Part 5

Beth was waiting again. She sat in an uncomfortable chair at a small table. One of many tables scattered around the room. She had been doing a lot of waiting in the months that had passed since returning to her fathers house. She couldn't think of it as her home anymore, not since he tried to kill here there for the second time. It had been a long, agonizing wait for her wound to heal, but she could hardly see the scar under her fur anymore. That was followed by another wait for her father's first court appearance.

He surprised everyone when he pleaded 'no contest' to both charges of attempted murder. Afterwards, Beth figured out why. There was no way he would be able to defend himself on the charges, but he wouldn't admit his guilt. It was likely he felt there was no need, or no point in defending himself on the charges. Without the need for a trial, Beth thought that it would be a short wait for her father's sentencing. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. It was almost two months before a court date was scheduled for William Bakers sentencing hearing. Beth expected her father to appeal for leniency, but he made no comments at all during the sentencing. Judge Winters was harsh with her comments and even more so with her sentencing. She commented on making an example of him in hopes of discouraging other attacks on MORFS survivors. William Baker had received two consecutive life sentences for his attempts at killing Beth.

That had been more than three months ago, and during all this time Beth still waited for something else. She waited for her father to see her as his daughter. She tried to visit him as often as possible, even if he wouldn't see her. She wanted him to know she had come and was willing to talk to him. Visiting the prison during her summer vacation had become a weekly event. Beth had come to know several of the guards by name during this time. Her first visits usually ended in tears, which could be very dangerous. Beth found that she had to control herself when her emotions ran wild. The temperature seemed to run hot or cold in sympathy with her. Beth was particularly cautious of her anger. If her emotions boiled over into rage anything nearby could suffer from her heat.

The sound of an electronic door lock startled Beth out of her thoughts. As a door in the corner of the room opened and her father stepped through Beth tried to control herself again. Seeing her father caused a range of emotions, but the strongest one was usually guilt. Even though her father had tried twice to kill her, and he had made it clear on several occasions how he felt about her, Beth felt guilty for what she had done to him. His arms and face still showed burn scars. She had caused severe burns on all his exposed skin when she had tried to defend herself from his attack. His hair had been badly burned and only grew in patches on the back of his head. Her dad had shaved his head of all the remaining hair before his first court appearance and had kept it that way since going to prison. There was hardly anything left to remind Beth of the father she loved and who once loved her.

Bill slowly made his way to her table and sat. "Why are you here?" he asked with little emotion in his voice.

Beth wasn't sure how to answer his question, or if he even expected one. Instead, she said, "Happy birthday, Dad," She placed a small package on the table between them and waited again. It had taken her over an hour to get through security with her gift. She hoped he would accept it.

Bill seemed surprised when he asked, "It's my birthday? I must have lost track of the date already." He looked at the gift suspiciously and asked, "What's that?"

"Open it and see," replied Beth with a smile.

It was a small bundle of tissue paper, tied with a blue ribbon. Beth's dad picked it up cautiously, as if it was dangerous. After unwrapping it he saw that it was a soapstone carving of a polar bear. It wasn't very large and easily fit into the palm of his hand, but the detail in the carving was incredible. Beth waited again, hoping that he liked her gift, but his faint smile was a little disappointing.

"It's beautiful, thank you," he said while placing it back on the table in front of him.

"I didn't know how hard it would be to get that in here," she explained. "The security guards made me unwrap it twice and pass it through an x-ray before that would let me bring it in."

"I think that's normal," replied her dad. "They're very suspicious of anything coming in from the outside." He reached out to the carving and turned it with his finger to see it from another angle.

"I heard that you joined a bible study group," Beth stated. From past visits, she had found out that her father wouldn't start any conversation.

"Yes, I thought it best to join a group of people with similar interests," he explained. The thought of her dad trying to win over other prisoners to his twisted way of thinking made her shiver.

"Are there many people in the group?" Beth asked.

"No, most of the people in here are beyond God's help," he replied. Beth tried to decide if her father fell into that group as well, but pushed the thought out of her mind. Allowing her thoughts to go down that path was always to depressing.

"I don't have a lot of time today, because of them delaying me with my gift," explained Beth. "But Easter is coming up soon, is there anything you would like." Exchanging gifts at Easter had always been a special thing between Beth and her dad. Beth would try to get her dad to admit what he really wanted, not just something that he needed. It was never a big gift, but the ones they got each other were always memorable.

"No, there's no point. I won't be here," her father said without any concern.

"What? What do you mean you won't be here?" she asked. She couldn't think of where he would be? It's not like he could just get up and leave whenever he wanted.

"I've applied for a transfer to another correctional facility. This place really isn't set up for long term inmates," he explained. "I should get transferred to another place in the next week or so."

Beth didn't know what to think. His explanation made sense, but she felt like it was an excuse to get away from her. Prison wasn't enough, he wanted to move away so that she couldn't visit him. Beth tried harder to keep control of her emotions, but she could already feel the temperature dropping. Before things got out of hand, Beth got up and quickly made her way to the visitor's exit. She got to the security area before she couldn't hold back her tears any longer. It had been almost a year since Beth had changed into her current form, but she still hadn't gotten use to crying. Her tears hardly ever made it passed her cheeks anymore. They usually froze before going any further.

"Are you okay, Beth?" asked Thomas.

Beth looked up from her chair at him and tried to smile. "I'm sorry, did I hurt anyone? Or break anything this time?" she asked. Thomas was the only security guard who could stay in the same room as Beth when she dropped the temperature like that. He was a short man, but had a stocky build. He was also covered head to toe in thick fur, just like Beth. However his dark, brown coloured fur and large, round eyes highlighted his caribou hybrid.

"No," he said with a chuckle. "When everyone could see their breath they knew what was happening." It wasn't the first time Beth had frozen a room in the prison, but it hadn't happened for a while now. Beth was proud of her control over her emotions, but her father still seemed to be able to press her buttons.

"Besides," added Thomas. "This room and all the stuff in it is hardened. You never know who'll be coming through this place."

"That's good," replied Beth in relief. "I don't know what I'd do if anyone got hurt because of me."

"There weren't too many people in here today. The Warden had warned us that something might happen."

Beth looked at him with a puzzled expression and asked, "You knew about it then?"

"Knew about what? We just were warned to clear this room after you passed through," he explained. "What happened?"

"My dad has been given a transfer to another prison. He'll be gone in less than two weeks."

"Damn it!" he said under his breath before explaining. "You didn't hear this from me, but I think the warden is sympathetic to the pures in here. Your dad is the fourth transfer this month and they've all been pures."

"But what's the point? He'll just be going to another prison," asked Beth.

"Yeah, but in a warmer climate and no MORFS, I'll bet."

"And away from me," added Beth quietly.

Thomas agreed, but didn't make any comment. He knew about William Baker and how he felt about hybrids. He had seen it first hand himself, during his incarceration. Just like anywhere in the world, this prison has it's share of MORFS survivors. A significant portion of both the prison guards and inmates were hybrids. Beth's father was careful to not make enemies among the MORFS, but his reaction to them made it apparent how he felt.

Thomas opened Beth's locker and handed her it's contents. It only contained her purse, but it was still standard procedure not to allow visitors to take anything into the prison. Even her gift for her father had needed special authorization by the warden. It was still odd to Thomas to only hand over a purse, instead of a coat, boots, gloves and all the other things that people normally come with. Beth opened her purse, pulled out a necklace and pulled it on over her head.

"That's new," he said in an attempt to change the subject. "Where did you get that?"

The necklace was a thin silver chain with a carved charm of a rabbit hanging from it. The charm was also small, but beautiful. The chain passed through a loop that was carved into it. It's bright white polished surface showed the care and detail the artist had taken making it.

"Yeah, it's a Christmas gift from Ukalik," explained Beth. "I mean Rob." Although most of the people in town knew Robert Angmarlik as Ukalik, he didn't let many people call him that. Even Beth had only started to call him by his nickname recently.

Thomas smiled at her. It seemed like everyone in town knew how Beth and Rob felt about each other. He was happy to see that Beth finally saw it too. "It's beautiful. By the way, tell Rob that he still has my tablet from last week. I'll need that back soon."

"I'll tell him," she said with a slight smile. "I'm pretty sure that his is back now. He got something delivered yesterday." Beth picked up her purse again, said goodbye and left the security area. The waiting area was empty as well, as she passed through and outside into the bright sunlight. The air was cool for mid-March, but Beth felt comfortable. Just like any temperature she had ever encountered since morphing into her new form. Since that time she only wore skirts or shorts and a tee shirt. She never wore long pants or a coat. Most of the time she didn't even wear anything on her feet, other than the caribou skin boots that Annie had given her as a Christmas gift. She didn't need boots and most wouldn't fit her anyway, but they were too beautiful not to wear.

After letting her eyes adjust to the bright sunlight and sniffing the cool salty breeze, Beth headed off toward home. It was a good walk from the correctional facility that her dad was being held at, but Beth liked to be outside in the fresh air. She had even slept outside on several nights when the house seemed too small and confined. There was a time when she thought that she would never get comfortable living in the Arctic, now she couldn't think of living anywhere else. She loved everything about it, but most importantly, she loved the people that she had met here.

Two people in particular had become very important to Beth. It was almost impossible to decide who came first, so she didn't even try. Annie was her best friend in the world. She was closer than anyone Beth had ever known before, and she was the first person to accept her when she moved here. Annie, and her mother Christina, had taken her into their home after her father had been arrested. They had given her more than just a place to live, they shared their home with her. Beth hoped that, one day, she would be able to repay them for all that they had done. While Beth thought about her best friend and all that she had done, the second person in Beth's life popped into view; literally.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," Beth teased. Ukalik stood a few metres away dressed in his caribou jacket and pants with an energy drink in one hand. He was hardly ever seen without one these days.

"It took a little while to find you," he explained. "I thought you would still be at the jail. Why did you leave so soon?"

"Oh, it was my dad again," she started to explain. Ukalik just sighed. He had seen what effect her father had on Beth and hated the man because of it. "Take a guess what he's done this time."

"What now?" he asked. It was never a good thing when Beth came back from a visit with her dad in a bad mood.

"He's getting a transfer to another jail!" she answered. "He can't get rid of me, so he's making it so I can't see him anymore."

Ukalik thought of the news as a mixed blessing. Having her father out of the picture might be the best thing for Beth for a while. She needed to start thinking about herself, instead of what he thought of her. But Beth wouldn't see it that way and would be upset. Instead of making any comment, Ukalik tried to get closer and give her a hug, but the heat coming off Beth was too much for him. He could feel it even through his thick outer clothing.

"Turn down the heat, Sizzle," he teased. "You're going to melt the place again."

Beth felt herself blush as much at the nickname as at his comment. She was thankful that her thick fur didn't let him see it. "Sorry," she said quietly. "That's the second time today, and I though I was getting such a good handle on it."

"It's him. After all this time and everything that you've seen him do, you still want to be 'daddy's little girl'," he commented. Then added quickly, "It's just another one of the things I love about you."

The heat radiating off of Beth stopped abruptly as she stepped closer for a hug. "You always know the right thing to say," she said before kissing him. Beth and Ukalik walked, hand in hand, to her home. The walk from Iqaluit's correctional facility to Beth's home normally took about half an hour, but neither of them were in a hurry. They walked slowly through their small frozen town, making their way home, talking the entire time. As they stepped through the door, they were greeted by the smell of Christina's stew.

"Hey, Rob," yelled Christina from the kitchen. "I hope you can stay for dinner, we set a place for you."

Rob turned to Beth and asked, "How does she do that? I never told anyone that I'd be walking you home."

"You do most of the time, anyway," explained Beth. "She likely just guessed."

Beth kicked off her boots and headed for the kitchen to help, leaving Rob in the front hall to undress from his thick outer clothes. After removing his coat, boots, gloves and outer pants he made his way into the kitchen as well.

"Mmm, smells great! Can I help with anything?" he asked.

Christina smiled as she replied, "It's okay, everything is on the table. Go help yourself."

Rob and Christina made their way into the dining room to find Beth sitting with Annie, talking about her visit to see her dad. He could easily see that Beth was upset, but she was keeping her emotions in tight control. Annie's tight hug was also helping her.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, sweetie," commented Christina as she took her seat. "I really hoped that he would come around some day. But you're always welcome here, you know that."

"I know," replied Beth. "And I really appreciate that, but..." She didn't know how to bring up the subject. Everyone in town had been so friendly to her since she changed, particularly the three sitting at the table with her. She was afraid that what she had to say would hurt their feelings.

"But we're not family," Christina added with an understanding smile. "We understand," she said for the group. Both Rob and Annie seemed confused for a moment, before nodding as well. "I may think of you as another daughter, but it's not the same."

"That's why I want to find someone," added Beth quietly. "I hope you don't think I'm crazy."

Annie was the first to answer. "We all know this has been hard on you. If you need to go looking for someone from your family, we'll try to help too. Right Rob?"

"Of course," he answered immediately. "We just want you to be happy."

Beth took a deep breath before blurting out, "I want to find Sister."

Rob and Annie both looked at each other in shock. Christina was the only one that didn't seem to be surprised by Beth's statement. Before either Annie or Rob could say anything, she asked, "Are you sure you want to? You might not be able to find her."

"I've been thinking about her a lot recently," Beth started to explain. "I don't know why, but I feel like I need to find her." Beth struggled to explain what she felt and why it was so important, but it was just a feeling she had. A feeling that she didn't really understand herself. It was almost like Sister was calling out to her, but she didn't want to say that. They would really think she was crazy. So instead she added, "This thing with my dad leaving me, again ... It's making me think about her even more and ... I don't know. I just need to find her."

"You have no idea where she is, how will you find her?" asked Rob.

"I know where she might be," Beth said confidently. "At least, I have a good idea where she'll be in a few weeks."

Almost a full week later, Beth was walking alone across a frozen landscape again. Unlike her last journey to Long Lake, she knew where she was going and what to expect when she got there. Both Rob and Annie wanted to come with her, but she explained that they would likely scare off any bears if they caught wind of their scent. Also, she was more than capable of taking care of herself. If any of them got too curious with her, she would create her heat barrier again. Nothing could pass through that without getting seriously burned. It was this same reasoning that she used to explain her lack of supplies, or even an ATV. Anything that she brought with her would smell of people and would frighten away any bears that she encountered. So she walked to Long Lake wearing a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. She had another change of clothes in a seal skin back pack, but Beth made sure to wash them in only clean water to get any scent out of them. Reluctantly, she took an eCom with her. All three of them had refused to let her out of the house without it. As for food, she had found that she didn't need to eat like before. Since changing into a bear hybrid, Beth could go for days without eating anything and then could wolf down three meals in one sitting. Besides, there was a lot of food available for the taking. If you knew where to look for it. Or more accurately, knew where to sniff it out.

Beth expected her journey to take about three days to get there and another three days to get back. Since her teachers would only allowed two weeks off from school before she would fall too far behind, it gave her a week to find Sister. She hoped it would be enough time. It would also mean that she should be back for Toonik Tyme. Beth was actually looking forward to the festival this year. It reminded her of all her changes since last year. Not just her appearance or her abilities, but how she felt about living in Iqaluit and it's people. There were some changes that she wished had never happened, but for the most part she was happy with how things had worked out. Her dad seemed to be the biggest exception to that.

Walking along the coast brought back a lot of memories for Beth. Memories of building an ice bridge for Ukalik's uncles. Ukalik's grandfather, Anilnik, and his stories of ancestors dancing in the night sky and of spirits that lived in this land. She smiled at herself and at how all her memories seemed to include Ukalik. He was always there, helping her get through each event. She didn't want to fall in love, but it happened anyway. She remembered their first kiss with a smile. Trying to control her emotions, and the temperature, had never been harder. When she had finally given up trying a warm soothing heat wash over both of them. Each time she was with Ukalik, or even just thinking about him, she would get that same warm feeling. It would usually radiate from her as well, much to her embarrassment.

It was an uneventful journey to Long Lake that turned out to only take two days. Beth didn't know how far she would be able to walk each day and she surprised herself with her progress. She hadn't really paid much attention to her direction while walking, she just walked. It was almost like sleep walking or autopilot. Before sunset on the second day, Beth was looking down from a small hilltop overlooking Long Lake. But there was a problem. There were no bears. She could see why, there was no ice on the lake. It was complete thawed, unlike any of the lakes that she had passed during her two day journey. With daytime temperatures well below freezing, there was no reason for there to be open water on the lake, it just didn't make any sense. There was something else wrong, but Beth couldn't put her finger on what it was. Seeing open water and no bears had completely surprised her, distracting her from see anything else. After making her way down the final hillside to a small beach, Beth wanted to find out how warm the water was. She also wanted to wash after walking for two days through snow and ice. Stepping foot into the water Beth got a better sense of how warm the lake really was. While it was only a few degrees above freezing, it was significantly warmer than the surrounding land or air. She couldn't understand where it was getting extra heat from. Lakes don't just warm up on their own. There had to be something heating it and Beth decided that she would look for it as well as look for Sister.

Long shadows stretched out in front of Beth, reminding her that it was getting late. Sunset was very close and darkness would soon surround her. Beth had been far too tired to sit and watch the northern lights during her walk to Long Lake, and she found herself getting excited about seeing them again. Beth's swim made her feel much better and drying her clothes only took a little bit of heat. Sunset come soon after she was dry and the colourful light show started soon after that. She watched and smiled, watching them always made her feel relaxed and happy.

Beth couldn't remember how long she watched before falling asleep, but woke the next morning feeling more rested and relaxed than she had in months. The northern lights could be seen from town as well, but their colours were dim and faded from all the lights in town. Seeing them out here was completely different. Beth thought to herself that she would have to do this more often, but today she had things to do. After gathering things up in her small backpack, Beth walked along Long Lake's north shore.

Following this shore was an easy journey. The rolling hills seemed to all end at the waters edge. Its south shore was completely different. A sheer cliff face almost thirty metres high plunged into the lake, hiding anything that may lay beyond. Occasionally she would look south, toward the cliff face thinking she had heard something. She would wait and listen for it again, but would give up after a few minutes of nothing. It was starting to give her a bad feeling and she doubted that there was a sound at all, just her imagination playing tricks with her.

Only a few hours later, Beth stood at the western edge of Long lake looking down its cascading waterfall. Following this she could easily see the river as it made its way north, before turning sharply west and out to the coast only a few kilometres away. Standing there taking in the sight, Beth noticed some movement along the river. After a few minutes, she was able to see that a lone bear was making its way upstream. She was too far away to be able to tell if it was male or female, let alone if it was Sister. There was one way to find out quickly, but it could be dangerous if it turned out to be another bear. Walking north and down hill, Beth got to a point where she was directly up wind of the approaching bear and waited. She could still see it getting closer when it suddenly stopped in its tracks. Raising up on its hind legs and lifting its head high into the air, Beth know that it had caught her scent. Now she watched even more closely than ever to see what it would do next.

Beth was able to relax when Sister bobbed her head up and down and let out a loud roar, showing that she wanted to play. Jogging the short distance to where Sister was, Beth was surprised to see how much she had grown since last year. Remembering Mother's size Beth figured that Sister was full grown now and she seemed a little larger than Mother had been. As she got closer, Sister stood up again on her hind legs and looked down at Beth. Sister was about another head taller than Beth, but it was odd for her to be looking up at anyone. Sister almost seemed to be smiling at her and she took it as a good sign. She cautiously stepped closer still until they were able to hug.

"Now this is a bear hug," Beth said with a chuckle. Sister made a gentle noise in agreement.

Dropping back down onto all four paws, Sister stiffed Beth from head to toe and through her backpack as well. Beth could still smell the salt water in Sister's fur and assumed that she had been swimming in the sea earlier that day. A loud growl from Beth's stomach reminded her that it had been three days since she had eaten anything. Since they were so near the fishing spot Mother had shown them last year during their journey upstream, Beth decided to go fishing again. She also didn't know when she would be able to eat again. Sister and Mother had never gone fishing or hunting at Long Lake, so Beth didn't know if there was anything for them when they returned.

After they had both finished catching and eating their fish, Beth and Sister resumed their walk upstream. On a whim, Beth crossed the river before they reached the water falls and headed toward Long Lake's south shore. Her uneasy feeling from that morning had made her curious, and with Sister at her side she felt more sure of herself. By late afternoon they where about to crest another small hill and start their downhill journey around Long Lake.

Beth stopped and stared at the scene ahead of them. Smoke or steam was rising into the air, but was quickly blown away by a strong wind only a few metres above a few buildings almost hidden in a small valley. Sister sniffed the air and then sneezed a few times, apparently not liking whatever she was able to smell. Slowly walking closer to get a better look, Beth was able to see the whole complex of nearly a dozen buildings, towers, trucks and massive holding tanks. Several people where walking around working among the buildings in heavy winter gear that completely hide everybody's faces. Suddenly she noticed three lookouts with large rifles on tall towers near the perimeter. Fearing that they would be seen, Beth and Sister found a small group of rocks to hide behind until the sun set. She hoped to get a better look at their operation when it was dark without being noticed. Curling up with Sister they both rested until it was dark enough to get closer.

A loud siren woke Beth from a sound sleep. It was completely dark out and she was surprised at how long they must have been sleeping. Looking over their rock hiding place, Beth was worried that someone may have seen them. Thankfully, after only a few seconds the siren stopped, but was followed by a blinding flash of light near the centre of all the buildings. Under bright flood lights, several people could be seen coming out of nearby buildings to shift boxes and crates around that weren't there just a moment ago. Beth realized that the bright flash must have been someone teleporting in with cargo. As she watched, more boxes and crates were loaded onto the open area. When a stack of cargo a few metres high had been created, a man dressed in a heavy parka, thick pants, boots and gloves walked into its centre and it all disappeared with another bright flash of light.

Beth felt like walking in and demanding to know what they were doing and what had happened to the lake, but she knew that approach would never work. Instead, she decided to get more information about this place and who they were. Besides, something didn't look right with this place. If they were doing something illegal, barging in on them would be the worst thing to do. Beth made her way around to another vantage point and made herself comfortable in a deep, wind blown snowdrift. If she wanted to stay and watch these people, she thought she might as well be comfortable doing it. Sister didn't want to get any closer to the buildings and their smell. Instead she wandered further south, getting more space between her and these people. Since Beth wanted to watch for a while and was able to see her clearly, she let her go. She would catch up again before she got to far away.