Chapter 36
36
By now it was nearly evening, with deep shadows gathering in the forest and vivid marigold streaks in the sunset sky. Gunnar suggested that they wait until morning to start the long uphill hike to Thunder Pass.
He could tell Ruth wasn’t happy about it, but she agreed it would be reckless to set out with darkness coming on. Gunnar pulled the truck off the road, out of sight, and they spent a chilly night cuddled together in the crew cab. He always kept a blanket back there, just in case—and for once, it came in handy.
Sometime after midnight, Gunnar was startled awake by the rumble of a vehicle passing by. He scrambled out of the Tundra and ran through the woods to get a glimpse of it. Another camouflage truck, heading toward the Thunder Pass trailhead. They must have an entire fleet of ATVs up there. How else would they transport anything into the pass?
Back in the truck, he tried to go back to sleep, but a million questions were ricocheting through his brain.
Where was everyone else? They hadn’t seen anyone on the roads except for those camouflage trucks. He made a mental map of all the little trailers and homesteads tucked away in the woods. Were they all within the perimeter that the Chilkoots had established?
The cell service hadn’t come back, no matter how many times he’d checked his phone. They must have knocked out the tower that serviced the area—barely. But the militia members must be communicating with each other. What system were they using?
Was this really all about gold?
For as long as there had been settlers in Firelight Ridge, there had been gold prospectors. Goldpan Creek was a popular spot for finding nuggets. After the copper mine had closed, many of the locals had turned to gold-panning. Pinky Bannister, for one, was still living off the proceeds of a thumb-sized gold nugget he’d discovered.
There had even been rumors and legends about a large deposit of gold in the mountains somewhere nearby, but no one had ever found such a thing. Gunnar had always figured it was just wishful thinking, or a publicity stunt to get more people to visit Firelight Ridge. If one was discovered in Thunder Pass, it would belong to the U.S. Government, since all that land was part of the National Park system.
Or was it?
He flashed on the 3D maps that Ben Whistler had shown them in Anchorage. One of those newly created plats edged into Thunder Pass. If mineral rights were included, then the gold would belong to the property owner. Chilkoot LLC. Maybe that was Luke Chilkoot, or maybe this Dmitri person—or both. Or someone else entirely who was staying in the background pulling strings.
A terrible thought crossed his mind then—what if his father was involved? He’s closer than you think, Kelly had said. Gunnar was pretty sure his father had broken into his office, though he’d never had the chance to confirm that with Pinky. And the gunfire at Martha’s place—his gut told him that his father had shot whoever was shooting at him and Ruth.
That database…maybe he too was looking for gold, and the entries were a way to keep track of his explorations? That was the only thing that really made sense so far.
Dad, where are you? What are you up to? What are we in the middle of? Will I ever see you again?
Finally, he fell asleep, only to wake up at first light when Ruth sat up and stretched, rolling her neck to get the kinks out. Her hair was coming loose from its braid, her gray eyes still misty from sleep. She was so beautiful that his heart hurt.
She dug through her backpack and brought out some granola that she’d grabbed at Martha’s place. They ate from their cupped hands, washing it down with gulps of water.
“How much of this stuff did you bring?” he asked hopefully.
“Probably not enough, but don’t worry. We won’t starve. There’s lots of late-season berries just now ripening. I’m pretty good at making snares for rabbits. I brought a lighter and a knife. I know how to survive in the wilderness, at least for a couple of days. And as long as it doesn’t get too cold,” she added with a shiver, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders.
“It’s September in the mountains. We need to be prepared for anything. I’ll pack this blanket too, and I have an emergency kit somewhere in this truck.”
“See that?” She gave him a radiant smile. “We’re two kids from Firelight Ridge. Don’t mess with us.”
They left the truck where it was, tucked into the woods, out of sight from the road. Just in case, they smeared it with mud and covered it with leaf debris. He even took the license plate off and hid it under a nearby rock. Any Firelight Ridge resident would still recognize it, but the out-of-town militia members wouldn’t. If they found his truck, it would look like just another abandoned Firelight Ridge vehicle.
They repacked their supplies into two backpacks, the one Ruth had grabbed from Martha’s place, and a pack where Gunnar kept his emergency kit. His father had taught him that, he remembered. Always be prepared for bad weather. This is Alaska. First Aid kit, water, a backpack in case you have to walk, some basic survival supplies. A hatchet to cut wood. Lighter.
Thank you, Dad, he thought. Now what the fuck is going on, and why didn’t you give me just a little bit more information?
They set out at a steady, slowish pace, knowing that the first part of the hike would be all uphill. Pretty soon, they’d worked up enough of a sweat that they stopped and took off a layer of clothing. Ruth tied her hair back away from her face with a bandanna. A stray lock escaped, and he tucked it under the cloth for her. When she looked up at him with a grateful smile, his heart ached with so much tenderness that it nearly burst. Such a small gesture, and yet it seemed to mean so much to her.
He hovered his mouth over hers, and she rose on tiptoe to kiss him. Another intense wave of emotion swept over him, hotter and needier this time. He linked his arms around her and pulled her close, and they fell into such a deep kiss that he lost track of the where and the when.
This was it, he knew suddenly. Him and Ruth. For good. Together, from now on.
“I love you,” he said soberly. Her gray eyes widened as she scanned his face. He repeated it. “I love you. I’ve never said that to anyone before, not a woman, anyway. So you know it’s a pretty serious situation when I’m saying it to you.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered. The breeze played with the ends of her hair, brilliant red in the morning sun. “I was afraid to say it because of last time.”
“I don’t want you to ever be afraid of saying something to me. I love every part of you, understand?” He cupped his hand around her face, noticing tiny golden freckles on her cheekbones that he hadn’t seen before. How had he missed those? There was still so much to discover about Ruth. He looked forward to every moment of that journey.
A frown drew her eyebrows together. “Are you saying this now because you think we might not survive this?”
Maybe, he thought. But he didn’t want her to be more scared than she already was. He grinned widely. “I’m saying it now because it’s true now. Also I’m wondering if our kids would have freckles like yours.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “And now you’re trying to distract me by talking about kids. You’re worried, aren’t you? Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying?—”
“Or hide things. I don’t ever want anything hidden from me, do you understand? That’s what my whole life was like before now. I won’t go back to that.” Her voice rose, and he glanced around in alarm to make sure they actually were alone on this little outcropping in the middle of the Wrangells.
“I’m sorry. I get it, and I won’t hide anything. I was just trying to keep your spirits up. Of course I’m worried. We’re walking into an unknown situation involving armed men and we have no weapons besides an extremely dull hatchet.”
“I have a knife, too. A Bowie knife.”
“Two weapons, then. Still, it’d be stupid not to be scared.”
She absorbed his words, then nodded. “Good. That’s what I thought. Thank you. Now let’s go find Sarah. And you know something else? It’s better that we don’t have weapons because we’d be outgunned anyway. This way we have to get more creative.”
Marveling at her courage, he followed her back to the trail. Knowing the truth hadn’t scared her. It had just made her more determined.
About an hour or so into the hike, they decided to leave the trail, which showed clear signs of recent ATV activity. Instead they followed moose trails that went in the general direction of the eastern slope overlooking Thunder Pass. That way they’d be able to get an overall view of the pass—at least that was Gunnar’s hope.
It took another hour or so of hiking to reach the start of Thunder Pass, which stretched for several miles between two ridges. Its most visible feature was a soaring wall of granite that drew avid rock climbers. In the summer, a succession of wildflower blooms filled the meadows between the steep slopes—deep blue lupine, then cheerful wild geranium, then vivid fuchsia fireweed. The fireweed had already finished blooming, and the meadow was tinted with the rust red color of its dying leaves.
“Look how dry it is,” Ruth said. “I don’t think there’s been any rain here for weeks.”
“Sure is gorgeous, though. No wonder my father supposedly had a cabin here.”
“Sarah’s in a cave, not a cabin,” Ruth reminded him.
“I know. But other people might have commandeered the cabin. We should keep an eye out for it.”
Ruth shaded her eyes and peered toward the opposite slope of the meadow, where low alders marked the beginning of a rise. “I actually think I see it!” she whispered excitedly. “At about three o’clock, right under those birches.”
“You’re right,” he said slowly as he stared in the direction she was pointing. A low-profile structure was cleverly hidden on the lower flank of the neighboring ridge. “And by the way, you have incredible eyesight.”
“I always have.” She stared intently at the cabin. “I don’t think anyone’s there. Should we go check it out?”
Just as they were stepping forward, the drone of a helicopter had them dropping back down to the ground. Gunnar put his arm over Ruth to protect her from the intense down current produced by the chopper. As they peered up at it, the helicopter passed about a hundred feet over their heads, on its way to setting down at the other end of the pass.
“Do you think they saw us?” Ruth whispered.
“Doubt it. They aren’t looking for people, they’re just delivering something.” He dug through his pack for his binoculars.
“Let me look.” Ruth scrambled to her knees and braced a hand on his back for balance as she peered intently after the helicopter. “I see ATVs, tents…it looks like a whole settlement down there at the other end of the pass.”
“Militia headquarters?”
“I can’t really see details, but that’s what it seems like.”
“Maybe that’s where they found gold.” He visualized the plat maps again. That was definitely the right area. “So the militia is there to defend the gold deposit?”
“Maybe.” Ruth sat back down, blinking away the strain in her eyes. “But why involve the town? That’s what I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know. But we’re just here for Sarah. Can you put that amazing eyesight to use looking for cave entrances?”
After a short break to rest her eyes, Ruth scanned the rocky side of the pass, taking her time, looking at each crack and crevice in the famous rock wall and the other nearby formations. “I think I see a place that could be the entrance to a cave.” She pointed at a spot that looked like a dark crescent moon. He scanned it with his binoculars, and agreed that it could be an opening in the rock. But they’d have to take a chance on getting spotted to reach it.
“We’ll need to stay low and slow. We don’t know what kind of surveillance they have going on up there. Let’s stay below the tops of the fireweed.”
It was slow going, purposely so, as they painstakingly made their way across the pass toward the looming rock face. At one point, the helicopter flew overhead again, and they flattened themselves on the ground and didn’t move until it had droned its way out of Thunder Pass.
Not once did Ruth complain, even though Gunnar knew she was just as sore and tired as he was, and even though she kept collecting scrapes and bruises. Did Ruth even know the meaning of complaining? He didn’t think so. She either did things without complaint, or she stopped doing them. Yet another quality of hers that he appreciated.
When they reached the crescent-shaped slit in the rock, they saw that it yawned much wider than could be seen from a distance. Gunnar scanned the ground for signs of a human presence, and spotted a boot-shaped mark in the mud. He silently pointed it out to Ruth, and she nodded excitedly.
“Let’s monitor it for a few minutes,” he whispered in her ear. “See if we can hear anything.”
As they waited behind a thick alder bush, Gunnar held his breath so he could hear more clearly. There was a sound inside the cave—something bumping around, footfalls—then suddenly a man emerged from the slender opening. He had to exit sideways to squeeze his belly past the rock.
Gunnar braced himself to attack if the man spotted them. But all he did was pause, brush dirt off his clothes, then stride down a moose trail that meandered back toward the pass. Gunnar didn’t recognize him, but he seemed to know his way around the wilderness. He wore a baseball cap from a lower 48 team and a wool hunting jacket.
And he had a rifle strap slung across his shoulder. Good to know.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Ruth jumped to her feet. “Come on,” she whispered.
“Wait.” He grabbed her arm. “Let me go first.”
“No. She’s my sister. You can stand guard. If that man comes back, just shout.”
“If that man comes back, I’m going to jump him,” he corrected. “Okay. Fine. Just be careful and yell if you need me.”
Even though it went against every instinct to let her walk into the unknown like this, he let her tiptoe across the clearing and squeeze her body into that crevice. As a last gesture before she disappeared, she looked back at him and blew him a kiss. Then she was gone.
Stand guard. Of course he would stand guard. He’d stand better guard than any human being ever had in history. If that man came back, Gunnar would pounce on him like a panther dropping from a tree. He wouldn’t have time to breathe, let alone get his hands on his weapon.
He settled down to wait, making himself still and invisible, and mentally replaying key sparring moves that his father had taught him. It had been a while since he’d needed those moves. But they were still there, instilled by hours of practice. No matter what, he could thank his father for that.