Midnight Sun (17 page)

Perpetually
ice-capped
mountain
ranges
and
gray-green
scribbles
of
river
mark
the
closest
thing
to
boundaries,
intertwining
and
caressing
one
another
to
a
point
of
barely
discernible
division.
The
whole
of
Alaska
is
one
massive
place
with
no
end
and
no
limits
as
far
as
the
eye
can
see.
Time
seemed
suspended
as
Hilde
stared
in
awe
at
the
magnificence
of
the
scenery.
Ahead
of
them,
Mt.
McKinley,
a
stocky
white
nub
on
the
horizon
when
they
took
off,
rose
like
a
waking
giant.
Her
breath
caught
in
her
chest
at
the
sight.
The
late-morning
sun
cast
its
powerful
beams
against
the
blue-and-white
surface
of
the
great
mass
of
rock
until
it
glowed
as
bright
as
a
terrestrial-bound
sun.

T
he
tallest
mountain
in
North
America,
Mt.
McKinley
is
often
said
to
be
second
highest in the world, behind
only
Mt. Everest
.
In
reality,
Denali,
as it is known locally, is the tallest single mountain in the world, as it ascends directly from sea level to a full height of over 20,327 feet, whereas Everest's base starts on the Tibetan Plateau that is already 17,000 feet above sea level, the mountain only continuing another 12,000 feet to a total height of 29,029. Regardless of the semantics of the mountain's measurements, Hilde
had
no
idea
what
that
meant
in
perspective
until
she
was
in
a
plane
two
miles
above
the
ground
and
saw
that
the
summit
of Denali
was
still
three
miles
higher.
Marcus
drove
the
plane
straight
toward
the
mountain
until
there
was
nothing
else
visible
in
the
front
windscreen.

“
Shouldn
’
t
we
pull
up
or
turn
away?
”
she
asked
.

“
Afraid
we
’
re
going
to
hit
it?
”
Marcus
replied
with
a
grin.

“
Well,
it
is
getting
awfully
close.
”

“
It
’
s
still
forty
miles
away,
ma
’
am.
”
Marcus
reassured
her.
He
pointed
to
the
northeast.
“
We
land
over
there.
”

In
the
distance,
Hilde
made
out
the
barely
visible
shape
of
a
clearing
in
the
dark
evergreen
forest.
It
looked
like
a
hole
in
the
surface
of
the
earth.

“
I
thought
you
said
we
’
d
land
on
a
lake.
”

“
That
is
a
lake.
”

Marcus
banked
the
plane
toward
the
clearing
and
dropped
to
just
above
tree
level.
Hilde
’
s
stomach
tickled
like
she
was
on
a
roller
coaster.
She
closed
her
eyes
and
again
gripped
the
armrests.
In
a
replay
of
the
takeoff,
the
skin
on
her
knuckles
stretched
tight,
whitened
to
the
point
where
it
looked
like
her
bones
had
come
through.
When
she
opened
her
eyes,
she
saw
that
there
was
indeed
a
lake
below
them.
It
was
much
smaller
than
the
one
they
had
used for takeoff,
and
there
were
no
float
plane
docks
or
sidewalks,
or
parking
areas—no signs
of
modern
life
anywhere
around
them.

Marcus
dipped
the
nose
to
a
steep
angle
toward
the
water.
Hilde
’
s
heart
jumped,
catching
in
her
throat.
She
squeezed
her
eyes
shut,
waiting
for
the
impact
and
trying
to
push
away
visions
of
her
body
being
smashed
to
pieces
in
a
wreck
of
DeHaviland
Beaver
debris.