looked back down the path towards the cabin. He was standing there all dressed in black and moving like a machine towards her, slow, steady and surefooted. If she didn't get moving he would catch up to her within minutes. Her shoes slid on the ground as she tried to get back up, kicking out behind her. She felt exhausted already and then her feet found purchase and she was up and running again.
Lana’s lungs burned as the path began to slope upwards and then she turned the corner and saw the chiseled steps leading up to the glacier. Something dark brown darted across the path ahead of her, small and low to the ground, and headed into the purple field of lupins flanking one side of the path. She got to the side of the glacier and took the five wide steps up to the top.
Standing on the edge of the glacier she took a moment to look back. He was still coming only at a somewhat slower pace due to the steep incline of the last section of the path. She looked across the shimmering blue expanse of the glacier and started to run towards the other side. She cursed herself after a few steps, I forgot my ice crampons because of the surprise attack she thought to herself as her feet skidded to find a purchase on the ice. She moved as fast as she could, every couple of steps her foot shooting out behind her and nearly causing her to fall. I can do this she told herself, she knew she had two kilometres to cross and then she could easily lose her attacker if she followed Einar's plan.
Lana was a tiny speck of colour against the rippling blue of the glacier. To her right it gently sloped upwards to the wide open plateau that comprised the main mass of the huge ice body. The part she ran across was a two kilometre wide tongue forced between two mountains as the forces of the glacier ripped and shredded the earth making a wide canyon over a span of thousands of years. She avoided any patches of snow as her feet skidded over the icy surface. Parts of the glacier sparkled like a high sheen diamond while other sections where opaque with black volcanic swirls embedded in the icy depths.
She slowed slightly and glanced back, he was still coming but at a slower pace as he tried to traverse the slippery surface. She picked up speed and focused on the patch of grass across from her on the other side of the canyon. She was over half way there and she thought if I can keep up this pace I should beat him. A noise like a clap of thunder booming ricocheted off the canyon walls. Lana stopped running and skidded forward a few steps her arms pinwheeling as she tried not to lose balance. She looked back and her attacker was down on one knee with the rifle pointed in her direction.
All rational thought fled from her body and she turned and ran finding new reserves of energy as her feet seemed to glide over the surface of the ice. I can make it she thought as her muscles ached from exertion. A few feet ahead of her a bullet ripped into the glacier and kicked up a cloud of ice chips, she dodged to the left and her legs slid out from her and she came down hard on the ice, her shoulder taking the brunt of the force. She skidded across the ice for a few more feet, cold water soaking through her jeans and stinging her shredded palms. Getting up from the ice she looked back and he was coming towards her again with the rifle pointed at her. He walked slowly and sure footed as he covered the ground between them. I can’t go on she thought as she felt the cold of the glacier wrap its icy fingers around her aching body. Her muscles felt slack and drained of any power to move forward. I can’t move anymore she thought throwing her head back and looking at two birds high in the sky above her and totally oblivious to the drama unfolding below them.
I’m going to die on this glacier shivering and soaked to the bone, alone and all for nothing while the evil grey haired man continued to exist she thought to herself. She got one knee under her and slowly began to stand. He can’t get away with this her mind screamed. She pushed up from the ice and stood up, watching the rapidly approaching gunman. He must pay for all he has done she promised herself as she felt a renewed burst of energy fill her. The gunman raised the rifle to his shoulder and aimed in her direction. She turned and started to run, her limbs in a blur as she picked up speed. The sound of the bullet speeding towards her never came. She stiffened waiting for the sickening impact as it tore through her body and yet still he didn't fire. Was he playing with her she thought as she glanced back for a second. He was gone. She was the only living thing standing on the glacier.
Lana skidded to a halt and stood clutching her sides and breathing deeply as hot spikes of pain dug into her flanks. She looked around at the flat featureless surface of the glacier. There was no where to hide and then she saw it, a dark spot where the gunman had stood only seconds before. Every part of her protested as she turned around and walked back in the direction she had come. She needed to see for herself that he was dead, if she didn't do this she would never be able to relax. The air began to cool as she got closer to the hole and grey clouds started to gather at the peak of the opposite mountain. As she got closer she could see the large crack in the glacier which looked like a crooked smile. It had been covered with a layer of frozen snow that Lana had avoided while escaping. The gun man must have been oblivious to the dangers of being on top of a glacier.
She approached the hole slowly, standing only on solid ice and avoiding any snow that might be covering another crevasse. The only sound she could hear was a flock of birds flying in the opposite direction of the dark clouds rolling in. She peaked over the edge and she felt a burning sensation and a displacement of air as a bullet whizzed by her. She put her hand to her head and it came away bloody as she stumbled backwards and feel onto the ice. Her teeth clacked shut painfully and bright white explosions pinged through her head. She scrabbled away backwards from the crevasse expecting at any minute to see a hand grasp the top and pull the gun man over
the edge. Her ear burned and the side of her face was slick with blood as she back peddled a safe distance. She waited and no sounds came from the crevasse.
“Are you alive down there,” she shouted.
Nothing for a beat and then, “Yes and I’m hurt real bad,” came the voice in a wheeze.
“Why should I believe you,” Lana asked.
The man coughed and spit and said, “The time for games is over. I don’t think I can make it.”
Lana should have felt relief instead she imagined herself dying on this frozen block of water alone and afraid and said, “I’m coming over to the edge. If you shoot again I’m gone and I’ll never look back.”
The man in the crevasse laughed a dry rattling sound and said, “I’ve no more bullets. I lost them when I fell in.”
Lana stood at the edge and peaked over and pulled back to safety just as fast. She had caught a glimpse of a crumpled figure far below. She poked her head out again and looked down. Ten metres below was a platform of ice jutting out from the far side. The man had landed on it and both his legs lay in front of him at impossible angles. His trousers covered the lumpy contours of his broken legs. Blood stained the snow and ice he was collapsed on. A thin trickle of blood ran from one of his ears and his rifle lay on the ice shelf beside him. His body shook for a few seconds as he was wracked by pain and he looked up at Lana above him. “Both my legs are shattered,” he said through gritted teeth, “I think my spine is too.”
“What do you want me to do?” Lana asked. Tears stung her eyes as she looked at the broken man below her. She shouldn’t waste her time on someone who had tried to hurt her so much and who, she couldn't even bring herself to fully think it, who might of killed Einar. And yet she couldn’t leave him alone and she felt rooted to the spot.
“Stay with me for a while, don’t leave me alone down here,” he begged her. His body was shook by another powerful shudder of pain. He reached into his jacket pocket and Lana skidded back from the edge of the crevasse.
What are you doing,” she shouted down at him.
“Phone,” he said and she looked over the edge again. He held his phone up for her to see and put it back into his pocket. “Listen to me. I don’t have long,” he said coughing up a mouthful of blood all over his chest, “there is only one number in this phone. Send the word firetruck to the number and then destroy the phone. Thats the signal that I’ve finished the job and killed you. You should be safe to live out your life once you never return to America.” He clutched his stomach and grunted and moaned as blood ran from the corner of his mouth. He looked back up at her and locked eyes with Lana, “Forgive me. I wish,” his head slumped onto his chest, “I wish…” He trailed off as blood bubbled from his mouth and then nothing.
Lana's heart pounded in her chest as she stared unbelieving down at him, could her salvation really lie in the phone in his pocket. She didn't want to trust it, didn't want to let go of the fear that had been driving her for so long. This moment should have been a time of elation and happiness instead she felt exhausted and chewed up, her life destroyed by the evil men that had touched her life. She pulled herself away from the crevasse and got up and plodded back in the direction of Einar's cabin. She wanted to lie down on the ice and curl up into a ball and let the cold numb her until she felt nothing. She didn’t want to leave the glacier and face the reality back at the cabin. How could she go on if Einar was dead because of her mistakes. She willed her legs on as they became heavier. Every step felt like she was lifting legs made of concrete.
Once she was off the glacier Lana started to run back along the path towards the cabin. With each step she got closer to the uncertainty that lay ahead. Please let Einar be ok she pleaded as her feet kicked up sprays of loose gravel. She turned the bend and she could see the cabin and the dirt lot in front of it. Einar wasn’t there. A trail of blood snaked across the ground to the cabins front door. At the cabin door Lana paused with her hand in mid air, not wanting to push the door open and face what was to come.She swallowed hard, a dry dusty lump in her throat. She entered the cabin.
Einar sat propped up on the bed on blood stained sheets, his head slumped on his chest. His skin was as pale as milk.The contents of the first aid kit lay scattered across the bed. He’s dead Lana thought to herself frozen in the doorway. Einar raised his head and looked over at Lana. He smiled at her crookedly. Her heart nearly exploded in her chest as she ran over to the bed. He raised up a half drunk bottle of black death booze and said, “Medicine.” Lana rained down kisses on his cheeks, his neck and his lips. She didn’t want to separate from him, didn’t want to know how badly he was injured for just a moment longer, before everything crashed down around her destroying her last chance at happiness. Tears ran down her cheeks as she kissed him. “I got the bullet out of my leg, the one in my shoulder went clean through,” he said with a slight slur. He took another swig from the bottle and asked, “Is he dead?”
Lana nodded and said, “He fell through the ice. He has a way out for me, a phone number that will end this nightmare. I’ll have to go back and get it from him.”
Einar looked at her and smiled broadly and then winced in pain. He took another swig from the bottle and passed it to Lana. She downed a sizeable shot and grimaced as the harsh booze burnt the back of her throat. Einar took her hand and held it in his. He said a few words in Icelandic to her.
“What does it mean,” she asked.
“It's an old Icelandic saying, it means roughly my heart belongs to you,’ he said sitting up straighter in bed. “Lana I have never met anyone like you before. This last week with you has been the best of my life. Lana would you marry me?” he asked.
Lana knew what she was going to say even before the words left her mouth. Their love had been forged in the crucible of fire. Einar knew the worst things about her and he had accepted it with no judgement. He was a strong and compassionate man who didn't see showing his emotions as a weakness. This last week she had spent with him she had never felt closer to anyone in her life. Right now sitting on the bed looking into Einar's eyes she couldn't imagine another day of her life without him by her side. “Yes,” she said leaning in to kiss him. As they kissed deeply Lana could feel her old life peel away and scatter in the wind like loose pages of an old and dusty book. She could finally look forward and imagine a happy life with Einar, free of the trappings of her old one which had nearly pulled her into the cold black earth and destroyed her.
When the kiss finally ended Einar lay back on the pile of pillows with a huge smile across his face. “I’ve never been happier,” he said.
“Hopefully this is the last time you get shot for me,” Lana said and winced at her bad joke.
“Too soon,” Einar said and smiled up at her. “We can go and get the phone tomorrow morning,” he said swinging his legs onto the floor. Lana hooked her arm around his waist as he stood up unsteadily. “I need to sleep,” he said as they hobbled over to the double bed in the corner of the cabin. He climbed in and Lana got in beside him and lay her hand on his chest. She pressed herself tight against him and quickly drifted off into an exhausted sleep as she dreamt about her husband to be.
Chapter 26
Friday
The thin strips of bacon sizzled in the pan and Lana poured out two large cups of coffee. She heard movement from the corner of the room and looked over. Einar was sitting up, his skin looked pale and blotchy. He smiled when he saw her looking over at him.
“How do you feel?” she asked.
“Like I’ve been shot,” he said and laughed. He clutched his shoulder and let out a moan, “How are you?”
“Exhausted. Happy this is all nearly over. I need to go and get the phone from the crevasse. Do you have a way that I could climb down?” she asked.
“There are some climbing supplies in the shed attached to the cabin. I should have an ice ladder. You hammer in a couple of pegs into the ice and attach the ladder. Throw it over the edge of the crevasse and climb in. It’s designed fo
r rescue operations so set up is fairly easy.” He flexed his leg and grimaced in pain. “I’m not going anywhere like this, so you will have to do it solo.”
Lana nodded her head. If I have survived all this she thought to herself I am not going to let the trivial matter of retrieving a phone stop her. One final hardship and she could start to look forward as her past deeds faded away.
After breakfast she set off. This time she was better equipped for travel on the glacier. Her ice crampons on her boots would dig into the ice as she walked making her progress easier than yesterday. Slung on her back was a large canvas bag with the ladder and her tools. She climbed the ice steps and as her head raised above the edge of the glacier she half expected to see her attacker crawling across the icy surface towards her. The glacier was barren. The sky above was a darkening grey and the bright jewel like ice of yesterday was gone and replaced with a dull desolate expanse.
Lana walked on digging her crampons into the ice in the rocking motion Einar had thought her. Chips of ice sprayed out from her feet with each step and the only noises in the canyon were the thud and glassy smash of her crampons. Her legs burned from the effort as she trudged along. Lana stopped and covered her eyes with a hand and stared ahead. A black hole like a creepy smile was exposed in the ice up ahead. This is my attackers final resting place she thought to herself. She walked on. When she was a couple of metres away she stopped. She felt like she was being watched from somewhere, a secret hiding place she wasn’t aware of. The glacier was empty. Both mountains on either side of the glacial tongue looked devoid of life. Pull yourself together she thought to herself. The sound of her own voice made her jump when she called out, “Hello,” in a weak and frightened tone. She stood in the all encompassing silence. Not even a bird was singing. She dropped her bag on the ice and walked towards the edge of the crevasse. When she got close she lay down on the frozen surface and edged closer to the cracks edge. What if he is gone she thought to herself before she looked over the edge. His body lay crumpled on the ice shelf, his head slumped on his chest. Blood had run over the edge and a dark red streak ran down the ice and into the pitch black depths of the crevasse.
