The Valhalla Covenant
Chapter Twenty-Nine — Snow Storm

Outside LA, the alternate road north was trouble-free for some time but most of the drivers agreed that their good run had lasted longer than they had a right to expect. Not far from San Fernando, the Little River convoy headed into the Mojave Desert. That way, they had a better chance of travelling all the way to Bakersfield without attracting any further attention.

Some of the vehicles, however, were beginning to run low on fuel, so the convoy pulled over to share it shortly after quitting the old highway. It was easier to accept the longer route with a gauge showing well above empty.

Despite being a long haul through to Bakersfield during the night, there was little trouble and, as dawn tinged the horizon, they passed through Fresno. By then, information had gotten through concerning LA and the first open garage was abuzz with news.

One of the bombs, confirmed as Indian in origin, had gone off in LA central city. Although the destruction was incalculable and the chaos vast, a freak windstorm had mysteriously dispersed much of the mushroom cloud. Consequently, radiation levels were very low for such an event.

Despite that, roads were clogged with people trying to get out. Also, fuel was rationed everywhere on the basis that there were two other devices still unaccounted for, so it took a while to get to the pumps.

Once each of the vehicles had taken the permitted ten gallons, the convoy left and continued by the more remote ways to the northeast. Some parted company with the convoy at Fresno, but all were glad they had gone when they did.

A couple of hours after leaving the highway, a CB message reported major trouble to the west. Paramilitary groups had been targeting different sections of the highway and a large group of cars had tried to run the gauntlet, only to be torn up by machine gun fire.

Reports on the casualties had not been substantiated yet but it was believed few had escaped uninjured and that there were many dead.

Another incident had seen several trucks destroyed by rockets. No one was sure whether it was terrorists, paramilitary or government troops, but the main highway was completely blocked in a number of places. It was clear that the decision to forego the more heavily travelled route had been vindicated.

Neither the little River or the GI had been able to prevent these terrible events but they had never expected that they could fix everything in the thick of the worst chaos. The main priority for Reimas, now, was to see the convoy arrive safely at Tahoe and to establish the people in it as a functioning, decisive entity. With what was coming, brave, responsible people would be needed in the vast task of re-establishing order.

Arabella was deeply upset by all she had seen and heard throughout the last day. She felt the urge to talk to Reimas about it but was too churned up to know where to begin. After suppressing her feelings for some time, she turned and simply held him instead. In the end she cried and she stayed with her face held close to his chest for some time.

Reimas understood. They had witnessed and only barely escaped an apocalyptic tragedy. He was inclined to wonder, now, how bad things could get. The harsh realization came to him that even if they discovered a tangible foe and ultimately conquered it, there would still be a long road ahead to true peace.

“I can’t understand it,” Arabella said cryptically, in the end, as if she assumed he knew exactly what she was thinking. After a while, she went on to explain. “I mean, why is that so many men hate women. Why do men want to do what they did to Sam?”

Reimas shook his head.

“You have to be kidding,” he said coldly, despite seeing something remarkable in her appearance that he had not before — her eyes were an astonishing brilliant green from the tears and raw emotion. “Make way for some cold, hard truths, girl, if you haven’t yet thought about such things.”

“You’re not going to defend those men are you?”

“Of course not, but come on, it’s not as cut and dried as all that. Did you know that two of the ones holding her down were women?”

“No. I didn’t,” she replied, her eyes now wide with shocked disbelief. “That’s terrible, but there’s no way they would have been the initiators. They must have been only going along with it because they were powerless to do anything else.”

“So, tell me again, for what reason were they actually holding her down?”

Arabella’s certainty faded.

“Yes, I get it, I suppose. It’s complicated, but maybe by taking an active part they felt like they would stop it happening to themselves?”

“Maybe, but the root cause probably goes a lot deeper. They might have even contributed to that.”

“You think?” Arabella asked. “I suppose you could be right. I mean, there are those that say sex is best when there’s a raw attraction and no sense of what’s going to happen next.”

Reimas laughed.

“That’s not what I meant. I was thinking more of how some women treat their male children.”

Late in the afternoon of their second day on the road, as the convoy drew closer to its destination, the sky became overcast. As they drove up the long valley and began to ascend into hilly country, the rain came down, not all that heavily but with little starry splats of sleet on the windshield.

Farther up the long hill there was more sleet and, amongst it, an ever increasing amount of snow. The light began to fade then, as the last glow of the sunset washed out, the patchy sleet suddenly changed completely to snow. Unseasonable though it was, it came down thickly, in dense swirling flurries and was soon so heavy that it took only minutes for the road to turn white.

Wipers strained heavily at each pass and the convoy progressed into the growing darkness. Not far up into the high country, snow became deep and thick on the road — the better part of half a metre in many places.

Finn called the driver of the bus behind on the CB to ask how they were going. Seeing how deep the snow was getting already, he didn’t want to use the plough in too low a position.

A beautiful quiet enveloped the bus as day quickly turned to night. Many looked out at the snow in awe but others simply snuggled up against their partners, leaving the brilliant swirling patterns to the driver and his minders. It was good to know they were coping with it and that it was warm on the inside.

As far as Finn was concerned, the headlights shone powerfully into the thick blizzard rushing towards them, but they didn’t really make it any easier to see the way. Arabella and Reimas, however, trusted his abilities and admired the magical billowing patterns of snow. Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

It streamed towards them and flowered out hypnotically with the airflow around the front of the bus. As Reimas saw it, gusts and eddies formed the basis of symmetrical patterns that held within them smaller micro-bursts of snowflake patterns growing and spreading outwards towards a synchronous blending with the original macro pattern.

Arabella, however, perceived images on an entirely different level. Whether it was her recent emotional release or something more innate, she did not know, but she was astonished to perceive creative, meaningful images apparently emanating from the source of manifestation itself.

She gazed upon ever-changing patterns and shapes then was thrown into a new wave of ecstasy to see richly iridescent colours emanating from the snowy maelstrom, like rich star bursts of faerie fireworks. Whether it was a rainbow-like refraction of headlights through various densities of moisture or whether it was a transcendental overlay of the mind, she knew not.

So complete was her transcendence, in the end, that she was undisturbed for a considerable length of time by any impulse to categorize it or to objectify the experience in any way. It was as if nothing else existed outside that immediate time and place.

A keen participant of yoga style exercise, she was yet more likely to be surprised by what her mind could deliver than most and, indeed, there was no name in her mind for what she saw even when she later described it to Reimas. Comprehending where her mind might have taken her, however, he later told her that such a thing might be described as fractal hallucinations.

Many others perceived something similar. There was only the hypnotic hum of the motor, the cosy cabin so sharply contrasting with the fiercely beautiful cold outside and the comforting warmth of the those who shared a mutual passion for beauty and a better way of life. Even Finn slowed the bus to a mere crawl, so great was his preoccupation with what he saw.

As they crept up the winding road approaching the majestic cobalt lake, there was for Finn a strong sense of homecoming. He knew the great beauty of Tahoe but it surprised him to feel anything for it when very little was visible. Snow came down thick and fast but it seemed somehow welcoming, offering a gentle blanket-like reassurance as they approached.

Calloro, the hunted-looking newcomer, approached Reimas and Arabella as the bus came to a halt outside the main Tahoe Genesis building. He touched Reimas’s shoulder and looked at him, his eyes glistening.

“My respects to you. I don’t know what more I can say. My despair had grown so deep that I think I’d come to believe I was already in hell and nobody had told me I was dead. It has been many years since anyone has done anything except shun me and now you have brought me into heaven itself.”

Reimas took the man’s hand and pressed it warmly. It was understandable that the shared experience of such transcendental moments would create some sort of bond between those who had perceived it.

“I see no reason to shun you,” he said, in the same spirit. “You seem a little strange, but that’s not enough to make me worried about our safety. Any reason why people were inclined to treat you that way?”

“Perhaps because I doubted myself. I never had a family. I was raised as a sort of, well ... soldier, by some very strange people. I escaped and have been on the run for nearly five years.”

“You never felt you could stop and establish yourself somewhere? Where did you come from?” Reimas asked, getting up, and helping the still rather dazed Arabella to her feet.

“I would rather not say for the moment, but far from your shores.”

“I hope one day you’ll tell me more.”

Calloro looked at him in a way that to some might have seemed guarded but was really more complex and compassionate.

“There are things I should tell you. Probably many things, connected as you are with the Little River. I heard some of what you discussed earlier with your girlfriend and I’m sure that you’d like to keep her safe.”

Strangely, Reimas felt a sharp stab of fear — an emotion he rarely felt, and which he was aware would almost certainly have some intuitive import. He resolved to spend some time with the fellow soon and to listen, most carefully, to what he had to say.

“That could be taken as a threat, my friend,” he said, “but you’ll soon find that danger is part and parcel of our business. We want no more than must be, but we do also have the means to protect ourselves. Come inside for now with the rest of us, however, and we’ll all leave our fears aside, at least until the morning.”

Reimas turned from him and saw again the vibrant beauty in Arabella’s face that seemed to come both from her still evident sorrow and her awed appreciation of the spectacular snowstorm. No fear, no evil, however bad, could ultimately conquer. It might seem to at first but, in the end, everything would pass.

He could not help but wonder about the fact that Calloro had assumed Arabella was his girlfriend. Did it seem that way to everyone? He felt close to her but, up until she had recently cried on his shoulder, she had not demonstrated any overwhelming feelings for him and, frankly, he had felt it best kept that way. Sasha had already complicated his feelings for Erin.

Also, there were other, more pressing concerns. He pushed the matter to the back of his mind as they exited the bus.

The main resort building itself was positioned on sloping ground and, although it appeared relatively large, much of it lay underground. It was styled with the grace and charm of a European chalet, without taking the idea too far, but there were other features at variance with tradition.

One of the most outstanding things was an indoor pool that lay between the above ground parts of the building and the cliffs behind. One wall of the pool was thick glass, and it was a feature of a large and luxurious lounge room adjacent to it on the same level.

From the pool side of the glass wall, the timber-panelled room appeared two-dimensional and glossy like a photographic print whereas, seen from within the room, the murals on the far wall of the pool, inspired from ancient Greek mythology, appeared more three-dimensional and substantial.

Through still heavily falling snow, the last of the arrivals hurried inside, exhilarated by the cold and delighted by the prospect of warmth and food. So many would tax the available sleeping accommodation in the main building, but for the time being, most had other things on their minds than sleep.

Drinks flowed freely almost as soon as they entered and, after a while, the question of food came up. Given the immensity of the recent tragedy, there was a great need to stay close and talk.

Arabella volunteered to supervise the organization of a meal, at least for those gathered in the lounge. Zoe, having parked the flyer outside, helped. Preparing food wasn’t really her thing but, in this context, surprises were never in short supply. It took the better part of two hours to bring it on, but the result was good.

Reimas enjoyed observing the positive qualities emerging in the people around him, but despite that, and notwithstanding all the excitement, after a couple of hours of mingling he thought better of overdoing it and slipped away.

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