back in his room, sitting cherub like
on the floor doing his lessons. Having a new appreciation for the human mothers
she’d observed, Eve was not fooled, nor angered by Caleb’s act of innocence. To
a certain level she respected the humans and was thankful for having witnessed
their lives, their relationships and interactions. All of which had been her
only preparation for motherhood.
No longer in a hurry, Eve decided to walk back to the
temple. The woman would not be ready to leave for a few hours, giving her time
to rethink her plans. Half way up the path she stopped. An image of a man
appeared. He stood facing away from her at the edge of a large body of water.
The surface consisted of choppy waves frozen in place. The man turned from the water’s
edge and walked towards her, passing through her and continuing down the path. Eve
watched him go until his image vanished. Her brow creased in thought. How had
she missed him? Tempted to follow, Eve shook her head, another time, another place,
she thought, and continued up the path.
7 Crossing the Strait
The Bering Strait was over fifty miles wide at the
narrowest point between Russian Cape Dezhnev and the US Cape Prince of Wales.
Land temperatures remained below zero and the wind was relentless in trying to
penetrate through the thickest layers of clothing in an effort to reach your
bones.
Kyle stood on the Russian side staring out across the sea,
where the treacherous waters were a mass of frozen choppy waves, disappearing
into a vast cloud of nothing. Despite having not a single clue or fact indicating
land existed on the other side, his resolve had not weakened. Ada’s pleading
and tears, although tough to bear, couldn’t change his mind either. Leaving
behind his friends and adopted family was tough, but that was all in the past now.
The task ahead was all that mattered. He walked back to the Mercedes, which
sat idling with the heater on full blast. Inside he pulled out a wetsuit and
began to undress, stopping to scan the landscape. His eyes came to rest on a single
guard post, ready to give up its few remaining boards to the elements and
topple over. “No one is out there,” he assured himself in a whisper and then
smiled, thinking he had the right to feel a little paranoid.
With a bit of effort Kyle maneuver his body into the
wetsuit. The material was designed for use by the military elite and capable of
withstanding the coldest of conditions through the suit’s unique ability to
generate heat from body movement. Kyle assumed those conditions included
swimming in the Bering Strait. Records indicated the water temperature at this
time of year should be in the thirty degree range. Based on the sheer magnitude
of ice, Kyle surmised those numbers were far lower.
The plan had been to swim to Big Diomede Island where
a Russian weather station and border guard had been based. After months of no
communications from the personnel stationed on the island, Kyle didn’t expect
to find anyone hanging around to answer questions. From the station he would
swim to Cape Prince of Wales, and again search for survivors. A small fishing
village called Deadbear sat near the cape where he hoped to acquire
transportation to take him to Colorado. If luck graced him this day, he might
be able to walk to the other side.
Grabbing the keys from the ignition, Kyle hid them
under the floor mat, paused in his task, thinking the chances of the vehicle
being stolen were remote. Overshadowing this fact was the expectation that he
wouldn’t be returning and if someone did take the truck, they probably needed the
vehicle more than he. With this in mind he placed the keys on the seat and
jumped out, not bothering to lock the doors.
At the water’s edge, Kyle took one last glance across
the ice bound sea before rechecking that his compass was functioning, and his
backpack was secure. Taking a deep breath, he pulled his headgear into place.
“You got this man,” he said out loud and
on the floor doing his lessons. Having a new appreciation for the human mothers
she’d observed, Eve was not fooled, nor angered by Caleb’s act of innocence. To
a certain level she respected the humans and was thankful for having witnessed
their lives, their relationships and interactions. All of which had been her
only preparation for motherhood.
No longer in a hurry, Eve decided to walk back to the
temple. The woman would not be ready to leave for a few hours, giving her time
to rethink her plans. Half way up the path she stopped. An image of a man
appeared. He stood facing away from her at the edge of a large body of water.
The surface consisted of choppy waves frozen in place. The man turned from the water’s
edge and walked towards her, passing through her and continuing down the path. Eve
watched him go until his image vanished. Her brow creased in thought. How had
she missed him? Tempted to follow, Eve shook her head, another time, another place,
she thought, and continued up the path.
7 Crossing the Strait
The Bering Strait was over fifty miles wide at the
narrowest point between Russian Cape Dezhnev and the US Cape Prince of Wales.
Land temperatures remained below zero and the wind was relentless in trying to
penetrate through the thickest layers of clothing in an effort to reach your
bones.
Kyle stood on the Russian side staring out across the sea,
where the treacherous waters were a mass of frozen choppy waves, disappearing
into a vast cloud of nothing. Despite having not a single clue or fact indicating
land existed on the other side, his resolve had not weakened. Ada’s pleading
and tears, although tough to bear, couldn’t change his mind either. Leaving
behind his friends and adopted family was tough, but that was all in the past now.
The task ahead was all that mattered. He walked back to the Mercedes, which
sat idling with the heater on full blast. Inside he pulled out a wetsuit and
began to undress, stopping to scan the landscape. His eyes came to rest on a single
guard post, ready to give up its few remaining boards to the elements and
topple over. “No one is out there,” he assured himself in a whisper and then
smiled, thinking he had the right to feel a little paranoid.
With a bit of effort Kyle maneuver his body into the
wetsuit. The material was designed for use by the military elite and capable of
withstanding the coldest of conditions through the suit’s unique ability to
generate heat from body movement. Kyle assumed those conditions included
swimming in the Bering Strait. Records indicated the water temperature at this
time of year should be in the thirty degree range. Based on the sheer magnitude
of ice, Kyle surmised those numbers were far lower.
The plan had been to swim to Big Diomede Island where
a Russian weather station and border guard had been based. After months of no
communications from the personnel stationed on the island, Kyle didn’t expect
to find anyone hanging around to answer questions. From the station he would
swim to Cape Prince of Wales, and again search for survivors. A small fishing
village called Deadbear sat near the cape where he hoped to acquire
transportation to take him to Colorado. If luck graced him this day, he might
be able to walk to the other side.
Grabbing the keys from the ignition, Kyle hid them
under the floor mat, paused in his task, thinking the chances of the vehicle
being stolen were remote. Overshadowing this fact was the expectation that he
wouldn’t be returning and if someone did take the truck, they probably needed the
vehicle more than he. With this in mind he placed the keys on the seat and
jumped out, not bothering to lock the doors.
At the water’s edge, Kyle took one last glance across
the ice bound sea before rechecking that his compass was functioning, and his
backpack was secure. Taking a deep breath, he pulled his headgear into place.
“You got this man,” he said out loud and
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