Barrow

by Hollis Miller

They crept along the ice floes of the Beaufort Sea in a Polaris Voyageur until they were twenty miles north of Point Barrow, where spotted seals, their intended quarries, make their breathing holes.

Taktuq, the guide, and Waylen, the client, set their cleats into the ice and began to unload their gear.

“We have another mile on foot,” said Taktuq. “If the seals see these machines from beneath the ice, they won’t come up for breath, and your wife won’t get her seal-skin gloves.”

Waylen grinned. “That would be a shame.”

Taktuq stuffed blankets into his pack.

“Say,” Waylen began. “I know seal hunting’s legal for natives, but you don’t look it.”

“I’m quarter Inuit,” said Taktuq. “But I reap the full benefits.”

“So you hunt seals full time?”

“During the cold months anyway. I find custodial work in the offseason. Clean up messes. Take out stains. Leave the world better than I found it.”

“But seals pay the bills, I bet,” said Waylen. “Though I’ve heard they're slippery.”

Taktuq shook his head. “I don’t lose them, and like my work offseason, they vanish without a trace, and anyway, these cats are getting too fat to see me coming.”

“I know the type. I also make my way hunting.”

“And how’s that?”

“I work in corporate acquisitions. When my boss wants something, he sends me, and I’ll get it for him by any means necessary, even if it means turning an acquisition into an execution, which I’ll admit I prefer. It’s a lot easier to take someone’s shit when they’re dead.”

“It’d be hard to skin a live seal.”

“And just like you, there’s nothing left when I’m done. Fuckers get stripped to the bone. My boss gets paid and compensates me handsomely. And some widow’s left wondering what happened.”

Taktuq grabbed a hakapik from his snowmobile and hung a 12-gauge over his shoulder.

“We’ll lay our blankets at the edge of the breathing holes and lay on them,” he explained. “They’re cut into ovals, so their silhouette looks just like another seal from the water.”

“And then I assume we blow their brains out with that shotgun?”

“No,” said Taktuq. “That’s too easy.” He held up the hakapik. “This is the traditional tool.”

It resembled a pickax.

“The blunt side’s used to crush their skulls. The hook’s there so we can haul them back.”

“So why the shotgun?”

“For the polar bears.”

***

They ambushed their bloated quarry, drove the hakapik into its neck, and began for the Polaris, leaving a bloody trail in their wake. A huge white bear followed, panting, stinking. Taktuq shot at him, keeping the bear at a distance, but he kept on them, his head bowed to their trail.

They came upon their ride, began packing their gear.

“Will your wife be pleased?”

Waylen laughed. “She should be. Fought off a polar bear for this shit. Let’s see if she can beat that.”

He walked away from the snowmobile and stared into the cold.

“Looks like he’s getting pretty close. Maybe we should take another shot.”

“I won’t be shooting at any more polar bears today,” said Taktuq.

He tucked the shotgun away.

“And why not?” wondered Waylen.

Taktuq came behind him. “Because I’ll be feeding them.”

He raised the hakapik overhead, smashed it into Waylen’s skull, and dropped him to the ice.

***

“Speak,” said the voice on the payphone.

“Our friend really does go the extra mile to get his wife something nice.”

“And you went the extra mile?”

“He’s currently digesting in a polar bear’s stomach.”

“Jesus, Clark. How the fuck did you lure him up there?”

“All I did was put some flyers in his building. He called, and I rented what I needed.”

“And you’re sure the polar bears made him disappear?”

“Bones and all. I watched.”

“It’s easier to shoot people in the elevator.”

“Some pieces of shit deserve a lot worse than a bullet to the head. This guy was one of them.”

“You have a sick sense of justice, Clark.”

“It helps me sleep.”

“You’ll need it. Get back to Pittsburgh. Got another job for you.”

The line clicked, and Clark caught the next plane.

Hollis Miller is from North Carolina. After receiving his bachelor's degree in creative writing, he has written ceaselessly and placed stories with Murderous Ink and Shotgun Honey. He is currently working toward a novel and a Master of Arts in Higher Education Leadership.