Time To Tell A Story : March 2011

The official release date for my novel, Wings of Fate, is March 31st, so I've been told I can post my Preface and Chapter One, The Onyx Wolf, as a teaser of sorts. If you would like to catch a glimpse of where my story begins, follow me:

Preface

I ALWAYS HAD A PLAN AND CARRIED IT THROUGH. I wanted to help people, people who did not have the same advantages as I had. And it was this compassion for others that brought about dire changes in my life.

Things happened to me that I had never dreamed of, but I would not change the chain of events that brought me to where I was now.

Canada was a beautiful, breathtaking country, but it could kill just as easily as it could offer its beauty. I had signed on with a group of medical personnel who worked for Native American Health and Mission Services, known as N.A.H.A.M.S., who were taking shipments of medicine and essential medical supplies to a group of First Nations people who lived in the heart of Canada.

Why did I choose to go to a place so far from home? I’m still not sure, but I did know that it was the beginning of a new life for me, one that I would not trade for all of civilization. For it was in the heart of Canada that I found myself for the first time. Even after falling from the sky, literally, into a world of secrets, seclusion, and mystery, I still found something I would keep forever.

I found a love that knows no boundaries, a love that would die for me and a love that would last through eternity if permitted. I had to go through many trials that at one time would have left me broken, but that winter, in the vastness of that frozen land I was strengthened, renewed, and most of all loved.

It was hard to believe that one could find warmth like I found in a land where the cold seeps into your very bones and the earth and rivers are frozen like white marble. But what most people do not know is that underneath that frozen tundra lies a land waiting to spring forth when thawed. It is a land which inspired one of the grandest adventures I had ever embarked upon; a journey of adventure, heartache, renewal, and love.

Fate has a way of revealing one’s past and changing one’s destiny.

This is where my story began.

Chapter One

The Onyx Wolf

Callie

THERE WERE ONLY THREE DAYS LEFT UNTIL I EMBARKED on the journey of a lifetime which I had willingly signed up for, and I was trying desperately to tie up all of my loose ends.

I hadn’t given much thought to the offer I had received to travel with Dr. William Santos and his group of two other doctors to a First Nations settlement in Alberta, Canada. It just seemed like what I needed to do, a calling if you will. The purpose of the trip was delivering medicine and medical treatment to the children of the Woodland Cree, Native people who had lived there for hundreds of years. What I hadn’t prepared myself for, however, was how quickly we would be leaving.

When I first met John Stillman, the director of Wings on Ice, a branch of the Native American Health and Mission Services that flies medical teams and supplies into isolated areas inhabited by Native Aboriginal people in the arctic regions, he told me it would be well over a month before our team departed. But that date had been moved up and suddenly we would be leaving in only three days.

With no response from the half dozen applications I had put in at hospitals and clinics in and around where I lived in Helena, Montana, I decided I would go, thinking that I would be back in a month and could resume my job search then. After all, with an area as large as Helena, I was sure to find something soon. I felt I needed to do something useful, something to help others.

This would be my first job since my graduation. I received my degree in nursing and had taken the state exams, making me a full-fledged registered nurse three months earlier. I had worked two internships at the local hospital during my last year of college, but after I graduated, the position I held was given to another student, leaving me without a job.

I had been frugal during my internship, saving as much as I could, uncertain of what my future in the job market would hold. I had been living in a small apartment above the garage of an elderly woman named Marabell Smith, who had been a friend of my family for years. She had let me live there virtually rent free. The only condition being that I pay all of my utilities and have dinner with her as often as I could. I didn’t mind because despite her age, Marabell was still an excellent cook and we often shared not only meals but recipes as well. I too loved to cook when I had the time and tried to make myself prepare a new dish every month, just to stay in practice.

When I explained to Marabell that I would be leaving for approximately one month to travel with N.A.H.A.M.S. for the medical mission, she just hugged me, begging me to be careful. I thought she might be holding back something, a secret perhaps, when I detected tears in her eyes, but she didn't say anything.

Marabell said I could leave everything just as it was and that it would be waiting for me when I returned. I was glad because I didn’t want to have to put my things in storage. It was true that I didn’t have a large household to tend to, but it was set up just the way I wanted. Thankfully, she allowed me to just lock the door behind me when I left.

I was surprised when Marabell came up to my apartment before I left and brought me a gift. The tiny package was wrapped in a handkerchief that was trimmed in lace.

“What is this, Marabell?” I asked, as I unwrapped it carefully.

“It is something that will bring you good luck. It has been in the family for many generations and I want you to have it now,” she said as I unfolded the last layer.

Inside was the most beautiful necklace I had ever seen. It wasn’t that it was made out of diamonds or even silver, because it wasn’t, its natural beauty was stunning. It appeared to be a sturdy leather strand with a golden chain braided around it. Dangling from the necklace was a piece of black onyx carved into the shape of a wolf standing with its head down as it was watching over its prey.

“This is so beautiful. I couldn’t take it, Marabell,” I said, holding it up letting it twist in the air as I admired it.

“Yes, you must. I insist. Please wear it for me so I can rest at night.”

Her perseverance was unwavering, so I finally agreed and hugged her tightly as I thanked her for the generous gift. I hoped that when I returned from my trip she would share the story behind the necklace, but for now she knew I was in need of time to get my things packed and ready to leave.

The next three days went by quickly. The morning of our departure had finally arrived. I managed to fit all of my bulky winter clothing into my suitcases and had a few other bags that I carried along with the other things I would need.

Marabell had offered to drive me to the airport. I accepted, glad for the company. I found myself a little nervous, not knowing quite what to expect when we arrived in Canada. I knew that we were flying into Peace River Municipal Airport, just outside of Peace River, Alberta which was near the ridge of The Rocky Mountains, due north of Edmonton, the capital city of Alberta. Aside from that, I knew nothing of the exact location or how long it would take us to get there once we landed.

When we arrived at the airport, Marabell hugged me goodbye and said, “Remember to trust your instincts and follow your heart my child, in all matters great and small.” Then she turned and went back to her car, waving once more as she got in and watched me walk inside the airport.

I felt a little homesick already, but I also began to feel like this was something I had to do. The reasons were not yet clear, but I knew it would give me a chance to help others and that was the entire reason I had gone through nursing school.

As I walked through the airport and headed toward the check-in, I was stopped by a security guard and asked where I was traveling. When I told him, he escorted me past the check-in to another part of the airport reserved for private flights.

I waited for fifteen minutes before someone came looking for me. I was then escorted toward an exit where several men were putting their luggage into the belly of a small plane. The plane looked as though it might seat twenty passengers. From the looks of things though, it would be a small group that boarded. This led me to believe that the remainder of the room on the plane would be occupied by supplies.

“Hello there. Are you Callie Mason?” one of the men asked.

“Yes. Yes, I am,” I replied, holding out my hand to shake his.

“Great. I’m Dr. William Santos and these are my colleagues, Dr. Robert Miller and Dr. Rayhon Santee. Are you ready to go?” he asked with an excited tone in his voice.

“Nice to meet you all,” I said, shaking the each one of their hands as well. “I suppose I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. I’m not looking forward to the extreme temperatures though,” I admitted with a chuckle as I pulled my cart forward to grab a suitcase from it.

“Here, let me help you with that,” Dr. Santee said, taking my things into the cargo hold.

“Thanks,” I replied and pulled my carry-on over my shoulder. It had everything I would need for the flight: my laptop, mp3 player, and a small notebook.

I watched as the men continued loading our luggage. Dr. Santee seemed to be very interesting. He was obviously of Native American decent, and I wondered if he was Cree like the people we were going to help. He was a handsome man with dark black hair and a deep olive complexion.

Dr. Santos appeared to be Hispanic. He too had dark black hair, and I guessed that he was maybe a few years older than me, probably thirty to thirty-five. He hadn’t stopped smiling since I first saw him. Apparently, he was excited about this trip. I’d have to ask if he had done this before when we got seated.

That left Dr. Miller who was Caucasian, with a neatly trimmed beard and glasses. He was quiet and seemed preoccupied. I saw a wedding ring on his finger, so I assumed he was worried about leaving his wife behind.

After all of our luggage was loaded, we boarded the plane and found our seats near the front of the passenger compartment. Just as I had suspected, there were crates and boxes all strapped to pallets sitting in the place where additional seating would have been, had they not been removed.

I sat behind the doctors, placing my bag in the empty seat next to me. I slid the seatbelt through the handle of my computer case, just to keep it from sliding around when we took off and strapped myself in.

The pilot was the last one to board the plane, telling us we would be taking off shortly and to secure our things and to make sure our seatbelts were fastened. He stepped into the small cockpit area, readying himself and the plane for takeoff.

I listened to the doctors as they talked amongst themselves while we waited. They spoke about the mission, the amount of supplies, things they had forgotten to do before they left, which made me laugh, and the weather of course.

The weather hadn’t been a concern of mine when I signed up for this trip. I knew it would be cold and I was most likely not going to like that part. But what I hadn’t heard was that Canada was having an unusually harsh winter. Already nervous about flying, this news made me more anxious than I had been. It had been three years since I had last flown. I had gone home to New Mexico when my adoptive parents were killed in a car accident.

That had been a difficult time in my life; being in a plane again brought back so many memories. It also made me realize how alone I was in the world. My only real family was Marabell, and I knew I would miss her.

I was pulled from my reverie when Dr. Santos turned in his seat and began talking to me. He wanted to know how old I was, where I had gone to school, what my plans were after we got back, what I hoped to accomplish on the mission, and about my family.

When he had finished questioning me, I decided it was my turn to ask a few questions of my own. I wanted to know what made him sign up for this mission, whether he had family he was leaving behind, and how long he had been working with N.A.H.A.M.S.

As we talked further, I also told him that when we got back, I would be looking for work and hoped that he might be able to give me a recommendation. He simply smiled, assuring me that if I had the nerve to accompany them on the mission I would deserve more than a recommendation. He hinted that he would help me find work upon our return in a month. This lifted my spirits for the first time since I got on the plane. I began to feel like this was the right decision for me to make.

I looked out the window, noticing the sky to the north was unusually gray and dreary and the wind was picking up. When the engines started and the plane began to taxi onto the runway, I leaned back in my seat and braced myself for take-off.

We met a small amount of turbulence when we first got into the air, causing the ride to be bumpy for about fifteen minutes. But soon the plane leveled out, the tension easing as we began the smoother part of our journey.

After a while, the sky grew darker and the heavy ominous clouds seemed to engulf the plane as we continued northward toward the Canadian border, causing me to feel very uneasy.

For the next hour and forty-five minutes, the doctors talked amongst themselves, making plans for when we landed. A guide was to meet us at the airport, then drive us and the supplies to the Cree settlement near the Peace River. Their talk made me anxious to be on the ground and do something useful.

I had just taken my laptop out of its case and turned it on when I felt a bone jarring vibration throughout the plane. I looked out the window and saw that ice was forming on one of the wings. It also looked like there were sparks flying out of the engine.

My heart stopped and my blood ran cold when the engine began to spit and sputter before finally quitting all together. I was frantically trying to put my laptop away and make sure that my seatbelt was secure, but my hands were shaking too badly.

I could tell from the way the men were sitting, each of them clutching their seats, that they were frightened as well. When Dr. Santos turned around to face me, I could see the look of terror in his eyes as we began to fall. I grabbed at the seat in front of me and waited, not knowing what would happen next.

There was a small explosion somewhere near the stalled engine, and I saw a piece of the plane fly off. That’s when the terrifying decent became rough and we were being tossed around in our seats.

If you would like to read the rest of the story, it's available for pre-order now at TWCS Publishing House (click cover below).

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I would love to hear from you.