Cal had lived on the slope overlooking the small valley on the east side of Mount Spurr for four years. This year, he saw people for the first time. About mid valley, two young couples seemed to be partially settled. For the first year, Cal had lived in a cave about a hundred yards up the hill from his cabin. The cave had geo thermal vents, housed his survival supplies and generated his power. It was pure luck that he had purchased this large abandoned isolated track from Ormat years ago under his now defunct LLC; Ormat had decided it was not a sufficient geothermal source to develop for Anchorage. When his troubles exploded, he escaped Oregon. All his friends knew how he hated cold weather and told the FBI how he would be in Mexico somewhere.
Even with the newspapers all over the US carrying daily headlines of "CAP" this and "CAP" that, he was still able to convert most of his holdings into cash and gold and then transfer the rest to his son. He was set for life and soon would be even better off.
One rare, beautiful, very still early February morning, he rushed out to quiet his dogs. Sound would carry for miles. They had been disturbed by one of the two snowmobiles burning and exploding at the house in the valley. The other snowmobile, loaded and pulling a sled, sped away with a lone rider heading toward the apparent pass between Cal's hill and the next hill. Cal just shook his head and knew he had to go look for the driver. That "pass" was nothing but gullies filled with snow that would swallow up a snowmobile and rider.
Even with the temporary wonderful weather, this would not be a fun hike. The snow was deep and powdery; this would be a plodding trek in snowshoes pulling a light sled. No help from the dogs this time.
By mid afternoon, he had found the snowmobile buried nose down in a narrow gully. Tracks of a struggling man dragging a package led away. By seven, Cal found the man, exhausted, busted up some, almost frozen, clutching his treasure. There was nothing Cal could do for the fellow. He died during the night; the well wrapped bag was full of money - lots and lots of money. Millions to go with the millions in gold he had in his cave. Wealth was of little use in the wilderness.
About five a.m., Cal banged on the door of his abandoned valley neighbors. A frightened bespectacled man and two pretty women opened the door. The tallest of the women had bruises on her face, neck and arms. They were not expecting a stranger and were very leery.
"Your friend crashed and was killed trying to go the wrong way toward Anchorage."
They invited Cal in and had lots of questions, mostly about their friend's baggage.
"He managed to bury his machine many feet deep in a powder filled crack near the summit. He was struggling along through the deep snow when I found him. He died without even telling me his name. Come spring the authorities will find where I covered him with rocks. They will find his snowmobile, too. If you file a claim, I'm sure, the authorities will return all the stuff he took."
For a while the three pleaded with Cal to take them to where their friend had crashed but he kept saying "No." Finally, he added, "You have maybe two more days of good weather. There is nowhere near enough wood and supplies to keep you all alive through bad storms until spring. You had better work around the clock to gather wood and do some hunting."
The shocked looks were almost laughable. "We weren't planning on being here that long. We're not hunters or outdoorsmen."
"That is pretty obvious. However, you are going to be. Your snowmobile is toast, you are not equipped to walk out and you don't have time to do that anyway."
Cal gathered his gear and made ready to leave.
"You are not just going to leave us here are you?"
"I have responsibilities at my home too. You gather wood. After the next storm, I'll try to bring you some game." He touched the tall blonde's face. "What happened to you, Pretty One?"
The other girl spoke up, "Some goodbye punches from her boyfriend."
"You are such a pretty woman, too bad all of you couldn't stop the beating."
The first woman spoke up again, "My brother and I are city people, so is Anna, we were no match for Matt."
"You have no snowshoes, no vehicle and you are snowed in. Make your heated living space as small as possible and get ready for some bad weather. Next time, I'll try to get at least one of you to go out with me. I might be able to use a light sled and my dogs. If not, I'll bring my spare snowshoes."
"It's dark, how will you find your way."
"Sweet Thing, we even have GPS in Alaska."
From his several miles away, on most days, Cal could see his neighbors had a fire going. They would be hungry but warm.
The break between the storms was short and bitterly cold. Still, as promised, Cal brought a small doe, arriving about ten in the morning. His neighbors were glad to see him but at a loss as what to do with the dead deer.
Gail and Gary were sister and brother. Anna was the dead man's former girlfriend and seemed the most adventurous. Cal strung up the doe, handed Anna his knife and told her how to begin. Her face was as white as the snow and she looked like she was going to throw up.
"Do what you are told or starve when the weather gets bad again."
Cal worked them for the next fourteen hours. They were exhausted. When he got ready to leave again, Anna spoke up, "Can't you take us with you this time?"
"I can take one of you. Gary is the strongest, so he should stay to help with the wood, fire and heavy tasks."
Both Anna and Gail glanced back and forth at each other. The bearded man was very frightening. Cal pulled Anna to him and whispered, "Under this beard and all these clothes, I am a gentle, oral and attentive man. If you come with me, I will expect for us to keep each other warm."
Anna quickly shared what she had learned with Gail. Both decided to stay and take their chances.
The next storm track lasted eleven days. At the cabin in the valley, snow was over the door. One back window was half clear. About noon, Cal tapped on that window. Never had they been so happy to see anyone. He had a few rabbits, part of an elk and some smoked salmon. He had also shaved. When he stripped down to his tee shirt and pants in the very warm room, Anna and Gail were both surprised to see a handsome, two hundred-pound, six foot one, well muscled civilized looking man who did not smell like the game he brought in.
"I don't have much time. In the morning, I want to get an early start, there is another storm coming."
Anna jumped in, "Can I go back with you this time?"
"Same deal as before. Why the change?"
"If one of us had gone back with you last time, another could be going this time."
"You are starting to think like a person from Alaska, Pretty Lady. Survive first; take care of everything else later. We have about five miles to hike tomorrow. You can ride on the sled some but mostly you will be on snowshoes. Ever use them?"
"No."
"You are in for a real treat and will be more tired than anytime in your life."
Gail spoke up, "Anna, I would like to go too."
Gary chimed in, "Gail, you are my sister, I don't want you going up to keep the mountain man happy."
Cal was tired of the games and hypocrisy, "Gary, this mountain man is keeping you all alive. Don't you realize, up here, like Matt did, I can take what I want? If it gets real cold and you run low on wood, strip naked with your sister, wrap in a plastic tarp and everything else you can find and try to stay alive until I get back. Did those thoughts get your head out of your ass?"
Cal saw an old newspaper that told about a multi-million inside-job bank robbery. The missing bank president's picture was shown. It was of a smiling Gary.
Cal flung the paper at Gary, "And burn the money instead of freezing."
Silence hung heavy in the room. "I can see, I've worn my welcome out. I had better leave tonight, instead of the morning. Is anyone going with me?"
Anna scrambled to get her things together. Cal quizzed her about every layer she had on and had viewed most of her body by the time, he was satisfied that she was ready to go outside for a few hours. For the start of the trip back, Anna was very warm in the sled, holding the eighty pound dog that had been sleeping buried in the snow outside. Across the flat land and the lightly crusted snow, Cal easily pulled the sled. At the base of the hill, Anna learned to use snowshoes and the dog pulled the almost empty sled.
Anna quickly realized that his line to the hill was a ruse. As soon as they were in the trees, he turned them to the left and angled gently farther up the forested hillside. When finally they got to his cabin, she was surprised that it had electric lights and was warm inside. He settled her into one of the three bedrooms, brought her a late snack and then left her alone for the evening. This man was becoming more and more a mystery for her.
The next morning the below zero outside temperature did not rise. The winds began to pick up and there was no doubt that this was not going to be a storm; it would be a blizzard. Anna marveled how warm the floor stayed and wondered why there were windows only on the front of the house. Cal was happy to answer.
"The floor is thermally heated. Does it make you feel comfortable knowing we are on the side of a volcano? The house is built into the hillside with many feet of dirt on the sides and top and back. There is one extra door. Did you bring your swim suit?"
"Of course not."
"I'm going to drink wine in the hot tub and watch the storm. Want to join me?"
He stood just a few feet in front of her and began to strip. His muscles were long, defined and tough. His legs were strong; his chest hairy; his dick hung impressively and her eyes followed it as it swung while he folded his clothing and opened the short, thin door. Inside was a small room, the ceiling was glass, so were two sides and the snow and storm swirled through the trees. The tub was steaming, well vented and the water was 105 degrees. His wine was a cheap boxed White Zinfandel but he settled in the seat with the perfect view, content to enjoy life for the duration of the blizzard.
"Please join me."
His smile, his expression, his confidence, his voice, his shaved face all clicked in her mind. Five years ago his face was on every channel for months. Her discovery overwhelmed her judgment.
