Shadow Tree (30 page)

Chapter 54: Escape

The convoy of sleds raced across the polar plain, continuing for several hours through a stark landscape of snow and ice, and everyone seemed to cherish the quiet and the solitude of the ride. Kiril's sled led the way. He rode with Konrad and Naomi. Behind them was another sled with Bilblox and Marta.
Then there was a third sled carried Leif, Alfonso, and Resuza. Behind them were dozens of others, manned by the members of the Forlorn Hope.

In his sled, Leif held his son tightly as Resuza steered the sled. Alfonso clutched his father's coat and briefly closed his eyes. Alfonso's thoughts drifted, inevitably, back to the Shadow Tree. Again and again he pictured his Uncle Hill, perched in the ghastly Tree, taking one last look around before he struck his blow. Hill must have known that he wasn't going to survive. Alfonso wondered whether, in those last moments, his uncle was fearful or calm. The memory was
still so raw Alfonso couldn't stand to dwell on it, and yet he did – indeed he felt he had to and so he forced himself to recall every painful detail. After some time, Alfonso began to sob. He was thinking of Nance, and the emptiness that would invade the rest of her life. She and Hill had been so happy together, and it had only lasted for a few precious years. Finally, when he felt about as low as he ever had in his entire life, another memory of Hill sprang into his mind rather spontaneously. Alfonso recalled seeing his uncle, on his motorcycle, speeding up the icy driveway to their home in World's End, Minnesota. Hill had been fast asleep and muttering to himself. The image made Alfonso smile.

As he held his son, Leif was also thinking about Hill. Oddly, though, he was not despondent like Alfonso, who had known Hill much better than he had. Leif had spent so many years assuming he would never see his brother again; and, when he was held captive in the cabin near Jasber, Leif believed he would spend his entire life away from everybody that he loved. And yet here he was, with his son, headed home. This was Hill's doing; this was Hill's gift; and, more than anything else, Leif was grateful.

Eventually the convoy reached the edge of the Petrified Forest. The stone trees, many of which were coated with ice, stood ramrod straight – as forlorn and still as gravestones. Kiril brought his sled to a stop and a deep silence washed over the entire convoy. It was as if the Petrified Forest, in its vastness and its absence of life, was absorbing and squelching every conceivable sound.

“What now?” asked Leif finally, his voice shattering the silence.

“What now –
for you
?” asked Kiril.

“Yes,” said Leif. “Where do we go from here?”

“You cross the forest here,” explained Kiril. “I will give you a map that shows the route. It is the shortest and easiest crossing, by far. As long as you stay on the path and move quickly, you'll be fine. The fog wolves will not bother you if you enter with purpose and direction. Once you leave the forest, you simply head due south for ten days or so and eventually you'll hit the rail line that goes between the towns of Bovanenkovo and Obskaya. There is
a train that runs along those tracks every few days taking workers out to the natural gas fields. If you can flag down the train, you'll be okay.”

Kiril handed a map to Leif and then gestured toward a nearby sled. “There are rifles, food, and other provisions on that sled,” said Kiril. “Take it.”

Leif eyed the long convoy of other sleds, many of which contained huge, ash-colored burlap sacks. Leif wondered if they were filled with black ash from the Shadow Tree. The soldiers on the sleds were silent and stony faced, offering no clues.

“What about you?” asked Leif, skeptically. “Why aren't you coming with us?”

“We're going to take another crossing – farther to the west,” said Kiril. “We're headed to a port on Baydaratskaya Bay and from there north into Kara Sea.” He allowed the tiniest of smiles to curl across his lips.

“What's in the Kara Sea?” asked a small voice. It was Naomi. “What's out there?”

“Nothing of any interest. Only some very desolate lands, mostly ice-covered,” said Kiril with a smile. “It's no place for you.”

“So this is it?” asked Naomi.

Kiril nodded. With that, he snapped his whip and his sled dogs took off. Everyone watched the convoy head west, across the polar plain, until they vanished into the horizon. The wind began to kick up. Naomi walked over to where Resuza was standing. The two sisters stood together silently. Eventually, Resuza put her arm around Naomi's shoulder. Naomi didn't resist and Resuza felt grateful – it was a start.

Epilogue

It took several weeks for them to finally return to the place they said they'd all meet up again: the Dlugosz lighthouse on the Sea of Clouds. Misty and Clink had seen them from a long way off, and by the time that Alfonso and his companions dragged their makeshift-rafts onto the rocky shore and walked inside, an incredible feast had been laid out. Braised lamb garnished with tarragon and mint, a thick beef bourguignon stew, several different types of salt-encrusted fish, and an entire banquet table groaning from end to end with sweet pastries, puddings and pies. Second-Floor-Man had enlisted the help of First-Floor-Man to create this exceptional feast. Long-held rules were broken, and aged cheeses and wines were brought up from hidden storehouses. They ate for three days straight and slept for two days after that.

They would have continued on feasting and sleeping, but the lighthouse was only one step in the return journey. It had become home for Misty and Clink, but the others had homes of their own to return to. First off, however, they had to tell Nance about Hill. After a long discussion, it was decided that Misty would take one of the lighthouse's two remaining airships and travel back to Somnos to tell Nance. Leif and Alfonso would head back to World's End where Judy was waiting for them. Marta explained that she would take the chain and Pendant, which the Abbot had given her, and burn them – thus summoning the monks who would fetch her and take her back to Jasber. Bilblox would, of course, head home to Fort Krasnik and – for the time being at least – Resuza and Naomi would go with him. “The good news is that I'm richer than a king,” Bilblox told the sisters . “I got a giant house that could use some feminine touches. You're both welcome to stay with me as long as
you'd like – or until you can think of some place you'd rather be.”

The evening before they all left the lighthouse, Leif and Alfonso wrote separate letters to Nance, talking about Hill and what he had meant to them. They both promised they'd visit Somnos someday. Afterwards, Leif then went to bed, but Alfonso had one more thing to do. Just like the first time many months ago, when they had first arrived at the lighthouse, Alfonso snuck over to Resuza's room. She was awake and waiting for him. They hardly spoke and, instead, sat together and listened to the sound of the waves crashing below.

A tear ran down Resuza's cheek.

“I don't know if we'll see each other ever again,” she said.

“I do,” said Alfonso.

“What secrets are you keeping from me?” asked Resuza, wiping away her tear and smiling.

“Whenever I morph, I have these memories – but they're memories from the life I haven't yet lived,” he explained.

“You mean like visions of the future?”

“Kind of,” he replied.

“And?”

“I'll be seeing you again,” said Alfonso with a wink. “Quite a bit of you I think.”

Resuza smiled and squeezed his hand.

Leif and Alfonso walked side by side along an empty gravel road. It was mid-afternoon, and the springtime sun was strong enough that both felt comfortable without coats. The road was narrow and bordered on both sides by a mature pine forest. Birds chirped and called to each other from the treetops, providing a cheerful soundtrack to their journey.

Father and son walked along in a comfortable silence. They looked tired but relaxed, as if they were coming home after running a marathon. In a sense, this was spot-on.

This was especially true for Leif, who had unexpectedly vanished from World's End, Minnesota a decade ago. He had been forced to obey the strict orders of the Founding Tree of Jasber, and then once successful, he had been forced by the Jasberians to stay in a lonely cottage to live out the rest of his days. And finally he and Alfonso had heeded the call to destroy the Shadow Tree. Now at last, all that needed doing was done – or so it seemed. Or perhaps the only force stronger than the pull of a Founding Tree was the protective bond between Great Sleepers from the same family. Whatever the reason, Leif and Alfonso were now walking together, tired but happy, along this beautiful forest road.

“Will you stay a teenager?” asked Leif finally. “I'm mean, you're free to do what you like – but, I guess what I am asking is, can you control your body so that you look your true age?” Leif sighed heavily, as if the question had been weighing on him, and the mere act of asking it was a relief.

“Yes,” said Alfonso with a smile. “I think I can – thanks to Marta.”

“I'm glad,” said Leif, with a somber nod of his head. “People might react strangely, you know, if they saw you morphing – that's all.”

“I know,” said Alfonso with a smile. “But listen, dad, you don't have to worry about me. I'm going to be fine. You never give me enough credit.”

“That's not true,” said Leif. “You're a remarkable young man and, the truth is, you're stronger than I am in many ways. It's hard being a parent, Alfonso, you'll see some day, you just worry all of the time. And you've already been through so much, I just want it all to be over. I want everything to be right for you – that's all.”

“I know dad,” said Alfonso, as he put his arm around his father and squeezed his shoulder. “I know.”

Leif smiled, but said nothing.

“Look!” said Alfonso.

Leif followed Alfonso's gaze, and saw in the distance a slender gate barring the road.

Leif smiled. “At last.”

They quickened their pace and within a few minutes had arrived at the gate. Next to it was a modest blue-and-brown sign that said “U.S. – Canada Border. Please present yourself to the nearest manned border crossing.”

“It's a new sign,” Leif remarked. “Very nice.”

He veered into the woods, followed closely by Alfonso. Without discussing it, they knew their destination by heart, as if it was imprinted in their veins. It was a moss-covered bluff, a little alcove surrounded by old growth forest that provided a wide-lens view of their little part of the world. They had been coming there – he and Alfonso – ever since Alfonso was several months old and strong enough to hold his head up without support. It was their place to watch the world cycle through its seasons, in snow and rain, in the morning and at night.

Alfonso lagged behind and by the time he had reached the bluff, Leif was already there, staring at the landscape before him. The terrain was unbroken boreal forest, tall pine and birch trees. Directly below lay the four-hundred acre Lake Witekkon – a marvel of glacier scrubbed pristine water. And on the other side of the lake sat the cluster of houses that made up World's End, Minnesota.

Leif staggered backwards. Alfonso quickly grabbed and steadied him.

“Dad – you OK?” he asked.

Leif said nothing, but then he slowly nodded.

“I'm fine,” he replied, his voice choking. Leif had thought about this scene – on his favorite bluff overlooking Lake Witekkon – for so many years it seemed impossible to imagine that he was now actually here, instead of just dreaming. He stood by himself and looked at Alfonso.

“I'm not dreaming,” he said.

“No,” replied Alfonso softly. “You're not – and neither am I.”

They stood there silently for several minutes, and listened to the wind blow through the trees. During all those years away from World's End, the memory of this exact place had sustained him. This place, and his family.

They walked along the forest road as it wound its way down to Lake Witekkon. Leif looked at his watch, but realized it had stopped working several weeks ago.

“When we spoke to your mother, she knew we were coming home today? I'm not confused, am I?”

Alfonso smiled. “No – this is the day.”

They had called Judy once they had arrived in North America, despite their fears that the revelation that Leif was alive, and coming home with Alfonso, would be too much of a sudden shock. It was better to call, they reasoned, then showing up unannounced in World's End. Leif said he wouldn't allow her to spend one more moment believing that her husband and son were dead. He called her one afternoon, just before they were about to leave. What he said to her, and how she replied, were secrets that Leif would carry with him and treasure to the end of his days. Alfonso remembered back to the last conversation he had with his mother, when he was in the Twin Otter headed for Somnos. He hoped she had forgiven him, but he had no idea what to expect. Only his Dad had spoken with her. Of course, Judy had offered to pick the two of them up at the bus stop – at a lonely crossroads a few miles back – but Leif had been adamant that he wanted to walk the last leg of the trip, on his own two feet, just him and his son.

They neared the shoreline of Lake Witekkon, in an area of ore-streaked boulders and resilient pine trees that had wound their roots around them. A deep baying call sounded from the forest and seconds later, an enormous wolf bounded out and ran to the lake. The wolf ignored Leif and Alfonso, jumped in, and began happily paddling around in the icy waters.

It was Korgu, their companion over many hard months. When they had left the lighthouse on the Sea of Clouds, Alfonso was steeling himself to say goodbye to the wolf, but Bilblox surprised him yet again.

“You're the closest thing I ever had to a true brother,” Bilblox had said as he picked up Alfonso in a massive hug. “By givin' you Korgu, I'm ensurin' that you stay safe. She's the protective sort, and when she's with you I breathe easy. That's the honest truth.”

And so Korgu joined them on the Canadian Express train that began in the arctic foothills near Fort Krasnik and passed across the boreal shield forest. She was in her element here, in the remote woods of the Canadian-U.S. border. The forests filled with her calls, usually answered by the many gray wolves that roamed the area.

By the time they reached the driveway that led to their cottage, the sun had risen to its highest point in the sky and had just begun its slow journey to the west. Butterflies and bees picked their way through the many wildflowers that lined the driveway, and hearty grasshoppers contemplated their next jump while holding onto swaying cattails. Alfonso's legs and arms felt like rubber, as if they couldn't decide between stopping and sprinting. He vowed to remember every split-second of what was about to occur.

They both paused in the driveway as the cottage came into view. Leif sternly told himself to get a grip. It would do no one any good for him to start blubbering at this moment. Up ahead, a door slammed.

Judy appeared at the top of the driveway. She stared at both of them with wide eyes. Her arms trembled, then her legs. Her shoulders dropped suddenly, and she fell to the ground. This broke the spell. Leif and Alfonso dashed up the driveway, with Korgu right behind them. Father and son helped Judy sit up and then all three hugged each other fiercely as they sat on the driveway. They cried and cried, faces against each other so that their tears ran together to moisten the dust of the driveway. No words were spoken – none were needed.

“Come on inside,” said Judy finally. “Supper is waiting.”