Into the Shadows (28 page)

“So, my Mom said you are just visiting for the day
because you are on vacation. That’s cool! Where are you going
next?” she asked.

“Oh, Christian has some relatives in another part of
Minnesota that we are going to visit for, uh, Christmas,” Paivi
answered, noticing the small Christmas tree in the corner. She felt
Monika was too young to hear the truth.

“Is Christian your boyfriend?” Monika asked.

Christian heard the question, even though he was
supposed to be napping. Paivi saw his mouth turn up into a
smile.

“Um, no. Christian is just a friend. He told us he
was going to have to drive here alone, and we felt sorry for him.
My parents were going, uh…out of town, so we were going to be on
our own anyways.”

“Oh, cool. Want to make some bracelets with me?”
Monika hauled out a huge box of beads and thread from under the
coffee table. “I’ve got to make a few more for Christmas
presents.”

Paivi was glad of the distraction, and spent the
better part of the afternoon stringing beads with Monika. She
couldn’t sleep anyways.

Tim and Alissa returned at dinnertime carrying some
plastic bags.

“We brought dinner, we knew there wouldn’t be much
time to cook.” Alissa lifted the lid off a cardboard bucket.

Paivi’s mouth started to water as the smell of fried
chicken filled the room.

“Um, how did everything go?” Paivi asked
nervously.

Tim glanced at Monika. “I talked to my friend. It
seems that we will be able to go out later. We’ll get ready after
we eat.”

The meal was a quick one, chicken and small tubs of
mashed potatoes and gravy were passed around the table. Paivi
forgot she hadn’t eaten since breakfast and that she was starving.
Torsten had almost an entire chicken on his plate. He certainly
hadn’t lost his appetite. After dinner, Alissa ushered Monika down
the hall, encouraging her to get ready for bed and promising to
watch a movie with her later.

Tim addressed Paivi, Torsten and Christian.

“Okay. So we will leave in an hour. Your bags are
already in the truck. We took the plates off the SUV and hid them
in a forest on the way back. We also scratched off the VIN number,
in case they find it. It will just look like some car thieves
ditched it there, which happens from time to time. We are going to
drive about thirty minutes north of Duluth, along the lakefront.
There is a park there with a boat landing that’s popular with
fisherman. I have a friend with a fishing boat that he stores
there. He can get it in the water pretty quickly, being that it
hasn’t frozen along the coast yet. We’ll go north along the coast
to just over the Canadian border, and leave you at the drop off
point. Someone is supposed to meet you there and take you to the
cabin in the woods. There are no roads or anything where we’re
taking you, so it’s important that they meet you or you could get
lost and freeze to death. Make sure to put on as many heavy
clothing items as you can, a couple shirts, two or three pairs of
socks, whatever you can manage. You’re going to need the insulation
out in that cold.”

They washed up quickly and dressed themselves with
all the layers they had brought inside. Tim had to bring in their
bags so they could find a few more pairs of socks. Finally, it was
time.

Monika and Alissa came out to say goodbye.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for the movie?”
Monika asked, balancing a giant bowl of popcorn.

“We’d love to, but we’ve got to get going! But
thanks! Enjoy the movie!” Paivi gave Monika a big hug. She moved on
to Alissa. “Thanks for everything.”

Alissa hugged her. “Good luck.”

They pulled on their winter coats over their thick
layers of clothing. Paivi felt a little warm, but knew it would be
worth it once they stepped outside.

The cold hit them as they headed out the door. Paivi
started to shiver and tried to force herself to stop. There was no
use shivering yet, she had a feeling it was going to get a whole
lot worse as the night went on.

The drive to the park was quiet. Paivi was busy
looking out at the woods, thinking about having to walk alone
through them in the dark, while Christian continued to keep an eye
out for any ATC vehicles.

They followed a winding two-lane road along the
coast. It was the most major road in these parts, being that it was
actually paved, and yet there was very little traffic. A half an
hour after leaving the house, they pulled off the road onto a
snow-covered side road that Paivi would have driven right by. It
was barely a hole in a wall of trees, slightly bigger than the
truck itself. Tim eased the truck down the road to a clearing,
where another truck waited with a small fishing boat on a trailer.
Tim got out and ran over to the other driver. The other man
maneuvered his truck around angling the trailer towards an opening
that Paivi could see led out to the black water. She noticed for
the first time that she could see the moon and stars tonight. The
moon wasn’t full, but it reflected off of the water, making it
appear much brighter. She could see so many stars out of the window
of the truck that she felt like she was in a planetarium.

Tim returned quickly and told them to grab their
belongings. Paivi pulled on her backpack and opened the truck door.
She didn’t think it was possible to be colder than cold, but this
was colder than she could ever imagine was even possible.

“Don wants us to throw everything in the boat before
we put it in the water. Once it’s in we’ll have you guys hop on
board. We’ll come on last, we’ll have to push the boat out a few
feet, but we have waders so we’ll stay dry.” He grabbed what
appeared to be a pair of rubber overalls and began to step into
them. “We use these for fishing, but they come in handy for
launching a boat in the winter, too!”

Paivi, Torsten and Christian stayed close together
for warmth as they moved down the clearing towards the boat. They
threw their bags over the side and stepped out of the way as Don
backed the truck in so that the trailer and the boat were in the
water. Tim grabbed a rope and pushed the boat back into the lake.
He gave a wave to the truck, which accelerated forward, pulling the
trailer back out of the water. Paivi could see the water freezing
instantly, forming little icicles on it. Don parked the truck and
then headed back to the boat to help everyone on.

Christian went first, taking a step up on Don and
Tim’s hands. Paivi went next, pulling herself over the side of the
boat with Christian’s help. She slipped on the deck and fell just
as Torsten came over the top rail, landing in a heap on top of
her.

“Ow, you idiot!” she whispered at him loudly, not
wanting to make a lot of noise although it didn’t appear that there
were any humans anywhere nearby.

“I didn’t know you we’re going to be here. Come on,
let’s get out of the way.” Torsten half dragged her down the deck
to the back of the boat.

Tim and Don joined them after helping push the boat
out a little further. They made their way to the back of the boat
and Don climbed up a small ladder to the captain’s deck. There was
an enclosed area with room for three people and the controls. “Hi
kids, nice to meet ya. Tim and I are going to be up on the
captain’s deck, so we’ll have to put you down below in the cabin.
The ride is going to last for a few hours, and the heater isn’t
much, but it’ll keep us all from freezing to death. Don’t come up
on deck until we come down to get you, it’s too slippery and we
don’t want any of you falling overboard. Once you fall into that,”
he nodded towards the black water, “there’s very little chance we
will find you alive.”

Paivi shivered as she looked out over the dark
water. Escaping the country was definitely scary, but not nearly as
scary as that great stretch of blackness that could swallow them
into a grave that no one would ever find. She happily followed the
others below deck into the small cabin. She didn’t even mind that
it smelled like fish. At least it was warm. The room was decorated
with pictures of fish and beer advertisements. It had a small
kitchen area and a couch that had the ability of transforming into
a bed. They dropped their bags into a corner and settled into the
couch as Don headed for the door.

“Bon voyage kids. There’s a little phone over to the
side there if you need to call up to us. You’ll need to keep the
lights off in order to keep us from being seen from the shore. You
can use the flashlights over in the corner if you’d like a little
light. Just keep it away from the windows. See you in a bit.” He
flicked the lights off and shut the door tight.

Paivi sat in the middle, crammed between Torsten and
Christian. That was fine, it meant that she was warmer than either
of them. Her eyes attempted to adjust to the dark, but she couldn’t
make out a thing, not even her hand before her face. She reached
behind her and felt a curtain hanging over a window and pushed it
to the side. A little light came through from the moonlight
reflecting off the water. At least she could make out some objects
around the room.

“What do we do now?” Paivi sighed.

“I’ve got some cards, if you want to play,” Torsten
offered.

“Um, if you haven’t noticed, it’s a little dark. How
are we supposed to play cards?” Paivi retorted.

“Well, he said we could use the flashlights.” He
pulled the pack of cards out of his pocket.

“Come on Torsten.” Christian got up, grabbing one of
the flashlights. “I’ll play with you.”

After a half an hour attempting to play hearts in
the light of a dim flashlight, the boys gave up, returning to plop
down on the couch next to Paivi.

“Now what?” Torsten asked.

Paivi was suffering from the incessant rocking of
the boat, her stomach rolled back and forth and her head spun.

“I don’t know what you’re gonna do, but I feel sick.
All I want to do is close my eyes and sleep.” She closed her eyes,
hoping the rocking motion would subside. It helped.

Torsten and Christian were quiet, and soon Torsten
was snoring, as usual. Paivi didn’t dare open her eyes to see if
Christian was sleeping or not. She didn’t feel like talking
anyways. Soon, her exhaustion got the better of her and she drifted
off to sleep, leaning against Torsten. She awoke to feel someone
pulling on her arm.

“Paivi, Torsten, wake up. We’re here.” It was
Christian. He was shaking them both now. “Come on, we’ve got to be
ready to go. They are pulling us into shore.”

Paivi looked around her. Everything was so dark — it
took her a few seconds to realize where they were. Now she
remembered. They were on a boat on Lake Superior in the middle of
the night, attempting to escape to Canada. Then she remembered the
cold. She sat up. She looked at Torsten who was rubbing the sleep
from his eyes and Christian, who was putting on his backpack. She
didn’t want to go outside, it was too cold!

Tim appeared in the doorway. “Don is just about to
pull up to the shore. Are you guys ready?”

Paivi felt sick, and she wasn’t sure if it was from
the seasickness or from nerves. She grabbed her backpack, slipping
it on.

“We’re ready.”

“Be careful on the deck, it’s extremely slippery,”
Tim warned.

They followed him out onto the deck. The air felt
colder here, maybe more so because this was the end of the line.
They were on their own from here. No more friends to help them.
Just the cold, dark woods stretching out in front of them. Paivi
looked out over the lake — it looked beautiful in the night. The
silver light of the moon spread across the black surface giving it
the appearance liquid mercury. Don came down from the captain’s
deck and helped them move to the front of the boat.

“How did you guys know where to take us?” Torsten
asked.

“You’ll see when you get to the front of the boat,”
Tim answered.

Slipping and sliding, they cautiously made their way
to the front of the boat. Along the shoreline, Paivi could see the
trees. Instead of forming a straight wall, they were bent into
awkward shapes that took her a minute to understand. The trees were
shaped into a word.

SAFE

Before their eyes, there was a slight rustle and the
trees moved back to their original positions. Paivi had never seen
a sign on such a scale. It was amazing. She wondered if Don could
see it, but she didn’t think it was important.

“Okay, let’s have the boys jump first, then you guys
can catch Paivi. If I remember, she was always the clumsy one.” Tim
pointed to the edge of the boat.

“Very funny,” Paivi said through chattering
teeth.

Christian went over first, with a light splash as he
landed in the water. Torsten followed with a splash of his own.

“Now quick, hop down so they don’t have to stand in
that water any longer, it’s only like a few inches, but you guys
don’t need any extra water on you in this cold.”

Paivi swung her legs over the bar and hopped down a
few feet into the shallow water, Torsten and Christian catching her
arms so she didn’t lose her balance. With her luck she would have
fallen face first into the water and then froze to death. They
moved quickly to the shore.

“Now, someone is supposed to meet you here.” Tim
looked up and down the shore, squinting to see if he could spot
someone in the trees. “I don’t want to leave you kids here
alone.”

Paivi looked around. The shore looked so familiar.
She stepped to the side, away from the boat and looked back out at
the lake. She closed her eyes a moment and it hit her like a ton of
bricks. She had been here before. “I think you should go. We don’t
want you guys to get caught.”

“Paivi, are you crazy? If they leave us here and we
don’t get to this house or whatever is supposedly out there in the
woods, we’ll freeze to death!” Christian sputtered.