Scotty pulled his snowmobile off to the left of the trail and stopped just as he reached the top of the hill. Monique took her arms from around Scotty’s waist and began to brush the snowflakes from her hood. Scotty turned off his vehicle and waited for the others to catch up. The next to arrive at the summit were Don and Betty. Don parked his snowmobile beside Scotty’s and shut off the engine. Betty removed her sunglasses and Don began to exercise his hands. He had been holding on tightly for quite some time. Now that both motors had been silenced, they could hear Vinny yell as he finally started up the slope. He had wanted to wait for the others to reach the crest so that he would be able to really open up the motor on his snowmobile. Loretta held on desperately as the vehicle careened to the left and to the right as it accelerated to the top of the hill. “That was great, Vinny,” said Don when they reached the peak. Vinny was too exhilarated from the climb to notice the exasperation in Don’s voice. “All right, guys,” said Scotty, “this is the pass into Grant’s Valley.” They all dismounted from their vehicles and began to look at the scenery. “Why did you say that they call it Grant’s Valley?” asked Betty. “I didn’t say,” replied Scotty. “What I told you was that the visitors call it Grant’s Valley. That’s because the hunting lodge that we’re going to crash belongs to Grant Winslow. The valley does have a real name, but it’s some Indian word that practically no one can pronounce.” Scotty looked around until he located a path just to the right of the trail. It had been virtually hidden by the snow. “Wait until you see this,” Scotty stated. He pushed back some dead foliage that partially covered a footpath. Scotty walked another twenty feet and then gestured ahead. The other five members of the party gazed in awe as Scotty pointed at a twelve foot high totem pole. “Wow,” exclaimed Don. “I’ve never seen one like this.” “What do you mean?” Monique inquired. “Well,” Don continued, “all of these totems tell some kind of story and they are always made up to look like local animals or fish.” “And what is your problem with this one?” asked Loretta. “Well, the animal on the bottom appears to be a bear,” said Don. “And that’s fine, but the next two creatures are a pair of wolves, one facing into the valley and one facing out.” “So what?” asked Vinny. “I don’t recall seeing many totems with a pair of wolves, and the next animal looks like a mountain lion.” “Yeah, it sure does,” said Betty. “They don’t even have mountain lions here in Alaska, do they, Scotty?” asked Vinny. “Actually they do have some,” said Scotty. “The problem with mountain lions is that no matter where they roam hardly anybody ever sees them.” On top of the lion was an eagle with its wings spread. Above that was a black crow that had one white feather on its head. “Come with me,” said Scotty. He continued to walk further into the woods. After a few steps they came to a clearing. Scattered throughout the area were places that were readily identified as graves. “This is the burial ground for the local Indians. Don’t touch anything. We would be in trouble if they knew that we were even here.” Until they turned around to go back, nobody had noticed that Vinny had remained behind. He was still standing in front of the totem pole. “Got a problem?” Scotty asked. Vinny moved away from the totem and began to walk toward his snowmobile without making any reply. Once they were all on their vehicles, Scotty pointed to a place down at the bottom of the hill in the valley proper. “Do you see that grey roof down there?” Scotty asked. “That’s where we are headed. That’s the lodge.” “How do you even know about this place?” asked Don. “A few hunting buddies and I come up here almost every year. It’s a nice spot. It’s been closed for the season for over a month now, but we should still be able to get inside. We’ll break in if we have to.” It was less than five minutes later when they pulled up in front of the lodge. They paused there for a moment and looked the place over. “Let’s put the snowmobiles around the side of the building,” shouted Scotty. He led them past the front porch and around to the far side of the structure. They turned off the engines and dismounted. Together, the six walked back to the front of the building and climbed up the stairs. They crossed the porch and Scotty reached for the door handle. He twisted the knob and pushed the door open. “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome home,” said Scotty as he sauntered into the hallway of the lodge. The others followed him into the building. “It’s pretty dark,” said Scotty as he took a flashlight out of his pocket. “Why don’t the rest of you wait here?” he continued. “Don and I will see if we can find the electrical box and get the lights turned on.” The other four sat in seats around the hallway and waited. After about fifteen minutes, the lights flickered and then switched on. Outside, the shadows were already creeping across the valley floor. There were only about six hours of sunlight this time of the year. No one in the party relished the idea that they might be spending such a long night with nothing but candles and a few flashlights to overcome the darkness.
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