Lookout Pass
by Steven J Holetz
One
The
CRV’s tires slipped once more, and the vehicle slid several feet to the
right.
Scott
tightly gripped the steering wheel as he felt the tires regain their
purchase
on the icy road. Beside
him, his wife Jodi placed a hand on the dashboard to
steady herself.
“Would you slow down please?”
“I am going slowly. It’s just
slippery. And your bitching at me is not helping things”.
Scott’s reply was quiet, but
tense, as he tried to avoid waking the kids who were asleep
in the back seat. He glanced
over his shoulder at his daughter Alice, her head leaning against
the
window in
slumber, and caught the gleam of moonlight off her golden hair. Next to
her, he
can see nothing of his son Todd but a tuft of sandy brown hair
sprouting up from
a Spider-man
fleece blanket.
It was Christmas Eve, and the
family was trekking from
parents in Big Fork,
become heavy as
they climbed up the final
mountain range
in
the Idaho-Montana border. Scott turned down the
Christmas music on the car stereo, quieting the
Ramones jolly, chugging riff. The
car slid once again, eliciting another response from Jodi.
“You should have put the chains
on BEFORE we went up the mountain.”
“It didn’t seem so bad, and I
didn’t want to stop unless I had too. I’m trying to make good
time here.”
Mom’s.” Jodi said, white-knuckling
the armrest.
line: “Merry Christmas, I don’t want to fight toniiiiiight”. Ah,
Joey, once again you are dead right, he
thought. He allowed his stress to dissipate
a little before replying, as he watched the dashboard
clock change over
to 9:02, mentally calculating what another stop would add to the
remaining 3
hours they would be on the road.
the top of the pass, I will pull over and chain up there, okay?”
Jodi’s
expression softened and she reached out her left hand, laying it on
Scott’s
shoulder.
moving in the opposite direction.
Two
“Sorry, Buddy.”
“You know he can’t hear you,
right?” asked his partner Carl.
Eve had always been one of his favorite nights to work. It was always
an easy
shift, quiet, maybe
the occasional stranded motorist, but usually just a nice
evening. Already the officer was looking
forward to the great big mug of Hot
Buttered Rum he’d be sipping in about 90 minutes. Just then,
the car was filled
with the voice of John Fogerty.
I see a Bad Moon Rising. I see trouble on
the way…
all, but Tommy’s down here, and he’s had way too many to drive. Any way
you could come and give
him a ride home?”
The
Trooper sighed heavily. His brother Tommy had been having a tough time
of it
lately.
Tommy’s wife had left him about a month earlier, and since then Tommy
had been self-medicating
with bourbon pretty regularly. Terry had hoped that a
Christmas with the family would help his little
brother snap out of his misery.
“Yeah, Caroline, we can. Actually, your timing couldn’t be better.
I’m off in
about an hour, and we just crossed over the pass. We can be in
Silverton in
about twenty
minutes.”
Terry
keyed off his phone, noticing Carl’s sly grin.
“Really? Bad Moon
Rising? You cornering the market on “Suck”?”
“It’s a lot better
than that crap you listen to. That’s a great tune right there. A
classic.”
“I dunno man, that sucks right there. It
was cool in “American Werewolf in
though.” said Carl,
thoughtfully.
“You want a cool
werewolf song? What about “Lycanthropy” by GBH. “Even a man who is pure
at
heart and says his prayers at night, can become a wolf when the
wolfsbane
blooms and the moon is
shining briiiiiiiight!” Carl sang.
“Hahaha. I don’t
know that one, but they stole that line from the old Universal Wolf Man
with
Lon Chaney Jr. The Frantics used the same line in a tune of theirs as
well.”
said Terry.
check it out.”
“I will.” Carl said, jotting it
down in his pocket
notebook as they descended upon Silverton.
“Whoa!” said Scott.
presents, coats, toys and empty water bottles back into the car.
Scott’s care
had delivered them to
the top of
anxious to get the chains on and
get moving once more. The CRV was pulled over into the deeper
snow of the
shoulder, and Scott hoped he could get the chains on easily, because it
was freaking’
cold. He pulled his coat out of the back and shrugged into it, then
grabbed the
bag of chains and a
tire iron, and gently closed the back door. Scott turned
and took two steps to the rear wheel on the
left, kneeling down as he unzipped
the chain bag. At that moment, Scott heard it, a wail so primal
and terrifying
that it immediately froze Scott in place, chilling him to the bone.
It was the
howl of
a wolf that had cut the night air, and it sounded incredibly close.
Scott
started
to hurry now, and used the tire iron to scrape the snow out from
beneath the
tire, before
quickly laying the chains out flat behind it. Then he heard a
second howl. Scott picked up the tire
iron and stood up, scanning the hillside behind
the car for the source of the sound. All he saw was
a snowy gentle slope which faded
into thick forest, the perfect white of the hillside marred only by
a lookout
tower fifty feet from the side of the road.
A spartan structure,
the tower
was designed to
house the DOT traffic cameras which watched the roads day and
night. Scott had actually seen the
view from these cameras that very morning on
his computer, as he checked the road conditions
prior to their departure for
Grandma’s. A square metal box with windows, it sat another 50 feet
into the air
on a metal pipe about 18 inches in diameter, with a ladder climbing one
side to
the
platform.
He thought he could
see dark shadows separating themselves from the black of the forest,
and
another howl forced him to lunge for the car door. He wrenched it open,
jumped in
and slammed
it behind him with the tire iron still clenched in his fist.
down the mountain, but I don’t like this at all. I want to get the hell
out of here.”
deeper snow of the shoulder out from beneath his tires, they simply
spun in
place. Scott revved the
engine twice more, but the car barely shifted. He turned
off the engine and sighed in defeat.
before long.”
probably
just his nerves getting to him, but he almost thought he could hear
them
growling.
Tommy sat on a wooden bench in
front of the Silverlode, smoking his last cigarette,
and trying not to
aggravate the pounding in his head and the ache in his stomach. At 6’
3”
and
250 pounds, Tommy had always been an imposing figure, but despite the
time he
had
spent playing backup fullback and linebacker for the Grizzlies,
he still
had a reputation for
being soft, especially compared to his older brother
Terry. That was something that neither
his computer and internet repair
business, nor his acting like a drunken crybaby in public
were going to
alleviate anytime soon.
Problem was,
Tommy had been absolutely miserable since
Shawna left, and every
time he went out for a little fun to try to cheer
himself up, the black pool of sadness that colored
his days lately seemed to
take over everything. And then he would lose it once again, just like
he had
tonight. He flicked his ash onto the snow, and heard the door open
behind him.
He turned to see Caroline, the bar’s matronly owner, approach with a
Styrofoam
cup.
“Hey Tommy. Sorry this took so
long, things got busy
there for a minute.” she said,
handing him the cup. “I made some fresh coffee
though. And I got a hold of Terry; he should
be here in just a few minutes.”
head up. Things are going to
get better.” Ah, the joys of small town life, thought Tommy.
apron, and handed it him. It was a smooth gray river stone, which had
the word “Whatever”
carved into its face.
take a look at that and
remind myself to keep a little perspective. I know you are hurting now,
but
soon time will wear down that pain, just like water on that rock, and
it’ll all
seem like it was
just a bad dream.” She said, giving him a quick squeeze around
the shoulders. “And for what
it’s worth, I never liked Shawna anyway.”
“Thanks Caroline, I appreciate
that”. Tommy smiled, as the two of them were splashed
by the headlights of his
brother’s patrol car.
Tommy stood up, a little wobbly,
and started to move to the side of the car. “Thanks
again Caroline. Merry
Christmas.”
into the Silverlode.
Carl
had gotten out of the car, and opened the back door for Tommy with a
flourish.
“Hey Tommy, Merry Christmas. You have the right to remain
silent.
Particularly if you
are going to be telling stupid-ass stories like your
brother here. And don’t you spill that in my
vehicle.”
Tommy smiled in spite of himself,
and got in the car.
“Finally,
the cavalry arrives!” Scott said to Jodi. This was answered by a
subdued "Yay!",
from the family as he watched the dark
colored
Montana Highway Patrol vehicle pull to a stop
behind their car. And not a moment too soon. They
had been
waiting for 45 minutes, and it had
gotten cold fast with the engine off. The family was now all bundled in
their coats and gloves and
hats. Not only that, but it had been several hours since their
previous stop, and Scott knew it was
only a matter of time until one of the kids would need to go to the
bathroom. He had no intention
of .
letting
his kids out of the car with the wolves around, so the sooner they got
moving, the better.
He watched in the rear view
as the Trooper stepped out of the vehicle, snow falling on his wide-
brimmed
hat.
Scott rolled down his window to speak to
the trooper, and
into the trooper from behind, knocking him face
first into the snow. A huge gray wolf had its jaw
latched on the trooper’s
shoulder. Scott saw the steam rising as the Trooper’s blood melted the
snow.
Then the wolf’s head snapped back as three shots split the air. The
second
trooper
stood by the passenger door, both hands keeping the
weapon trained on
the Wolf.
“You
OK, Terry?” Scott heard the man call, as a second wolf leapt over the
snow bank
on the right, ripping the man’s throat out in one vicious bite, and
sending a fountain
of blood
exploding upon the pile of snow. The first trooper was back on his
feet now, covered in blood,
sidearm thundering. The wolf took several shots in
the torso, and yelped in pain before running
off into the trees.
From
his place locked in the back of the patrol vehicle, Tommy could do
nothing but
watch helplessly as the scene unfolded in front of him like a horror
movie. The
front door opened,
and Terry reached in to unlatch the shotgun from its bracket
on the dashboard, his left arm limb at
his side.
door unlocked, and he jumped from the car, immediately scanning the
hillside. The howling came
from all around them now, issuing from the trees
like an alarm. Now holding the shotgun, Terry
handed his sidearm to Tommy.
shotgun’s chamber. His years of training kept his mind sharp despite
the pain. “They're still
coming, Tommy. Run and see what's going on with that family, would you?"
Tommy
ran to the side of the CRV, speaking to Scott through the still open
window. He was
surprised to find that he was suddenly sober. “Are you folks all
right?” he
asked. “We’re fine,”
Scott answered, “but the car is stuck. We can’t move it.”
back to Terry. Terry was kneeling to check Carl's body, the shotgun
cradeled across his thighs .
thought for a moment.
this be happening? What insanity had he just stepped into? He wiped his
eyes, and awkwardly dug
Carl’s .38 out from the snow one-handed. He holstered it and rose
once again with the shotgun, as
the howling continued around them.
"Quick, get them in the cruiser! We have
to get out of here!"
Terry held open the rear door as Scott and
Jodi piled the kids into the back seat. He closed
the door behind them and slid back behind the wheel, as Tommy came to a
rest in the passenger seat
next to him. Terry turned the ignition, immediately comforted by
the roar of the cruiser's powerful engine.
"Hold on, folks," he said as gunned it, pulling around the CRV and
accelerating onto the highway.
The wolf leapt up and slammed into
windshield, shattering it into a thousand glittering jewels.
Terry instantly lost his tenuous one-handed control of the steering
wheel, and the car spun on the ice,
it's rear circling around to the left towards the roadside divider. The
wolf lay pinned on the hood by the
car's momentum car spun, snarling as it lunged at Terry's face. Terry
snapped his head back and away
from the threat, as Tommy quickly jammed the barrel of Terry's sidearm
into the beast's skull. He pulled
the trigger three times, coating everything in the front seat with
blood and brain, the report deafening in the
small space. The wolf disappeared from view. The car then rammed hard,
nose-first into the siderail,
it's hood crumping, before it careened away. It continued it's arc,
then slammed it's driver side into the
rail a second time, bringing the cruiser to a sudden halt.
Terry turned the keys. A grinding noise
issued from under the hood, but the car would not start.
"The cruiser isn't going anywhere." he said. Faced still smeared, Tommy shook the bloody rubies
of safety glass from his clothing, and tried the radio. It stood silent, the car's battery most
likely
crushed in the wreck. Terry pointed up the hill. "We have to get to the Tower. We can hole
up there
until backup arrives”.
Jodi led the way with Todd
in her
arms, the Spider-man blanket
dragging though the snow
behind them. Scott held
Tommy followed closely behind. They fought through the knee deep snow as
they moved towards
the tower. The wolf song was louder now, and added to their urgency.
They
heard Terry’s shotgun
thunder twice, three, four more times behind them, but
didn’t dare turn to look as they pushed on
as hard as they
could. After what seemed like an eternity crossing the open hillside,
they finally
made
it to the base of the tower. Scott saw several more wolves moving
toward
them from the
treesin font of them, their eyes blazing in the moonlight.
took the tire iron from Scott’s hand and used it to quickly knock the
icicles
from the first few rungs,
then handed it back to Scott. “Hold on a sec” he
said, and picked up the dragging end of Todd’s
blanket, tucking it firmly around
him.
“Go,
honey. Hurry!”
Jodi
shifted Todd around to her back, and with a quick “hold on tight”,
began her
careful
ascent up the slippery ladder. Scott followed immediately, with
neck in silence, just as Terry made it to the base of the tower.
shapes. “You don’t have much time”.
big brother for once and go!”
The first shot caught the middle wolf right in face, disintegrating
it’s skull into a fine red mist.
Terry racked the second shot and hit another wolf
in the chest as it lunged from his right. He
felt a black ball of panic in the
pit of his stomach as he reflexively pulled the trigger and then
heard the dry click.
At that moment the last wolf jumped at him from the left, knocking him
off
his
feet and slamming him hard into the snow, the thing’s teeth latching
onto his arm.
Terry heard a crunch and screamed in pain,
frantically feeling the ground for any
sort
of weapon. He grabbed something, and just as the wolf released him to
get
a better grip, he
pushed the creature back with all the strength left in his
arm. The pain the pain THE PAIN! of
his now shattered shoulder and arm overwhelmed
him as he rammed the 2-foot long icicle
through the beast’s throat and into its
brain before passing out in the bloody slush.
Six
Up
in the lookout, the family heard the scream, followed by what sounded
like a
startled yelp. Scott slammed the trapdoor closed, and jammed the tire
iron
through the door’s
ring handle, locking it. The inside of the lookout tower was
bare, the only features a tightly padlocked
toolbox attached to one wall, and a
power box in another corner, with several cables running up
through the roof to
the cameras. Each wall had a trap door window, the type which could be
propped
up with a metal rod which hung from the each windows edge. Several
thick
plastic panels were set in
the ceiling, through which they could see the two
cameras, one facing east and one west, and the full
moon which illuminated the
small room.
Although sheltered, the interior of the
cube was as cold as a meat
locker, and they could all
see their breath rising ghostlike in the moonlight. The
family leaned against one wall, while Tommy
leaned against the opposite, gun
still in hand, staring into space. The tightness in his chest at the
thought of Terry's last scream made seem his feelings for Shawna seen
almost petty. He couldn't
believe his brother was gone, but he had seen the wolves circling.
After a few moments, he noticed
the family watching
him, and put the gun in his jacket pocket. As he did, he felt it click
against
something. He pulled it out, his “Whatever” rock. He had a little
perspective
now, all right.
He held it tightly in his fist and returned it to the pocket,
then looked up at the family.
“Hey.
I’m Tommy.”
“I’m
Scott. This is Jodi, Alice, and Todd.”
“How
you guys doing? Merry Christmas.”
“Could
be better. But Merry Christmas to you too.” Scott extended a hand and
shook with
Tommy. Then he took a cell phone out of his jacket pocket, and powered
it up.
tonight. It might be a while until help comes.”
“Terry?
So you knew the Trooper?”
“Yeah,
he’s my brother. He was my brother. He was giving me a ride home.”
could turn them to face the empty patrol car, someone would see it and
help might
get here sooner.
and two small monitors, each showing the view from one of the cameras.
There were also two
remote controls. Tommy moved the control touchpad back and
forth, and heard a whine from
above, but neither picture changed. Scott stood
to join Tommy, as Jodi and the kids huddled
tightly under their blanket.
“Look’s
like they’re frozen.” said Tommy. If we are going to aim them at the
patrol car,
it will have to be done manually.”
“All
right, it’s worth a try. I’m game.” said Scott.
replied. He opened one of the windows, and propped it up. “I figure if
I
stand on the sills in the
corner of two windows I can reach around far enough
to move one of them, anyway.
moved them out of the way. ”Be careful” she said. “If I had a nickel…”
Scott answered, smiling at her.
Tommy
opened the second window, wiped the snow off the 4-inch sill, and
boosted
himself
up onto it, wrapping an arm around the corner between the two windows
for support. “Here goes
nothing,” he said as he slowly stood up. Scott got a
good grip on the front of Tommy’s coat, holding
him fast.
his stance, putting all of his weight on his right leg, as he
reached
up with his right arm stretching
to grip the camera. He had just turned it
toward the road when he felt his right foot slide off the sill
into open air.
Trying to stop himself, he frantically grabbed at the camera, his
weight
breaking it
off its mounting as he fell backward, which sent the camera flying
over his shoulder into the darkness.
This is it, he thought, when suddenly he
stopped, his fall arrested by Scott’s tight grip on the front of
his coat. He
swung his leg over the sill and sat on it, heart hammering in his chest.
iron from the trap door. As he did it burst open, and Terry lunged
through it,
but Terry was no
longer himself. In that
instant Tommy saw the changes in his brother, but was unable to
register
them
as they made no sense. The face, once broad and warm, was now covered
with fine
hair.
The big ears that their dad always used to tease Terry about, now swept
back to a point. The mouth,
which was always quick to laugh, now the jaw and
nose extended alarmingly, a good four inches
from the stretched skull, revealing a
mouth full of sharp teeth that
were snapping at Tommy’s
throat with startling speed.
“No!
No! No!” Tommy screamed, as he tried to force the trapdoor closed, but
his
strength
was no match for Terry’s. Terry grabbed Tommy in a vice-like grip with
hairy clawed hands and
wrenched him towards those dripping, deadly jaws. Unable
to pull away, Tommy reached into the
coat pocket and gripped Terry’s handgun.
Tommy sobbed, “I’m sorry I’m sorry Oh God I’m sorry!”
as he pulled the trigger
six times into Terry’s chest. Terry fell backward but never released
his hold
on Tommy, pulling him out through the trapdoor with him as he fell. A
stone
fell from Tommy’s pocket, a
s he dropped into the blackness, skittering to a
stop against the wall next to Scott.
The
unreality of reading the word “whatever” inscribed in a rock snapped
Scott out
of his paralysis, and he dove for the hatch. He saw the bodies of
Terry, Tommy
and the
wolves lying in the snow for a split second before he slammed the door
shut
and wedged
it once more with the tire iron. Quickly he closed and latched the two
open windows as well.
Then he returned to his crying, frightened family, who
huddled shivering under their blanket,
and they all tried to ignore the howling
symphony outside.
Seven
His watch
read 6 am. We are officially late to Grandma’s, he thought. He climbed
out from
beneath the Spidey blanket and opened the floor hatch. He noticed that
the
bodies of both
wolf and man were missing from where they had lain only a few hours
earlier. Scott thought
of Terry and Tommy Howard and felt a wave of sadness engulf him.
He had just met these two
good men, and both were senselessly taken from the
world right before his eyes. Yet all sign that
they ever existed had been wiped away, as all of the blood and carnage
had been completely
covered by a fresh blanket of snow. Two new patrol cars and an
ambulance had just pulled up
beside the CRV and Terry’s car, as a red morning
sun colored the snow pink. Jodi joined him
at the door, and he wrapped his arm
around her.
Christmas,” he said.