Wild Men of Alaska 02 - Moosed-Up

“Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. I hope it was painful.”
    A bullet to the chest. “Yeah. He felt pain.”
    “Glad to hear it.”
    The clamp on his leg started to lessen. He reached out to help pull it out of the trap as he’d lost most of the feeling in it. The pressure decreased but he couldn’t get his leg out. The teeth were caught in the leather of his boots.
    “Come on, Harte. Pull.” Lynx tightened his jaw. “Who knows how old this trap is. It could go off again at any moment. I don’t want the kid hurt.”
    “Don’t worry about me,” Fox said. “I’m quick. Let’s just get him out.”
    The kid was wise. Listen to the kid. Finally, the jaws released enough of their hold and he scraped his leg out of the trap. As soon as he was free, the trap sprung, snapping into the air.
    “Shit,” Lynx said, jumping back. “Your damn SOB of a father should have been shot for laying traps like that around here!”
    Aidan grabbed his lower leg as feeling began pumping through his veins like hot oil.
    “Do you think it’s broken?” Lynx asked.
    “Don’t know. Hurts too bad to tell.”
    “Fox, bring that sled over here.”
    Fox positioned a sled next to Aidan and they both helped him into it.
    “Let’s get out of here. This place always gave me the creeps.” Lynx pointed at Fox. “You and I are going to have a talk later on how you know where the booby-traps are hidden.”
    Fox gulped and looked away.
    “Lead us out of here, Fox.” Lynx grabbed the rope tied to the sled and pulled, following Fox’s trail. They reached a crew-cab 4x4 pick-up with the National Wildlife R efuge seal painted on the side.
    Aidan stood with Fox and Lynx’s help, using the door of the truck as a crutch. He climbed in, clamping his mouth shut as he bumped his leg.
    “Working for the State?” Aidan asked when they were under way. The snow came at them so hard there was no visibility.
    “Yep,” Lynx answered, concentrating on keeping the truck on the road. How he could tell where it was, Aidan hadn’t a clue.
    Aidan turned around to Fox, sitting quietly in the backseat studying Aidan. “Thanks, Fox. I owe you my life.”
    “You’re welcome,” he said, giving Aidan a hesitant smile.
    They pulled into the heart of Chatanika. An old gold mining dredge sat like a metal monster to the left, the main tourist attraction. The old lodge cabin squatted across the street on the right. A few outlying cabins dotted, circling the center of town, vague shadows in the rapidly falling snow.
    “We won’t be able to get you to Fairbanks in this weather,” Lynx said, parking the truck and switching off the engine. He turned to Fox. “Run and get Eva. I’ll get him into the lodge.”
    Fox jumped out of the truck and took off.
    Aidan wanted to insist they drive him to Fairbanks. He didn’t want to meet anymore people from Chatanika. At least he didn’t recognize anyone by the name of Eva. She must be new. But if he went into the lodge, memories where going to swamp him. “Who’s Eva?”
    “My wife, and lucky for you, a NP. She’s the best thing we got in medical care out here.” Lynx stepped out of the truck and walked around the front.
    Aidan opened the door and gritted his teeth. Getting into the lodge was going to be the easy part. Seeing the occupants of the lodge was going to hurt.
    “Ready for this?” Lynx asked.
    Aidan didn’t know if he was asking about his physical well-being or the emotional havoc to come. “Not much choice in the matter,” he mumbled.
    Lynx put his arm around Aidan’s back. Aidan swung an arm around his shoulder and they hobbled to the front door of the lodge.
    The door opened and Fiona, Lynx’s mother, stood there, looking the same as Aidan remembered. Round and happy—well, more concerned at the moment—she’d always seemed to make the best out of what life handed her, and it didn’t seem as though that had changed. “Aidan Harte! I thought I’d seen a ghost when you pulled up.” She quickly looked him over. “Always coming to my place injured in one form or another, don’t you.” She motioned for them to follow her. “Come on. Let’s get you patched up. Can’t wait to hear the story on this escapade.”
    A lump lodged in his throat as he looked around the lodge, its rough homespun interior decorated with vintage mining materials, various snow shoes, nailed to the walls, over-sized furniture sat in intimate corners, soft old leather couches flanked the stone