Chapter Five
"So where are we going?" Emily asked.
They had been walking for a few minutes in silence, heading across the ice and onto the shore, heading south along the road.
"We're making a quick detour," was Lucas' reply, speaking for the first time since they left the house. "We're heading to the second bay over, called Desolation Point. I've got some business that I was planning to attend there, but got sidetracked with you. Once we're done there, we'll retrace our steps and head to Milton."
"Charming name for a bay," Emily murmured under her breath.
The wind started to pick up, blowing across the ice and into the two, causing a whistling in their ears.
"What business do you have in Desolation Point anyway?!" Emily yelled, raising her voice to be heard over the wind.
"There's an old whaling boat out on the ice, beached on a rock!" Lucas shouted back. "It's named the Riken, and I have an old friend who's taken up residence in it with his family! People often come and place orders for arrowheads or knives and hatchets to be made, due to the forge inside the ship! He typically trades them for food and gear, and gets a supply of coal from Hibernia, the settlement in Desolation Point!
"I placed an order with him a week ago, paid upfront! So we'll make the journey over, and hopefully, make it there before nightfall! Desolation Point isn't a place you want to be in at night! Wolves prowl the area, and Moose have been seen from time to time! Doesn't help that there aren't many places to take shelter, but we're making good time, so we should be fine! We might cut it a bit close though!"
The pair hurried along, and the wind died down somewhat as the road continued on between two rock faces, sheltering them from the wind. Picking their way over the rocks that had fallen across the road, they emerged from the valley into a small bay, with two peninsulas jutting out to the south into the sea, the closest one having a rock formation that formed an arch.
They continued to follow the road, and up ahead of them, Emily could spy the burnt remains of three houses.
"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the ruined buildings.
"Houses belonging to the Harris family," was Lucas' reply, his voice sombre. "Mr and Mrs Harris lived in one house with their son, and their parents lived in the other two houses. A nice family, very tightly knit."
"Well, what happened to them?" Emily asked, almost afraid to know the answer.
"After The Collapse, everyone struggled, but the Harris family probably struggled more than most. See, this bay, Harris Bay, all of it belonged to Rufford Harris, a pioneer of Great Bear Island a century ago. His family set up a house here, lived in relative seclusion, worked in the nearby towns and mines, built a few more houses, and were content. That had gone on all the way until The Collapse. Suddenly, things were getting tougher. Shops were running out of goods, shipments weren't arriving on time, and shops and businesses were closing down. So, the island started to become self-sufficient. Community gardens, planting projects. Hunting and fishing became much more common, which was great for trappers like me. But there was also an issue with infrastructure. People no longer came to fix the roads, or maybe they were unable to. Whatever the reason, roads would erode, and some collapsed, meaning that travelling on them became much more difficult. So imagine the situation of a family with four elderly parents and a young child, all while stuck in a bay without vehicle access."
Silence fell upon the pair as they trudged on, passing by the burnt houses. Emily was unsure of what to say.
"Did, did they die?" she tentatively asked.
"No, fortunately not. During the First Flare, an electrical fire started, burning the houses to the ground. While the family did manage to all make it out unscathed, almost all that they owned was destroyed. Fortunately, the townsfolk in Cinder Hills and those few in Desolation Point saw the smoke and came to help. Because part of the Old Island Connector had collapsed and the paths in and out were littered with rocks, they put the elderly on sledges and then got them out of Harris Bay and to Desolation Point. They had to take them through the old mine, but once out the family moved to the Hibernia Processing station, an old whaling station that had been kept together by the few who stayed behind. The station has a fenced perimeter, which helps keep wolves out, as well as some trailers inside the perimeter. Soon, other individuals and families come to Hibernia, making it a veritable settlement. It's also one of the most well-defended places too, thanks to the metal fence."
They continued on for a bit before Emily noticed a break in the road.
"Is that the collapsed road?" she asked, pointing ahead to where the road dropped off, then continued on the other side.
"Yep," came Lucas' reply. "The bridge collapsed, and the road's blocked further ahead. Which is why we are heading through the mines."
He led them off the road, taking her along a path that he seemed to know. Passing between an outcrop of rocks and an abandoned hut, Emily spotted what was probably the mine entrance, with wooden fences creating a funnel on either side, with the entrance just before the mouth of the mine. However, the mine wasn't the only thing that Emily noticed.
"Uh, Lucas?" she hesitantly called out.
"Mhm?" he replied, seemingly not noticing what she had.
"Are there meant to be people at the entrance of the cave?"
Lucas stopped looking around for wolves and looked towards the cave, noticing the men stationed on either side of the mine.
"Right, I probably should have told you. The mine is owned by Hibernia. Residents from the station keep watch over the mine and sometimes try to mine out coal veins. Coal is quite valuable, especially for them, because the Riken lies a short trip away from Hibernia, and Lohar, my friend who works at the Riken, is a member of the Hibernia community. He just lives alone with his family."
Content with the answer, Emily continued forward, catching up to Lucas who had been waiting.
"Let me do the talking," he quietly said to her as they continued towards the mine. "Some folk don't like Mainlanders, think that we were abandoned by them. In case they ask you directly, you're from Milton, and you're journeying with me to see more of the island because you've stayed in Milton your whole life. Tell them you went to university at Ottawa if you want, but tell them that you came back before the Collapse."
Emily nodded, fine with the partially true cover story, then followed Lucas as he walked up to the mine entrance and the men guarding it.
"Afternoon gentlemen," he said, raising his hands in a non-threatening manner. "Would you allow us passage to Desolation Point?"
The two guards, having noticed them already, nodded their heads towards Lucas.
"Greetings Orion," the one on the left responded, his face clean-shaven and pale. "I assume you have business at the Riken?"
"That's right. Lohar's made some arrowheads for me, and I just need to collect them."
"That's fine and all," the other guard said, sporting a greying handlebar moustache, "but if you don't mind me asking, who is she?"
He gestured towards Emily, who had been standing next to Lucas, watching the conversation unfold.
"My name is Emily Scron," she replied, stepping forward. "I'm from Milton, and I've hired Mr Vorban to take me around the island. I've never been outside Milton before, so I wanted to explore."
The two guards studied her, looking for any sign of deception. They both glanced at each other, nodded their heads, and gestured towards the mine.
"Very well," the handlebar guard said. "Just follow the path through the mines, someone inside with guide you."
Nodding their thanks, the two walked through the entrance, the light quickly dimming in the subterranean environment, lit only by torches placed along the walls. The air was still, with no wind blowing inside the tunnels. They walked through the mine's twisting passages, with some points being so low you had to crouch to make it through, coming into a small room, with a guard waiting, and a workbench resting against a wall.
"This way please," was all the guard said, leading them through the mine. After a second crouch point, they entered a second room, with light spilling in from the exit to the mine. The guard remained behind as they turned the corner, walking out of the tunnel and into the cold, fresh air. They had emerged out on a cliffside, allowing Emily to see the view stretching well past the ice boundary. Scanning the bay, she noticed a lighthouse standing tall on an island, connected to the mainland by a bridge, its red and white paint slightly faded from age and seaspray. A short journey from the main road below stood a stone church, the pathway leading up to it still visible in the snow. And looking out into the bay itself, Emily spotted their destination. The Riken. Beached against a rock, the old whaling ship rested at an angle, resting on top of the ice.
"Looks like Lohar is home," Lucas remarked, causing Emily to focus on the ship. Sure enough, she could spot smoke lazily trailing out of the ship's rear exhaust pipe.
"Well then," Lucas continued, grinning as he tilted his head towards the path leading down, "shall we?"