Fantasy Lynxed [Teeth, Nails and Tails] - Brynn Paulin

[raone453k]

Chapter One

 

Familiar excitement built in Summer Nash’s belly as the plane carried her across the Alaskan sky. In less than two hours, they’d land in the northwest Arctic territory of the state where she’d spend the next year documenting the daily life of the Inupiat people who lived in the town of Sisuaq Ablu. The small tribe she’d photograph still relied heavily on subsistence hunting and traditional ways. It had taken some doing and a lot of persuasion by Dr. Honeycutt, the anthropologist who’d been with the tribe for years now, but the tribal elders had acquiesced to letting Summer come in and film them. In return, she’d act as the doctor’s assistant. Glancing around the plane, she wondered what the other women would be doing in the settlement. The second passenger on the plane, Emmie Harris, had dropped off to sleep shortly after takeoff, precluding the opportunity to talk. She’d mentioned something about flying and sedatives, so Summer supposed the woman needed drugs to make it through a flight. The other woman on the plane, Kelsey Brooks, was the pilot, but from Summer’s understanding, she planned to stay with the Inupiat. Another person, who until now had been stationed there, would be flying the small plane back to southern Alaska. Knowing conversation was impossible since she wouldn’t be heard past the bulky headphones the pilot wore, Summer stared out the window once more. They’d flown over the northeast edge of Denali National Park a while ago, and now, she wasn’t quite sure where they were.

The cloud cover was thick, but she’d glimpsed the land below through occasional breaks. Though it was early fall, the Denali tundra was still lush and green and not at all the icy plains she’d expected. Even now, farther north, she saw bursts of green through openings in the low hanging cumulous blanket surrounding the plane. She suspected it was still cold on land. Frankly, she figured she’d be freezing her ass off once she reached the village. Layers, her colleagues had urged. Lots of layers. Not a problem. She’d lived in Northern Michigan. She knew how to adjust for weather. Suddenly, the plane lurched, tearing her from her thoughts. “Damn it!” Kelsey yelled as her hands flew over the flight instruments. Screeching alarms wailed around them, and Emmie jerked awake. Her eyes went wide as she looked desperately around, her fingers clutching the armrests of her seat. “What’s happening?” she demanded. “Hold on!” Kelsey yelled. Summer couldn’t do anything else. Her stomach fell as her heart thundered quadruple-time in her throat. Her eyes squeezed shut while the plane careened toward the ground. They were going to crash… Oh God! They were going to crash. No! She had too much left to do. They were going to crash! Panic closed her throat. She couldn’t breathe. Reaching out, she grabbed Emmie’s icy hand. Neither of them should be alone in this. She didn’t know what else to do. Kelsey was too busy to tell them anything. Summer opened her eyes in time to see a mass of green rushing for them. And she screamed. Then ducked. Tucking her head and wrapping her free arm tightly around her legs, she prayed to whoever was listening to get her out of this.