Ninety Degrees Out

“Have you got your gear in the Jeep?” Alicia asked as she came down the steps from the veranda in front of the main doors of the lodge. She left Arimina with Chay and spent a few minutes talking to her mother as Jett trekked in and out to load equipment into her car.

Jett nodded his head and pulled the hatch down on her dark green Cherokee.

“I’ve got solar panels and mini cameras for four locations,” her brother said.

“Alright then. I know where Ursa’s den is, and the cubs are almost twice the size they were when we first spotted them. You’re still not going to believe how small they are.”

“Four is almost unheard of.”

“Chay says she’s at least fifteen years old. And a great mother. I want to see if they’re going to adapt to this heat, and if they’ll be fishing in Twig Creek.”

“I’ll set these up wherever we find tracks showing they use a path. Did Chay really take down a couple of moose?”

“Yeah, he dragged the carcasses close to her den with his truck. She buried one of them where he left it. It’s probably pretty rotten by now, but that’s a bear for you.” Alicia wrinkled her nose in disgust as she climbed into the driver’s seat. “We’re going to head up to the spot where she crossed the road just after the shift.”

“What do think we should do about where we’re going to live?” Jett asked.

Alicia snorted before she answered. It was clear what Jett was really worried about. He’d always been one to get to the point.

“Bro, I’m for staying put. The road into Anchorage is open. Even if we do have to wait for twenty minutes where it’s only one lane. The big problem will be keeping a fuel supply for the planes and the vehicles we’ve got. And Hakan has a pretty good supply of horses for us.” Alicia backed away from the lodge and continued speaking. “And growing food isn’t a problem. I can’t believe someone started mango and guava trees from the seeds they saved from one of the breakfast fruit salads.”

“That was the last of the stored fruits. The wild strawberries are coming now, and we’ll have raspberries as well. Catherine Ingersoll has started apples and pears in the patch behind the barns.” Jett craned his neck as they rattled across the cattle gate and continued up toward Chay’s house. His forehead wrinkled with worry as he spoke more slowly. “I didn’t want to say anything, but what about gangs? I’ve been keeping up with news and there’s some pretty bad looting going on in California and some of the other bigger cities. What there’s left. The big earthquake last week, split most of the coast away and dropped it over fifty feet.”

“I know that section of the coast is bad. We lost how many million people? Instant under water. They’re trying to figure out how to rescue those trapped in the top floors of high rises. The coast guard has their hands full.” Alicia knew the casualty figures were staggering. How many people were the only survivor left in their families? How may lost everyone they cared about?

“Enough of the gloom and doom. We seem to be stable here, no more aftershocks.” Jett said.

“Yeah, and we’re back at Chay’s. I’ve given up my lease at the other place. They don’t think supplies to repair those big windows will come for months. Privately, I think it could be years.” Alicia said as they passed his driveway.

“So how much further?” Jett asked.

“We’re almost there. See the patch of gravel up by that curve? We’ll park there.” Alicia couldn’t wait to get into the forest and start on some real research.

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The gang wove its way up the highway, weaving between the stopped cars, swinging crowbars as they went. Riding Enduro motorcycles and ATV’s they worked in pairs, grabbing bags of groceries and 12 packs of beer from back seats and SUV cargo areas. They held guns to driver’s heads, taking cell phones and smashing them on the asphalt, running over the cracked screens and sinking them into the heat softened pavement.

“Yo, Rico, hear the sirens?”

“Yup, I’ll get the last of the cell phones. Someone got a call off, but they won’t have a picture of any of us. I’ve got the fastest bike, so the rest of you hit the trail into the forest there,” Rico replied.

A dozen gang members throttled up and slipped across the ditch and into the boreal forest. Following the creek, they roared out of sight and killed their motors.

“Hey Paulie, get the fire started. We got us some prime grub.”

Rico yelled to his brother as he idled up to park next to the Rascal parked beside the brook.

“Make camp boys! We’re gonna party tonight. See if there’s any houses around here. Maybe we can score someplace cooler to sleep.”

Paulie pointed at two of his boys. The men wore camo gear and slipped onto the path beside the creek. Walking along the edge of the waterway, they disappeared in the spruce forest. The alders and aspen had leafed out into a patch work of pale green against the blue of the coniferous giants. They wore rifles slung over their backs and whistled bird calls as they searched for signs of inhabited dwellings.

At the camp, the gang dropped six packs of beer and liquor bottles into the cool water of the creek tying bottles together with heavy weight fishing line. Tents went up, and the only two women in the group walked into the creek to take a swim in their underwear.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Quiet,” Alicia whispered. “There she is.”

Jett hunkered down beside her and peered through the view finder on his camera. The magnificent blonde Kodiak with her huge hump lumbered up out of the creek, scrambling up the boulder escarpment across from them. He snapped pictures until she disappeared with the trout she’d caught.

“Her den isn’t on that side,” Alicia said.

“I wonder where she’s hidden her cubs?”

“Probably up a tree close by. I don’t think they’re old enough to be eating anything solid yet.”

“Well, we’ve set up three remote cameras where we’ve seen their tracks. I can’t wait to see what we get.” Jett slung the strap attached to his Canon over his shoulder, cradling the long lens as he straightened up. He swatted at a mosquito and grabbed his can of bug repellant.

“Let’s go put the last one outside her den. If she’s eating over there, we should be safe to get it set before she gets back.”

They jumped as the twin rifle shots echoed down the canyon.

“Holy hell, I hope Ursa’s alright!” Jett hissed.

“Let’s get upstream, there’s a shallow spot not too far up. If some asshole hunter has shot her, I’m going to kill them.” Alicia swung her pack back on her shoulders and jogged up the game trail.

“Worse yet, what the fuck are they doing on your property?” Jett asked.

Another shot sounded and the grunting scream of an injured bear carried through the forest.

“Call 911, we’ve got trespassers and possible poachers. Those bears are protected,” Alicia ordered.

Jett pulled his cell phone out dialing with one finger as he pulled his handgun out of its holster.

“Where are we?” He asked his sister when the dispatcher asked him.

“Dahl Road at the beginning of Twig Creek Canyon. Tell them to assume poachers. We’re sitting ducks.” Alicia pulled her own side arm to the ready. “I’m texting Chay. He knows these woods better than anyone beside his brother.”