“That is all very fascinating,” I replied wryly.“What about Dr.Lund?When will she return?”
“Late August usually, sometimes later if there’s storms,” Stensrud said.“The sea can be unpredictable.The only way to get to the main base is by a ship, and that’s why it takes so long going back and forth.”
“Is there anyone I can meet with other than you that I can talk to about joining your illustrious organization?”I asked.
“Not without clearance, not really,” Stensrud said.“We do have other guards that work different shifts than me, but they’ll tell you the same thing I did.”
I looked over at Jordy for help, but he could only shrug.I had been so worried about getting here that it hadn’t occurred to me how difficult it might be to get anyone to take me seriously.On that note, I had always been so focused on keeping my immunity secret that I hadn’t thought on how I would prove it when faced with a skeptical bureaucratic guard.
“Okay then,” I said, because I clearly needed time to regroup.“Thanks for all your help.”
“No problem,” Stensrud replied as Jordy and I started walking on the boardwalk back toward the inn.
“Are you feeling sufficiently underwhelmed?”Jordy asked me once we were out of earshot of the outpost.
“I just have to figure out a way in there,” I said.
He sounded surprised when he asked, “Are you still sure you want to go with them?”
I stopped and faced him fully.“Let me ask you something, and I want your honest opinion.You trade a lot, so you’ve heard things.You know things.Is there anywhere in the world – that you know of – that is closer to finding a cure than the Cold Shore Contingency?”
“No,” he admitted reluctantly after thinking for a minute.“But the thing is, I don’t think Cold Shore is all that close to finding a cure, either.Maybe a cure isn’t possible.”
“Maybe not, but if this place is the best chance at finding it, then that’s where I need to be.”
61
Remy
Any further attempts I made at contacting anyone in the Cold Shore outpost were essentially just repeats of my conversation with Stensrud, no matter which of the apathetic young men they had in the watchtower.
Despite how frustrating it was for me, the only option I had left was waiting.One of Stensrud’s comrades had given us a slightly more precise estimate for the return of Dr.Leila Lund, putting it between the 22nd of August and the 5th of September.
Jordy offered to stay with me, and at first, I tried to decline.His argument for it was that there were even more people in Glacier Valley than back in Xwechtáal, so his services were still necessary, and he could help me and Ripley cover our food and board.
Deep down, the real reason I relented when he proposed spending the summer with me here was far simpler.Not because his knowledge about Cold Shore and Glacier Valley were helpful, or because I was going to be bored out of my mind for two months.
The truth was that I liked Jordy.Even after I’d discovered the disturbing way he made grinleaf.I had been a total mess when he found me, and he quite literally brought me back to life.And I liked the way his eyes glinted when he looked at me, and the way he was always finding a reason to touch me.
I wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet, but I would be by the end of summer.No matter what.
While the view from our room was majestic, I found my time in Glacier Valley to be largely frustrating.It wasn’t just Stensrud, either.This was one of the largest communities I’d lived in since before the virus broke out, and all the noise and congestion was overwhelming.I was used to quiet solitude, not waiting in line on a crowded street.
That was one of the reasons I volunteered to go on hunting trips as my contribution towards mine, Jordy, and Ripley’s food and board.Both the lion and I needed a way to be off leash away from people, and stalking prey out in the woods far beyond the town limits was the best way to do it.
Within a few days of us deciding to extend our stay at Anoona’sFrozen Grave, Jordy worked out a deal to get back to work as a chemist.Our room in the inn was nice, but there was neither the space nor the proper equipment.
Fortunately, there was a pub two doors down calledGlacier’s Edge.Jordy was friendly with the owner, so he was able to use the restaurant kitchen in the mornings, when they were closed.
All in all, there were worse ways to spend the summer.Even by the end of June, the weather here was crisp bordering on warm at times, but the afternoons hiking with Ripley or fishing in the canal with Jordy were pleasant.
We’d been here for a little over two weeks when I realized that I felt at peace for the first time in a very long time.Ripley and I had spent the night camping in the foothills to the east of the town, hoping for an elk or even a mountain goat.We had settled for a few ptarmigans – more than enough for me, barely adequate for the lion – and a fire under the stars.
In the morning, as I sat with her and watched the sun slowly rise, bathing the entire valley in a warm amber glow, that’s when I had the thought:This is what peace feels like.
I wasn’t necessarily happy or content, although I wouldn’t say that I was despairing or depressed anymore.And I was still incredibly frustrated about the situation with Cold Shore refusing to see me.But there was a calmness inside my chest instead of that restless panic.
My impatience had always told me that anything other than moving forward was a failure.But what I had needed the most was time and rest and space.
