Ice Shadows Read online

  I struggled to tear open the wrapper. At that moment, in that instant of culinary delight, I savored every bite. I slowly chewed as if my life depended on it. Within moments, I could feel the sugar rush as it offered a slight renewal of energy. “Thanks for that. You have no idea what this means to me.” We both abruptly stopped talking. Not all that far from where we were hiding came what sounded like an army of vehicles. Within moments, a cascade of trucks and cars sped past our location. Both of us pulled back and did what we could to keep out of sight. Once the parade of vehicles was beyond our location, this savior in a brightly colored sleeping bag reemerged and asked, “Are they after you?”

  I nodded. “So it would seem.”

  “Why? What did you do that was so wrong?”

  “In a nutshell, I guess you could say I defied authority.”

  She laughed and offered to give me a high-five—something I barely had enough energy to reciprocate. She peered at me curiously, “So you must have really pissed them off for them to be...I don’t know, after you—you know, as if you were an escaped criminal or something.”

  I hesitated to say much. I didn’t want a complete stranger getting involved in my issues. I simply told her that, for the time being, I needed to remain hidden and to stay out of sight. But with that, I asked her what her name was. She said it was Helen—”You know, after Helen of Troy.” When I asked if that were true, she giggled and said she had just made it up. No, instead, it was her great aunt’s name. But she liked the drama that came along with an old legend. I smiled. How funny. How incredibly crazy to be sitting in this hemmed-in narrow gap while the world went about its harried way just below us.

  But then I asked for a favor: can I borrow your cell phone to make one call. That’s it. She seemed to balk at first but then said, “I don’t see why not.” She then handed me her phone and told me it had three bars. “This was a prime location for a signal because of that private estate down the road.”

  Naturally, the moment Eric’s phone number should have immediately come to mind, it didn’t; I was brain-fogged. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember it. I sat there with this dimwitted expression on my face. I gazed at that damned phone for what felt like forever. Come on, damn it. Think.

  Helen asked if there was a problem?

  “I guess when you’ve done what I’ve just done and then add a healthy dose of stress on top of it, this is what you get.”

  “Maybe it’s not my place to say, but whoever you were going to call wouldn’t pick up.”

  I stared at her blankly.

  “Don’t you see? They won’t recognize the number. If it were me, I’d let it go to voicemail.”

  I nodded. “You’re right. At least one of us is thinking.”

  “And if you take it a step further—which, again, is none of my business—who’s to say that whoever is after you wouldn’t trace the call back to this location. They can do that, you know.”

  “Again, that’s some excellent forward-thinking.” I paused for a moment and was about to say something when Helen said, “So it really isn’t a hoax?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Your story...you know, about how your return to earth was nothing but a fabrication, and the photos of the spacecraft were from a model and not the real thing.”

  “Is that what the media is saying?”

  She nodded at her phone. “I just read that. I mean...after the second story came out...you know, about all of the trouble on the moon, it was then refuted by some authority that said someone was trying to stir up trouble and that there wasn’t any sort of problem—you know, going on.”

  “I see. So that’s how they’re playing it.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Unless I can physically show up as actual evidence, this is the way it’s going to continue.” I glanced at her and appreciated having someone with a fully functioning brain nearby. “But until I can regain my strength, there is no way in hell I’m going anywhere.” With that, I leaned against the concrete wall. The calming sound of pigeons cooing nearby proved comforting. Their nests were near enough that I could have gently tossed a rock and hit them. Why they tolerated our presence seemed unusual. I turned to Helen. “So how did you end up here? After all, this isn’t the best lodging, all things considered.”

  She sat up and began telling me her story. Back at the time of the pandemic, she had been a waitress at some high-end restaurant in San Diego. She had been pulling in a lot of tips and was living a far more extravagant life than she knew was sustainable. She said, “You know how it goes when you think the honey pot is never going to run dry. But when it does and all of the pieces you’ve built start to crumble around you, it gets your attention. I mean...I was living beyond my means. I was living like I was someone special when I wasn’t. And knowing that things were shutting down for who knows how long, and I was almost broke, I did something I’d wanted to do ever since I first read about it.”

  “What was that?”

  “If I had a year without work, I figured that was the perfect time to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.”

  I was vaguely aware of that and asked, “Doesn’t it begin somewhere near the Mexican border?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, and it goes through California and Oregon and ends up in Washington State.”

  “So you hiked the entire thing?”

  “Yeah, all 2,650 miles of it.”

  “That’s impressive.”

  She shrugged. “Maybe, but not as impressive as coming back from the moon in some tiny spaceship.” She paused. “That to me, is beyond incredible...but only if it’s true.”

  “So you don’t believe me?”

  “Let’s just say that the jury is still out.”

  “Fair enough.”

  She peered at me. “What? Aren’t you going to defend yourself?”

  “Why should I?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe because it matters.”

  I deeply sighed. I wasn’t sure I had enough energy to simply keep breathing let alone take on a debating partner. “It only matters to those I need to help.” That was the most I could say in response.

  Helen said, “The reason I’m here...you know, waiting in this dreadful place, is because I’m waiting to hear back about my interview.”

  “What interview?”

  “You know, at the estate.”

  “I’m not sure I follow you.”

  “I had an interview for a job working as a waitress, house cleaner, or whatever they need me to do.”

  “You mean at the...”

  “Yeah—that humungous estate down the road.”

  “When was this?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The interview? When did it happen?”

  “The day before yesterday.”

  I couldn’t help but stare at what appeared to be a somewhat disheveled woman. She must have sensed my intent and said, “I didn’t look like this if that’s what you’re thinking.” She pulled the sleeping bag down and revealed that she was nicely dressed in a black, tightly fitting dress—something you might see on a woman who was trying to impress you on a first date. The only thing missing was the string of pearls.

  I had to ask: “But why didn’t they put you up at one of the guesthouses?”

  She stared at me intently. “You’ve been there, haven’t you?”

  I hesitated to answer. I was concerned that if she knew, and if she were willing to do whatever was necessary to secure what most certainly was a choice position, she had every reason to turn me in. I nodded but said nothing to confirm her suspicions.

  For a few moments, there was a pregnant and uncomfortable pause. I hoped to God Helen wasn’t weighing her options. If she had a sudden change of heart, my escape would come to an untimely end. I closed my eyes and was about to give in to whatever was to come next. I simply didn’t have the energy to keep fighting. If I ended up back at the estate, I’d find some other means of achieving my objective. At least ther
e would be time to get healthy. That, however, would seriously delay getting my crew off the moon.”

  A moment later, Helen surprised me. She said, “I think you’re right.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “That, you know, you have to get out there...I mean, unless you do, and the people who keep shooting down your version of things keep doing that, it’s...well, it’s wrong, at least from my way of looking at it.”

  I glanced into her eyes with appreciation. I felt as if I now had an ally. “I’m grateful for your support. The only problem is how? I’m sure the security team has fanned out and is out looking for me as we speak. Even if we tried to get out of here at night, they would have night vision goggles on and would easily have the upper hand.”

  Helen smiled and then laughed.

  “What? What’s so funny?”

  “I’ve got an idea.” She took a moment to rummage through a fairly stuffed backpack sitting next to her. She pulled out a couple of outfits that were clearly several sizes too small for me—if that was what she was thinking. She then took out a camouflage poncho and handed it to me. I held it up and then asked, “Okay, what do you have in mind?”

  “First of all, and despite what you might think...I didn’t walk all the way here.”

  “What does that mean?”

  She nodded in the opposite direction of the estate. “Not far from here is a small airstrip...you know, where a handful of local farmers keep their crop dusters.”

  “Okay?”

  She smiled. “Even though it might not look like it, I’ve got my pilot’s license...you know, for small private aircraft.”

  “So what are suggesting...that we’re going to steal someone’s plane?”

  “No, silly. We’ll use mine. It’s parked there.”

  I held up the poncho. “And this? How does this fit in with whatever you’re thinking?”

  She nodded at the road. “So this might sound a bit out there but it’s worth considering.”

  “Go on.”

  “Well, if you’re as weak as you say you are, who’s to say that you could at least get down by the road, cover yourself with the poncho, and then wait for me to come pick you up?”

  “Hold on. Are you suggesting that you would go get your plane and then come back and land on the road?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  I sat up and sighed. “So you would take the risk to fly back here and pick me up?”

  “Yeah. Why? Is that a problem?”

  I gazed into her sparkling hazel eyes and shook my head. “This is an amazing offer, but I’m not sure I could ask you to do something...I don’t know, that’s so full of potential issues. Besides, there’s no point in your sacrificing a job opportunity for me.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s just that...”

  She motioned for me to let her say something. “I learned a lot when I was hiking. When you’re that vulnerable and alone, you learn what’s of value. When you haven’t seen another human being sometimes for days, it makes a difference to have someone to walk beside you. Maybe it’s a false sense of security, but if something were to happen, at least you had someone there to mend an unexpected wound or to put on a splint for a broken bone.”

  I nodded and listened with an appreciation for her unique perspective.

  “When you take a risk like that, you begin to appreciate the sense of truly being alive. You know at any moment that a bear or cougar could take you down. It has happened, you know. One moment you’re so full of life and yet the next instant you’re a meal for some wild animal.” She hesitated and then said, “So you’re always paying attention. Or, at least, those that make it have to stay that way. It’s a Zen mindset where your senses are active and the primal side of your nature is so aware it’s at first startling. But once you get that feeling and then it stays from one moment to the next, you reunite with something innate but long forgotten.”

  I honored her insights but wasn’t certain how they applied to this situation. When I asked just that, she almost seemed hurt that I hadn’t understood her intent. She said, “Don’t you see...life is a metaphorical hike. And this is but one of the points along the journey. If I help you, maybe at some point down the road you’ll do the same for me.”

  “Okay. I understand. I apologize for my dull-headedness.”

  “So here’s what I’m thinking...” She went on to say that the estate security knew she was in the area. That meant that if she were walking beside the road, her being there wouldn’t be unexpected. And if she got stopped and then asked if she had seen me, a convenient white lie might be necessary. But she alluded to a woman’s charms that, when needed, are a convenient distraction. She then suggested that dusk would be the best time to escape. From what she recalled, there was a shift change that happened around that time. It was possible the security teams currently out looking for me would return to the estate. Then, another team would be preparing to leave and join in the hunt. Yes, there was a lot of additional risk flying that close to dark, but if it provided the needed moment to come pick me up, it just might work. Besides, unless it was an emergency, the helicopter typically didn’t fly once it was dark.

  She was about as tactic-minded and forward thinking as I was. I sincerely appreciated having someone so thoughtful beside me. But then a thought came to mind: how could she afford what I assumed had to be a somewhat expensive aircraft? I carefully broached the subject. Helen however, didn’t miss a beat. She told me her older brother had it built for her a few years back. It was an electric-powered, two-seater, air taxi of sorts. She said its solar-powered batteries had been charged by now. That was part of the reason she had been waiting here—aside from the idea of getting a return call for a second interview. But she also mentioned that there was this “creepy guy” hanging around the airstrip—someone that made her instincts go off when he was around.

  When I expressed the concern of what would happen if he were there when she wanted to take off, she held up what I now realized was a Glock pistol. She said he would see things her way and in a hurry. And if he didn’t, she’d blow off one of his kneecaps. Considering the way she said that, and with obvious confidence, I had no reason to doubt her.

  Helen gave me a second candy bar—which I consumed in a matter of moments. She then went about gathering up her things, got them organized, and then said she would take the poncho and set it out next to the road. She would place a stick or some sort of marker next to it. I was to make my way down the concrete embankment and then crawl under the poncho. She tried to describe the sound of her aircraft. It had multiple rotors that made it sound as if it were a mix between a plane and a helicopter. The moment that sound got close enough—meaning that she had checked out the area to make certain things were in the clear—I was to emerge and then get into the getaway aircraft.

  She told me to wait at least half an hour—or until the sun started to set—before I got out of my hiding place. She put on her backpack and made her way gingerly down the concrete embankment. She glanced up at me for a moment and then gave me a thumb’s up. Fortunately, she left her sleeping bag. She told me to wrap up in it once things began to cool down. She was incredibly thoughtful. Judging by her age, if I had been a decade or two younger, I wouldn’t hesitate to... I stopped myself mid-thought. The last thing I needed was to be thinking about dating someone I barely knew let alone had reason to think was anything but my momentary savior. Such juvenile thinking had no place, but especially at a time when I had to keep my focus entirely on the immediate task at hand.

  For no reason other than being overly anal, I had been counting down the minutes. I wanted to be ready the moment Helen arrived. I didn’t have a direct line of sight to the sun. But I could tell the sky’s color was changing on the west side of the overpass. I knew it was time. I paused to listen. I waited perhaps longer than my sense of urgency would allow. But having done that, I was rewarded with my safety. A caravan of security vehicles passed by me on their way ba
ck to the estate. I sighed when I realized how it could have been if I hadn’t resisted my natural inclination to get going.

  Once things grew quiet, I slowly began inching my way down the rough embankment. I stayed on my butt as I edged closer to the road. Once there, I stood up and once again felt light-headed. The last thing I needed was to faint. I steadied myself, glanced for the marker and the poncho, and then got underneath it. I hesitated to lie down in that the ground was covered with a mixture of garbage, gravel, and recently trimmed weeds. But I knew I had to keep as low to the ground as possible. I placed the sleeping bag first, pulled the poncho over me, and then laid there in wait.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  At first, I wasn’t certain if that was the sound. But as it grew nearer, I appreciated Helen having described it. It could have been easily mistaken for a helicopter—but especially had I not been the wiser. It wasn’t until it was almost on top of me that I stood up, grabbed the sleeping bag, and then used what energy was left to climb into the passenger’s seat of a compact flying machine. Once the hatch slowly closed, Helen immediately had us airborne. I did what I could to put on my safety harness. The feeling of escape was profound. I had no idea where we were going, but we were, wherever it was.

  Once at altitude, I couldn’t help but appreciate the solar reflections on the Pacific. To see water for a change was a welcome relief. Yes, it had been there earlier in the day, but my thoughts were so disturbed that I hadn’t taken the time to fully appreciate the obvious beauty. I turned to Helen and asked, “Any idea of where we’re going?”

  She gazed straight ahead. “I’m not sure yet. I was thinking about it while I walked toward the airstrip—which, by the way, proved to be an unexpected challenge.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Unexpectedly, I ran into not one but two roadblocks on my way there.”

  “You mean security?”

  “Yes, but also the local Highway Patrol. From the look of things, you are one wanted man. I’d even say you’re radioactive.”