Snow in the North

1

It had been six days since Julie Labelle had left her home in the southern region of the provinces and boarded a plane bound toward the arctic.

Her university research committee had sent the student to the territories to count the declining animal populations. She didn't mind, knowing she was young and that it was probably a good chance to get into a research facility, in fact, she was determined to do an excellent job, proving she was part of the scientific team, and to be viewed as an equal.

Now, the eighteen year old woman stood on the frozen floorboards of the run down cottage appointed to her. She wore boots inside to compensate for the lack of heating.

She heard a truck rumble outside and tugged the hood of her army coloured parka over her head. The bristles tickled her métisse cheeks and shadowed her deep brown eyes. Shoving open the door, Julie tucked the rusted key she was given into her coat pocket and stepped off the front porch.

A dented red workhorse of a truck idled on a thick layer of ice, waiting to drive her to the site where she would be counting caribou that day. Her boss was a stocky aboriginal woman with a strait nose and a no nonsense expression. Her back sat ramrod straight and she stared directly ahead at the hidden road.

"Caribou today, though I don't know if you'll see any. I'll bring you to the research station. It's the furthest thing inside of town." She explained, without any additional words. Julie understood. It was a small town-the only one for kilometres- and people didn't like a newcomer who might as well be an ecological tourist.

The road was slippery, and she was glad no one else was there as the vehicle fishtailed out of control several times. When they finally arrived at the research station, Julie thought it didn't have heating either. Her boss turned off a security alarm and flicked on the lights. She led the researcher to the roof. A polished hallway led to a fragile looking ladder and a trapdoor style exit from the building onto a crumbling rooftop.

"You can count from here. I trust you know what you're doing. Somebody else will be here in about six hours to check on you. Just a local, but he knows what he's doing. Be careful." And she left with a secret smile.

The local woman exited the building and ran to her truck, quickly starting the engine to warm herself. Her bones ached, her left foot was swollen and she could feel the soft caress of the wind before an arctic snow storm. She could taste a strong storm and hoped the young woman on the roof would have enough common sense to get herself inside before the worst of it hit.

Julie sat on the roof in her snow pants, parka, gloves and toque. She sat for hours. Nothing in sight. No animals, birds or even locals, but she needed to prove herself to her company or else the research position would be given to someone else. In her anxiety, she didn't hear the storm coming.

When her gear started to rattle, she brushed it off as just a little wind, but by the fourth topple of her equipment, her survival instinct kicked in and she threw her gear down the trapdoor into the building. Hanging on the door handle to the roof, Julie's oversized boot missed the ladder leading down to the floor and she fell, hearing the air swish around her and the final thunk of her head thudding against the floor in a frozen black nightmare too dark to remember.

*****

Seven hours later, Jake Savant rode in his truck crushing the thick sheet of fresh snow. He had tried to reach the station to pick up whichever new scientist was in town, but the storm was too strong and he had had to take shelter at a gas station before going outside again.

He felt guilty about not finding the scientist in a storm, but he figured he'd be smart enough to take care of himself. But he wasn't sure. A small spiral of doubt began to swirl in Jake's stomach and he grew worried. Pressing down further on the gas, he sped onwards.

An eerie silence surrounded the building. He felt his spirit sink. Something was wrong. Rushing inside, he noticed the building felt cold; nearly as cold as outside. At the top of the stairs, he could just make out a crumpled heap surrounded by broken black pieces of plastic.

Jumping up the steps two at a time, he crouched over the distinctly human shape. Though body shape was indistinguishable, Jake could tell this scientist was the youngest ever sent and the most beautiful being to ever grace the small town. Checking her pulse, and grateful she was alive, the man lifted her and brought her outside and threw her into his passenger seat, hating himself for his failure to do what was expected of him, and the consequences caused by it.

As he whisked her away to his isolated home, the spirits of the skies were scheming. Another storm, a bigger one, was brewing.