Heart of Ice (Deadman Series Book 6) Page 6

  It was dark by the time he set off for the Lindsay’s house about fifteen miles away. Although he knew the road like the back of his hand, Chance lit his small traveling lantern which hung from a flexible metal rod placed just alongside his stirrups. At first, the horse shied away from the new light but settled down quickly enough and fell into a brisk trot.

  Although the weather had been sunny and calm most of the day, Chance shivered against a sudden chill and donned his heavy coat. He remembered his father’s warning even as small flakes of snow kissed his cheeks and lips. Shaking his head, he thought, Well, unless I want to be stuck in a snowstorm, I’d better slow this hoss down a bit and take better care of where we’re heading.

  He pulled on the reins and the horse slowed to a walk. Vague, reflected moonlight shone off the road, the woods and the pastures on either side of it. The lantern swayed, casting crazy shadows up into the trees’ leafless branches and ahead, illuminating the steadily increasing snowflakes.

  Suddenly, the air was filled with the sound of an animal’s scream. Chance’s horse reared with a screech of its own. “Whoa!” Chance cried but his mount set to crow-hopping in panic.

  In truth, although the young man tried to calm his horse’s terror, his own heart was pounding in fear. Chance had listened to beasts howl before, plenty of times; he had heard a lion’s bloodcurdling scream and not only heard but felt a bear’s furious roar from only a foot or so away from where he stood.

  He had listened as coyotes joined their voices in the dead of night, and marveled at the wild wolves’ mournful dirge. He had shuddered at the sound of an animal’s death cries and cuddled under his bedclothes in relief at being a human and not a victim of Mother Nature’s wild and brutal whims.

  But he had NEVER heard a sound like this one before. He couldn’t even imagine what animal was capable of making such a noise. It sounded like a train whistle mixed with a mortally wounded beast of prey. It was so loud, his ears were still ringing and his horse was trembling.

  Then, no sooner had he calmed the animal, the sound rang out through the trees again - only this time, it was twice as close and three times as loud. The horse reared again, jumping up so abruptly Chance lost his seat and fell backwards onto the ground.

  For a moment, he lay still heaving for air. He hadn’t been tossed from a horse since he was eight years old and the wind was knocked out of him. Looking up, he saw his horse take off running and bucking.

  Chance stared about in shock. He knew the beast was close by and his heart stuttered in fright. He was at least seven miles from the house, stuck on foot in the middle of the North Idaho wilderness in a snowstorm with some sort of monster just beyond the tree line.

  Willing his heart to stop pounding so hard, Chance listened with intense dread. It took a moment or two but finally, he heard the sound of heavy breathing and the sharp crack of a branch in the near distance. Then he heard a horse bellow and the sounds of a struggle down the road.

  His mount whinnied and screamed in terror, and he heard a nasty sort of chuckling in between his horse’s cries. There were weird, punctuated sounds of battle, a horrid crunching noise, and then silence.

  Chance got up slowly. He had thought the beast was right next to him, just out of sight amongst the trees but, apparently, it had loped ahead to intercept the horse. He started to run as fast as he could but then heard a bone-chilling growl of rage close behind him.

  Breaking out in a sweat and panting harshly, Chance picked up speed. His boots thudded against the soft snow settling on the ground. He heard, and felt, the monster draw closer.

  Are there two of them? he wondered frantically. How could the beast kill the horse one moment and be hot on my tail the next?!

  The monster kept pace for a moment or two but then it placed one long, slimy hand on the young man’s shoulder. Its touch was light but it was enough to dislocate Chance’s arm and he fell backwards with a shout of fear and pain.

  The Wendigo stood over its prey and watched as Chance Wilcox rolled over and stared up at its face. Then, to its great delight, the human being opened his mouth and screamed.

  Chapter Ten

  In Memory of

  The thing that stood poised over Chance’s body was unlike anything the young man had ever seen or even thought of in his worst nightmares. It was huge, for one thing, standing on two legs and at least eight feet tall. It’s large, muscular body was emaciated as though it had once been hale and hearty with muscle and sinew but now was starved to the point of death.

  Its face was that of a skeleton, all bones and putrefying flesh which hung in ghastly strips from bony outcroppings of brow and nostril. But it was the creature’s eyes that made Chance gape in fearful awe. They were enormous and glowed with a hellish fire like a child’s jack-o-lantern. They smoldered like embers as long strings of foul-smelling drool oozed from between its toothy jaws.

  The creature seemed to be studying him as well, and from its maw issued a plaintive cry. “Whoooooooo…?” it growled as Chance flipped over and tried to crawl away.

  The monster shook its massive head and took one large step, effectively trapping the young man’s greatcoat on the ground beneath its foot. Bending over, its bright red eyes cast lurid light on Chance and the area of snow around him.

  “Whoooooooooooo?” the creature queried again.

  The Wendigo paused as if in thought. A long-submerged memory had surfaced from deep within its unconscious mind and the creature Lenny Turnbull had become threw back its hoary head, howling in fright; this had happened before and it didn’t know how to comprehend the human spirit within its own soul.

  Its long-time companion had seen this transformation once and they had almost fought to the death. The beast had been “other” for so long it did not recall human memories, thoughts or emotions. Something deep inside of its long-frozen heart, however, recognized the very human feelings surging up inside its fellow monster and sent it into a paroxysm of rage.

  There was something about this man that made Lenny Turnbull awaken and stare in startled recollection of his once-human life. The ruddy hair, the wide green eyes…

  “Who are you?” he tried to say, but the beast had no tongue so its words came out in a garbled growl.

  Then he remembered…it was long ago and almost forgotten, but Lenny recalled a young red-haired, green eyed newsboy who had shown him warmth and kindness in a mostly cold and cruel world. He reached his hand down and caressed the man’s cheek, watching as his victim’s eyes grew wider still with horrified loathing.

  Filled with anger and self-hatred, the beast snarled and Lenny Turnbull fell back into his deep, subliminal coma as the monster drew one filthy claw across the man’s cheek.

  Chance cried out in pain and shock. He thought, I am going to die here tonight. Tears of sorrow filled his eyes as he thought 0f his beautiful young bride, his beloved father, his stepmother… his friends. Then he got mad.

  Staring up at the beast’s glowing eyes, he whispered, “Screw you, Monster.”

  The Wendigo bent over swiftly to put an end to the man. It thought, I will crush this one’s chest after I suck away all of his life force… I will eat his legs and bury his hands. But then it saw something strange and frightening. There was a flash down by the man’s belly; a dangerous glint that spelled doom to creatures such as it. It stepped back in alarm just as its fellow monster came up to partake in the human meal.

  “No! Don’t touch him!” the creature screamed.

  As Chance watched, the new monster hesitated and turned toward its companion with rage. The young man blinked in confusion as it seemed to disappear sideways; its body became so thin and narrow it seemed as if it had stepped into a different, alternate reality.

  “Why?” it snarled. “It has been months since we found one so ripe and rich with life!”

  Chance, who lay in the snow staring up at the monsters as they snarled at one another, thought they were fighting over who got to eat him first. Once again, he tried
to crawl away. One of the monsters put its long bony foot on his leg and pointed at his belly.

  The other creature stared as well and stepped backward with a screech of terror.

  “SIIIIIIIIIIILLRRRRRRRR!” it howled and Chance clapped his hands over his ears to keep his eardrums from bursting.

  Then it took off running into the trees, leaving the first Wendigo to stare down at him in silence. A new and different sort of light entered the creature’s eyes; they went from reddish-orange to an uncanny, glowing green color.

  It pointed again to Chance’s belly and whispered, “SIIIIRRRRR…,” before it also ran away toward the underbrush by the side of the road.

  Chance stared after it, weeping in relief before falling into a dead faint.

  *

  “Chance! Oh, baby, wake up!”

  Chance shook his head, smiling slightly at the dear and familiar voice. Am I dreaming? he wondered, wincing at the pain that sparked like fire across his face.

  “Owww!” he muttered, and felt his beloved wife fall across his chest. Opening his eyes, he looked up into the dawning of a new day. The snow had stopped and tiny, white and gray clouds raced across a pale blue sky. Chance thought, My God… I survived!

  “What happened, Chance?” she asked. “Oh my God…when you never showed up, I called my father and we found you here. Was it a cougar? A grizzly? Your poor face…and we found your horse. Its throat was torn out and its neck was twisted completely around. Whatever it was must have been huge!”

  She was babbling and she knew it but the white, shocked face of her handsome young husband was scaring her to death. His bright green eyes were ringed in shadow; they seemed to be haunted and much, much older than she remembered.

  He stared up at her bleakly, wanting to tell her what had happened as he wanted to share everything with Hannah. But now, in the light of early morning he wasn’t sure himself what had transpired the previous evening. Had he really seen not one but two monsters that looked to be straight out of some cheap Penny Dreadful? And did he really want to tell her? What if she thought he was crazy? What if he really was crazy and he only now had begun to realize it?

  “I want to go home, okay?”

  Hannah nodded. “Of course, dear. My father’s here with the wagon. Are you sure you don’t want to turn around and head back into town to the doctor’s office?”

  The concerned face of Jacob Lindsay suddenly peered down at him from over Hannah’s shoulder. “Gave us quite a scare, son. What happened?”

  Deciding quickly that - at this point - discretion was the better part of valor, Chance shrugged and winced against the pain his movement caused.

  “I think it was a grizzly. It scratched me and when the horse bolted, I got tossed off. I think my shoulder might be out of the socket.”

  “Oh my God, Chance! And here I’ve been laying all over you!” Hannah exclaimed.

  Jacob frowned. “I’ve been looking around,” he murmured, “and I didn’t see any bear tracks.” He looked quizzically at his new son-in-law.

  Chance replied, “Well, maybe the snow covered them up?”

  Jacob nodded. “Yeah, mebbe.” Then he added, “Well, sorry, but if your shoulder is out and what with that scratch on your face, I’m for turning around and taking you back into the doctor’s office in Wallace.”

  “Doc Humphrey?” Chance grimaced with distaste.

  “No, honey,” Hannah assured him. “That doctor took off for parts unknown a while back. There is a new doc now… a younger man named Marcus Halloway. I hear he’s really good.”

  Chance’s whole body was aching by now. His neck and shoulder throbbed painfully, and the left side of his face stung like hell. He thought he might need stitching up or Hannah would be stuck with a scar-faced man the rest of her life.

  He nodded. “Okay, you’re probably right. Let’s head back into Wallace. And…” he stared up at Hannah and her pa. “Thank you for coming to find me.”

  Hannah blushed and said, “Why, of course we would come!”

  Jacob nodded as well, but the look he gave Chance was a good deal more discerning.

  His wife and father-in-law helped Chance up into the back of the wagon where he rode silently, teeth gritted against the pain of the jolting ride. Hannah was snuggled up against him, wincing every time the wagon hit a pothole or rut in the road.

  “It’s amazing how that bear managed to turn your horse’s head all the way around, you know? And strange how it didn’t hardly eat the meat at all. Just tore a hunk out of its neck and moved on.” Her whisper tickled his ear and Chance hugged her with his good arm.

  “Shhh… let’s not talk about it right now, okay?” He sighed, knowing that both Hannah and her father had a hundred questions and weren’t necessarily satisfied with his story.

  Hannah nodded. “Of course. I’m sorry…you must be exhausted. Just close your eyes, honey, and get some rest.”

  Holding his wife, Chance did what she suggested; he closed his eyes and slept.

  Chapter Eleven

  A Father’s Keen Gaze

  For one breathtaking moment, the pain was excruciatingly intense but Dr. Halloway—in his new medical office in Wallace—did a quick and neat job of maneuvering Chance’s arm back where it belonged. Then he set about stitching up the long but fairly shallow scratch on the young man’s face.

  “I’m afraid this will leave a scar but at least that bear didn’t take out your eye.”

  Chance winced as the man’s needle flashed in and out of his peripheral vision. Hannah was staring at him from across the room, biting her lower lip and twisting a hankie in her hands. She had been silent and withdrawn since he had awoken an hour ago parked in front of the doctor’s office.

  “I’m sorry that my handsome mug got all scratched up, wife,” he quipped, looking for her brilliant smile in response to his jest but she didn’t react. Instead, she stared at the hankie she was shredding to bits and frowned.

  Chance sighed. He realized that his story was not going over well with Hannah or her father. They had only been married a few weeks and they had made a vow to be honest with one another no matter what. Now, just a short time into their life together, Hannah knew that for some unfathomable reason he was lying through his teeth about what had happened.

  He also realized, whether he wanted to admit the truth or not, he had better be forthcoming with his new wife or risk losing her. Dreading the conversation to come, he endured a few more stitches and then lay back on his pillow when the doctor left his room.

  Jacob stepped in the doorway and looked back and forth between his daughter and son-in-law. Sensing the tension between them, he mumbled, “I am going to go fetch myself a cup of coffee… can I bring you two anything?”

  Hannah shook her head and walked over to sit on the edge of Chance’s bed. Taking his hand, she said, “No, Pa… thank you. I’ll just sit here with my husband for a while.”

  Jacob nodded and walked away. Looking down at Chance’s hand, she whispered, “What really happened, Chance? Was it road agents? Why are you afraid to say?”

  Chance squeezed her hand in his. “I’ll tell you the truth, Hannah, but you’re not going to believe me. In fact, you’re gonna think I’m out of my mind.” Pent-up emotion suddenly choked his throat and his voice wavered in remembered fear and horror.

  Hannah stared at his wide, stricken eyes and exclaimed, “I will not think you are crazy, Chance. Good Heavens, you are the sanest man I have ever met!”

  So Chance gulped and told her everything he remembered about the preceding night. Some things were unclear; the way the monsters seemed to disappear when they turned sideways, their whispered argument over which one had the privilege of eating him first, the antlers on one of the monster’s heads…or were those actually tree branches on the bigger and taller of the two beasts?

  Then there were those hellish eyes. He was not capable of adequately describing their fiery orbs, although he knew he would never forget them. Picturing them in his m
ind’s eye, Chance began to tremble.

  At one point, Jacob stepped into the room but Hannah shooed her father away with a polite but imperative nod. Before he walked back out into the hallway, he saw that his young son-in-law’s cheeks were wet with tears.

  Shaken, the older man sat in a hard, straight-backed chair and stared at the opposite wall. What on God’s green earth had taken place last night? There had been no tracks to follow and the damage to the horse was too strange to have been committed by a bear.

  For one thing, a bear would not have taken the time to twist the animal’s head around on its neck like that. Plus, it would have filled its belly on the meat instead of leaving so much on the ground to rot. The other thing that boggled the old man’s mind was the scratch on Chance’s cheek. A swipe from a grizzly would have gone deep and practically taken the boy’s head off. This scratch was more like that from a human being… or a long, serrated knife.

  As he pondered, rapid footsteps approached him from the front of the doctor’s office. Looking up, Jacob saw Matthew and Annie. The man’s face was white with stress and Annie looked as if she had been crying.

  “How is he?” Matthew asked

  “He’ll be fine, Matthew. He had a dislocated shoulder and got his face scratched but he’s in no danger.”

  Looking toward the patient’s room, Annie asked, “You said he was attacked by a bear?”

  Jacob shook his head. “I don’t know. That’s what he told us when we found him this morning but things just don’t add up.”

  “What do you mean?” Matthew’s voice was sharp.

  Looking up into Matthew’s eyes, Jacob answered, “I think he’s telling the real story to Hannah now. Let’s wait a little bit and find out for ourselves what happened, okay?”

  Hannah had seen his parents arrive and said, “Chance, why don’t you rest a while? Your folks are here and your father looks pretty upset. Maybe I can calm him down before he comes in to see you.”