Chapter 1: Somewhere in Nowhere, Alaska

The river moves faster where it makes a sharp bend to the south.

Knowing it might be his last chance, Luke stands up in the boat, grabs the anchor, and heaves it towards shore. It lands in a pile of jagged rocks and digs in. Grabbing the rope, he wedges his foot against the front seat and braces himself as the force created by the fast-moving boat rips the rope though his hands, inflicting excruciating pain. He commands himself to tighten his grip and finally gains control with only a few feet of remaining rope. The boat swings through an arc and stops dead as it strikes the shore sideways, throwing him backward over the seat and onto the floor. He hits his hip on the gunnel as he falls and lays there in six inches of accumulated rainwater. His hands are raw, his hip is throbbing, and he is soaking wet. In spite of the physical pain, a small smile creeps onto his face as the only thing he cared about, all he really wanted, was for the damn boat to finally stop moving.

Luke has prayed hard to get off the river! His prayers have been answered, and he closes his eyes to relish the moment. He gets up and steps onto the shore, shakes out his aching fingers, and limps around to assess the damage to his hip and leg. He is sure there’s a big bruise, but it doesn’t feel broken, and his raw hands will heal. He will wear the wounds proudly; a badge of honor for defeating the river.

Looking around he tries to get his bearings. A corridor, maybe forty feet wide, leads back to a dense wooded area with a grassy section on the left side. The walls of the passageway are comprised of blackish slate slabs that rise up ten to twelve feet high on both sides. The shoreline in both directions is all rock, giving a clear explanation why the river bends south at this point. For hundreds of years it had been given no choice. He could see that beyond the bend where he stands, the ice was again moving to the center of the river and he would still be out there, but for that last few feet of anchor rope.

It is mid-afternoon. Luke walks around to get a better idea of his surroundings. The stone slab walls look haphazardly stacked, as if each one had been dropped from someplace high above. As he proceeds back toward the wooded area, he keeps a close eye on them to be sure they aren’t going to fall on him. Even the trees in the forest appear larger, perhaps in competition with the massive rock piles and the entire surroundings are intimidating, making him feel small as in a giant’s world. All he was ever told about the area down the Tanana River was that it was wild and desolate, and from what he can see, that description was dead accurate. He shrugs it off and concludes,No matter what, it’s still better than that merciless river; but then, almost any place is.

Th