Chapter 1: Stranded in the Middle of Nowhere

May 31-Day 9

(Kobuk River, Alaska)

When IT happened, Paul Kensington and his family were on vacation in Alaska's Brooks Range. Paul, his wife Ramona, and their two teenage sons, Calvin, and Steve, were with the Hart family Ernie, Lana, and their two twin daughters Kelly and Shelly. Ernie had found this fantastic deal on a rafting trip with an outfitter out of Bettles, Alaska, where the cost of the trip would be half that of the peak season, and because of the already lengthening days, the river would be thawed. In spite of the apprehension Paul felt about going so early in the season, Lana had talked Ramona into going along.

The two families had rafted down the Kobuk River to the pickup point. Well, it was probably more correct to say floated down since the Kobuk River was at full flood stage and little paddling was needed. The sun that was promised by the outfitter shone only twice, in the two weeks since they departed, and was replaced by steady spring rains, adding to the level of the river. They had been camped here since the outfitter's pilot had come for the Harts on the 27^th, four days before. He was scheduled to come right back and bring the Kensington family to Bettles so that they could catch their commuter flight to Fairbanks, and then home with a plane change in Anchorage.

When Phillip, the bush pilot, came to pick up the Harts, he reported that there was some bad stuff going on with the outside, as they called the rest of the US in Alaska. He had heard some news reports about a war and that it was all but over. He said that there seemed to be a residual effect that was causing people to drop like flies in the Lower 48, as well as everywhere around Anchorage and Fairbanks. Ernie freaked out, and claimed he had to get back to see about his business interests so it had been decided for the pilot to take the Harts out first.

Now Paul was wondering if the pilot hadn't taken them all the way back to Portland. Bettles was less than two hours from the pickup point. Phillip should have been back in approximately five hours after he left pending any freak weather that Alaska is known for or being forced down for a mechanical problem.

For four days now, Paul and his family had been surviving on small grayling, Dolly Varden, and whitefish. The only variety in their diet was a few berries that Ramona and the boys gathered near camp. According to Paul's map, the family discussed their options and it was decided to reach the closest civilization. The closest place along the river was Kobuk, Alaska, that is if you could call a population of 109, civilization. They estimated Kobuk to be three days away by river. They loaded their gear into one of the Zodiac inflatable boats that the Harts had used, Paul and Ramona in one boat and Calvin and Steve in a third boat and began to float down to Kobuk.

Paul Kensington and his family weren't sure what there was to go back to, but drawn by some unexplained force to reach Kobuk, they pressed on. The next day they found the mutilated body of a Native at his fishing camp, but also observed a large pack of wolves eating another, possibly his wife outside of the cabin. That was enough to make them stay clear of the cabin.

Staying clear wasn't enough to avoid the wolves though, and nine that were waiting for their turn to feed, began to follow the rafts. The rafts floated towards a narrow point, where the current sped up, but the point would allow the wolves to be within a few yards of them. All they had to fend them off were the oars, and two cans of pepper spray.

Paul told the boys to paddle hard to get past the narrows, and into the faster current, as he did the same. The wolves sensed the impending escape, and broke into a run. Just as the pack reached the point, a mighty roar echoed through the valley. As their eyes swung to the area for the source of such a roar, a sow grizzly with cubs materialized as she stood up along the trail. She challenged the wolf pack and the diversion allowed Paul to get his family beyond the danger by the time it ended. As they looked back they could see that Mama Bear was the victor with six wolves lying lifelessly and two mortally wounded dragging themselves from the battle scene. The last wolf was nowhere to be seen and it was evident that Mama was badly wounded in the fight that lasted less than five minutes.

As evening approached, they came around a big bend in the river that opened into a widening of the river with a deep wide pool in midstream. Paul had his family tie the rafts together and anchored in the pool. They slept in their sleeping bags, beneath the tarpaulins normally used as dining flies, temporary shelters erected to have their meals out of the rain.

June 1 - Day 10

(On the Kobuk River, Alaska)

At daylight, their supplies exhausted, and having nothing to eat for breakfast, they opted not to fish and resumed their trip downstream. Paul and the family had talked about the strange anomalies they were witnessing. Steve had asked, "Dad, I didn't think wolves were bold enough to attack humans in daylight?"

Calvin piped in, "Yeah, and why would they be so hungry as to stand and fight a bear rather than run away?"

Ramona said, "It is a little unnerving that a week ago we would see eight to twelve small planes each day ferrying backpackers and spring bear hunters to and from their destinations. But for the last three days now, we haven't seen a one."

"I noticed the same things," Paul responded, "Let's keep a sharp lookout and stay close."

In fact the last people they had seen alive were the Harts and the bush pilot. A distant roar that Paul thought was a jet flying overhead seemed to get louder. In his mind he thought, "This must be the rapids shown on the map," but he had guessed they would reach the rapids later in the afternoon after a lunch break. Checking the map and locating the rapids, he looked up and identified the three mountains bracketing the gorge on the map. He quickly motioned the boys to paddle towards the gravel bar just ahead.

As they drew closer, Paul made out the shape of something black in the brush. It was a Black Bear, and it was crouched as though to pounce upon them! Paddling back into the current, he drew the other rafts together and hollered to the boys that they would have to navigate through the Class 4 waters. The trip that began as an interesting float down the headwaters, was now a struggle to merely survive.

As the bear saw them getting away, it charged into the river towards them. This uncharacteristic behavior quickly registered with Paul. It appeared that something made the animals start to turn the tables and become the hunters, instead of the hunted. Animals that normally fled at the sight of man, were now hunting them. "Do bears and wolves get rabies? Can it spread that fast in just a few days?" Paul thought. "Then again, Hydrophobia meant they didn't like water, and that bear was in the water and headed their way!

Paul took Ramona's hand and prayed, "Dear Lord, deliver us from this peril that we find ourselves in, and guide our family to safety." It was the first time Paul had prayed for anything in three years. The bear was now just five yards from the rafts. Paul thought it was over, and said, "Lord, I surrender our lives into your mighty hands. May your justice be swift and merciful?"

The rafts went over a two-foot falls, and spun around several times into a broader pool. They paddled quickly to get close together. The bear had also gone over the falls, but was sucked under and reappeared almost a hundred yards downstream, disoriented and swimming hard for shore. When it reached water shallow enough to touch bottom, it hightailed it into the woods, never looking back.

Ramona spoke, "Thank you, Lord," but they were not safe yet.

Calvin said, "Get us out of this Lord and I will go to church every Sunday."

Paul chastised his son for the very typical pleas of someone that waits until an absolutely desperate situation appears to talk to the Almighty. "Son, don't make a promise that you can't keep. Especially to God."

As they rounded a bend, a dock appeared on the right, which would be the north side of the river. That would be Kobuk according to the map, with the tributary flowing in at that point. Paul mentally told himself, "What looked like three days on the map took two because I didn't calculate the speed of the current in the river. I need to do that and look for more landmarks next time to get a better estimate."

Paul found his binoculars, and gave them to Ramona, and she began to look for anyone who could help them as he and the boys paddled closer to the dock. She gasped, as she saw a half submerged body down from the dock.

"Do you see anyone?" he asked, as he tied the three rafts to the dock.

Ramona answered, "Not that is alive. I don't see any animals either, and no boats along the river."

"That is weird," replied Paul, as he looked inland from the shore. "There should be a few boats anyway. There aren't even any away from the water. I wonder where everyone went?"

"Maybe whoever we are at war with captured them and took them away," Steve speculated. "Maybe back to Russia?"

Paul said, "I doubt Russia would waste the manpower on this little place. More likely they went to find if there was anyone else downstream from them. This place really reeks of rotting flesh. I can't believe they all died."

Paul wrapped a scarf of his wife's around his face and took an oar with him to dissuade any wolves or dogs that might attack him. At the first dwelling, he found a harpoon, and took it, leaving the oar for the time being. It looked as though everyone had left that could leave, for in a village of a hundred people, he should have seen someone by then.

It was at that moment he caught the scent of meat cooking or smoking. Paul sought out the source to bring some back for his family. As he turned the corner, he was shocked to see a large pile of burnt out logs and charred human remains. He had found the funeral pyre used to burn bodies that most likely died of an epidemic. The realization of what it was caused Paul to regurgitate what little was left on his stomach, and stagger away down another of the streets.

Suddenly the silence was pierced with a scream of a young girl and a shot from a small caliber rifle, followed by yelping. He saw two Huskies run for the woods, and ran to investigate the scream. A third Husky came limping out of the second shack on his left. When it saw Paul it growled and bared its teeth. Then it came towards him on three legs.

Paul raised the harpoon and thrust it into the dog's chest, then withdrew it and repeated the process as he recognized another uncharacteristic behavior of an animal. He called out, "Are you okay?"

The small voice inside said, "No, everybody died."

Inside he found three kids, six, seven, and ten, and the ten year-old girl was holding a now empty .22 caliber bolt-action rifle. The boy and his little sister were both ill with a high fever and what looked like a rash; they needed medical attention that none of his family could give them.

"Is there anyone else alive here?" asked Paul.

The girl who said her name was Berry, said, "At the airport. There is a lady with two girls. They aren't from here though. Their pilot was dying and left them there."

"Are they sick?" Paul inquired.

"No, but she came to take care of us two days ago, then she stopped. Maybe, she is sick now too," Berry explained, as she reloaded the rifle.

Paul asked, "Do you have another gun? Maybe I can help you shoot the dogs."

"Papa kept a shotgun in the closet," answered Berry. "The shells are on the shelf. The airport is at the end of the street, turn right after the trees. It is right there."

"I will be back for you," Paul reassured her. "I will try to find us a way out, and get your brother and sister to a doctor."

Paul retrieved the shotgun, a well-used Remington 870 pump-action, and went up the hill several yards and past the trees. From behind the dumpster at the airport came a wolverine, snapping and snarling. Known as possibly the most vicious critter in the north country Paul wanted no part of his attitude and from ten feet away, blew his head almost off with the 12 gauge goose loads.

As he made sure there were no others in the area, he saw a movement at the door of the General Aviation office. The door burst open, and out came Shelly and Kelly followed by Lana. To say he was surprised to see them was an understatement.

"I thought you went back already," Paul noted. "Where are Ernie and our pilot?"

Lana answered, "Ernie got the last seat on the last flight to Fairbanks. The pilot got sick on us and we came here because it was closer to the pick up place. Then he took off without us headed west. The Nome radio station quit broadcasting yesterday. I thought it was the batteries, but I got some more from the store. It was pretty bad, the war that is. Now all we can get is music, playing the same songs over and over."

"Terrorists again?" asked Paul.

"Mainland China," Lana replied. "They hit us with Bio weapons. People were dying just a few days after they were exposed. The president hit them back with just about everything we had. From the news reports, the Chinese hit Russia, Australia, Japan, South America, and everyone else but Mexico, Central America, and Cuba. We even took out the whole Panama Canal, since the Chinese had control of it."

"So, how are you getting back?" Paul asked. "Is there another plane coming?"

Lana continued, "The schedule said there was, but the one Ernie left on is the last one we have seen. That was the last one with a pilot anyway. How did you guys get here?"

"We got back on the river and floated down," Paul answered. "Mona and the boys are at the dock."

"You should take the truck here in the hangar and go get them," Lana offered. "Maybe you can fly us out of here? The girls said that you and Steve could fly planes."