Return (End Times Alaska Book 3) Read online

  The twins mushed by, hanging on for dear life as they were thrown around in the rickety contraptions flying behind the dogs.

  Dog tongues lolling, they raced ahead. Clouds filled the sky, and the air cooled. We took care passing the dogs and mushers as we raced ahead. I believed we would make good time.

  Until we saw the bears. No mothers on earth want a pack of strangers between them and their babies. This grizzly sow was no exception. As we drove, Abigail not far behind, we glimpsed the bear coming into the road milliseconds before she rammed into our quad. I gunned it when we were thrown up on two wheels.

  Our ride was slow to respond. The bear stood and swiped the side of the quad as it came back to the ground. Madison screamed as she tried to throw herself out of the way.

  She was belted in and didn’t get far. The bear’s claws raked her seat, catching her shoulder. I saw her wince as I wrestled with the wheel to turn the quad away from the massive beast. When the wheels hit the ground, they spun, lurching us forward. The edge of the trailer hit the bear’s front leg as it powered past. She almost fell into the snow machine, but stayed upright until we were past. I ran the quad forward until I was sure the bear wasn’t following, then slammed on the brakes.

  “Are you okay?” I asked Madison while trying to pull my rifle from its case.

  “No. It burns!” she stammered. I couldn’t see the wound from where I was. I unbuckled my seat belt and leaned forward. The tear in her jacket was bad, but the injury itself didn’t look deep.

  “Wait here,” I said, trying to sound calm. Jumping out, I aimed the rifle back up the road, but the bear was gone. I jogged a few steps, breathing quickly, but fully. I ran farther up the road as Abigail tried to slow her dogs, but I waved her on. “Keep going, a bear, but she’s gone now,” I yelled as her team ran past. The dogs were alert as the bear scent must have been overwhelming, and they started running out of sync.

  “Ha!” Abigail yelled, encouraging them to run through it. I stayed at the side of the road, aiming toward the brush where the bear had disappeared. I listened, but could only hear the next team coming, Charles with Aeryn close behind. Next up was Chris and Colleen.

  “Madison needs you!” I yelled and Chris immediately responded, trying to slow the dogs down. He wasn’t able to stop the wheeled sled until he was fifty yards past the quad. Colleen handed Hermione to Chris as she grabbed her medical kit and ran to see Madison.

  A WINLOCK PRESS BOOK

  ISBN (eBook): 978-1-68261-294-1

  PUBLISHED AT SMASHWORDS

  End Times Alaska: Return

  Book 3

  © 2016 by Craig Martelle

  All Rights Reserved

  Edited by Monique Happy Editorial Services

  Cover art by Christian Bentulan

  This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events, and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events, is purely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author and publisher.

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  Table of Contents

  HOMECOMING

  A RECEPTION

  HOME

  THE WHITE HOUSE

  EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

  MILITARY BRIEFINGS

  SCHOOL

  TWO MONTHS LATER

  A SPECIAL PERSON

  BACK TO DAWSON CITY

  THE RETURN

  THE JOURNEY BEGINS

  WELCOME TO ALASKA, THE GREAT STATE

  BEARS

  TANACROSS

  THE ACCIDENT

  THE RECOVERY

  DELTA JUNCTION

  WHAT WILL WE DO WHEN WE GET THERE?

  NEXT STOP, FAIRBANKS

  NOW WHAT?

  CHRIS AND COLLEEN

  FINDING A HOME

  NORTH POLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

  THE AIR FORCE LIFESTYLE

  CAST A WIDE NET

  CHUCK AND LUCAS UNLEASHED!

  NOT SURE WE COULD’VE SCREWED UP MORE…

  WHERE IS EVERYONE?

  CHRIS AND COLLEEN

  NENANA

  A SINGULAR FOCUS

  GETTING READY FOR WINTER

  THE ENGINEERS

  HEALY

  THE COST OF POWER

  THE SURVIVORS

  SHANE

  TRAVELING HOME

  POWER

  THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN

  AND BILL BELLOWED

  JUST DO WHAT NEEDS DOING

  A NEW DAY

  WINTER PREPARATIONS

  THE TWINS, WYNONA AND ANGIE

  BEN AND MAGGIE

  BECCA AND DARREN

  THE RESCUE PARTIES

  JUST A FLESH WOUND

  RUNNING FAST AND GETTING SOMEWHERE

  THE SUPPLY RUN

  WINTER

  THE RUSSIANS

  THE SETTLERS

  AN EARLY SPRING

  DESTRUCTION!

  JUST ONE MORE DAY

  DEDICATION

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  OTHER WINLOCK BOOKS YOU’LL LOVE

  HOMECOMING

  There’s nothing like returning home to a ticker-tape parade, but that’s not what we wanted. A limousine met us at the airport, which was a nice touch, but completely unnecessary. All our family members wanted to give us a ride, but sometimes, you have no choice. That was the life we left behind when we went to Alaska in the first place. I took one step from the plane, saw the crowd, and was already homesick for the Community and the resort. My heart pounded.

  There were too many dignitaries to mention. They didn’t matter. Madison’s mother was propped up in front of the group as we walked off the plane. We waved, thinking that’s what the people expected. Photographers surrounded us as Madison and her mother hugged, both crying profusely. I tried to put the circus out of my mind. Our families thought we died, and years later, we were reunited. That’s what mattered.

  They wanted to whisk us away as soon as we landed, but we politely refused while the twins took Husky and Phyllis for a well-deserved break in the closest grass. I’d had a week of glad-handing to improve how I answered the now commonplace questions.

  “How did you survive in Alaska for four years? Right in the middle of a war zone, too. I can’t imagine…” It began the same way every time, and they didn’t want to hear the real answer. I learned to cut out the four years of boring survival stuff and give them the tidbits of action.

  I left out how I killed the two criminals. That would have to be my secret. I hadn’t thought about it in years, but had to be careful what kind of stories I told. I didn’t want to diminish the world’s view of their new hero, did I? We only wanted to be left alone, and that wasn’t going to happen.

  I needed Madison to help me keep my ego in check. It was hard to be humble and be the center of attention. She didn’t want any of it. She only wanted to go home and try to catch up with her mother. Four years is a lifetime when you’re supposed to be dead. The good news was that her only brother and his wife had a baby. Madison could be the cool aunt and her mom had three grandchildren to spoil.

  The dogs finished their business. Although they were on leashes for the first time in years,
neither dog seemed to care. They were happy to be with us. We piled into the limousine for our ride to Mom’s house on the other side of Pittsburgh. It was a tight squeeze as the dogs took the area in the middle to sniff and assess everyone they didn’t know. We had to pull them back. I wasn’t surprised that Phyllis didn’t like the mayor.

  We’d lost control of our lives, I hoped for only a brief period of time. We were headed downtown to a reception and media event. Madison was livid, but only I and her mother could tell. She clenched her jaw so tightly that her lips were white.

  “Mr. Mayor, until a week ago, my mother-in-law thought her daughter and grandchildren were dead. I’ll come to the reception, but the rest of my family would appreciate their privacy,” I asked soothingly.

  “Don’t be ridiculous! You are heroes of this nation, and you deserve to be celebrated. We’ll make it quick, if that’s okay?” He didn’t ask like it was a question.

  How about you stuff your celebration up your ass you freaking jag-off! I thought in my harshest internal voice. I loved the Pittsburgh term for an asshole. Jag-off. It was a great slur. My expression must have given me away as his aide tried to come to the rescue.

  “I’m sure we can reach some accommodation, as everything is already set up. We’ll make it quick; the car will be close; and we’ll keep the engine running. How does that sound?”

  “I appreciate your consideration, but we weren’t consulted on any of this. We are private people. Remember where we lived? Alaska is not Pittsburgh. We don’t like crowds, and my dislike of politicians is growing exponentially,” I said coldly. I hadn’t intended to add the bit about despising politicians, but the “don’t be ridiculous” statement grated on my soul.

  “Well, we can, well…” the mayor sputtered.

  I had made my point. Now was the best time to negotiate a compromise. “Madison and her mother will stay in the car with the dogs. Charles, Aeryn, and I will join you for the reception. I will make some remarks if you wish, extolling the virtues of Pittsburgh, and how it set us up to survive.” The mayor hesitated before answering as he looked me over. “I’m not your enemy, Mr. Mayor. We’ve been gone a long time and this is all overwhelming. A week ago, we were sleeping on the side of a mountain with our dogs when a moose ran through our camp. We hadn’t eaten a decent meal because we were running from an enemy with MiG fighters who had just dropped bombs on our head. We aren’t quite yet in the party mood.”

  The mayor brightened up. “How could we be so callous. Of course that will work for us. Give us thirty minutes of your time and we’ll get you home without further issue. We’ll also assign police to your home so that your privacy is respected. You will have gawkers and well-wishers of all sort, as I know. Trust me!” he said with his most charming smile.

  We smiled back, mechanically. I nodded as well and shook his hand.

  I looked at the twins. They were each holding one of our dogs. I took a knee in the middle of the limousine where I could get close to them. “We’ll leave Phyllis and Husky in the car. We don’t want them to get anxious because of all the people. When we get out, stay close to me. People will ask questions, but don’t answer them until I say it’s okay. Think about what it was like mushing your own dog teams! Six-year-olds everywhere will be envious,” I said as I ruffled their hair. They calmed down, although I couldn’t guarantee they’d stay that way once we were mobbed by strangers.

  “Mr. Mayor, can we keep people from pressing in on us? We would appreciate a little bit of space. I don’t want to find out that these two are claustrophobic,” I asked, trying to improve our chances that the twins wouldn’t be in a position to answer questions unsupervised. No one needed to get too deeply into what we had to do to survive. The twins would be perfectly honest, but I suspected the reporters wanted dirt, wanted something to catch the readers’ eyes. No one wanted to read about my trials in figuring out we couldn’t pump our septic tank.

  I laughed to myself. And then there was the great gardening adventure. Sitting there, willing plants to grow. Much of it wasn’t very exciting.

  The mayor watched me closely. “We’ll do everything we can to protect your privacy and to hold the wolves at bay,” he said in a well-practiced calm and reassuring voice.

  Too late for that, jag-off, maybe you should have asked us before we arrived? I thought again in my sarcastic inside voice. This time I smiled and nodded. “We lost a man and his dog team to a wolf pack. We battled the wolves and it wasn’t pretty. I can’t express how important it is to me that I don’t have to fight off any more wolves,” I said, letting the double meaning hang there in front of us all. Madison gripped my arm tightly and pulled me back into my seat.

  After that, everyone focused on the dogs and gave them an excess amount of attention. It held further conversation at bay.

  A RECEPTION

  The reception was a blur. There was a gauntlet that we had to walk through, but as soon as we got out of the car, the driver closed the doors and drove away, giving Madison and her mom time alone.

  Charles was on my left and Aeryn on my right. They held tightly to my shirt as I waved at the crowd with both hands. I pointed to everyone wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey. They’d won another Super Bowl in our time away, and that gave me all the fodder I needed for small talk. We wanted to watch replays of some of the games, at least the playoff run. In some ways, it was nice to be back. It was nice to believe that things could be normal.

  We had yet to decide if we liked this normal. We’d had no time to ourselves since we flew out of Dawson City, and we needed time. Once we figured out how much money we had, we’d rent a cabin in the hills and disappear until we could get our heads wrapped around our new old world.

  All the people. Everything looked the same. I assumed our country would be at war, but no one acted any differently. It seemed too normal.

  When was the last time we were in Pittsburgh? Almost five years ago? I couldn’t remember.

  I continued to wave to the crowd as we were shown to a small platform with a lectern on it, topped with a bush of microphones bearing the labels of radio and television stations.

  There weren’t any chairs for the group. I took that as a sign that the comments would have to be quick. We arranged ourselves around the mayor who stepped boldly to the front and center.

  Show time.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Pittsburghers!” He held up his hands as the crowd cheered. At vantage points beyond the crowd, large cameras from the major news networks had been set up. We were live nationwide. My mouth went dry. I licked my lips, but it didn’t help.

  “A son and daughter of Pittsburgh have come home to us after surviving in the Alaskan Demilitarized Zone for four years! And they raised their children in that environment. These children here were two when Fairbanks was destroyed. Now look at them!” He stepped aside so the cameras could zoom in on the twins. I hugged them to my body and smiled. “And now a few words from the man himself, the Pittsburgher who saved twelve other lives, Charles Nagy!” The cheering was humbling. I never wanted this, but here I was. And there were more than twelve of us, counting the babies, but who was I to correct a moron?

  I raised my hands for quiet, and the crowd calmed down. There was one final shout of “Go Steelers,” to which I gave a thumbs up.

  “I can’t thank the people of Pittsburgh enough, for what this city means, and for the warm welcome we’ve received. I thank the mayor personally for taking time out of his day to orchestrate this. And let me tell you, we don’t deserve this,” I said while looking at the faces of the people closest to me. People shouted back that we were heroes.

  Not in my definition of the word. I leaned closer to the microphones so I didn’t have to feel like I was yelling. “We did what any of you would have done. We took care of our family, and when we added other survivors to that family, we took care of them, too. Just like anyone does in this gre
at city!” I stepped back to let them know I was finished. I turned toward the mayor to shake his hand. He beamed and nodded to me.

  Politicians were exceptional at reading people. He knew that I didn’t like him, but I’d kept my side of our deal. He owed me, and he knew it. I gripped his hand tightly while holding my smile. He tried to reciprocate, but I had four years of hard labor behind me. He couldn’t hold up. I let go and he didn’t rub the circulation back into his hand. I appreciated his self-discipline, if nothing else.

  We left the stage and tried to hold off other questions as we made a beeline for the limo which was now behind us. There was another gauntlet that ended with a wall of people. We stopped half way as the mayor made to shake my hand, then thought better of it. He leaned close and made his apologies that he wouldn’t join us for the rest of our drive. He’d respect our privacy by giving us the car to ourselves. I thanked him profusely as I gave his shoulder a light squeeze. I wasn’t sorry if I hurt his hand, but I’d made my point, and he gave me what I wanted.

  This also meant that we found ourselves without our government handlers. The bastard turned us over to the media, lock, stock, and barrel. At least there were police present. I leaned toward the nearest officer and asked for help in getting to our car. He nodded and said, “Semper Fi.” Once a Marine, always a Marine. I clapped my fellow veteran on the back and we fell in behind as he plowed through to the limo. Once there, we turned to face the reporters who were a bit put out at not getting individual time with us.

  “We’ll set up a separate media day, if that works. Get with the mayor’s office tomorrow as we should have a time and date. The kids would love to talk about what’s it like to mush your own dog team across three hundred miles of Alaskan wilderness, counting on only yourself and your family. Thank you!” I ended with a shout. We crawled in quickly and shut the door.

  Hijacking us on our way home? I hoped his office was flooded with calls from the media.