Chapter Twenty Two

They had stopped in Fargo to call ahead and make sure Thor was home before they rode the rest of the way to Brainerd. Thor said he would be around, and that they were welcome to show up any time.

Hep and Scroat actually arrived at his house, a cabin, really, around nine o’clock p.m.

They had just shut down their bikes when an enormous, cheerful Viking came out of the cabin to greet them. He strode over to Hep and Scroat and gave them both a bone-crushing handshake. He wore a flannel shirt and had long blonde hair spilling out from under his stocking cap.

“Hey Hep! Hey Scroat! It’s wonderful to see you. It’s been too long. You must be exhausted. Come inside, I’ve got some roast beef in the oven and a fresh pot of coffee going,” Thor said.

“Hi Thor, it’s great to see you too,” Hep said.

They walked in to his cabin. There was really only one room, with a ladder leading up to a loft. There was a sitting area, and a kitchen area. The decorating scheme was rustic. There were animal heads mounted on the walls, and the furniture looked as though it had all been hand made by a guy with an axe and a lot of enthusiasm. There was a fire going in a stone fireplace, and animal skins spread out on the floor.

“Nice place you’ve got here,” Hep said.

“Thanks! It’s simple, but it’s home,” Thor said. “You can drop your stuff where ever. You’ll be sleeping in here. I sleep up in the loft. I’ve got some more blankets we can throw down on the floor, so you should be pretty comfy.”

“Great, thanks. I really appreciate you helping us out like this,” Hep said.

“It’s the least I can do. Come on, let’s have some meat and coffee, and later I’ve got some beer I’ve been saving for a special occasion,” Thor said.

He led them over to a massive oak table that dominated the kitchen.

“Some table, huh? This is where I do pretty much everything. Have a seat, I’ll fix you up some plates.”

Hep and Scroat sat down at the table, and shortly after that Thor brought over a couple of plates piled high with roast beef and potatoes. He also brought over a coffee pot and a couple of brown ceramic mugs.
“I fucking love you, man,” Scroat said as he looked at the huge pile of meat Thor had given him. “You wouldn’t believe the garbage I’ve had to eat for the last several weeks. It’s amazing I have turned into a fucking hippie, from the crap I’ve been fed.”

“Well, you won’t find any hippie food here,” Thor said, and laughed.

Hep and Scroat ate with great enthusiasm. Afterwards, the three of them moved from the table to the sitting area to drink beer and talk.

“So what are you doing in my neck of the woods?” Thor asked. “Just out for a ride?”

“Well, no, it’s kind of a long story,” Hep said.

“A long, painful, fucking retarded, story,” Scroat said. “You see, our house fucking burned down right when we got back from a trip. We arrived to watch the last of the wreckage burn.”

“Oh no!” Thor said.

“Yeah, and we kind of think Inktomi might know something about it, since Scroat invited him to house sit,” Hep said. “So we’ve come up here to try and find him and see what he can tell us.”

“When did this happen?” Thor said.

“What do you think? Three weeks ago? Four?” Hep said to Scroat.

“Yeah, something like that,” Scroat said.

“What took you so long to get here? It can’t be more than a three day ride from Arizona,” Thor said.

“Well, funny thing,” Hep said. “Ares showed up and offered us a place to stay. Then he hooked us up to crew for Poseidon who was sailing up to Alaska. That didn’t quite work out when Scroat, or one of his lady companions, punched a hole in the side of Poseidon’s boat.”

“I did not! I’m telling you, I don’t know where that fucking hole came from,” Scroat said.

“Whatever. So that left us stranded in Brookings, Oregon. We caught a lift to Bend, found a couple of motorcycles, and started riding East when we met a monk who said he’d been ordered to offer us assistance. So, we went to the monastery, rescued a couple of kidnapped people, and now we’re here,” Hep said.

“You forgot about Robert Wheeler showing up fucking everywhere we go,” Scroat said.

“Oh, yeah. And Scroat thinks this guy Robert is out to get us because we’ve bumped into him three times,” Hep said.

“Man, that is a long story,” Thor said. “Why didn’t you stay and rebuild your house? Or just come up here to find Inktomi?”

“I’ve been asking myself the same question for this whole trip, man,” Hep said.

“I’ve been telling him we should just bail on all this crap and go to Vegas,” Scroat said. “But he won’t listen to me. He says we need to keep moving East to avoid Poseidon, who’s just been a real bitch about the hole in his boat. I told him we’d fix it, so I don’t know what his problem is.”

“Well, you knocked a hole in his boat. Boats are kind of his thing, you know,” Thor said. “So, do you know where Inktomi is?”

“Nope,” Hep said. “We were hoping you might have an idea.”

“Last I heard he was up in Two Harbors, but that was late last year. You know how much he moves around.”

Hep slumped down on the couch a little further and took a big drink from his mug of beer.

“Yeah, he’s not very good about settling down for long. Of course, if he didn’t somehow burn down every house he lived in, he might be able to stick around a while longer,” Hep said. “Still, it probably wouldn’t hurt to cruise up to Two Harbors and see if he’s around somewhere. Maybe someone up there will know where he is.”

“Could be,” Thor said. “I think Freyja is living near there. You might visit her and see what she knows.”

“Yeah, maybe we will,” Hep said. “I hate to bother her, though. We can probably just roll through town looking for burned down houses and ask the neighbors what they know.”

“Well, it’s your call. I’m sure Freyja wouldn’t mind some company though,” Thor said. He looked up at the clock. “Oh, wow, you guys must be wiped out and here I’m keeping you awake. Let’s continue our conversation in the morning. Skol!” He raised his mug of beer and finished it off. Hep and Scroat did likewise. “I’ll grab you a couple of blankets.”

Thor climbed up into the loft, and started rummaging around. Hep and Scroat, meanwhile, got to work arranging the lamb skin rugs into a more comfortable sleeping configuration. Thor came back down a few minutes later with a stack of wool blankets.

“Do you need me to throw some more wood in the stove? Are you comfortable?”

“Yeah, we’re fine. Thanks, Thor,” Hep said.

“Is there anything else you need?”

“Not a thing. Good night, Thor.”

“OK, good night!”

Hep and Scroat each grabbed a couple of blankets, and laid down. Hep was surprised how comfortable a sheep skin was to lie on. It was, in fact, more comfortable than the bed at the monastery had been. He was cozy and warm under the blankets, and was soon quite drowsy. Naturally, Scroat started talking and woke him up again.

“Do you think we’re actually going to find Inktomi in Two Harbors?” Scroat asked Hep. Hep started slightly, and took a deep breath before answering.

“I think it’s pretty unlikely that he’s still there. But maybe someone will know where he went next. We’ll be able to track him down eventually.”

“I’m starting to wonder if it’s going to be worth all the fucking effort. I mean, really, what are we going to to? Rough him up a bit? Demand that he help us rebuild? Would we even want him to help us rebuild? You know he doesn’t have any money, the fucker is always broke.”

“That’s true. I guess I just want to know if he was responsible, or if someone else is fucking with us.”

“You know who’s fucking with us? That Robert Wheeler guy. He’s involved somehow, I just know it.”

“I think you’re paranoid,” Hep said. “He’s just a guy who’s having a run of bad luck at the same time we are.”

“In the same places we are? Come on, man.”

From up in his loft, Thor said, “Hey, uh, don’t forget the open floor plan in here, guys. I’d like to get to sleep, if you don’t mind.”

“Sorry,” Hep said. To Scroat he said, “We’ll figure this all out in the morning. Good night.”

“G’night,” Scroat said. A few minutes later, he was snoring.

Hep, however, was wide awake again. He tried to relax and get back to sleep, but his mind kept running in different directions. Where the hell was Inktomi? Where would he have gone after staying at their house and, possibly, setting it on fire? And what was up, after all, with this Robert Wheeler fellow? It did seem like the guy was showing up an awful lot. He didn’t know if Robert was the one causing their problems, or if the person (persons?) messing with them were also messing with Robert.

Hep suspected someone was also messing with Robert, because if he were going to stalk someone, he probably wouldn’t do it by being stranded in a lifeboat, and then getting kidnapped and locked in a closet with a monk. And it wouldn’t make sense for someone who was out to get them to keep sticking himself in their faces. Unless there was something seriously wrong with him.

He decided it would all become obvious in time. Eventually, Hep slept as well.