The Northeast Kingdom: Lost in the Dark

By Eric M Larson

The Northeast Kingdom is a vast and beautiful wilderness located in northern most part of Vermont. This sparsely inhabited area and deep dark woodlands will provide the backdrop for this exciting romantic adventure pitting one girl's will to survive against the dark forest that holds her captive. Laura will require all her inner strengths, belie

• Language: English
• Publisher: Morningside Enterprises
• Release date: Nov 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9780984461837

Book preview

The

Northeast Kingdom

Lost in the Dark

A romantic adventure by

Eric M. Larson

Morningside Enterprises

Bristol, Connecticut

Northeast Kingdom

Lost in the Dark

By Eric M. Larson

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form

without written permission from the publisher or the author.

This book is total fiction and was compiled completely from the imagination of the author.

Any similarities whether expressed or implied to any

person, place or thing are totally coincidental

and should not be considered accurate or truthful.

1st Addition 2014

Copyright © Eric Larson 2014

ISBN 978-0-9844618-2-0

Published by Morningside Enterprises

Bristol Connecticut

www.PublishbyME.com

A

The Northeast Kingdom

If I am to tell you Laura’s story you will need to know the place where it happens. Like many stories it gets its true spirit and meaning from its specific location in time and space.

The Northeast Kingdom is a vast and wonderful wilderness of over two thousand square miles found in the upper portion of the great state of Vermont. Taking up almost a quarter of the state, this heavily forested and sparsely inhabited area is a sportsman’s paradise with plenty of game to hunt and waterways to fish.

The National Geographical Society has called the Northeast Kingdom one of the most desirable places to visit in the world. That says a lot about this place for sure.

Bordered by the beginnings of the mighty Connecticut River to the east and the majestic Green Mountains to the west, this land has seen only sparse development. There are only about fifty towns and villages scattered in this huge area of land with roads, many undeveloped, connecting each of them.

If it is fishing that interests you then, here at the Kingdom you will find many great lakes, ponds, and streams. My favorite is Island Pond in Brighton. Island Pond was once a thriving railroad town bustling with loggers and railway men but today it is just a sleepy little village on a fantastic lake.

Another really nice lake can be found in Newport. Lake Memphremagog can be a nice place to escape and enjoy a peaceful retreat. Even though there are not a lot of people up here, as compared to Southern New England, there are plenty of things to do and see. The Kingdom has some nice mountains to climb like Pisgah and Jay Peak, the highest point in the Green Mountains.

There are some large farms scattered around the landscape. Vermont is principally noted for its farming and tourism. This is especially true in the fall when the autumn air turns the mountains into a fiery display of brilliant colors. It is at this time of year that the Northeast Kingdom sees many of its visitors.

The NEK holds its visitors in her magical spell as they view the wild expanse of this enormous woodland with its diversity of wildlife, birds, and flowers. Most of the forest is made up of a variety of hardwoods, but it’s the maple tree that supports Vermont’s most popular and profitable enterprise, the making of maple syrup. Vermonters boast the best maple syrup in the world and I definitely have to agree with them!

The NEK, as it is commonly referred to, is not only a magnificent place of solitude and peace but a dangerous place for those souls who often find themselves lost in her boundless beauty. Getting lost in the NEK happens to more than a few adventurous people every year. Hikers, hunters and adventurers are reported missing year round. Many times valiant search parties come up empty handed and the person is lost forever. While hiking on the trails, sometimes, you can come across a small white cross indicating the spot where another victim was sacrificed to the will of the Kingdom.

The Northeast Kingdom has an ever changing and unpredictable climate and with miles upon miles of uncharted wilderness, this rugged landscape can challenge even the most prepared outdoor enthusiast, never mind the unprepared.

In 2007 the Valentine’s Day blizzard dumped about two feet of snow in just a couple of days. But snow can come early up here in the north country catching people unprepared and trapped.

Hunting seems to be one of the most embraced activities in this wilderness. Moose, deer and other smaller game can be found here in abundance. The stories go on and on about hunters spotting the largest moose or that deer with an enormous set of antlers while hunting deep in the sheltered backwoods of the NEK. This brings hunters here during hunting seasons with the goal of bringing home one of those special trophies to hang on the wall and to provide meat to feed their friends and families. It’s during these fall hunting seasons that the NEK experiences most of its misfortunes.

But danger can lurk deep in the dark forest in less common forms. The NEK is home to some voracious predators like the northern Timber Wolf, the Cougar or mountain lion, and the most dangerous of all, the North American Black Bear.

Most people don’t think of the Black Bear as a dangerous predator, but the more contact that bears have with people, and the more they are hunted, a behavioral change can occur that just may put humans on their menu.

A few years back, just north of the NEK in New Brunswick, hunters shot a black bear that weighed over nine hundred pounds after it was dressed out! He had to have been well over a thousand pounds when he was wandering around!

Of course, the Black Bear is a great sight to behold; from a distance anyway. Black bears normally feed on the dense underbrush found in abundance in the NEK. They seem to like to be in the thick of it where the food is close to the ground and accessible. Many visitors are sure to put this animal on their must see list when visiting the NEK, but you don’t want to get very close to a bear, especially when they have their cubs with them.

The Northeast Kingdom has a wonderful history. It was once home to many Native American Indian tribes and groups.

The Cowasuk or people of the pines hunted, fished, and farmed this rugged terrain long before the white man appeared on the continent. During the dawn of the white population here in North America, around the 1600’s, the native Indians who had subsisted on this land for a millennium, had their populations devastated. Their demise was not by the colonist’s black powder guns or by our warring nature, but by common infections such as typhus and small pox which were distributed by early explorers and fur traders, and for which the Indian had no natural immunities.

Even though these ancient people have long since passed from this location, some say the spirits of their forefathers still wander the narrow trails and footpaths throughout the wilderness.

Sometimes you can hear the eerie sounds of their war chants and wailing cries echoing across the gorges and valleys in the quiet summer air. Some even claim to have seen and smelled the smoke from the Indian’s fire pits rising out over the rivers on a frosty fall morning. The locals still believe that the truth of the matter is, they may still be out there hunting, forging, and keeping a close eye on their ancestral grounds.

This is not only a story about the Northeast Kingdom but a story about a young woman named Laura who is forced to endure a wild trek through the dark forests of the NEK. Not as an adventure, but as quest for survival requiring all of her soul, strength and courage. Guided by her visions and her stamina she must defend herself from the dangers and perils that threaten her every move. She must rely on her inner self and call on the spirits of the forest to pilot her to a safe harbor, or else she will die.

The Northeast Kingdom is a majestic wilderness, bursting with beauty calling people to adventure. A place where the hustle of the busy world doesn’t exist. A place where one can wander for years and never cross the same path. As you read and join Laura in her wilderness trek perhaps you will also gain in your own spirit something of the sense of adventure, risk, and vision inspired by this majestic wilderness.

There is no wonder why they call this place one of the top 1000 places you must see before you die…

Ron’s Story

Laura Borden, well that’s her married name, her maiden name was Thompson, was a well-loved nurse working in a very little hospital in a small town near Boston Massachusetts. Laura was the kind of girl who made lots of friends and acquaintances.

Everyone loved Laura for what she was, a well-mannered wonderful caregiver with a heart of pure gold and a glittering spirit to match. The staff at the hospital simply loved having Laura around. She knew her stuff and wasn’t afraid to apply her talent to make the patients appreciate her attention. Laura would often come home with bouquets of beautiful flowers, mostly re-gifted, given to her by the patients.

For Laura, every day was an adventure growing up with a family that loved the outdoors and sports that included hunting and fishing. She was a devoted child and loved her dad, as most children love, except she had a very special affection for her dad. Laura’s mom died of breast cancer not long after Laura was born. Her dad never re-married and took care of Laura, his only child, the best he could.

Laura’s dad worked as an electrician and had his own little company that did mostly residential electrical work for the small towns that were scattered throughout the county. It kept him busy and helped pay for Laura’s schooling. Most people in town knew Tom. He always waved as he drove by in his old red Ford pickup. Got an electrical problem, yep, Tom was the one to call.

Now, let me tell you who I am. My name is Ron Stark, I was Laura’s father’s best friend and hunting companion since we were small kids ourselves. I lived in the same small town where Laura grew up living with her dad. Although, after all the drama unfolded, I moved to a small hamlet near Cape Cod. Not that it bothered me, but, there was nothing left for me in this town except memories that I would rather forget.

I am telling you this story with hopes that should you become lost and alone on your journey you too can find the strength and endurance to survive.

With my pen gripped tightly in my hand, I wrote this story from the facts that I gathered from the various people I had talked to and my own notes about what happened.

I may have embellished the story a bit, well, maybe more than just a bit, but I wanted you to enjoy reading it as it actually unfolded and as close to the truth as I could remember, right down to the tragic end. It was all about Laura.

Laura would accompany her dad and me on many trips to our favorite hunting location, the Northeast Kingdom. Here, in this wild and wonderful wilderness, she learned to set up camp, gather wood, and enjoy some of the simple things in life like cooking over an open fire. After dinner, and maybe some wild hunter’s stories, it would be off to sleep under the most beautiful canopy of stars in the world. From this part of New England, on a winter’s night, you may get a glimpse of the aurora borealis, the Night Wind of Dawn or what we call the Northern Lights.

Laura even learned how to endure the unkind cold almost winter like weather of the fall, sometimes waking up from a night’s sleep in the tent to a light coating of white snow on the leaf covered ground. Most normal people in their right minds would have been totally frustrated in those conditions but not Laura, she would just sit there and soak up all the great feelings of being so lucky to be alive and well in the Northeast Kingdom.

Laura and I shared a very special relationship. She called me Uncle Ron, even though Tom and I were not actually related. She and I did have one thing in common though, we both loved to laugh! Me with my sick jokes and her with her silly little gestures, some that were not necessarily appropriate.

Laura was gentle and kind. She was the daughter I never had. To this day I can never understand how she could have been put through all she had to endure. It seems, though, the tough will always pick on the weak. Fortunately, even though this girl may not have measured up as big and strong by her body size, her strong heart and brave spirit gave her a strength that could beat down the biggest of the brutes, including one big freaking jerk in particular.

All in all though, the heart of my relationship with the little family was with her dad. Tom and I were absolute best of friends. You know, the kind of friends that will do anything for each other. We did everything together, we shared the good times along with the bad. Growing up when one got into trouble, we both got into trouble. Although, I wouldn’t put us in the classification of hellions, we sure did have a lot of fun. In a small town like the one we lived in everyone knew everyone’s business so it was pretty hard to get away with anything.

Once, on a cold Halloween night, we torched an old abandoned building and thought we got clean away, his dad found out and boy were we in trouble.

But, as most everyone does, we grew up and started our own families. Tom’s wife Joan died early in Laura’s life so Laura was all that Tom had. He was so fortunate that she stuck around. My wife ran away from the comforts of New England and from me. She took the kids with her to live in a warmer climate, but that’s a whole other story.

Laura’s dad and I spent a lot of great quality time together hunting, fishing and just plain enjoying life. But, donning camo and going out hunting was our preferred pastime. If we weren’t out hunting we were telling tales of past glories and those close encounters that all hunters talk about. There was no mistaking that we were hunters!

From the gun racks mounted to our truck’s back windows to the vinyl sticker buck heads pasted on our tailgates, you could tell we love to hunt. Both of us felt the need to wear our hunting jackets year round, even in the summer. We were quite the spectacle in our camo bathing suits out on the beach!

We both have traveled all across the upper United States in search of the biggest deer and moose trophies we could hang on our walls. However, as far as we were concerned, one of the best places to hunt is right here close to home, and that is the Northeast Kingdom. This area is full of prize winning antlers just waiting for the right hunter to catch them in their sights.

In the NEK there are many long trails that meander in all directions. Sometimes we would have to blaze our own trails as a shortcut from one path to another. We were often surprised where we would end up. There are so many places for us to hunt in this spread out forest of native hardwood, streams, and hills that you could virtually hunt there every day for a year and never walk across the same spot twice. It’s not only big game that is hunted here. This place is great for small game too like rabbits, coyotes, and partridge.

Laura really liked to accompany us on our trips, especially when we camped at her favorite place, Lake Megeso or Eagle Lake, a large spring fed pond of the clearest crystal water found in the state. The lake boasts a beautiful island covered with pine trees and chock full of blueberries. Just a quick paddle out to the island, a few minutes of picking and you would be rewarded with some of the best pancakes for breakfast that