Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon

Author:Charlie Sheldon [Sheldon, Charlie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Coming of Age, Literature, Genre Fiction, action and adventure
ISBN: 9780997060089
Publisher: Iron Twine Press
Published: 2017-02-05T05:00:00+00:00

Back at Alec’s house, Alec asked if William would leave the atlatl sketches with him, and he did. It was time to return to the ship. William reached in his pocket and removed the case holding the sliver.

“Tom took this years ago, to have the atlatl dated, but he never got around to it. As I told you, the atlatl’s missing, lost somewhere up where Sarah disappeared. Can you date this sliver?”

Alec removed the sliver from the case. “This is bone. Yes, I think I can date this. I must invent a small story for the university here. A month, perhaps.”

“The less said the better, Alec.”

“Nobody listens to me these days, William. I have been humored these past few years, invited to conferences as a gesture only, welcomed as a hobbyist. My theories of the past are not mainstream.”

“He is lying, as always,” Sergei said. “His theories are junk, but many experts pay attention to him. Even I pay attention, despite my training. The atlatl and sliver interest me, very much. I will help with this.”

“William you must return to that valley. You must retrieve that atlatl. You must.” Alec was weak but intent. “If she took it and can find it again, then you will be able to answer many questions. Many.”

William said goodbye to Alec. They shook hands. Alec had been a good friend and William was not someone who had many friends. He held the picture of Alec standing stooped before his door, holding the copies of the atlatl drawings, watching them leave. William knew he would never see Alec again.

They drove back to Petropavlosk. The waning moon hovered over the gravel road. When they reached the port gate, William had to wake the sole customs agent on duty. The summer solstice, even near midnight, kept the sky light.

“After hearing your story, William, I will come on this ship in August to visit you, see this park. This is my father’s wish. Now this is my wish, too. Your story was most interesting. Most interesting.”

William took the ship back to St. Paul, then Dutch Harbor, then Seattle. In Dutch, he went ashore, went online, and learned from Sergei that Alec had died three days after he visited.

The rest of his trip across the Gulf of Alaska was easy. They docked in Seattle, but because they had to do some emergency repairs on one of the hatches, he was unable to get off the ship. He did manage to telephone Tom.

“What did you learn, ‘Eye? How old is that splinter?”

“I won’t know for another trip, Tom. I just left it with Alec and Sergei. Alec was very ill when I got there and he passed away just after I left. I’m pretty sure Sergei is following up on the sliver. How’s Sarah?”

“Ruth and Fletcher got Sarah back, ‘Eye. They went to child services and then contacted Sarah’s stepfather in Europe. I fought them, but the stepfather supported Ruth and Fletcher after he learned where we’d taken her. They put her in school to finish the year.

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