Wild Men of Alaska 02 - Moosed-Up

kids.
    “Kinda. It was a weird relationship.” The kid took a deep breath and seemed to collect himself. “You ready to try again?”
    “What the hell.” They braced themselves and pulled on the jaws of the trap. They heaved and strained until Aidan couldn’t help the holler of pain. “Stop. Shit .” He couldn’t take anymore of this. Just kill him and get it over with. It wasn’t like he had a lot to live for anyway.
    “We need help,” Fox said. “I’m strong for my age, but this is bigger than me.” Fox leaped to his feet. “I’ll be right back.” He turned toward the back of the cabin, walking in a zigzagging line to the back door. The kid obviously knew where the booby-traps were placed.
    Fox entered the cabin and returned with a fur-lined hat and blankets. “Here.” He gave the hat to Aidan, who immediately put it on, the flaps big and floppy covered his ears, and then Fox carefully wrapped Aidan’s legs with the blanket, adding another one around his shoulders.
    Aidan fished out the keys in his pocket. “Take the SUV.”
    Fox shook his head. “My mom would kill me for driving. Besides, it’s snowing too hard. I’d probably put it in the ditch. My dogs will get to help faster in weather like this. You hang in there. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
    “If I’m ... He didn’t want to say dead, but that’s where he was headed.
    “Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it. Think warm.”
    Aidan heard excited barks and yips as Fox turned the corner and was out of sight. The kid was gone, and Aidan was once again alone in the arctic night.
    He tried to disassociate from the pain throbbing in his leg where the metal teeth were clamped around it. It was becoming easier to do as he was losing feeling, either from blood loss or the cutting off of circulation.
    He lay down on the hard, frozen ground. Snow fell so thick he couldn’t see more than a few feet above him. Sticking out his tongue, he caught the flakes and swallowed as they melted. He used to love doing that when he was younger. Snow had always been magical. Blanketing everything in white. Softening the edges of the harsh landscape. Glowing blue and green in the dark winters when the Northern Lights would dance like spirits in the sky above.
    Would Fox be able to make it back in this?
    He no longer felt the cold, either because the kid had wrapped him up or because shock had set in. Snow began to cover him, adding another welcomed layer of insulation. He pulled the hood of the hat over his face and closed his eyes.
    He didn’t know how long he’d stayed like that. Maybe he slept. But suddenly he heard a truck’s brakes squealing as it came to a fast stop, then voices and the sound of footst eps crunching through the snow.
    “Harte!”
    Aidan tried to lift his arm to pull back the hood, but someone beat him to it, dusting off snow that was attempting to camouflage him. He opened his eyes and stared into Lynx Maiski’s hard unforgiving face.
    Shit. He was hoping not to run into his former childhood comrade.
    “I can’t believe it,” Lynx said. “I thought the boy was suffering from exposure when he told me you were here.” Air puffed from his angry mouth. “Didn’t think I ever see you again.”
    “Can we get me out of this trap before you lay into me?”
    Lynx looked him over. “You’re not much competition at the moment.” He lifted a brow and indicated Fox behind him. “If the kid wasn’t so concerned about you, I’d be tempted to leave you.”
    And he’d be justified.
    “If you’re going to leave me, shoot me first.”
    Lynx laughed. “Don’t tempt me. Hand me those clamps, Fox.” He looked at Aidan. “This is going to hurt.”
    “Worse than stepping into the damn thing?”
    “Wait until the blood gets flowing again.” Lynx smiled as though enjoying the picture he painted.
    Aidan rose into a sitting position. Fox kept quiet, glancing worriedly at Aidan every few seconds. The kid actually seemed to care. Aidan studied him. Was he Lynx’s son? There seemed to be a resemblance of sorts.
    Lynx tightened down a C-clap to the front spring and then attached another to the back. “Fox, you tighten this clap, and I’ll do the other. Harte, get ready to pull your leg out. These traps are ancient. It could spring back at any moment. I’m surprised you even attempted to come here, knowing Earl like you do.”
    “Didn’t Fox tell you? Earl’s dead.”
    Lynx paused then continued twisting the clap.