Black Bear Rising: A BWWM Paranormal Romance (Black Bear Saga Book 1) (36 page)

“We go back,” he said.

Sara nodded and stared out the window as she tensed and untensed her jaw. The first road was a few minutes outside of the village and a rusted yellow sign with a name Brad couldn’t pronounce pointed towards a gravel road. Brad got out and swung the metal gate open and then drove through it. The wheels of the car spat up a spray of loose gravel as it moved from asphalt to the new loose surface. He stopped the car once he was through the gate and checked the map. This road went on for sixty kilometres before ending at the base of the opposite side of a range of mountains.

Driving was slow on the packed dirt road and as every minute passed Brad could feel Lana slipping through his grasp. The car fishtailed as they crested a treacherous mountain road, the nose of the car pointing down at an impossibly steep angle as Brad tried to get control of the car again. The back wheels kicked and spun on the loose surface spraying up a wide arc of dirt as the car righted itself. Brads knuckles popped and cracked as he loosened his grip on the wheel. “Fuck these Icelandic roads,” he said, quickly glancing over at Sara. She had her eyes closed tight and was holding herself with her arms wrapped around her body. They drove on for another hour in worsening road conditions and Brad wondered several times if the rental was going to make it. They finally got to the end of the road and Brad cursed loudly as he stopped the car. The road continued on down a steep incline into a wide slash in the earth. A rusting tractor and a burnt out car sat at the bottom of the disused quarry.

“One down, nine to go,” he said feeling exhausted already. He checked his watch and it was midday, the constant sunlight messing with his brain, all known signifiers of the passage of time destroyed in the relentless blue sky above. “Wait here,” he said to Sara. He got out of the car not interested in any reply from her and went to take a leak.

After another hour of rough driving they were back on the main road and heading towards the next road to be checked. Brad dry swallowed two pills as he drove, he shook the bottle and three more pills clattered around in the bottom of the white container. As the pills worked their way into his system he could feel a loosening of the burning strips of flesh on his back and shoulder. The pain was pushed into the background and became a constant background buzz like a tv tuned to static. The next road on the map was only a couple of minutes away and Brad was glad to be back on an actual paved road, even if it was only going to be for a short time. The rental car was already scratched and dinged around the wheel rims and Brad expected it to be in a pretty shitty condition after they travelled over a few more of the back country roads. He gripped the wheel in his iron grasp as they sped towards their destination.

“You don’t say much,” Sara said after a few minutes of silence.

Brad glanced at her and then turned back to the road.

“Come on,” she prodded, “if we are going to be stuck in a car for the next few hours the least you could do is talk to me.”

“What do you want to know,” he said. There was something about Sara that he liked. She had a kind of brash confidence that he admired. He had met a lot of women doing tricks and most of them seemed like beat dogs, always looking to please and scared if you raised your voice. Maybe it was her age Brad thought, she hadn’t had the experience yet of life stripping away any of your allusions of the inherent good in man. People aren't creatures of light and noble intentions, shine a strong enough torch into someones life and all sorts of filth becomes apparent. Everyone was dirty and some of the dirtiest were powerful enough to have someone like Brad come and make the dirt go away. Brad knew what life was really like,he could see the contours and ridges in a persons existence. Sara seemed to him too positive for someone who was involved in prostitution. She’ll soon lose that he thought to himself.

“Anything. Tell me anything to keep me from falling asleep here,” Sara said.

Brad thought for a second and then said, “You want to talk? How about why the hell are you sleeping with dirty old men to make some money. A girl like you shouldn’t have to do.”

“Hang on Mr moral judgement,” Sara said cutting him off, “you’re going to give me grief about my life choices. You think because you sleep with me once you can tell me what to do, thats not how it works. What are you a hitman? A goon for hire? Don't talk to me about my life, tough guy,” she said with venom.

Brad glanced over at her and then back to the road. He felt old and tired and said, “You want to know what I am? Im nothing but scum. I clean up after people more powerful than either of us when they do things that would turn your stomach. I’m up to my knees in muck and sinking deeper and deeper as the days roll by. You don’t think I want out?,” a noise like an echo of a laugh, a creature trying to laugh who had only ever read a description of how laughter is meant to sound. “I wont be getting out. I hold too many secrets. Someone like me doesn't just retire and go fishing down the keys. I keep a stupid list on me at all times, a god damned totem that I scratch marks on as I move towards retirement. You know what will happen the day I tell my boss that I’ve had enough and I want out? I’ll be leaving the building in a body bag, some kid half my age will press a gun to the back of my head and end me. I’ve known it for a long time now. I’m a man running towards suicide, one payment at a time. Once my family is safe, I’m done. I’m too tired to go on.”

He could feel Sara looking at him as he drove. “Why don't you just walk away from the whole deal?” she asked.

“I owe money. A lot. I fucked up big time and I’m on the clock paying off my debts, if I don’t keep the money flowing they’ll hurt people I love, people that don’t even know I exist. I have to keep going until it’s paid off,” he said.

“And what then, you get to walk off into the sunset like a cowboy your head held high until a bullet is put in you?” she said.

“Thats the plan,” he said. He felt unburdened, a pressure from behind his eyes seemed to be gone. Saying out loud what had been burrowed scared and hiding in the back of his mind for so long somehow eased the pressure, a valve had been turned releasing a built up head of steam. He slowed the car as he turned and drove onto the rutted road that was the next mark on his map. A green jeep with two blue kayaks strapped to the roof was parked up ahead by a rusting gate. A man in a blue windbreaker and long hair tied in a top knot waved for Brad to slow down as he drew near.

Brad pulled in behind the car and got out. The long haired guy waved at him and said, “Are you here for the walking tour, you’re the first one so far.”

Brad walked over to him and said, “No, sorry I’m just out doing a bit of sight seeing. What kind of tour are you doing?”

“We walk to various points of interest, check out some of the abandoned farms, old settlements and some outdoor hot springs. It’s a three hour hike. You’re welcome to join us if you want, your eh,” he hesitated looking over at the car.

“Daughter,” Brad replied.

“Yes, you and your daughter can join if you want. It’s only ten thousand kronur. It’s well worth it if you ask me,” he said.

“Are you very familiar with this area?” Brad asked, “maybe you can help me with something.”

“Sure thing. I’ll do my best,” the tour guide said.

Brad went to the car and got his map and spread it out on the cars hood. “I’m a photography nut. I’ve been taking pictures of farmhouses, cabins, traditional dwellings stuff like that. A guy in the guesthouse I was staying at told me these roads,” he said pointing at the roads he had marked on the map, “all had cool buildings worth taking pictures of. I’m not so sure how reliable his info is. I hit the first road this morning and it was a dead end. No farm house only a dead end and an old quarry. Took me hours to drive it. I was going to work my way along each of these roads and now I’m not so sure. Am I wasting my time?”

“Let me have a look,” the man said turning the map towards him. “These three roads connect to the highland road running through the centre of the county. You’ll find nothing but natural beauty on those routes. There’s no liveable land and no old structures. What did you say you’re looking for, is it derelict buildings you want to photograph?” the man asked.

“Maybe on the next trip. Currently I’m focusing on places that are liveable working farms, places like that. I’m obsessed with them at the moment,” Brad said.

“I’m a bit of a photographer myself, what are you slinging?” the man asked.

Brad hesitated for a second and said, “I’m old school, its all retro stuff.” Brad pointed at the next road on the map and said, “How far is the farmhouse down this road?”

The man whistled through his teeth and said, “I’m not sure what was up with your guy, he’s given you some bad info. That road leads to some outdoor geothermal pools. No houses there. The next ones leads to some popular hiking trails, again no house there.” He scratched his chin and then pointed at two roads and said, “This road here leads to a farm all right. It’s a cattle farm as far as I remember. They have a huge red barn and some very quaint outbuildings. This second road leads up to a glacier and if memory serves there is a small hunting cabin near to the base of the glacier. It's not as picturesque as the farm, it's a bit ramshackle as far as I remember.”

Brad pointed at the map and said, “So these two roads are the only ones that might yield me some good photos?”

“Yes. Any of the others wont be any use to you if you’re after buildings. Was the guy who gave you the information drunk?” the man asked.

“Something like that,” Brad said folding up the map. He shook the mans hand and said, “you’ve saved me a huge amount of time.”

“Are you sure I cant interest you on my walking tour?” the man asked.

“Another time maybe,” Brad said and walked towards the car.

“Hey what happened to your face?” the man asked.

“An accident, some sheep ran across the road. I hit the brakes and bang, slammed my face into the steering wheel. The sheep were unharmed,” Brad said laughing and getting into the car.

The man waved as they pulled off and Brad nodded in his direction. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove back along the coast road. Which of these places are you hiding out in Lana, he thought to himself. He wasn’t a spiritual man, he didn’t believe in any kind of omens or signs from a higher being and yet he couldn't shake the feeling that he had just been handed a lucky break.
 

They hit the first side road an hour later. The dirt road wound up and over a range of hills and in the distance Brad could see a large working farm. There was no sign of the red pickup parked in front of any of the farm buildings. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and said, “Go down and find out if your friend has turned up at this place in the last day or so.”

“Why should I do that?,” Sara asked.

“You’re a smart girl, you figure it out. The more you help me the more favourable Gus will be to you. You know how this world works. Now get out and ask around. If anyone acts suspicious come straight back. I’ll hang back here, there is only one way out if anyone decides to flee.”

She looked at him, her eyes wide and her face slack and then brightening she said, “Ok I’ll do it,” and got out of the car and headed towards the farm.

Brad tilted his chair back and watched her go. He counted three people working on the farm, walking behind buildings carrying tools or pushing wheel barrows. After an hour waiting in the car Brad heard Sara’s shoes crunch in the gravel and his head snapped back and he awoke with a start. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, Sara's expression was blank and his gut told him they weren't holed up at the farm. That left them one more place to check before he was shit out of luck and that would leave him unsure of his next step.

She opened the car door and the pungent smell of manure wafted in.

“Wipe your feet before you get in, I don’t want you stinking up the car,” Brad said.

She complied and got in. “I don't think they passed through here. I spoke to a woman, I think she was the farmers wife. I played the whole wandering tourist role. She brought me in for some fresh milk and a slice of cake. The sweet old lady even gave me a quick tour of the place. I got no sense that anything was up. The pickup wasn’t parked anywhere on the farm either.”

Brad sat in the car for twenty minutes observing the farm. Everything seemed to continue on as before, workers going about their tasks. The farmers wife hanging clothes on a line. He started the car and turned it around and headed back to the main road.

Once he got to his last lead on the map he parked the car across from the gravel road leading up towards the glacier. He checked his map again. There was a single road leading up to the glacier and then it was a dead end backed by the forbidding ice shelf of the slowly advancing glacier. To the right of the road was a hill of loose scree and car sized boulders. The left side was a sharp drop to a wide and flat canyon broken up by a thousand streams of glacial runoff that cut through the earth in a myriad of angles. The place the man had pointed to on the map was right at the end of the road, meaning the cabin was close to the glacier. If they were in the cabin they had trapped themselves into a corner Brad thought. If they saw him coming they had very few choices he thought. They could take him head on and take the gravel road back out to the main coast road and try to escape. All he would have to do was to block the road with his car and they would be screwed. They could climb down into the canyon below and try to make a run for it across flat and open ground. The third choice would be to climb onto the glacier behind the house and cross it to the mountains on the other side. Slow going and just as open as the canyon floor he thought to himself. The only other way was to scale the rocky hill on the other side of the cabin. Another path that would be tricky going and easy pickings for someone with a good shot. If the whole situation wasn't so grim for his targets he would have laughed. They have sealed their own faith backing themselves into a dead end with no real escape.