up, eleven years ago, with her doorbell in a box, and her soft brown hair, and an air of wholesome promise. He shuddered and clamped down on a deep necessity to cry.
Several seconds later voices began to accumulate outside and Harlan’s neighbours started gathering from the other businesses along the short strip mall.
Connie was trembling so violently it was hard to navigate the wreckage. She made a crunching path through the glass. She didn’t use the door but stepped over the spiky mountain range of the lower sill. She excused herself past a woman from the bakery, who was still holding a plate with a slice of carrot cake, and opened the back door of the Volvo and sat her bawling son in his car seat. It took both hands to steady the buckle enough to slide it into the lock. She heard a man say, What the hell, Harlan? What the H Christ is going on here?
She winced at the man’s crudeness. It held the frightening potential of a crass new life she had just stepped into where people lost their tempers, lost control, where they swore and fought and threw garbage cans through windows.
W hen the alarm went off at four-thirty in the morning, all Hannah could see was the shape of the window soaked in dark purple light and four stars in the sky. They got up and had flashlights and a kerosene lamp to dress by, and Norm made a fry-up of greasy eggs on thick slices of bread, and there was bacon, which they didn’t eat but made sandwiches with. Norm flicked on the high beams and they drove to a dirt road off the highway an old man at a gas station had told them about yesterday – a popular caribou crossing between the barrens. The road was pitted and they drove slowly. This is why you should never buy a used rental, Norm said, bottoming out again. They’re cars nobody cares about.
They turned off their high beams and the trees tilted back into the darkness. Down the road, two demon eyes of red. There was a pickup truck parked ahead of them and they realized they’d reached the spot on the map. They drove up alongside the truck and rolled down the window. A woman was sitting behind the wheel, holding a 35 mm camera to her chin. See anything?
A man in a green quilted shell came around the back of the truck. Saw two moose about a half-hour ago, he said.
So you’re after moose, Norm said.
There was a sound of nylon being scratched and the alder bushes parted and another man walked out, wearing a trucker’s cap and carrying a rifle on his shoulder. His eyes were wide and he was breathing hard. Jeeze, boy, I almost got him. Would have had the two of them if we’d been here sooner. If you sees ’em, shoot one of ’em for me, will ya?
The guys got into their truck and slammed the doors and drove off down the road. The brake lights came on again after a couple hundred yards, and they got out and rustled back into the bushes.
Man oh man, Norm said.
What?
All that noise.
They walked into the woods where it was darker and they got lost for a little while, cracking their way through a web of spruce boughs, over moss-covered logs, holding the compass ahead of them. There were creaking noises in the velvety darkness and Hannah felt a little afraid. A city girl deep in the woods. This was not one of those moments when you could belt out a happy song either, because they were trying to be as quiet as possible. They checked the map by flashlight. Things looked the same in all directions – receding pillars of black and blue. There was a green sky growing lighter overhead, and finally a tinge of orange above the treetops. They came across a patch of flattened grass in a small arbour. That’s where they slept, Norm whispered.
The forest brightened and ended abruptly and they found their way out onto the open marsh. The ground was soggy and made a soft suction against Hannah’s rubber boots. Then itchanged and became rocky, dry, crunchy with lichen. The sky was now a light grey and a breeze sighed over the land, making the
Several seconds later voices began to accumulate outside and Harlan’s neighbours started gathering from the other businesses along the short strip mall.
Connie was trembling so violently it was hard to navigate the wreckage. She made a crunching path through the glass. She didn’t use the door but stepped over the spiky mountain range of the lower sill. She excused herself past a woman from the bakery, who was still holding a plate with a slice of carrot cake, and opened the back door of the Volvo and sat her bawling son in his car seat. It took both hands to steady the buckle enough to slide it into the lock. She heard a man say, What the hell, Harlan? What the H Christ is going on here?
She winced at the man’s crudeness. It held the frightening potential of a crass new life she had just stepped into where people lost their tempers, lost control, where they swore and fought and threw garbage cans through windows.
W hen the alarm went off at four-thirty in the morning, all Hannah could see was the shape of the window soaked in dark purple light and four stars in the sky. They got up and had flashlights and a kerosene lamp to dress by, and Norm made a fry-up of greasy eggs on thick slices of bread, and there was bacon, which they didn’t eat but made sandwiches with. Norm flicked on the high beams and they drove to a dirt road off the highway an old man at a gas station had told them about yesterday – a popular caribou crossing between the barrens. The road was pitted and they drove slowly. This is why you should never buy a used rental, Norm said, bottoming out again. They’re cars nobody cares about.
They turned off their high beams and the trees tilted back into the darkness. Down the road, two demon eyes of red. There was a pickup truck parked ahead of them and they realized they’d reached the spot on the map. They drove up alongside the truck and rolled down the window. A woman was sitting behind the wheel, holding a 35 mm camera to her chin. See anything?
A man in a green quilted shell came around the back of the truck. Saw two moose about a half-hour ago, he said.
So you’re after moose, Norm said.
There was a sound of nylon being scratched and the alder bushes parted and another man walked out, wearing a trucker’s cap and carrying a rifle on his shoulder. His eyes were wide and he was breathing hard. Jeeze, boy, I almost got him. Would have had the two of them if we’d been here sooner. If you sees ’em, shoot one of ’em for me, will ya?
The guys got into their truck and slammed the doors and drove off down the road. The brake lights came on again after a couple hundred yards, and they got out and rustled back into the bushes.
Man oh man, Norm said.
What?
All that noise.
They walked into the woods where it was darker and they got lost for a little while, cracking their way through a web of spruce boughs, over moss-covered logs, holding the compass ahead of them. There were creaking noises in the velvety darkness and Hannah felt a little afraid. A city girl deep in the woods. This was not one of those moments when you could belt out a happy song either, because they were trying to be as quiet as possible. They checked the map by flashlight. Things looked the same in all directions – receding pillars of black and blue. There was a green sky growing lighter overhead, and finally a tinge of orange above the treetops. They came across a patch of flattened grass in a small arbour. That’s where they slept, Norm whispered.
The forest brightened and ended abruptly and they found their way out onto the open marsh. The ground was soggy and made a soft suction against Hannah’s rubber boots. Then itchanged and became rocky, dry, crunchy with lichen. The sky was now a light grey and a breeze sighed over the land, making the
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