Snow

The woman noticed the bags under her eyes in the rear view mirror. The first thing she would do when she got back into town was buy some cream, she told herself. A muffled groan came from the back seat. The woman shrugged it off, and smiled. The snow was falling harder now. This place was perfect. Why, within a few hours everything should be covered with snow. She reassured herself of this fact many time. Everything would get covered by the snow. Everything.

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Rex Gregor snuggled into his swivel chair with a fleece blanket and cup of coffee. Adjusting the volume levels on his radio transmitter, he began sending out the emergency signals to the other isolated farms around Blue Fish, Wyoming. The town had poor radio reception from outside towns, so Rex was in charge of sending out the emergency weather alerts to the homes and ranches nestled in the mountains, far from civilized life. Tapping the "Call" button, Rex brought his handheld receiver to his mouth. "A warning to all in the areas surrounding Blue Fish, all areas surrounding Blue Fish. The National Weather Service has issued an alert for all areas, all area schools and businesses are closed, all activities canceled. I repeat, all businesses and schools closed. I advise you to stay indoors, do not venture out onto the roads, and bring livestock in from the elements. We are expecting around three feet of snow over the next days, with temperatures ranging from zero to thirty below zero and winds up to-"

The lights in Rex's home snapped into darkness, and the tiny red light on the transmitter faded to black. His wife, Kitty, called from the living room. "Rex, where in God's name did Wheel of Fortune go?"

Rex sighed. "God damn snow brought down the power lines. Bring out some candles and I'll start up the generator..."

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Snowflakes danced in the wind like tiny, piercing daggers. The roads were indistinguishable, only blending in with the massive blanket of white that covered the mountains. The sky was the color of dust, noticeably darker than the waves of snow that pelted the mountainside. Rocks, small plants, and roadsides disappeared under the fluffy precipitation within hours, becoming white lumps amid a sea of blinding white.

One of these lumps had a slight pinkish tone in some spots, and a faded tennis shoe sticking out of one end. A small poof of snow flew out of the lump, as if propelled by air. A swollen, bloody hand thrust out of the snow, and into the air, followed by another hand and a face. The face was that of a teenage boy, presumably around fifteen.

His dark hair was matted to his head with frosty blood, and his skin was pallid and waxy. He coughed up a bit of blood, and looked around. His dark eyes took in the surroundings, but not quite understanding them. Sliding his arms into the sleeves of his thin shirt to stay warm, he inhaled the sharp, cold air.

"Hello?" He called out. His weak voice echoed meekly across the terrain. He was situated at the foot of one of the mountains, under the peak of a fallen "Yield" sign just barely noticeable under the snow.

Breathing in again, he shouted a bit louder. "Hello? Hello!" The wind answered, wailing through the trees. Pushing himself up out of the snow, the boy noticed a large blood stain on his jeans. One of his legs developed a stabbing pain, forcing him to lean on the broken road sign for support.

He was confused and in pain. Up the hill a ways, he noticed lights cutting through the snow. Listening carefully, he heard the sound of an engine. Limping his way towards the lights, he waved. At that exact moment, the pain in his leg became so intense it caused the lights in front of him to fade to black. With a cry of anguish, the boy collapsed and tumbled onto the road directly in front of Rex Gregor's oncoming pick up truck.

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Kitty Gregor pulled a rusty kettle of coffee out of the fireplace, and placed it on the hearth. The living room had a surreal feel to it, lighted only by candles and the fire. Sighing, she smiled. Why she had ever let Rex Gregor convince her to move from New York to Wyoming, she'd never know. They had been young, and she had been naive. But that was thirty years ago.

With a jolt, she was awaken from her day dream by the sound of frantic beeping. Kitty knew it was Rex's truck coming up the drive by the sputter of the engine. But why the beeping? Pulling the curtain away from the snow filled window, she saw Rex leaning out of his window, the flaps of his winter hat blowing in the wind.

He shouted something, but his words were lost in the wind. Running to the front door Kitty leaned out into the blizzard. "What?" She shouted.

Rex hoped out of the truck and ran to the door, panting. "Blankets. Get blankets. There's a kid..."

Kitty looked at Rex like he was insane. "Rex, what in the name of all that is good and holy are you-"

"For God's sakes woman, get the damn blankets! Just get them!" He ran back to the truck. Grumbling, Kitty went to the hall closet and grabbed all the blankets she could fit in her pudgy arms. Rex came bursting through the door holding something long wrapped in one of the horse blankets he kept in the back of his truck. A wet tennis shoe hung limp out of one end of the blanket.

Kitty's eyes widened. "Rex, is that..." She stopped, dropping the blankets and running towards her husband. Blood stained a corner of the blanket.

Rex buckled under the weight of his burden. "Spread the blankets out or something. Hurry!" Kitty formed a mat out of one of the quilts, readying the rest to lay on top of the boy. Slowly, Rex laid the boy onto the blanket, and began pulling the boy's soaking clothes off of him.

"Kitty, get a pair of my pajamas, before hypothermia sets in... he's breathing, but he's in terrible shape." Rex's wife nodded, and hurried upstairs, returning with a pair of flannel pajamas.

Slowly, the couple wrapped the boy in warm blankets, tucking hot water bottles in among the wrappings. Rex began bandaging some of the boy's wounds as they wrapped him in blankets, and explained to Kitty.

"I was driving down the road, coming back from getting road salt from Jack so I can start on the roads as soon as the snow stops. The kid was just standing there, then he kinda... passed out."

Kitty gazed on the sleeping boy's pale, swollen face. "Looks a little like Jeff, when Jeff was little..." Rex rolled his eyes.

"Everybody looks like Jeff to you, just because you haven't seen him in a few months. Don't worry, he'll be back over Easter. For now, we have to worry about this kid. I called 911 on my way up, they should be here any moment-"

They were interrupted by a muffled cough coming from the bundle of blankets. A pair of dark, shining eyes stared at them from behind a mop of wet, dark hair. The boy began speaking in jumbled phrases.

"Take it easy, sport. You're alright, we're going to get you to a hospital. Just hold on." Rex patted the blankets, but the boy began to struggle. He began to cough more, resulting from the energy it was taking him to attempt to pull the blankets aside.

Rex grabbed the boy and firmly lowered him back down to the floor. The boy shook his head, and kicked at the blankets, whispering "No" over and over again.

Kitty shushed the boy. "Its alright, dearest. Relax, you're alright." After a few moments of struggle, the boy passed out once again.

Rex shook his head. "That boy's delirious. He need a doctor... where's that ambulance I called for?"

Almost on cue, a pair of blue and red flashing lights could be seen making their way down the Gregor's long driveway. Rex rushed to the door, and waved the EMTs inside, explaining what had happened as they loaded him onto the stretcher.

One of the paramedics stared at the boy as he strapped him securely onto the stretcher. "Did he happen to say his name, Rex?"

Rex shook his head. "Lord knows what he was saying... I only could make out 'no', he was talking nonsense otherwise."

The paramedic looked Rex in the eye. "Don't you know who that is?"

When neither Rex, Kitty, or the other EMT could answer, the paramedic turned white. "I attended that kid's funeral on Saturday. He's been declared dead for over a week."

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Sheriff John Wagner adjusted the antenna of his hand crank radio, attempting to get a signal. The snow had forced him, the two other on duty officers, and Marilynn Uke, the county's 911 operator, to camp overnight in Blue Fish City Hall, where the police station was located. Suddenly, his cell phone rang, the haunting chorus of "California Dreamin'" echoing through the station.

"Hello?" John answered. "Who's this?" A voice spoke from the other end.

"John, its Marty. Remember that kid that died in Blue Fish river last week.?"

John did. The boy had been riding with his mother when their car hit a patch of black ice, and rolled down the embankment into the river. The mother survived, but the boy's body was never found. A memorial service had been held two days before to honor the boy.

"Yeah, what about it?" John could hear Marty clear his throat on the other end.

"Well... uh... he's alive, John. But the weird thing is, he's up in Walker's Crest. Rex Gregor found him a few minutes from their home."

John glanced over his shoulder to the bulletin board holding a Missing poster. The smiling face of Ryan Jones' sophomore school photo stared back at him. "Marty, you must have the wrong kid, Walker's Crest is over-"

"Twenty miles from the river. I know. Its him though, I'm sure of it. A little beat up, suffering from frostbite on his hand and feet, but its definitely him."

"Bring him to Cedar Point hospital, its the closest place he'll get help. In the mean time, I tell Rex and Kitty to drive down to the station. I want to know what's going on."

"But John, the snow-"

"I know. Rex is a good driver, I trust him. Hurry up, we don't want this kid to end up dead... again."
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Rex exhaled sharply as he maneuvered his Ford pick up around a tight turn heading down Walker's Crest. Kitty held a thermos of cocoa close to her face. "Rex, what's going on. Why did John want us to come down now?"

Rex knew the answer, but didn't want to distress Kitty. "Well, John's informed me that... uh..."

Kitty looked at him. "Yes?"

Rex sighed. "Remember that article in the paper about Ryan Jones? That kid from New Jersey that moved out here last year, died in Blue Fish river last week?"

Kitty nodded. "Nice kid, worked at Wilson's hardware, didn't he?"

Rex shrugged. "Dunno. But... um... Kitty the boy I found on the road might be... probably is... Ryan."

Kitty gasped. "Rex Gregor you shut up now! We went to the memorial service, he's dead!"

Rex focused on the road. "Well... they never did find a body..."

Kitty shook her head. "John declared him dead! They have the papers and everything! Nobody spends a week floating in Blue Fish and suddenly turns up way up here. That's impossible."

Rex cleared his throat. "Maybe he never went into the river?"
________________________________________________________________________

Doctor Tracy Ollen had worked at Cedar Point General Hospital for twenty years. She had seen everything from car crashes, bear attacks, boat capsizes, avalanches, and hunting accidents come in. Tracy figured that the boy Marty White was pushing in on the stretcher fell into one of the categories above. But nothing could prepare her for what was coming next.

"What's this one's case, Marty?"

Marty chuckled nervously. "A man found him up in Walker's Crest, kid has frost bite, hypothermia, a sprained leg, and several cuts and abrasions. Oh, and he's been declared by the Blue Fish police department as dead as of... last Thursday."

Tracy stopped and stared at Marty. "Dead?"

Marty nodded. "Dead. Supposedly the car he was riding in took a dive in the Blue Fish, they never found a body."

Tracy shook her head. "Walker's Crest, that's no where close to the Blue Fish river."

"Nobody said he actually wound up in the river. Reports only show that his mother was at the scene of the accident."

Tracy sighed. "Whatever. Leave it to the police to sort this one out. In the mean time, I want this kid on oxygen and an IV."

The boy slowly opened his eyes, staring at Tracy. She patted his hand as the nurses helped get him into a hospital bed. "You'll be fine kid... just relax."

His bruised hands attempted to push away the oxygen mask one of the nurses was putting on his face. Tracy held his arms down and spoke to him in a soothing voice, but he only became more frantic. He began kicking at the blankets, and shaking his head.

Tracy called for one of the nurses to get a few tranquilizing pills, as she and the other nurse attempted to calm the boy down. As they administered the pills, Tracy sighed.

"We're in for a long night."
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Ryan knew nothing except that there was a lady that looked something like his aunt Polly pushing a plastic mask down over his face. Terrified, he tried to push the mask away. She was trying to suffocate him, he knew it. Another woman in a white coat held his arms down, immobilizing him.

Ryan tried to scream, but he couldn't get his mouth to work properly. After what seemed like an eternity of struggling, a third woman forced something down his throat. Slowly, the women faded out of view, and Ryan was left to his thoughts in darkness.

His head hurt horribly, and he wanted desperately to slip into unconsciousness. But something wasn't right. He didn't know where he was, but he wasn't supposed to be here. A voice in the back of his head began screaming in a high pitched woman's voice.

"God damn it, Ryan! You're such a retard... I should've gotten an abortion. The doctor told me I could've had an abortion! But I didn't! Go to hell, Ryan. I hate you! GO TO HELL!!"

The voice disappeared slowly, leaving Ryan in darkness.
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Sherrif John Wagner stepped out of his police car onto the freshly fallen snow. Approaching a tiny log cabin tucked bag into the woods, he pulled off his gloves and took out his badge. Knocking on the door, he sighed. This would be interesting.

A disheveled woman with heavy bags under her eyes opened the door and smiled. "Sherrif Wagner? Can I help you?"

He nodded. "Ms. Jones, could I have a word with you inside?"

The woman shrugged, and ushered him inside. "The weather out there... its nasty."

John smiled. "A lot worse than New Jersey, isn't it."

The woman laughed, and seated herself in a leather arm chair. "Sure is. Can I get you some coffee?"

"No, I'm actually hear about your son."

The woman's expression turned from at ease to uncomfortable. "Did you... find a body, Sherrif?"

John shrugged. "I guess you could say so. We... we found Ryan alive, Ms. Jones."

The woman turned white. "What... you... you found him alive?" A nervous emphasis was put on the word alive.

John nodded. "You should be happy, Ms. Jones. A rancher up on Walker's Crest found him wandering around, delirious. He's in the ICU down in Cedar Point. I'll drive you if you'd like, with the weather and all."

Ms. Jones shook her head. "He's not alive. He's dead. I don't want to see him." This was exactly what John Wagner had feared.

"Ms. Jones, could you do me a favor and come down to the police station with me? We'd like to ask you a few questions."

The woman continued to shake her head, but followed obediently to the police car.

A half hour later, she was seated at a small table in an empty conference room at the Blue Fish town hall. "Sheriff Wagner, I didn't kill Ryan. I told you already."

John sighed. "Ms. Jones, we have reason to believe you did. You said the last place you were before crashing was Wilson's Hardware. The people there report that you were the only one in the car when you drove away."

"That's easy. I went home and picked up Ryan, we were going to drive to Cedar Point to catch a movie."

John leaned against the table, staring Ms. Jones in the eyes. "Your house is past the bridge you drove over, Ms. Jones."

Looking frustrated, the woman folded her arms and whispered an obscenity under her breath.

John sat across the table from her. "Ms. Jones... do you have something you want to tell me?"

She stood up with such a force that it sent the metal folding chair she sat on flew onto the floor with a clang. "He made me do it! That bastard has only caused me pain since he was born. His daddy's a no good fool, I knew he'd grow up to be like him. He was driving me insane. I should've gotten an abortion before he was born... its to late now, isn't it!"

John was taken aback. The woman's eyes glared as she pointed at him. "You have kids? You know what a pain in the ass they are? First its drive me here, buy me this, teach me this. I couldn't handle it. I couldn't, you hear me!"

"Ms. Jones, have you ever been tested for a mental illness?"

Ms. Jones threw back her head and laughed. "Mental illness? You think I'm crazy! That's what everybody thinks. That's why I'm out here. I couldn't get a job back in Jersey. Everybody told me I was fuckin' crazy!"

John called for another officer to give him back up, as he approached the woman who was sobbing wildly. "Ms. Jones, did you try to kill Ryan?"

She smiled through her tears. "Sure I did. Beat up the little bastard when he was sleeping. He woke up for a bit, but was unconscious a little bit after that. Hauled him down to the basement, figured I'd leave him there to die then burn the body. I couldn't live with myself... I purposely ran my car into the river. I survived, unfortunately, but I figured it was perfect. He'd be gone, and I could blame it on the crash. But he was still alive after a few days, and I couldn't have him magically come up out of the house if he was in the river, right? So I dumped him up on Walker's. I thought he'd be covered up by the snow, and I could forget about it. You'd find some bones in spring, but who cares. Bones are bones."

A young officer in training entered the room with his gun drawn. Ms. Jones began laughing harder. "You gonna shoot me? Go ahead! Shoot me, you worthless pig!"

John pulled the trigger on his Taser gun, and rushed forward to handcuff the crazed woman. "Alex, I need you to get a call over to Cedar Point General. Tell them I'm bringing a visitor for Ryan Jones."
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Kitty and Rex Gregor stood over Ryan Jone's bed, smiling. He blinked a few times, then flinched. This happened every once in a while, followed by another fit of struggling. The couple calmly held the boy down under he was relaxed again. A nurse known as Millie entered the room, frowning. "The police are outside, Mr. Gregor. They have this kid's mom."

Rex nodded. John had called a few hours ago to warn him that they were coming. Sheriff Wagner entered the room, followed by a young man leading a woman in handcuffs. She recoiled at the sight of her son hooked up to so many machines just to stay alive.

"I told you, I don't want to be hear. I want to leave." She pouted like a child.

Ryan's eyes flickered open at the sound of his mother's voice. A look of terror spread across his face, as he began kicking. He shouted "No!" several times, before John stepped forward and calmed him.

Ms. Jones sat down in one of the visitor's chairs in the hospital room, and stared out the window, grumbling. Ryan looked at her, beads of sweat forming on his face. He then spoke his first sensical words since he was found on the road last night.

"Get her away from me." He whispered meekly.

John shook his head. "Do you know where you are, son?"

"No... I just want her out of here. She's going to kill me."

Everybody in the room tensed as they watched Ms. Jones stand and approach the bed. "Yeah, I'm gonna' kill you." She grinned. The second officer pulled her back into the chair.

John cleared his throat. "Ryan, you're going back to New Jersey to live with your grandma for a while. You're mom's going to get some help."

Ryan looked confused. "New Jersey... what's in New Jersey?"

Millie the nurse shook her head. "He's delerious. Can't tell left from right. Failed all the coordination tests. This kid's going to need serious therapy."

John gestured for her to be quiet. "Ms. Jones, I brought you here to say goodbye to Ryan before you... away."

Ms. Jones sighed. "I don't need to say anything to him. He obviously doesn't know what's going on. What good will me saying good bye do? I do want to go somewhere though."

"Oh?" John asked.

"I want to go to the bridge over Blue Fish River. Do a little... thinking before you send me to the loony bin."

John looked at Rex, who smiled. "We'll watch him. Its no bother."

John shrugged, and headed towards the door. "I guess I could allow that. Lets go Alex."
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Ryan heard her before he saw her. She was arguing with the man helping her down the hallway. He recognized her by the manical glare in her eyes. Immedietly, his mind flashed back to the only event he could remember.

He woke from a good dream to feel a tearing pain in his leg. She was standing over him with a steak knife, smiling. "Have a nice sleep, sweetie?" She threw the knife behind her, and began punching him in the face. Trying to avoid her blows, he rolled off the couch, only to have her begin kicking him hard. He tried to block her kicks and punches, but that only made it worse. The last thing he remembered was blacking out, and hearing her giggle like a little girl.
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Ms. Lauren Marie Jones stood on the snowy bridge of the swollen Blue Fish River, smiling. There was peace in the air as she stood staring down into the freezing rapids, her hands cuffed behind her. Officer Alex and Sherrif John stood on either side of her, watching.

Ms. Jones grinned and looked at the men. "Either of you ever done anything stupid?"

Alex opened his mouth to speak, but John shook his head. Ms. Jones laughed. "It's alright. I've made plenty of mistakes. But at least now they'll all be gone."

John patted her on the back. "We'll get you help, and you'll be able to start over."

She shook her head. "Only I can help myself, Sherrif. There's only one way to start over." Leaning on the wooden rail of the bridge, she kicked her feet off the ground and let herself fall head first over the bridge. John tried to grab her, but she was too fast. Within a split second, her feet had disappeared.

"Shit." Alex shouted, as he started running towards the embankment. John called after him.

"Stop, you'll only hurt yourself. That water's below freezing."

Alex threw up his hands. "That would make me a wonderful cop, wouldn't it. I just let a mentally disturbed woman flip off the side of a bridge and let her drown. I think I should give myself an award!"

John brushed off his partner's sarcasm. "No. We'll tell them what happened. There's nothing anybody could possibly expect us to do. That river's flooded by a good ten feet. Lets go."

The duo climbed into the squad car and headed back to Cedar Point General to tell the news. The water of Blue Fish river churned like an insane, freezing soup. A chunk of ice was tossed off of the bridge as the squad car pulled away, dropping into the river with a plop. It rapidly floated past a pale hand hovering just below the surface of the water. The body attached to the hand briefly lifted its soaking head, let out a pleased laugh, and dissapeared under the rapids.
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New Jersey, 1994

A small, pudgy toddler sat playing with a worn out Match Box car on the floor, unaware that the woman watching over him was crying. She brushed a bit of hair from her face, and popped a handful of pills. Sighing, she sat down next to him. He looked at her, confused, and repeated the only word he knew how to say.

"Daddy?" The little boy asked.

The woman shook her head. "Daddy's gone, Ryan. No more Daddy." Realizing the words she let out of her mouth, she leaned back on her haunches and let out a defeated cry. "Daddy's not coming back."

The little boy did not understand. He laughed, and threw his car across the room. The woman gave a faint smile, and stood up. "I swear, little man. You're going to drive me crazy. No, I take that back. You'll be the death of me, after you've driven me crazy." She laughed at her joke, and picked him up. "Just kidding, baby. I love you. I'll always love you."