Chapter 1
Isaiah drove onto the gravel parking lot of the post office and put his black Yukon in park. Isaiah reached over, picking up his cell phone that kept chiming, indicating text messages that came through. Pressing the centre button to unlock his phone, he scrolled through his notifications until he got to the most recent one. It was from Matt Stenson, his best friend.
Matt: “Hey man. The new issue just hit the stands. We look awesome!”
Isaiah: “Just rolled into town. Will check it out. Talk soon.”
He took a quick glimpse at the attached image his friend sent and laughed out loud and shook his head. It showed a picture of Isaiah and Matt hanging from the top of El Capitan. El Capitan stands more than 3,000 feet tall, which is a sheer vertical cliff face and is the most challenging rock climb in the world. This had been on both men’s bucket lists for years and they had finally achieved one of their most dangerous feats to date. Even though they were both the most famous rock climbers in the world, this didn’t deter them from taking on the craziest cliffs in the world and El Capitan was only one of them.
Both men were in business together. Avery Rock Climbing Excursions was a very successful adventure for both. They flew out to various places around the world with their top men to conquer the most dangerous mountains and cliffs. The company also took out several small groups a few times a year and took them up to the highest levels giving their customers unique experiences.
This last excursion took over six months to prepare for and complete. Isaiah, Matt and their crew made sure to practice for months before tackling this monster head on. When they finally took on the mountain, it took them five days to reach the top in the most excruciating weather, with grueling heats from the harsh Californian sun coming down on them at the base and the freezing air at the peak. Even the most experienced climbers in the world found this one the most challenging to achieve. Using hammocks that are hung from pitons in the face of the cliff to sleep in at night and nothing more than their hands and feet to climb during daylight hours were just some of the challenges they had to face but in the end they achieved one of their long held dreams and now Isaiah was staring at their achievement — a picture of him and his best friend, Matt hanging from the top of the cliff on the cover of Discovery Magazine.
Isaiah smiled to himself and laid the phone on the seat and said to himself. "It can't get any better than that." He unbuckled his seatbelt and swung the door open before he stepped out of his SUV and shut the door behind him. He started to walk through the snow to the entrance of the post office. As he pulled the door open, the chime went off above him and the older woman behind the counter gave him a warm smile. “Isaiah! You're back honey!” She said walking from behind the counter to him. Zeus, a large Golden Labrador, came barrelling towards him at the sound of the door chime. Isaiah kneeled down as his dog almost toppled him over giving him big sloppy kisses.
“Hey, buddy. I missed you.” He said giving his golden lab a huge hug and then stood up.
A moment later, the older lady slid her arms around his waist and he gave her a bear hug.
“Marg. My number one fan! You missed me?” Isaiah grinned looking down at the old woman.
“Oh, honey. I’m just glad you're home safe. I can’t believe you and Matt did that climb. You're going to get yourself killed one of these days!”
Isaiah couldn’t help but chuckle at the comment. He released Marg and walked towards the counter, leaning up against it. “That’s why they call us the best climbers in the world, Marg.”
He watched her walk behind the counter and then slap a magazine on the counter. She turned it and slid it towards him. “We’re so proud of you! This was the first copy to hit our stands this morning and I saved it just for you.”
Isaiah’s fingers reached out and he touched the cover as another smile pulled at the corners of his full lips. He gazed at Marg and smiled. “Thanks, Marg, and thank you for watching Zeus.”
Marg winked. “Oh, it’s no trouble. I love him just as much as you do for God’s sake. I’m the only mother that dog knows. The number of times I watch him for you.” He watched her turn and started gathering his mail.
Marg had been born and raised in the small town and everyone loved her dearly. She was a plump woman in her late sixties and she wore shoulder-length salt and pepper hair. Marg always wore a smile on her face and she had always teased Isaiah that if she was twenty years younger, she would snatch him up for herself. Isaiah would try to fit in a major excursion with Matt once per year and then they would do at least two work excursions, so Marg always watched Zeus when he was away rather than dropping him off at a dog kennel.
He watched her turn and push his mail across the counter. “How long until your next trip?” She asked.
Isaiah flipped through the stack of envelopes and replied, “I think we’re going to hang low for a while. El Capitan was exhausting and took a lot out of us. We have a few groups that have already hired our company for some smaller tours, but that won’t happen for at least another six months.”
Marg smiled. “Well, I’m glad you're back Isaiah. We’ve missed you.”
He leaned across the counter and kissed her on the cheek. “I have to get to the grocery store before it closes. You behave now, young lady. I don’t want to hear any rumors of you flirting behind my back.” He smiled and then winked at her.
As he walked outside, the sky was dark gray and the snow was coming down in a thick flurry of flakes. They were supposed to get another twenty centimeters of snow tonight so he knew that he needed to finish his errands quickly or he would never make it up the mountain to his house.
Crimson Creek sat at the base of the mountain and Isaiah had bought up almost a hundred acres of land ten years ago. He never wanted to stay in Greyson Falls where his family lived, so he decided Crimson Creek was the next best thing as it sat on the border of Alaska and since he didn’t want to leave the beautiful terrain that he came to love growing up. It would keep him far enough from his family to enjoy his time here, and of course, it was only an hour drive from the Yukon. It was mid-January and many tourists came to the area without really understanding how bad the winter weather could really get up in the mountains. Crimson Creek attracted people from all over the world to enjoy the mountain, skiing, beautiful hiking trails, wildlife and the hot springs. The town was fairly small with only seven thousand people, and on a good day, it only took him ten minutes to get to his house from the base of the town. However, tonight with the snow, it would take him longer.
The snow fell hard, with great winds and an icy sheath forming on the road. He may have been one of the best climbers in the world, but even Isaiah knew that taking on a track like this, without the right hesitation would be dangerous. It could prove fatal with a single slip, even with his SUV’s snow tires. There was no predicting how the ice below him could turn, be there a puddle within that would send him off the road and to his inevitable death.
This was the life of living here in Crimson Creek during the winter.
He opened the door of his SUV and let Zeus jump into the back seat. He tilted his head up to the sky as he used to when he was a child and closed his eyes, feeling the flakes lightly sprinkle onto his face when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“There’s our town's craziest playboy!” Isaiah turned at the sound of the man’s deep voice.
“Hey, Frank.” He smiled looking at the town’s Chief of Police. Frank was a burly man. The years weathered him, not the job of course, there weren’t all that many calls that came to an officer in Crimson Creek, but the cold weather, harsh terrain, always seemed to give him a gray hair or two.
He slapped Isaiah on the shoulder and said, “Congratulations on your climb. Glad you're back safe and sound.”
“Thanks, Frank. Another climb off of our bucket list,” Isaiah replied with a smile. He watched Frank start walking towards the door and then the older man turned around to look back at him.
“You're a crazy son of a bitch! You’d never catch me doing something like that. I cherish my life!” He laughed and then said, “You better get a move on. They just announced a weather alert for the area. A blizzard is supposed to move in within the next few hours.”
“On my way home now. Take care, Frank.” He said, holding his hand in the air. Isaiah jumped in his SUV and laid his mail on the passenger seat. He started the vehicle and drove through town. The main strip was littered with bright street lights and various people walking on the sidewalk. With the climb being what it was, and the intense preparation that went into everything, Isaiah had been neglecting his fridge and cupboards. With a strong storm coming, he knew that there would be no way to get back down the mountain for a few days and stopped at the grocery store to pick up items that could fill up his fridge for the wait that was ahead. Knowing that this was just an excuse to actually fill his cupboards again, he couldn’t help but chuckle, shake his head and make way into the grocery store collecting all he needed to brave the storm.
As he drove to the edge of town, Isaiah headed across the main bridge that was flanked by a large river that ran along the outskirts of town and turned on the only road that led up the mountain. Snow slaughtered Isaiah’s windshield as the storm drew closer. He could barely see ten feet in front of him as he drove the windy roads and by the time he reached his house, twenty minutes had already passed.