Battle Zone

  BATTLE ZONE

  by Russ Watts

  Text copyright © 2018 Russ Watts

  All Rights Reserved

  Inspiration is all around us.

  Go find yours.

  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

  Peter 5, 8.

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  THE END

  ADRENAL7N – CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 1

  The sun threw crimson light over the whole valley, and the dense subalpine forest below was buried in dark shadows as the sky blazed with early stars. No photo could do justice to the onset of twilight over Jasper National Park, and Terry was just pleased he was here to see it. Last year’s health scare meant he took nothing for granted anymore. He had spent so long living in Canada, yet never experienced being a tourist in his own country. Now that he and Blair had time on their hands, following her retirement last month, it was finally time to cut loose. The kids were all grown up and the mortgage paid off. The bucket list was completed, and the halfway point was firmly in his sights.

  “Blair, would you look at this? Can you believe we’re here? This is amazing.”

  Terry unclasped the buckles on his backpack and lowered it to the ground, resting up against the foot of a tree. He took Blair’s hand and helped her up onto the edge.

  “Careful, honey, there’s a steep drop on the other side.”

  “Got it.” Blair clasped her husband’s dry hand and joined him on the ledge. It was no more than a small outcrop, a gap in the rocks that they had nearly missed. The opening was covered by two black spruce trees and it was only because Terry had stopped for a leak that he had noticed it. They had been climbing for an hour and she was pleased for the rest. Her pack weighed a lot and she was out of shape. It had been more than a few years since they had last done a big hike like this. Blair dropped her pack next to Terry’s and sucked in the fresh air. It really was unbelievable. The air was cool and untainted by the pollution she had gotten used to. It felt as if she had stepped into another world, one without smog, smoke, factories and cars all churning out pollutants.

  “Wow, you’re not kidding.”

  As she got her breath back, Blair looked out over the vista. Exploring the Canadian Rockies had been a dream of theirs for some time, but somehow something had always gotten in the way: graduating, work, kids, and then trying to juggle all three. Now the hard slog was behind them, and it was the trip of a lifetime before settling down somewhere closer to the grandkids. Terry’s health scare meant an early retirement for her, and she was damned if she was going to waste it playing Bridge and drinking gin until she grew fat and old.

  “Wow,” she said again. The Columbia Icefield stretched out for miles. She shrugged off the nagging worry at the back of her mind, telling herself to enjoy the moment with her husband and not worry about where they were going to camp for the night. She held onto her husband and pointed over to a mountain in the distance. “Is that Edith Cavell?”

  “You bet.”

  The upper echelons of the mountain were covered in snow, and the craggy rocks below settled into the night. A shrill bird cry startled her, making Blair grasp her husband tighter.

  “Come on, let’s get a photo.” Terry drew his cell from his pocket and turned around so that the view was behind them. Blair did the same and Terry put an arm around her, taking the selfie with his free hand.

  “You’ll never get it all in. Look, it’s all sky.”

  Terry clumsily maneuvered around and squeezed the mountain in between their heads. “Smile, honey, I want to send it to the kids. Make them jealous as heck.”

  When Terry had taken the photo Blair waited for him to upload it to their blog. It was another thing he’d wanted to do, to record their trip across the country. If it made him happy, then it made her happy. As he fiddled with the phone, she looked at the photo of them both. Those smiles were genuine, and it really was a great shot. She could see a clear view across the Icefield behind their faces to the mountain. The sun was trickling through the trees and splashed across the background, and as she waited, taking in the view, she felt like she was sixteen again, when she had first met Terry. They had been hiking in the Appalachians then, back when they still had time for such things, and he was the friend of a friend of a friend. They had been together ever since through forty plus years of marriage which included three children, one grandchild, three guinea pigs, one dog and too many goldfish.

  “Damn, no signal,” said Terry. He held the cell up like a trophy, but his smile became a frown. “Guess the mountains are blocking it. We can try again later when we set up the tents.” He shoved the cell back into his pocket. “Come on, grab your pack. I want to get a bit further. We should be able to get a little further before—”

  A sound echoed up to them from the valley below, a guttural barking sound that chilled Blair’s blood.

  “What was that?” she asked Terry. “Bear?”

  Terry picked up his pack. “No, I don’t think so. Could be a coyote.”

  The noise faded and Blair looked out at the picture-perfect vista as she scooped up her own pack. As she placed it on her back she wished she was sixteen again. Back then she could carry her own provisions and tent, and make small talk without getting short of breath. Now she could feel every muscle in her back protest and groan under the weight she was putting on it. The skin under her shirt was sweating despite the cool temperature and the sound of the bear, or whatever it was, had unsettled her.

  “It’s nothing,” said Terry kindly. “Probably a caribou or something. Isn’t it mating season? Come on honey, let’s roll. I want to get these tents put up long before the sun goes down on us.”

  Blair nervously looked behind her as they left the small ledge behind and returned to the path. “You know, why don’t we just set up camp here? It’s getting late and it’ll be dark soon. I don’t want to try and put the tent up in the pitch black.”

  “I guess we should. You’re right, we don’t want to get caught out.” Terry scoped out the area. “What about over there. Looks nice and sheltered, eh?” He pointed ahead of them, just off the trail at a clear piece of ground, flanked by white birch trees. “That’ll do us nicely. Plenty of clear sky so we can see the evening stars, too. Let’s go.”

  Blair was unnerved by the barking sounds, but whatever it was it was far away, and she was happy to stop. Her legs ached and her stomach was growling. Setting up camp for the night was their best option. Neither of them were the right side of sixty, and she was worried that despite Terry’s enthusiasm for everything, he was prone to overdo it and put his back out.

  “We can make the Athabasca Glacier tomorrow,” said Terry as he dropped his pack and began to pull out tent poles. “I really want to see the Falls too. Oh, and I read about some place called Goat Lookout. We have a ton to get through tomorrow, so we’ll be up as soon as the sun is. And I need to find reception on the phone too so that I can upload these pictures to the blog and tell the kids what we’ve been doing. They are going to have a fit when they see where we’ve been.” Terry laughed excitedly. “Man, they are so going to regret not coming with us.”

  “Sure, honey.” Blair pulled open her pack and together they set up the tent. “Just take it easy on them. You can’t blame them for not coming along. They have jobs and lives of their own.”

&nb
sp; Once the tent was up they prepared a simple meal and sat down to watch the evening. Blair felt protected with the trees surrounding them and her husband at her side. She knew there were bears and wild animals in the park, but the chance of encountering any were slim. Terry took precautions too, and even had a small firearm tucked away, just in case. She wasn’t too happy about it, but he had insisted. Once they’d finished their meal, they packed up and settled in. The night had drawn in, the air was cold, and they climbed into their sleeping bags, lying on the ground to watch the dusky sky. It was a deep blue, not quite black, and it hovered over them with tiny stars twinkling above their heads millions of miles away. They would move their sleeping bags inside the tent once they were ready and had finished looking up at the sky, or it got too cold.

  “This is unreal,” whispered Blair. “We would never see a sky like this in Vancouver.”

  “Too much light pollution,” replied Terry. “I think that’s Ursa Minor over there. And to the...whoa, you see that?”

  Blair snuggled further down into her bag. The cold air tickled her nose, and Terry was warm and cuddly. “What’s that, honey?” He knew a little about the night sky and she humored him, but she had no real interest in it. “You finally saw the man in the moon?”

  “No, seriously, look.” Terry nudged Blair in the ribs and she sat up, groaning. “Must be a meteor.”

  Blair sighed. There was something bright moving slowly across the sky, and she had to admit it was unusual. “Maybe it’s the Enterprise.”

  Terry threw back the covers and reached for his phone.

  “Terry, it’s cold. Let’s get inside and go to sleep. It’s nothing.”

  “Nothing? That is not nothing, Blair.”

  Terry held his phone to the sky and switched the camera on. He zoomed in as much as possible. “It’s got to be a meteor. See the trail. It’s passing through our atmosphere. Oh boy, there’s another.”

  “That’s great honey.” Terry knew she had lost him. She reluctantly got up and rested her head on her husband’s shoulder. “Will you show me the photos in the morning if I go to bed now? I’m tired. My back aches and I really need a good sleep tonight.”

  “Wait. Just look at this.” Terry switched his camera to video mode and began to film. “There are more of them. It’s a real meteor shower,” he said excitedly.

  “Shooting stars?” Blair looked up at the lights in the sky. There was something beautiful about the gallery of falling meteors and the glistening trails they left in their wake. She counted half a dozen, all slightly smaller than the lead one. “Is it just one big one breaking up?”

  “Probably. Could be different ones, but I’m not sure. If they make it to the ground we can find out in the morning. If they break up on entry through the atmosphere then I guess we’ll never know. It’s so amazing. You know how lucky we are to be seeing this? How many other people you think are out here now seeing what we’re seeing, eh?”

  Blair yawned. “Yeah. Okay, well I’m going in. It’s cool, but I’m beyond tired.” Several of the meteors were now out of sight behind the trees, and only their trails were still visible. “You can stay up if you want. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “No, no, you’re right.” Terry shoved his phone away as he turned to face his wife. “I didn’t come here to spend my time staring at my phone. I came here to experience this with my wife. Let’s go to bed.” Terry gave his wife a kiss. “You know, if you’re not too tired—”

  Blair took her husband’s hand. “Aye, aye, captain. Warp speed?”

  Terry smiled. “You read my mind.”

  Later, when they were fast asleep, the meteors’ impact sent vibrations through the ground. Up high in the mountains, Terry and Blair slept through most of it. Only in the dead of night did Blair stir, ripples in the ground shaking the tent and bringing her out of a deep sleep. Like a small earthquake, the ground trembled, but it was over just as soon as it had started. Blair went back to sleep, thinking nothing of it, and it was hours later when she was woken again. There was a loud bang and she sat bolt upright, suddenly very awake.

  “Terry, get up. Quick.” She shook him to rouse him from his slumber. Another sharp bang echoed across the valley. “Terry, snap out of it,” she said, using both hands to wake him.

  “Huh? What?” Terry yawned loudly. “Not again, honey, I don’t have the energy.”

  “I could figure that much out myself.” Blair shook her head and looked around the close tent walls for sign of damage. Everything seemed fine, but the light was poor. Evidently it was early in the morning, probably way too early to get up, but she was still nervous. The lantern they’d picked up from Walmart for this trip was still attached to a central hook above her, and she felt in the darkness for the button to turn it on. When she got the light on she felt better.

  “Really? What gives?” Terry rubbed his eyes and sat up next to his wife. He rubbed her back. “What’s going on? You want to go to the bathroom?”

  “You didn’t hear that? Those banging noises? Something’s going on out there.”

  Terry slumped back down and sighed. “No. You probably heard an animal sniffing around for food. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Terry Overman, don’t you dare patronize me. I know what an animal hunting for food sounds like, and that’s not what I heard. You need to start taking me seriously, or Captain Kirk won’t be going into warp speed for the rest of this trip.”

  “Okay, okay, I’ll check it out,” grumbled Terry. He clumsily crawled out of his sleeping bag and clambered to his feet. He was wearing teal, flannelette pajamas with navy stripes and as he unzipped the tent, cold air rushed in. “Loud bangs you say?”

  Blair shot a look at Terry that told him not to ask any more questions, and he slipped out of the tent.

  “Wow. Sun’s just coming up,” Terry said.

  The tent flap closed and Blair listened to her husband shuffling around barefoot in the dirt outside. She needed a hot mug of coffee. Waking with a start as she had, she felt suddenly tired again. Maybe she was wrong. Whatever she’d heard was no animal, but it didn’t sound normal either. Those bangs hadn’t been caused by anything she could imagine. Even a tree falling over wouldn’t have made such a loud noise.

  “You see anything, honey?” she called out.

  “Something’s going...down to...in the valley.” Terry’s voice was slightly muffled as he ventured further from the tent. “You can’t...the water...should leave—”

  Blair frowned and pulled the sleeping bag up around her. “Terry? I can’t hear you. What do you see?”

  Waiting for a response, Blair wondered if the meteors had something to do it. Maybe they had landed close to the park and disturbed something. What if there had been a landslide or the trails had been destroyed? What if they were cut off and had to hike around the mountain to get out of the park? Blair felt foolish right then, not for thinking about those things, but because she hadn’t thought of them before. She and Terry were into their sixties and were ill-prepared for anything like this to happen. They had overestimated how fit they were and what they could achieve, given their age. Even yesterday they had been hiking up the north trail and been overtaken by a young backpacker from Japan. He had smiled politely but she knew he had been wondering what they were doing: two old people hiking through Jasper, old enough to be his grandparents, and so out of their depth they didn’t even know it.

  “Terry, let’s go. Let’s just pack up and go back now.” Blair climbed out of her sleeping bag and began to roll it up. “We can go to Banff early. Terry?”

  She heard another loud bang and froze. The ground trembled again and then there was silence. She dropped the bag and crawled on her knees to the tent opening. Pulling aside the flaps, she poked her head out into the early dawn light. “Terry, you hear me? Get back here and help me with the tent. We’re going home.”

  The small clearing where they had made camp for the night was unchanged since last night. Blair looked around for her h
usband, but there was no sign of him. The trees were silent and the pre-dawn sky a deep shade of blue. The half-moon was still visible but the sun would soon dwarf it and the whole valley would be thrown into the light. Blair tentatively got out of the tent. Her pajamas were no match for the crisp air and when her bare feet reached the rocky ground, she shivered. Then she started to get angry.

  “Terry, stop messing and get back here. It’s freezing.”

  Blair shuffled forward, feeling very exposed and uncertain. What if he’d had a heart attack? What if he’d tripped and broken his ankle? He always told her not to worry, but it was a mother’s prerogative. Raising three children had done nothing to lessen her nervousness, and after Terry’s health scare she was more concerned about him than ever. They’d planned a long retirement, and she had no intention of seeing out the last twenty years of her life without him.

  “Terry?” she hissed. “Where have you got to?”

  A sudden bang made her jump. Somewhere over the rocks to the east lay the valley floor, and that’s where all the strange noises were coming from. The next sound emanating up from the valley floor was like something hard and brittle being stretched until it could take no more. She heard a cracking, screeching sound that went on for several seconds, as if a vinyl record was being bent to breaking point. As she listened she began to hear thumping noises, as if a million elephants were heading her way.

  “This is ridiculous,” Blair said, telling herself not to run back to the tent and climb back into bed until Terry came back. She knew he wouldn’t abandon her. The only explanation was that something bad had happened to him. She walked forward, retracing their steps from last night, hoping to find him staring out at the valley or marveling at the dawn sky. The lookout they had found last night wasn’t far, and he could’ve gone to try and see what was causing the strange noises. “Terry Overman, this is your final call. Quit your playing, eh, this isn’t funny. I want to—”

  The thumping noises stopped and then suddenly she saw Terry running toward her, emerging from the treeline like a caveman running into the future. His pajama shirt was torn and he ran barefoot over the rocks, his palms cut and his red face covered in sweat.