The Moss King

By Alex Paul

Nick is lost.
He’s lost the woman he loves. He’s lost his little sister. He’s lost his fight.
Now, surrounded by a brutal yet beautiful world of pine and moss, he’s both lost and haunted.
Now, with nothing left to lose, perhaps not even his own mind, can he find his way home?
This is the story of a king in the wilderness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alex Paul
• Release date: Aug 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310609183

Alex Paul

THE MOSS KING is my first novel. You can expect more from me in the future. Somehow I always end up back in Brandon, Manitoba. If I'm not writing, chances are I'm exploring or growing food. Cheers.

Book preview

PART ONE:

SHIPWRECK

1

I gulp, trying not to vomit as the guy refills my glass with champagne.

Drink up, man! he shouts, and a chorus of cheers erupts around us. I take a long drink, swallowing and thinking about how everything is completely and irreversibly fucked up.

I’m learning how you act normally while your little sister is in a coma, the love of your life has just left you, and you’ve sold your soul for a little comfort from these truths. I’m learning that not even twenty-five years of life can prepare you for this.

Champagne glistens in the sparkling glasses carried in everyone’s hands, each glass reflecting the thousands of tiny gold lights strung along the trimmed hedges that surround the party. We’re lighting up the otherwise dark night like a cluster of stars too dim to offer much light on our own.

At the center of everything is a table set with shining, colourful platters of cut fruit and other finger foods surrounding a whirring chocolate fountain. A small bar is set off to the side, where the bartender is polishing and pouring to no end. Everyone is wearing their finest suits or dresses and their happiest fake smiles, but none is as much of a lie as my own.

I’m sweating in my plain black suit.

There’s a fluttering in my stomach that never seems to stop. The party feels like a dream, but I also can’t remember feeling so damn awake in all my life. I hardly know anyone here, yet I’m supposed to be the life of the party. My eyes wander nervously, searching for some route of escape, or somewhere to sit or stand where nobody will pay too much attention to me. I worry that someone may see through my act if they do. I nod and smile to anyone who does the same to me, and I make polite conversation when I have to: my strategy to keep them from noticing that my hands shake and my lips quiver.

There’s a break in the hedge over there, and if nobody’s looking, I could sneak over and—

Hands clasp my shoulders. I turn and meet the dark eyes of Lyle Cormier, Chief Executive Officer of SilvaStar Incorporated, and the shining host of this party. A wicked smile stretches across his face.

This is the sort of guy who’s made of different stuff than everyone else. He’s undeniably good-looking, and probably smarter than you are. There’s no trace of doubt in the air around him: he’s a young legend in this world.

Well here we are, he says smoothly, "the true man of the hour. He squeezes my shoulders and one of his hands slips into mine in a firm handshake. Are you enjoying the party?"

I quickly gulp again and nod. Lyle winks and leans in, whispering, Y’know, all of this was possible because of you, Nick. And I think we could have a very bright future together.

He stares at me for a second, and his eyes reveal that he’s thinking something over. His hands leave my shoulders, he straightens out his suit jacket, and he picks up a fork from the table next to us. He turns to the rest of the party and begins ringing it gently against his champagne glass. Everyone! May I have your attention, please?

As I’ve seen many times before, it takes mere seconds for everyone to shut up and offer their full attention to this man. He smiles. Throwing one arm around me, he raises his glass high in the air and declares, "I would like to make a toast to my good friend here, Nicholas Lawson. For those of you who don’t know Nick, he is the project manager from the Environmental Assessment Agency assigned to our company’s new project. This fine, hard-working gentleman made absolutely sure that our project will not cause undue harm to our beautiful, prosperous North and all its inhabitants. So here’s to Nick!"

All the other guests raise and clink their glasses together amongst scattered words of thanks. For a moment all eyes are on me, and I think that I might not be able to hold back the vomit—but thankfully the party quickly returns to its simmering bustle. Lyle whispers to me low, Hey, there’s someone I want you to meet.

He leads me across the grass, between tables and conversations to the far side of the party. Here, a young woman leans against the bar. She’s got short, straight hair like glaring sunlight and big blue eyes that match her tight blue dress. She smiles as she sees us come up, stirring her drink playfully with a straw.

Nick, Tara. Tara, Nick. She and I shake hands. Tara here is one of SilvaStar’s brightest interns, and I thought you two might get along, Lyle says.

Nice to meet you, Tara says sweetly, and her eyes flash.

Lyle is grinning as he backs away, saying, Well, you two enjoy the party.

He blends seamlessly back into the party. I’m feeling like my mind is about to slide out of place.

Your glass is empty, Tara says, smiling. She starts to chew on her straw, and I realize that she’s drunk. Her stance is a little unbalanced.

I look down at my glass and fake a laugh. You’re right, I say, and hand my glass to the bartender. Champagne, please, I tell him. Tara places her hand on my arm and gently squeezes.

"I think it’s so great what you do, she says, and then pauses to sip her drink. I want to help protect the environment too."

I was just like you a few years ago, I say, but I can’t choke up anything else to say. The bartender saves me, handing me my glass of champagne.

So go on, she says, tell me your story.

Tara asks endless questions, and I tell her whatever I think she wants to hear. I don’t have the heart to crush her spirit like I should. She has no idea what the game is really like. She’s young and drunk and full of ideals now, but she doesn’t know that eventually, she’ll be young and drunk and scared, just like me. I’m downing champagne like my life depends on it, and getting both of our glasses refilled each time I take a step back to the bar. I’m trying to keep my story straight, hoping that she doesn’t catch on. There’s a plate on the table next to us, stacked high with small pieces of chocolate-covered fruit.

The fluttering in my stomach slows, and the urge to vomit retreats. It’s easy and warm losing my mind in Tara’s pretty blue eyes, the delicious food, and the bottomless champagne. I surrender to the moment and allow myself the comfort of pretending that there’s not a raging storm waiting for me as soon as this party is over.

Tara is rambling about conventional logging companies, SilvaStar’s main competitors, when Lyle slinks back over to our table. Still smiling, he asks, Still enjoying the party, you two?

Yep, Tara says, and I nod my head.

Tara, do you think you could give Nick and me a moment?

Sure, boss. She picks her purse up off the table and, backing away into the party, she says, I’ll catch up with you later, Nick.

In a lowered voice, Lyle says, Listen, I have an offer for you. Just hear me out. I have a beautiful vacation home up at Grouse Lake, in the far north. It’s already stocked up with food, water, toiletries, alcohol... anything you might want or need.

I hold my breath and listen.

I was planning to head up there tonight and stay a night or two to celebrate our project’s green light. But... now I think I’d like to stick around here to make sure things keep moving forward. I don’t want to lose any time. Still grinning and talking low, he continues: "I owe you big-time for all the great work you’ve done in the past few months, and for keeping an open mind. So why don’t you head up there instead of me? Just between you and I, you don’t look so good, and I know you’re dealing with some shit right now. Maybe a quick vacation is just what you need? I’ve already hired my usual pilot and his bush plane to fly up there tonight."

The idea makes a strange kind of sense to me, but still I hesitate to say Yes.

Of course, there’s no cell phone service or internet signal up there, but the way I see it, that just adds to the experience, Lyle says. It’s paradise, really.

Looking me deep in the eye, he asks, What do you say, Nick? Are you up for it?

The fluttering in my stomach picks up again and my head begins to spin. I see that same break in the hedge over there, and imagine making a break for it. I could escape the party, but what would I be escaping to? Nothing but the storm. I actually need to dive deeper into the party.

Alright, I say, my voice surely sounding the most animated it has all night. I’ll go.

Wonderful! Lyle exclaims. I’ll let the pilot, Jeff, know that he’s taking you up there instead. You can meet him by his plane. It’s parked in the field just through the gate in the southeast corner of the yard, whenever you’re ready. And hey, when I said the place was fully stocked, I wasn’t kidding. You won’t need to worry about a thing.

He starts to slink away into the now slowly dying party, and he says, Call whoever you need to call and let ‘em know you’ll be gone for a few days. You can stay up there for up to a week, if you want. He winks, then waves and yells, Have a nice time! before turning his back on me.

So now I have the beginnings of an escape plan. This is how I’ll outrun the storm. I need the plan to be seamless, and to achieve that I’ll need to fill all the space in my mind with nice distractions.

I find Tara carefully drenching a strawberry in melted chocolate at the food table. Hey, I say.

Hey, she says, with a smile sweeter than the berry in her hand. Her content eyes seem a little unfocused. What’s up?

Would you like to come with me to Lyle’s vacation home up North for a few days?

Oh. Um, when?

Tonight... Well, now.

I wait for her answer. I’ve known this girl for little more than an hour, but based on what I do know, I can just as easily see her accept my offer as reject it.

Yes.

Wait, really?

Yes, sure, I’ll go.

Are you kidding?

"No, silly! It’ll be fun. I’ve heard it’s beautiful up there, but I’ve never been. Besides, we’re supposed to be celebrating, aren’t we?"

Surprised and not surprised, I fill her in on the details.

Tara pulls out her cell phone and begins dialling a number. Holding it up to her ear and waiting, she looks at me and whispers, This is gonna be great!

Yeah, I say. Hey, I’ll meet you at the plane in a couple minutes. She nods and starts talking excitedly into her phone as I walk over to the bar.

I nod to the bartender coolly and say, Lyle wants another couple bottles of champagne for his table.

One second, he says, and then ducks below the bar. He rifles through a collection of glass bottles for a moment, and then resurfaces with a bottle of champagne in each hand. Two bottles left, he declares.

Perfect. I’ll take ‘em over to him.

He hands the bottles over. I thank him and tuck each of the bottles underneath an arm. Lyle won’t miss them. I walk over to the food table and pile a bunch of fruit, crackers, cheese, and shrimp onto one of the empty platters and pick it up.

I see Tara still talking on her phone, glancing over at me every once in a while. There’s no one but my Dad that I could call, and I don’t like the idea of explaining this all to him. I smile at Tara, grab my champagne glass from our table, and then, carrying it all, I start walking across the yard towards the gate.

It felt like I’d watched myself accept Lyle’s offer, but it’s clear to me why I did. As long as this party lasts, I’m distracted and therefore safe. Now it doesn’t have to end. I smile at my plan as I walk through the gate and approach the bush plane.

I can sense Jeff the pilot scoff at me as I carry my bottles of alcohol and platter of food into the small plane. I tuck the champagne bottles into a compartment next to my seat and set the platter of food on my lap. As I buckle myself in, he introduces himself and we shake hands. He’s got long curly brown hair and his face is framed by a thick, short beard and a set of headphones.

Tara climbs in a few minutes after, beaming, and wrapped in a thin black sweater. The scent of alcohol mixed with her perfume fills the interior of the small plane as she takes her seat next to me. Setting her purse on her lap, she introduces herself to Jeff as my ‘guest.’

Jeff starts the engine of the plane and starts adjusting aspects of the dashboard. The plane is definitely small, but comfortable enough, with two seats in the front and two in the back.

Turning around in the pilot’s seat, Jeff checks that we’re both buckled in and says, Alright, we’re looking at about a two hour flight. The weather is supposed to be decent, so it should be a smooth ride all the way to Grouse Lake. Sit back, relax, sleep if you want to. You’re in good hands. The only thing I love more than flying is my Grandma. I’ve flown up to Grouse Lake plenty of times. Anyway, let’s take off and I’ll let ya know when it’ll be okay to unbuckle.

My heart slows a little, a strange feeling since it’s been pounding all day. I feel confident about outrunning the storm, for now. Of course, I can’t run forever, but—

I can’t wait, Tara says. She’s looking out the small window on her side as the plane jerks into a slow roll, and our surroundings start to roll by. She looks over at me and says, This is gonna be great.

I think you’re right, I say.

Alright, here we go! Jeff calls out.

An hour passes as Tara and I look out our windows silently. We’ve left behind the lights of the party and now fly over a dark landscape that gradually becomes more familiar.

I feel sorry for the first guy who had to map out all these lakes, Jeff says. I move up into the co-pilot’s chair to get a better view of the black shapes that mark the countless lakes and forests that pass underneath us. Tara leans into the front and gazes out the windshield with us.

Hey! she says suddenly. I’ve got an idea.

Shoot, Jeff says.

Why don’t we fly over the area where SilvaStar’s new project is going to happen, the ‘Valley’ as they say? It’s up here somewhere, isn’t it? It would be so cool to see it.

Vomit nearly bursts out of my mouth, but I choke it back, hoping neither of them notices.

Are we flying directly into the storm?

Ah, Jeff says, I believe that would be about a half hour’s detour to the east. It’s definitely beautiful out there, though. I suppose we’ve got enough fuel and time, so it’s your call.

She turns her eyes on me. What do you think, Nick?

It’s the last place in the world I want to go. Then again, we’d only be flying over...

Tara bites her lip.

Okay. Let’s do it, I say. There’s no way I could explain myself to them anyway.

Great! she says. Beaming, she shuffles up close and lands on my lap, placing an arm around my neck. I’m fine with this.

Alright. Next stop: the Valley, Jeff declares. The plane veers off to the right.

The countless lakes dwindle and scatter, revealing more forest and rocky points across the landscape. It’s dark, but we can make it all out in shapes and textures, like shadows in different shades. With each second that passes, we’re farther and farther away from civilization. The thick and sprawling span of trees is nearly hypnotizing. Finally Jeff says, Here we are.

We come upon trees that start to seem taller and older than those we’d seen already. Scores of pine, spruce, birch, and tamarack trees cover a ground that I know is covered in lush moss. SilvaStar’s new project is massive. With every second that passes, the forest just rolls on without end.

Wow, Tara says simply. It’s so...

Beautiful, Jeff says gently. And now it belongs to SilvaStar.

Hey, can you fly a little lower? So we can see better?

Sure.

The plane dips gently, and the trees grow before us. Tara sits up and leans forward. A little closer?

I don’t know, I really shouldn’t...

C’mon! Tonight is special! she cries sweetly, a familiar sound now.

Alright, he says with a laugh. A little lower we go.

The plane dips even lower, bringing the trees even closer. The deep green of the thick needles and leaves comes into focus.

As we soar over, the forest continues to reveal itself to us, with countless trees passing under our window. My heart is pounding and my breath quickens. My stomach starts to swell as though I’m swallowing every huge magnificent tree we pass. It swells with every tree, and I feel like the forest is about to burst out through my ribs. My skin’s about to tear at the seams.

Hey, are you alright Nick?

Tara looks at me from my lap, and then brushes the back of her hand across my cheek. The strong scent of vodka floats like a vapour from between her lips.

I’m alright, I lie, I’m just...

She leans in and kisses me. Our lips lock, part slowly, and lock again. I let my eyes fall closed and I surrender. Her kisses wander away from my lips and find my neck. This is ridiculous, but it’s working.

Damn, it’s beautiful out here, Jeff mumbles to himself. Then he bellows, Too bad it’s gonna get gutted!

Jeff and Tara both burst into laughter. It fills the inside of the plane and shakes my soul. Oh well! Tara says and laughs, then she grabs my face, leans in, and slips her tongue into my mouth.

I can’t hold it back any longer. The vomit rushes up from my stomach and into my throat, then explodes out of my mouth.

Tara, with her face and chest covered in the contents of my stomach, screams and leaps off my lap in a gut reaction. Her right arm flails wide, hitting Jeff in the back of the head. He shouts half of something as his head smashes into the control panel in front of him.

Tara and I are lifted as the plane suddenly soars down towards the trees. A pulsing alarm pierces our minds as we see the trees grow and fill our view, which darkens in a split second. There’s blood on the control panel and Jeff remains hunched over it.

Tara screams again.

The plane hurtles through a sea of pine needles. The sound of the branches scraping against the plane surrounds us before it gives way to branches snapping against the windshield.

And then everything shatters.

2

This is what I’ve lost:

Birthday cake candles flickered at the center of the table. There were four of us sitting around it: my Dad, my little sister Melissa, Audrey (the woman I loved with every corner of my heart), and myself. We all nursed beers or glasses of wine while we downed heaping platefuls of my Dad’s legendary pasta. He was more than happy