The First Ones Read online

  Grandpa George chuckled, “I think it likely that they would simply send in whoever it is that fills your shoes in that particular territory of Alaska. Maybe they would even send a team of Game Wardens to investigate, but in the end, it wouldn’t be taken seriously enough to stop what is happening.”

  “And we don’t have the time, in any case.” Aurora added.

  Grandpa George asked, “How much time do we have?”

  Aurora closed her eyes, tilting her head toward the ceiling, before saying, “Less than a week I would imagine.”

  “You imagine?” Jet asked.

  “Such miniscule spans of time are hard for me to rationalize,” Aurora admitted, “but that is as close as I can articulate.”

  “Terrific,” Jet grumbled.

  “All right,” Grandpa George spoke with a burst of energy, “I have a lot to prepare. What are the three of you planning?”

  Ursula was wiping her hands with a dishtowel as she walked out of the kitchen, “The three of us are going to get Benjamin’s helicopter from the rooftop of the Victoria Hospital, fly to where ever Aurora tells us the final ritual will take place, and be there so that the Spirit of the First One inside her can be released, thereby restoring balance to the world.”

  “What does that mean exactly?” Jet asked.

  Grandpa George nodded as he continued explaining, “The First Men, those we call the Inuit, have been telling the Canadian and US governments that the world has ‘tilted.’ Modern science and thinking doesn’t comprehend such a statement, or what is meant by this expression, and they have simply rejected it, as being some sort of “Indian” philosophical idea. In truth, this is more fact than philosophy, and it actually accounts for the warming trend happening the world over that scientists are calling ‘Global Warming.’”

  Jet blinked in surprise, “You are telling me that global warming isn’t caused by greenhouse gasses, but is actually the result of the world having… What?”

  “Tilted,” Aurora said simply.

  Ursula then chimed in, “The ceremony to release the First One’s Spirit will correct this imbalance and right the problem, but if Kaylanna casts a spell to capture the essence as it is released, then she will gain the power, and instead of making the correction, it will be the beginning of the end.”

  Aurora turned her tiny frame toward Grandpa George, “Benjamin was fighting Kaylanna’s brood when we left him. He will be easy to find when the time comes.”

  Grandpa George stood with sudden excitement, “You saw Benjamin?!” Then he quickly looked to Ursula and his excitement faded, “Oh, yes, of course you did.”

  Jet almost whined, but instead only said, “What is it about that guy?”

  Ignoring him, Grandpa George and Ursula turned back to Aurora, who added, “The ritual will take place wherever the…” Aurora paused, looking at Ursula for a moment before continuing, “…Northern Lights? I have been told this is what they are called.”

  Jet scrunched his face at the vague reference, “And where will that be?”

  Aurora turned to look at him, “They will call to me.”

  “Oh, of course they will,” Jet threw his hands in the air as he rolled his eyes.

  “Easy Jethro,” Grandpa George chided.

  “Please don’t call me that,” Jet moaned, and then a thought occurred to him, “if you don’t know where this place is yet, then how will Kaylanna find it?”

  “Kaylanna is not of this earth either,” Aurora answered, “And she will hear the First One’s call as well.”

  Grandpa George cursed, “Damn it, that makes my job much more difficult.”

  “Your job?” Jet asked, or perhaps more wondered aloud, as his grandfather didn’t respond.

  Grandpa George rose from his chair and fumbled at the watch on his wrist, “Here, take this.” He handed the watch to Ursula who looked a little confused as she thanked him.

  Grandpa George smiled, “It’s a special edition survival watch with a one-use emergency beacon switch.” Grandpa George indicated one of the buttons on the side of the watch that was slightly bigger than the others, “Press that button and the watch will send out an alarm signal, complete with your GPS location, to the closest emergency rescue services anywhere on the planet.”

  “How will that help us?” Ursula asked.

  “Like any other security alarm, part of the rescue process will be to try to contact me through regular channels such as by phone. This way they can see if it is a false alarm, or some other circumstance.”

  “What other circumstance?” Jethro asked.

  “Something like, did I give the watch to someone else for whatever reason? Why would I have done that and why might they need rescuing? Information like that could help them prepare for whatever situation they might encounter.”

  Ursula nodded, “So when we get to the location, you want us to trigger the alarm?”

  “Exactly,” he replied.

  “But won’t that send the emergency crews?” she wondered.

  “Yes,” Grandpa George agreed, “unless I tell them that it is a false alarm. What it will also do is tell me where you are, and I can come to you.”

  “And if the location changes afterward?” Aurora asked.

  Grandpa George’s expression saddened, “Then we will have lost our best and only chance to find you.”

  Ursula broke the silence that followed those words, “We should start getting ready to go. Does anyone have any questions?”

  “Just one,” Jet frowned at his grandfather, “why do you even own a watch like that?”

  Grandpa George shrugged, “To be honest, at the time when I bought it, I had just thought it was cool.”

  Chapter 22: Hospital? Airport? Confusion reigns…

  The construction of the University of Vancouver’s Hospital on Victoria Island had originally been created to relieve some of the burden from Victoria General Hospital’s smaller than average Emergency Room. As a result, the ER, ICU and Surgical Suites were completed first, while the upper floors that housed Maternity, Recovery and the Phlebotomy and Imaging Labs, were still underway. This meant that although the structure was completed and ready for finishing, the middle and upper floors of the building were completely vacant, and still devoid of any actual utilities. On the roof, the helipad had been completed and was fully operational, allowing for timely delivery of materials to the job site by using Benjamin’s refurbished Sikorski S-61, Sea King, a medium utility helicopter capable of lifting about 7,500 pounds.

  Jet parked Benjamin’s pickup in the limited parking area for those coming to see family or friends unfortunate enough to have wound up in the ER, and they found a woman in scrubs seated behind the desk positioned to greet people as they entered through the hospital’s main doors. The woman, possibly a nurse, called out a greeting as she heard the automatic doors open without lifting her head up from her computer screen. Jet scanned the entryway, noticing several people milling around, concerned looks covering their faces and sick or hurt people in various stages of pain sitting with their relatives. A few were crying in pain while waiting to be admitted, but Jet knew the basic rules of triage, the most important rule being “those who can scream need less help than those who can’t.” Others were sitting stoically, more impatient than in pain, as they waited for their turn to be taken to the screened off areas in the back of the hospital for professional assistance, or some other help with whatever ailed them. Perhaps some were waiting for the return of a loved one, or to see the return of whoever had already been taken inside previously. A security guard was standing in one corner before the elevator’s door, which had a bold “out of order” sign taped to it. The guard was watching the room cautiously, and Jet couldn’t decide if he were there to simply police the room or just prevent people from going into the back of the hospital prematurely.

  “Well, elevators are not an option,” Ursula whispered. “There’s a door for the stairwell off to the side,”

  “Great,” Jet whispered ba
ck, “but given how the floors above us aren’t open to the public, how are we going to keep from looking suspicious when we head to the stairs?”

  Jet looked down to the duffle bag that Ursula was carrying. She had packed it at his grandfather’s house with new weapons and ammunition, supplied mostly from the large toolbox welded onto the back of Benjamin’s pickup truck. There were also warmer clothes that they would need for the trip into Alaska.

  Jet looked down at the backpack, “And you don’t look suspicious at all carrying that beast of a duffle bag.”

  Ursula smiled, “We’ll need a distraction,” she patted Jet on the arm, “a quiet one if you please.”

  Jet sighed and moved toward the security guard while Aurora and Ursula headed toward the Ladies room.

  “Long shift?” Jet asked the security guard, as he leaned against a wall opposite to where the guard had taken up his position.

  The man nodded back to Jet in a friendly manner, “Always a long and sad shift in here.”

  Jet looked around the waiting room, “I can imagine.”

  The guard sighed, “At least there aren’t any kids here tonight. Those are the hardest nights. Hurt kids with hysterical parents that I have to calm down, or sometimes even keep under control. I know they’re just worried about their kids, but… well, you know.”

  Jet wasn’t sure why the guard felt the need to share so much so quickly, but he rolled his eyes and raised his eyebrows, as if to confirm how awful that situation had to be.

  “Are a lot of kids usually routed into this ER?”

  “Not too many,” the guard said thankfully, “and when they do it’s usually just broken bones from falls, or maybe sports injuries, but the car accidents really break my heart.”

  “Sure,” Jet agreed and noticed Ursula and Aurora walking hand in hand toward the stairs with no one paying them any attention.

  “Is your daughter alright?” the guard asked.

  Jet’s head swiveled back to the guard, “My daughter?” he asked confused.

  “The little girl I saw you walk in here with. Is she your daughter?” the guard asked.

  “Oh,” Jet spoke quickly, “No, I’m just… dating her mother.”

  “Ah,” the guard said without judgment “she’s okay?”

  “I’m sure she’s fine.” Jet spoke in a tired voice, “We think it’s just the flu, but her temperature is getting up there and we want to be safe.”

  Security guard shook his head, “Right, right. Fever’s a hell of a thing in babies. I remember the first time my son had a high temperature, I was up all night worrying.” Then the guard leaned in close, “Listen, I’m no doctor, and I can’t tell you what you should do, but you just might see someone faster if you go to a Quick Care instead of hanging around here tonight.”

  Jet looked around the waiting room and saw the door to the stairwell swing shut without anyone seeming to notice.

  Jet nodded, “Yeah, probably a good idea. Thanks.”

  “Eh, my pleasure.” The guard smiled, “I hope she feels better.”

  Jet waved as he made his way out of the building and then walked around the side of the hospital, maneuvering around the unfinished landscape and the holes dug for future trees and shrubs. He continued on until he came to a door with a “No Entry” sign posted at eye level. He waited for about a minute, and then heard a quiet click before the emergency exit door opened, without any alarms blaring, to reveal a smiling Ursula and Aurora in the doorway.

  “That was easy,” Jet commented as he walked inside.

  “What?’ Ursula mocked, “Did you think you’d have to start a fire or something?”

  “No, just glad something went smoothly tonight,” Jet said happily as he began to ascend the steps.

  “The night isn’t over,” Aurora said abruptly.

  “Don’t be a buzz-kill,” he called back to Aurora as he rounded the first set of stairs.

  Together they climbed what seemed to Jet to be endlessly repeating flights of stairs, before they finally reached the top floor of the hospital, after which all they had to do was exit the current stairwell, walk to the other side of the building in order to use a different set of stairs, and then gain access the roof and its helicopter pad. Jet noted how this top story level was intended to be the setting for the something more aesthetically pleasing than the down and dirty ER below. Perhaps high-end recovery rooms, or a restaurant of some kind were to be completed here, as the floors were covered in a hardwood laminate, as opposed to the lower level’s sea-foam-green colored vinyl.

  They moved from the stairwell into an open area, which tapered to a single hallway with beautiful ‘floor to ceiling’ windows on both sides, making the hall feel like an enclosed bridge. Jet imagined that in the daytime it would be a spectacular scene, but the currently cloudy night only allowed a view of the lighted parking lot, a blank darkness of undeveloped forestland, and finally, occasional hazy pinpoints of city lights here and there. He took in what he could of the view, as he hurried toward the roof access door, when he heard Ursula speak to Aurora, her voice full of concern.

  “What is it?” Ursula had asked and Jet turned to find the Aurora staring down toward the parking lot before extending her right arm and pointing her index finger at something.

  Jet moved back to them joining Ursula in looking at the direction Aurora was indicating, to see a figure standing under one of the parking lamps. The figure looked ant-like in the distance, understandable given the height of the building, but Jet still gasped as his mind registered what he was seeing. It might have been the adrenaline that suddenly flooded his system and made his eyes focus on the ominous figure standing on the street before them. The woman was staring right back at them, as if she could see them as clearly as if they were standing right next to her.

  “Kaylanna, I presume?” Jet said more out of adrenaline soaked nervousness as opposed to actually asking a question.

  At first the woman was just standing there unmoving and eerie in her stillness. Jet was about to say something else when the woman gave what must have been the command to attack, a motion little more than a simple and quick flick of her wrist, and werewolves poured out from the darker spaces of the undeveloped forest that surrounded the parking lot and sprinted for the doors of the ER.

  Jet screamed, “Come on!” and pulled the other two down the hallway toward the roof access door. They covered the distance in seconds and, as Jet pressed down on the latch to open the door, only an empty smack of metal against metal could be heard.

  The heavy metal door was locked.

  “What the…?” Jet worked on the door latch furiously, before slapping the door in disgust, “Why the hell would they lock the door to the roof?!”

  “Is there any other way?” Ursula asked in a panicked breath.

  Jet backed up a step and kicked the door, trying to break it down. A metallic clang like a gong resounded with the impact, and Jet fell onto his back from the recoiled force.

  “Ow!” he moaned as he scrambled back to his feet, “I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting to have to find alternative routes.”

  Ursula moved back to the windows, watching as more and more werewolves poured into the ER and the faintest sounds of people screaming in panic several stories below could be heard, before being drowned out by the animal snarls that grew louder and louder as the werewolves ascended the stairs.

  Jet looked out the window as well, but only saw the last of the werewolves running for the building, as the growls grew in volume from within the stairwell.

  Ursula set the duffle bag on the ground and pulled out a shotgun. She tossed it to Jet, before she pulled out her Desert Eagle with one hand and a Smith and Wesson model 629 .44 Magnum revolver with the other. Together they put Aurora behind them and backed toward the roof access door. The good news was that the layout of the top floor would force the beasts into a kind of funnel, as they tried to come at them down the hallway. This would give them an advantage because it would mean that only o
ne or two of the creatures could reach them at a time. The bad news was that they would have to use their ammo sparingly, as it seemed likely there were more werewolves than they had ammunition.

  The first of the werewolves slammed through the stairwell door before skidding to a halt upon seeing their weapons, as several of its kind, pushed their way through the door and were lining up behind the others. Jet and Ursula held their fire, taking in the sight of the sharp features of their canine-like heads as they came into view. Every one of them barred their teeth and uttered low ferocious growls that came rumbling from their throats.

  Jet checked to be sure the shotgun’s safety was off, as he peered down his sights at the closest werewolf, noting that the beast didn’t charge at them right away as a wild beast might. Perhaps this was out of respect for their guns, or possibly because their prey wasn’t fleeing, the way prey was supposed to do. Not that they had anywhere to go, but prey was supposed to run, this was the rule of nature, and this lack of response seemed to confuse the beasts.

  Jet trained his shotgun at one of the wolves that had moved to the front of the pack, and had begun pacing back and forth as it tried to understand the situation. Jet frowned at the behavior, then cursed at himself for forgetting that these creatures weren’t the mindless beasts they seemed. They had human intellect behind the monstrous appearance, and clearly, they had been using it. The pacing wolf stopped and let out a loud growl before turning back to the door at the end of the stairwell, and quickly trotted back through it, leaving about six werewolves on guard at the far end of the floor.

  “Whatever they do,” Ursula whispered, “don’t fire until they are confined within the narrows of the hallway.”

  “Yep,” Jet grunted, not taking his eyes from the nasty creatures in the distance.

  Then strangely all of the noise coming from the creatures in the stairwell went quiet. The werewolves that were on the floor all seemed to notice it at the same time, simultaneously turning to the stairwell with their heads tilting to one side, in the same way that many inquisitive dogs will sometimes do. Hesitantly each werewolf relaxed, meekly beginning to lope back through the stairwell, as if obeying a command that Jet couldn’t hear.