Arctic Thunder (10 page)

Victor cupped his mouth close to Mike's ear. “I think he's sweet on her.”

Mike stifled a laugh as he looked away from Donnie.

Victor shut off his machine, and so did the girls. “Mike, can you see the ice road on the river?”

Mike nodded.

“Trucks, cars, snowmobiles, and tractor-trailers all use the river to get to Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk. We're going to head downriver on the ice road toward the ocean. Partway, the ice road will cut off, but we'll continue on the main part of the river to Reindeer Station. It's going to take us about two hours, so we better get going. You get cold or have to pee, tap on my shoulder and let me know.”

“Okay, Mr. … Victor,” Mike said.

As soon as Victor finished speaking, the girls pull-started their machines and roared off in a cloud of snow. Mulluk hit the throttle with such force that Donnie banged hard against the backrest, his head flopping back, causing the flaps of his fur cap to fly out on both sides. Victor eased their snowmobile into motion, and they were underway.

The trip was unreal. Mike couldn't get over the fact that they were driving on frozen water. A plough had cleared a road on the river, and Mike saw ice whiz by beneath them. In some places the ice was covered in hard-packed snow, but in others he could see the ice. At times it looked black and in other spots it was various shades of blue. There were cracks, too. None were very wide, but they were cracks all the same, zigzagging through the ice and disappearing into the snowbanks on each side of the road. On their right they passed the town, and in contrast to the bright whiteness around them the buildings that at first had appeared drab to him now seemed colourful.

“Tank farm!” Victor shouted over his shoulder, pointing at a group of gigantic, round, cake-like structures on his right. “Barge brings in fuel each fall and it's stored there.”

They continued along the river, and soon the town was well out of sight behind them. The Mackenzie was the biggest river Mike had ever seen. It was so wide across that the cabins they passed at odd intervals appeared quite distant and small. Craggy evergreen trees lined the banks, and willows grew thick in some spots. Snowmobile tracks criss-crossed the snow in all directions around the road, and animal tracks dotted the snow toward the bank.

Many of the cabins they passed had wisps of smoke lazily floating up from their chimneys. It reminded Mike of Christmas cards his parents received in the mail each year. He imagined the warmth and coziness inside the cabins as people sat close to the stove, warming their hands and drinking steaming cups of coffee and hot chocolate.

Mike began to enjoy the cold, fresh feeling on his face. He spent longer periods of time gazing past Victor and watching the two snowmobiles leading the way. The girls were having fun and occasionally wove back and forth across the road as if they were navigating an obstacle course. He smiled as he imagined Donnie, wide-eyed, holding on for dear life.

Ahead, he saw where the road veered to the left. Trish and Claudine slowed down and gingerly moved up over the bank instead of making the turn. Mulluk swung wide and began to gather speed, aiming at a point in the snowbank where it appeared other snowmobiles had preceded her. She struck the bank like a skier hitting the ramp of a jump. As the machine left the snow, it seemed suspended for a few seconds in the air. The flaps on Donnie's hat flew high on the sides of his head, and his body lifted gently off the seat. The snowmobile landed hard on the other side, and Donnie hit the seat solidly before bouncing off and tumbling into the snow. Mulluk continued a short distance before pulling to a sudden stop.

Victor shook his head as he sped to the bank and drove the heavy machine up and over. Quickly, Mike and Victor jumped off and hurried to where Donnie lay moaning in the snow. The girls were standing over him, covering their mouths and attempting without success to stifle their giggling. Victor glared at them, and they stopped.

Every part of Donnie, including his face, was covered in powdery snow. He could have been a big doughnut rolled in icing sugar. His glasses had popped onto his forehead, and his short, spiky hair appeared to be layered with ice. The ridiculous cap lay a short distance away, forgotten for the moment.

Victor knelt beside Donnie, took off his own mitten, and placed a hand on the boy's chest. “Take your time, Donnie.” He removed the glasses from Donnie's forehead. “You had the wind knocked out of you and need to catch your breath. That's it. Breathe easy. Now try to take deeper breaths.” Victor grew quiet as Donnie filled and released his lungs several times. “There. How's that?”

Donnie nodded and slowly opened his eyes. He looked at Victor, then Mike, giving them a weak smile. The snow on his face had melted, and his brown cheeks were wet and bright pink. He glanced at the girls, and his eyes grew wide, almost popping out of his head. “She tried to kill me!” he shouted, pointing at Mulluk.

The girls burst out laughing, but once again grew quiet after a scowl from Victor.

“It was reckless for Mulluk to jump the bank,” Victor said, “but she wasn't trying to kill you, Donnie. And she won't do it again, right, Mulluk?”

The girl nodded meekly, and studied her kamiks.

“Now, Donnie, let's get you up.” Victor supported Donnie's back and helped him into a sitting position.

Mike retrieved Donnie's hat and handed it to him as he cleaned and replaced his glasses. Donnie stood up, and Victor and Mike helped brush the snow off his parka.

Seeing Donnie pretty much back in one piece, Victor seemed satisfied and nodded. “Okay, let's get going. Donnie, Mulluk will drive carefully the rest of the way.”

Claudine and Trish giggled slightly with their heads together as they grabbed each other and sprinted back to their machine.

Donnie stood beside Mike and looked at him with wide-eyed fear. “She won't rest until I'm dead,” he whispered, leaning close. “You have to do something. I won't survive the day. Once it gets dark, who knows what she's capable of?”

Mike couldn't help but laugh out loud.

“You need to take this seriously,” Donnie said.

“You don't know her. Look at her.”

Mike watched as Mulluk blew her nose with a piece of tissue paper.

“Thinking, plotting — she's pure evil,” Donnie mumbled.

“Look, Donnie, Victor and I will be right behind you. Anything happens, we're right there. We have your back, buddy.” Mike put his arm around the big kid. “Now we better get going, or it'll be dark before you know it.”

Donnie gripped Mike's arm and nodded with gravity. “Thanks, Mike. If anything
does
happen, tell my mother I love her.” With that he turned and glared defiantly at Mulluk as he walked over and sat behind her. Back in the saddle, he gave Mike a tight-lipped, wide-eyed nod and thumbs-up sign.

Mike returned the thumbs-up and trudged back to the idling Polaris.

Victor shook his head. “Young love! Now let's get going, Mike.” He slid to the back of the Polaris's seat, pushing himself tight against the backrest.

Mike's jaw dropped. “You mean …?”

“Take it away, Mike. You saw me. Throttle on the right, brake on the left. Mulluk will behave now, so just follow the girls at a decent speed.”

Mike tried not to look too excited, but he knew he was grinning like an idiot. Some of his friends in St. Albert had snowmobiles, but he had always been a passenger, never a driver.

Gingerly climbing in front of Victor, he gripped the handlebars and gave the throttle a little squeeze that only made the engine race. He felt his face heat with embarrassment and gripped the throttle too hard. The machine lurched ahead, almost giving them whiplash.

Victor chuckled and placed a hand on Mike's shoulder. “Easy. Start to squeeze and gradually make it harder. You'll get used to it.”

Mike nodded and did what Victor suggested. Sure enough, they moved gradually, then gained speed.

Seeing Mike and Victor go, the girls quickly circled and raced ahead. Mike continued to squeeze the throttle, his heart in his mouth, until they were keeping pace with the other two machines.

“Good driving, Mike!” Victor shouted over his shoulder.

Mike nodded, trying to control his excitement. He smiled as he sped along behind the girls, giddy with the power of the machine as they hurtled across the snow and ice. Was this cool or what?

CHAPTER 10

T
he rest of the drive to Reindeer Station was one of the best experiences Mike had ever had. As he gained confidence, he swerved into the deeper snow slightly off the trail. A fine powder flew up, sending a cold mist onto his face. Laughing, he closed his eyes and shook his head before veering back onto the trail. They were no longer on the road, of course, but on a trail well worn by snowmobile traffic. The girls sensed that Mike wanted to try new stuff as he gained confidence, so they sped up, slowed down, made sharp turns, and zipped along the edge of snowbanks, keeping their velocity high so the machines tilted slightly on their sides but the force of gravity prevented them from falling over. It was like riding a roller coaster, and Mike's stomach heaved each time they swooped sideways along the edge of a bank.

Reindeer Station was a small grouping of deserted houses on the bank of a channel of the Mackenzie River. The structures reminded Mike of pictures he'd seen of old houses in the Yukon during the gold rush. The houses were pretty plain but still stood out in contrast to the stark whiteness surrounding them.

Mike and his companions pitched in and gathered wood, which Victor used to start a fire in a clearing near the deserted houses. They pulled up some logs that others had employed for the same purpose, and Mike sat happily by the fire, sleepy and content. Donnie and Victor hunkered down to his right, with the girls on the other side of the flames. Mike didn't know if it was the heat from the fire or the fact that Mulluk was a safe distance away, but Donnie seemed pretty jubilant, too.

Victor extracted a Thermos from the sled and poured out steaming tea for everyone in cups he provided. Gingerly, Mike took a sip of the liquid and enjoyed the heat as the creamy, sweet substance slid down his throat. Victor went back to the sled and returned with saltines and canned meat, slicing up the latter and handing out portions to the group. Mike had never tasted anything so good in his life.

“So, Mike, what do you think of your first skidoo trip?” Victor asked.

“It's fantastic! I went out with friends a couple of times down south but never had a chance to drive. And we always drove across farm fields and stuff. It was nothing like this. I never thought I'd be driving on an ice road.”

Everyone smiled and enjoyed their tea, slipping into comfortable silence.

Mike glanced at the old buildings behind them. “Victor, why are those buildings sitting empty like that? And if it's called Reindeer Station, where are all the reindeer?”

In the 1930s the Canadian government brought Laplanders from Scandinavia and reindeer, from Alaska in order to raise a domesticated herd in the Northwest Territories, and this is where they settled. At that time Inuvik didn't exist.”

“They tried to move people to Inuvik from Aklavik, right?” Mulluk interjected.

Victor nodded. “That's right. The Laplanders lived here and raised the reindeer. The idea was to sell the meat and make it into a type of industry for the area. Aklavik existed, but it's always had a problem with flooding in the springtime. It still does. It gets so bad at times that the streets disappear and people can only get around town by boat.

“That's when the government had another one of its bright ideas. There was a spot on the river not far from Reindeer Station that never flooded, so they decided they'd move the people from Aklavik to there. The new town was eventually called Inuvik. But there was a slight problem.” Victor bit into a saltine.

“Nobody would move,” Mulluk said, smirking.

“That's right. No one bothered to see if everyone would move for sure. Even though Inuvik didn't flood, most people refused to relocate from Aklavik. They were used to it, despite all the flooding. So, in the end, there were two towns — Inuvik and Aklavik. With Inuvik so close to Reindeer Station, the Laplanders decided to move there, too, which by then was larger and had more conveniences.”

Mike nibbled on some meat and a saltine, then asked, “What happened to the reindeer?”

Victor smiled. “Selling them for a profit and creating a type of industry for the area didn't really work out. A family still owns the herd, but it's not the kind of thriving business the government hoped it would be.”

“And now Reindeer Station's a ghost town,” Mike said, studying the abandoned houses. “Let's see now, up here you've got Tuktoyaktuk, Aklavik, and Inuvik.”

“Hey, don't forget Tsiigehtchic and Fort McPherson,” Donnie chimed in.

“Sorry, I forgot,” Mike said. “Tuktoyaktuk, Aklavik, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic, and Fort McPherson, where Donnie's from.”

Donnie nodded and smiled drowsily.

“Mike, do you play hockey?” Trish asked shyly. “What did you do for fun in Edmonton? I mean, St. Albert.”

“I played a bit of hockey, but it wasn't my favourite thing to do. I mostly played lacrosse. My team won the provincial championships last year. Other than that I skied in the winter when we had time to go to the mountains and played most sports at school.”

“He's amazing at basketball,” Donnie said. “You should've seen him go up against Bobby Vittrekwa and Gwen Thrasher. He's likely the best player after Tommy Aleekuk.”

Mike grinned sheepishly and stared at the fire.

Mulluk snorted. “I heard about you and Gwen. Everybody says it was love at first sight.”

The girls all giggled. Even Donnie chuckled, holding his gloves up to his face. When Mike glanced up, Donnie quickly looked away, but Mike saw his shoulders shake with laughter and punched him lightly in the back.