ChapterFive
Sunny adjusted the two ropes looped over her shoulders and crossing her chest bandolier-style and checked the camera to make sure it still filmed. It had a protective cover, and the battery had a full charge when she got moving two hours earlier. Still, the constant drizzle worried her.
“All right, folks. Today hasn’t been much better than yesterday or last night. That’s the thing about adventures. You never know what weather you’re gonna get. Alaska isn’t a tame walk in the park, either.” She smiled, then connected it back to the mount strapped across her chest.
She hadn’t talked much during that morning, which wasn’t like her. Usually, the continual one-sided conversation she had with her viewers kept the loneliness from sinking in. This trip, the trick didn’t work. She just felt empty, lacking.
Hopefully, the rain kept her spirits down and not the desire to be done with the whole solo adventuring gig. She didn’t even want to think about how many times the temptation to use the InReach satellite communication clipped to her belt loop to get a flight out had burned. Only the embarrassment of quitting kept her from texting her parents. She wasn’t slated to contact them until that night, so she had to get the forlornness off her shoulders before then, or she might not be able to keep her fingers from typing the evac code.
She reached the top of a knoll and scanned the stretch of terrain before her. Forest and hills filled this area, with the occasional meadow opening the space up. One such flat space filled the base of the knoll. From up there it looked flat and inviting, but the cusps of willows could grow thick, and miles of muskeg could mask as meadow and make the trek torturous. She generally took the bright side of situations, so she was banking on good, solid ground that provided an easy and steady hike for a while.
A thin, gray trail of smoke twirled into the sky in the distance along the willows. She pulled out her binoculars and surveyed the camp. An excavator parked in a muddy pit next to an old John Deere dozer that had probably been built the same year her grandpa was born. A trommel was positioned next to a couple of tarps stretched over a table like a canopy. She didn’t see anyone roaming around, but the smoke definitely meant someone was there.
She lowered her binoculars and bit the side of her bottom lip. She might be on a solo trek, but there wasn’t anything saying that she couldn’t stop in and visit. Wasn’t that an important part of survival—using what, or in this case, who you found to get you to your destination? Growing up, she’d been to every Fortymile Miners Association picnic each year with her parents. Every person she’d met had been friendly enough, though some could be a tad salty.
The need to talk with someone—anyone—pulled at her so strongly her feet moved toward the camp without conscious thought. She’d just let whoever was down there know she wouldn’t post any information or videos of their actual mining operation. Miners were notoriously protective of their claims.
“We are in luck, people. An important part of survival is using all the resources you find, and we just found a big one.” She jogged down the knoll, suddenly full of energy. “When you are in the wilderness, finding other people, even abandoned homesteads, could be the difference between life and death. Now, I’m not in a precarious situation, but I might get a meal before heading on. Later down the trail, that meal today could mean that my supplies last me another day.”
At the prospect of seeing people, her chattiness was back. She smiled at herself as she slowed to a walk. Though she stretched her steps wide, she didn’t want to startle the miners by rushing in. Getting shot would prematurely end her long-term plans, whatever those ended up being.
She slowed as she came to the open mine area. There still wasn’t anyone about, so she skirted the excavator and headed toward the skinny trail disappearing into the willows on the opposite side of the space. As she passed the trommel, she froze. Freedom Mining was painted in bright red, white, and blue across the metal side. She squealed, doing a little dance that splashed mud up her boots.
“Folks, I can’t believe it, but this claim is our friend Justin’s place.” She rushed to the trail. “He served in the military with my siblings. I don’t even know how many times he’s been to my parents’ for picnics and whatnot. I may just camp here for the night. Catching up with friends is too good of an opportunity to pass. I’m going to shut up now and try to surprise him. I can’t wait to see the shocked look on his face when he sees me just walk out of the woods.”
She squeezed her mouth closed. Excitement bubbled up in her, and she didn’t trust herself not to keep from chattering away. This day just went from a total downer to the best day in weeks.
She hadn’t even considered she’d run into Justin’s claim, not with thousands of square miles of wilderness in the Interior. Most people don’t realize just how massive the land is. That was one thing that frustrated Tiikâan about guiding hunters. The hunters got upset with her brother when there weren’t any animals to hunt. Sure, Alaska had more moose, caribou, and bears than any other state, but it was also larger than Texas, California, and Montana combined.
The sound of tires splashing through puddles hit her just as she spied Justin through the branches. She rushed down the last few feet of the path. Her smile stretched her cheeks so they hurt. He was going to flip out. Justin didn’t see her as she stepped from the path into the opening, his attention glued on two men rounding the front of a side-by-side.
As one man lifted a pistol, she skidded to a halt, her body freezing colder than sea ice. Three shots blasted rapidly from the gun, jerking Justin as they hit. Her pulse roared in her ears. She vaguely registered her scream as Justin fell to the ground. Bright red mixed with the chocolate brown of the puddle he landed in.
“Hey!” A shout yanked her attention to the men as the shooter turned the gun on her.