She's Not a Fan

Chapter 19

The following Tuesday Sarah woke feeling restless and tired.  She had the morning off and needed to burn off some energy, preferably in a way that didn’t involve cleaning.  Her house was so clean, it sparkled, and if she wanted to clean any more, she would have to start catching the dust before it landed.  It was time to find something else to do.

It was cloudy and cold outside.  There had been a string of bitterly cold days and nights, with temperatures well below freezing.  Icicles hung from the rooftops and the trucks throwing salt and sand on the road had been out every day. 

Charlebois River was frozen over and the city had opened up warming huts so skaters could change into their skates and access the ice.  The city had unique, compact ploughs to clear a skating path on the river if the snow accumulated, but so far there had only been a couple of days of snow flurries, and the wind had whipped it around before it could settle.

Sarah loved to skate along the river, but today she hesitated.  She needed to get out and do something, but it was almost too cold to be enjoyable.  It’s only too cold if you’re not dressed properly, she could hear her mother say, so she dragged herself out of bed. 

She grabbed a muffin for breakfast and started piling on the layers.  Long underwear, fleece lined pants, wool sweater, winter coat, snow pants, neck warmer, faux-fur hat and mittens.  She could hardly move, but was going to be warm.  She smeared grease on her face to protect her skin from the cold, grabbed her skates and headed out.   

She decided to drive out to the South Lock.  Parking was easy and the warming hut level with the river so she wouldn’t have to negotiate stairs down to the ice.  When sweat gathered on her brow as she drove, she laughed, and turned off the heater and rolled down the window.  It was easier than pulling off all the layers she had piled on. 

Sarah parked the car, locked her wallet in the glove compartment, and tucking her cell phone in her pocket, went to lace up her skates.  Not another soul in sight.  Her mother needed to talk to these people.

She left her boots in the warming hut and pulling on her mittens, stepped out onto the ice. 

She was dressed perfectly.  She could feel the chill in the air, but felt warm and toasty.  The first few strides were shaky.  It had been a year since she last skated.  But she quickly fell into a rhythm and began to relax and enjoy herself.  

It was eerily quiet.  The trees were barren of rustling leaves and it was calm without the faintest whisper of wind.  Even the birds were silent.  Sarah shrugged and plugged in her earphones.  All alone, she could happily sing along out of tune. 

She was scheduled to work at the Teen Clinic at one o’clock so she kept an eye on the time.  She decided to skate out for an hour and then turn around and skate back.  She had just checked her watch and was thinking of turning around when she became aware of another skater behind her. 

She glanced over her shoulder to say hi and turned back, quickly.  There were two skaters about thirty feet behind her.  They looked tall and bulky with broad shoulders.  They were dressed in black from head to toe.  Black balaclavas covered their faces leaving only their eyes exposed. 

It wasn’t that unusual on such a cold day, she reasoned.  It was important to keep skin exposure to a minimum or it could freeze quickly. 

She glanced back again and shivered.  One of them carried what looked like a piece of pipe and the other had a duffle bag. 

Try to stay calm, she told herself.  Maybe they picked up a branch left lying on the ice, and the duffle bag carried their boots.  Not everyone liked to leave their boots in the warming hut.  Usually they carried them in a backpack, but still.  Maybe they were just out for exercise.  Like her.  They’d probably laugh if they thought she was worried about them.  It was probably the combination of the eerie quiet and the dull cloudy day that made it seem a bit sinister.  Don’t be ridiculous, she chided herself.