RUNAWAY TWINS and RUNAWAY TWINS IN ALASKA: BOXED SET (23 page)

He shook his head and pointed to the sheath on his belt. "We've always got my knife."

As they began to hike deeper into the wilderness toward the eastern edge of the preserve, Janie asked, "Tomorrow?"

"Maybe head for the Bilboa and Barnes camp," said Justin. "They shot one of our sows…maybe two, but they'll protect us. They're not criminals like the fake fishermen." The ground rumbled beneath their feet and he added, "I'd guess those killers are halfway to Fairbanks by now."

16
Missoula and Deer Lodge

At the Western Montana
Mental Health Center, the twins' mother had improved somewhat in clarity of thought and now remembered that her two daughters had come to visit. She couldn't recall precisely what it was they wanted, but she knew they wanted something—everyone wanted something from her. No one loved her for herself. No one came to see her or called on the phone without an ulterior motive.

Her husband Seth was a perfect example. He had just called from the state prison at Deer Lodge. "Have you heard from the girls?"

"They were here."

"Yes, but I mean now—since the eruption and earthquake. Are they all right? Have they contacted you? They wouldn't bother with me."

"Earthquake?"

"Don't you watch the news?" He seemed frustrated, impatient.

"No." She hung up without further comment. Let him call one of his other wives if he wanted to talk about the news.

Seth Lemon left the telephone
center and returned to the open cell door of the Prophet J.J. Flack. He set on the edge of the bed next to Elder Biggars and shrugged. "She's no help. Doesn't know what day it is, let alone what happened to the twins."

The Prophet nodded. "Thank you for trying, Elder Lemon."

Seth said, "Getting the girls to recant their testimony may be impossible anyway."

"With God all things are possible," said the Prophet. "But we can't begin the process if we don't know what's happened to them or where they are."

Seth left the cell, and Elder Biggars remained, slouched in the corner chair with his feet on the commode.

The Prophet's face darkened. "Satellite phones would've solved this problem. I thought we made a mistake in ruling them out. The extra money wasn't significant."

"Wasn't the money," said Biggars. "Too many prying ears. Didn't want Idaho Joe on tape in some government agency."

"Fairbanks International's doing okay," the Prophet said. "Runways open for business. Cargo plane is ready to load the crates for Whitehorse."

Biggars said, "Nothing but mining equipment in those crates now."

The Prophet got to his feet and gripped the bars beside the open door with both hands. "By the Lord God, I'll have those girls if I have to break out of here and crawl to Fairbanks and Whitehorse. And I want that boy with them buried. He frustrated God's will in the Bitterroots and God will not allow it to happen again.

"Yes, sir," said Elder Biggars.

17
The Bend in the Yuktapah

Not having a supply of
milk for Umbriago didn't seem to be a problem, for he devoured everything Janie offered him. She had taken Justin's place as the official spring cub caregiver and transporter, and she was delighted with the responsibility. Like Justin, she traveled with the tiny bear under her flannel shirt, but unlike Justin, since she didn't wear a tee shirt, she nestled Umbriago next to her skin. She liked him there next to her heart, and he seemed to like it there, too.

They'd spent the night in the pup tent, but the girls quickly squelched Justin's plan to sleep sandwiched between them…for warmth. They relegated him to one side and insured his isolation by folding a portion of the lone blanket into a ridge between him and Rachel. He loudly proclaimed his displeasure, but laughed as he did so to let them know he admired their modesty.

Breakfast consisted of canned salmon and canned turnip greens, heated over the fire Justin started with the cigarette lighter he always kept in his pocket. The meal was not bad, but not good either. Still, the teens partially slaked their hunger and Umbriago lapped up the leftover juice and several handfuls of red currant berries Janie managed to scrounge for him.

"The sky's gray," said Rachel.

"Residual ash," said Justin. "Look at the trees and the grass—they're gray. Grind your teeth. It's in our mouths, too."

"Will it pile up on the ground?" Janie asked.

Justin shook his head. "Don't think so. Would've been like a heavy snow cover by now if it was going to build up. What we have is a dusting. Closer to Mount Yuktapah it's probably pretty thick."

Rachel had the pup tent strapped to her back, Justin carried the pack with the remaining cans, and Janie had wound the lone blanket around Umbriago and secured him to her chest. Justin made a comment about bear fur on their blanket, but Janie reminded him that Umbriago had slept with them and no one seemed the worse for wear.

Though the air was impure, Rachel felt invigorated as they trekked over the hills and through the woods toward the hunters' camp. The aftershocks and strange noises had ceased. The criminal fishermen seemed to have disappeared, and she hoped the earth had opened up and swallowed them.

Justin pointed to two arctic squirrels that were taking turns chasing each other. "More to eat up here than we had in the Bitterroots, eh?"

"Yuck," said Janie. "We ate squirrels in Montana, but we never said we liked them."

Rex and Martha Carlson sat
at the conference table in Denali with the superintendent, six other National Park Service rangers, two USGS reps, and four Alaska State troopers.

"Our kids are trapped up there, and they're not alone. Must be twenty or thirty fishermen, hunters, hikers, inside and outside the preserve. We need planes and long-range choppers—in the air now!"

The ranking trooper nodded. "Advance word is that the northern portion of Glacier Lake is okay for pontoons, but in the south in Yuktapah Canyon the lake has gone underground."

"Oh no!" said Martha. "That means the Station is gone, too. We're only a few hundred feet from the southern tip of the lake. Those poor kids."

Rex touched her arm. "Resourceful…all of them—especially Justin. Don't sell them short."

The superintendent said, "We'll saturate the area with park service aircraft, too. We'll get in there and find the survivors—believe me."

"Our fault," said Rex. "We should've brought our interns with us."

"They're capable of staying on their own," said the superintendent—otherwise we wouldn't have chosen them."

At the bend in the
Yuktapah, the three interns were pleased to see that despite the swelling of the river and the floating debris, the Bilboa and Barnes outfitters' camp still stood—high and dry.

"Look how wide the river is," said Rachel. "If the fools upstream didn't move off that sandspit, they don't have a camp anymore."

"Let's hope they were washed away with the rest of the crud," said Justin. "…if they made it back. Couldn't happen to a more deserving pile of pond scum." He stopped in his tracks, frozen at the sight before him, his eyes riveted on two bearskins hung out to dry on a long line between two trees. "
Two
skins!" he said moving closer. "They only had one skin." He increased his pace and when he arrived at the line, he exclaimed, "Both are sows, but neither is Big Bertha! One we saw in the valley beyond where we found Umbriago. The other is one of ours, too. You can see where her collar was."

Janie and Rachel joined Justin at the bearskins. Rachel said, "We heard two more rifle shots day before yesterday…remember? Guess this second skin is the result. But really, Justin, with all that's gone on, maybe we should redirect our concerns."

"Big Bertha will always be my concern," he said.

"I know," said Rachel. "But we need to find the hunters—"

The same thought seemed to strike the teenagers at the same instant. They turned from the bearskins and looked around the camp. "Where is everybody?" asked Janie. "They wouldn't go out hunting with the earthquakes and the eruptions, would they?"

"Not likely," said Justin. "Something's wrong…"

The flap on the main tent flew open and the three remaining fishermen filed out, led by Idaho Joe with a pistol in his hand. "Or something's right," he said, grinning. "Imagine, walking straight into our hands. We couldn't believe it when we saw you on the hill. Welcome."

"Where're the hunters?" Justin asked.

"Sleeping with the graylings," said Montana Mike.

"All of them?"

"They stuck together, so they died together. Brave men, I must say."

Rachel asked. "Five murders—don't you men have hearts?"

"Afraid not," said Ernie from Washington. "We needed their canoes; they wouldn't give them up…so they gave up their lives."

"I thought there were four of you," said Justin.

Ernie flinched. "Jack went over a cliff running from the eruption. We tried to save him."

"I'll bet," said Justin.

Janie removed Umbriago from under her shirt and placed him at her feet. He looked around at the six humans, as if he had no idea what was expected of him; and then he trotted over to stand close to Ernie. Ernie shooed him away, and Umbriago retreated several feet, but still hovered close.

Janie's spirits crashed. Evil men again and again. She felt like giving up and taking her place beside her mother at the Montana Mental Health Center. It couldn't be worse than the constant pressure of dealing with such men. She turned to look at her sister who held her head high and then at Justin who held his head even higher. Defiance, courage. Janie raised her head and hardened her expression.

"Your camp on that sandy arm was wiped out, wasn't it?" said Justin.

Joe nodded. "You and your rangers were right, but as you can see, we've recouped."

"Rescue teams will be all over this area."

Joe laughed. "It's a big area."

"They'll follow the path of the Yuktapah."

"Three fishermen heading home…with two beautiful, young girls asleep and concealed in the bottoms of our canoes. Troopers will wave and move on to help those in trouble."

"You can't canoe down river in this garbage."

"It's beginning to clear, haven't you noticed? One or two hours and the five of us will be on our way." As he spoke, Joe slipped his pistol in his belt and took a small black needle pack from his pocket. "Time to rest, my dear," he said to Rachel.

Justin started forward, but Mike pulled an automatic from his waistband. "Not so fast, young man. Your turn will come."

Rachel ran to protect Justin, but Joe reached out, grabbed her arm, and yanked her jacket down around her shoulders. He then jabbed a pre-prepared needle into her upper bicep through her flannel shirt.

She felt it immediately. She turned helplessly to Justin and tried to shrug. He smiled and she knew he understood. Her last thought as she lost consciousness was that Justin must be what God had in mind when he made boys.

Janie thought of running, but she could see it was no use. Where would she go? The men would be on her in seconds, and anyway, she had no desire to desert Rachel and Justin when they needed her most…even if she couldn't save them physically. She clinched her teeth and stepped closer to Justin.

Joe extracted a second needle and walked toward Janie.

Justin moved in front of her.

"No problem," said Joe, nodding to Mike, "we can deal with you first. You can sleep with the graylings next to the hunters."

"Our bodies—" Justin began.

"Won't be found. We've got the perfect spot…plenty of room for six in one little nook."

Mike raised his automatic.

Umbriago, in the meantime, was growing impatient with being ignored, and he moved closer to Ernie once again and began rubbing against his leg. Ernie reacted violently and kicked the little bear in the side, propelling him twenty feet toward the edge of the clearing. Umbriago howled as if he'd been attacked by a mountain lion and continued to howl to make certain all knew how betrayed he felt.

The kick was the last act of cruelty in Ernie's short, wasted life, for out of the woods charged Big Bertha, her teeth bared, her eyes glazed with rage. She raced straight for Ernie, and when she reached him she embraced him like a lover, crushing his spine in the process. He fell from her grasp and she took a swipe at his neck with her right paw, opening his jugular. Then she bent over him and severed his head from his body with her jaws and teeth.

Everyone present stood transfixed. The attack was so swift, so bloody, so unexpected, that no one was prepared to think, let alone run.

Finally Mike and Joe came to their senses, glanced at each other, and ran to the tent, closing and zipping the flap behind them. It was a ridiculous, inadequate shelter, and one that Big Bertha could destroy in seconds if she chose; but she didn't choose. Instead she waddled to the edge of the clearing and began to lick Umbriago. And for his part, he at once forgot his human family, and responded to his mother's ministrations.

Justin watched the reunion for a few seconds and then shouted to Janie. "Hurry. Let's get out of here. She might think we're still a danger to her cub."

"Rachel?"

"You hold her under one arm, I'll take the other. We're strong enough. If we have to we'll drag her. But we're not leaving her, that's for sure. Come on, let's roll!"

"The men?"

"They've got guns. We've got to get as far away as we can. They'll stay holed up because of Big Bertha, but if she leaves them alone and goes off with Umbriago, they'll come looking for us."

18
Wilderness

"
Wasn't Bertha magnificent?"
Justin said to Janie as they stopped to rest on a small outcropping of rock on the crest of a hill.

"Magnificent might not be the word I'd choose," she said. "Bertha left that man's head lying on the ground."

"He deserved it. He was a killer."