Kara nodded. “You’re right. That’s probably it.”
She parked near the front of the restaurant, and she and Thane climbed out of her car and waited. After five minutes, they walked around the perimeter of the restaurant, intent on finding the officer who had guided them to safety. Finally, they returned to the front of the restaurant and went inside.
“He must’ve taken a side road and gotten back on the freeway.” Thane slid into a nearby booth and looked at Kara. “Police cars don’t just disappear.”
Suddenly Kara knew. She felt the hair on her arms rise straight up. “What if he was a … a …” Her mind raced with wonder. “An angel, Thane. I mean, how else could he have known that stuff?”
Kara and Thane called their parents and explained the situation. Kara’s mother and father agreed to meet them at the rest stop, where one of them would drive the tired teens home. While they waited at the restaurant, the two talked more about the officer and whether he truly might have been an angel.
“He saved our lives, Thane. I was falling asleep when he came up behind me.”
Together the teens decided there was only one way to find out. “His badge number was thirty-seven. Same number I wear in basketball. I saw it as clear as the look on his face.” She took out her cell phone. “Let’s call the police station and see who he is.”
By calling information, Kara found the right number and waited while it rang. “I need to know the name of an officer,” she said when someone answered. “He helped me and my friend out on the interstate a little while ago and I want to thank him.”
“Badge number?”
“Three-seven.” Kara waited, glad that in a few moments the mystery would be solved.
There was a pause. “Three-seven, that’s all?”
“Yes.” Kara’s mouth felt dry. Come on, lady, tell me his name …
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Kara said. “Positive.”
“Well, you must not have caught a good look at the badge. You’re missing a number.” The woman’s voice had taken on a strange tone. “We don’t have any officers with that badge number. Nothing even close. Our officers have numbers with three digits.”
The goose bumps were back. Kara hung up the phone and stared at Thane.
“What? Kara, don’t do this to me. What’d they say?”
“It’s true, Thane. He must’ve been an angel because their officers have three numbers on their badges. Not two.”
There was a long moment where Thane said nothing. Then he took Kara’s hands in his and said the thing she’d been praying he would say all year. “I think it’s time I made a decision about God.” He kept his eyes on hers, his expression filled with awe. “I believe, Kara. I believe.”
That very moment, the young couple bowed their heads and Kara prayed out loud. “Thank you, God, for sending an angel to us tonight. An angel in a police car. And thanks for making Thane believe.” She hesitated, choking back the tears. “What happened tonight will stay with us as long as we live.”
A Voice in the Storm
It looked like a great day for a winter hike. Kody Watts had no idea that in a few hours he’d be staring death in the face.
Kody Watts was eighteen that winter and pondering the same question all high school seniors face: What was he going to do after graduation? Never mind the snow and freezing temperatures—a hike would be the perfect chance to clear his head and consider his options.
His parents wanted him to stay close to home and attend nearby University of Michigan. If not there, then any college would do. So long as he enrolled somewhere. But Kody had other ideas. Tech school, maybe, or the Air Force. Something different and daring and adventurous. College could wait, couldn’t it?
Just that morning he’d gotten into a fight with his parents over the issue.
“Son, we’ve prayed about your future since you were a little boy.” His mother put her hands on his shoulders and gave him her best sad look. “Listen to what God’s telling you to do. Please.”
Okay, fine. He would listen to God … if only he could hear him. God didn’t just talk to people—at least not confused teenagers like himself.
Kody laced his hiking boots, slipped on a parka, and set out. His parents’ home was near several large lakes and one was within walking distance. As he reached the frozen shore, he glanced at the horizon. Dark storm clouds were gathering in the northwest. Strange, he thought. There was no storm in the forecast. Not that he’d heard about, anyway.
Kody shrugged and zipped up his coat. He had a woolen hat and gloves and thermal underwear. He’d be fine. The clouds were too far off to worry about. But the breeze was stiffer than he’d expected. He buttoned the collar of his jacket tightly around his throat. There. That ought to do it.
The lake was large but fairly shallow. Each winter it froze over, creating a layer of ice strong enough for a truck to drive across. There were years when the very middle of the ice was a bit weak. But Kody didn’t plan to go to the middle today. Just a nice purposeful hike around the perimeter. And three hours to think about his life.
What had happened to his boyhood plans, the ones he’d held on to even through middle school? He was going to be a doctor, wasn’t he? An emergency room doctor, smack in the middle of chaos and confusion, life and death. Kody had figured he’d make a great doctor because he believed in the power of prayer. And that would certainly make a difference in an emergency room.
But sometime after his ninth-grade year, Kody had begun struggling with science and math.
“You better get with the program, Kode-ster,” his older brother told him. “You’ll take a lifetime of science and math before you get that medical degree you’re after.”
That had been the first time anyone had mentioned the idea that becoming a doctor might be hard. Not just hard, but next to impossible.
“You can do it, Kody,” his father had told him at the end of that freshman year. “You apply yourself now and you’ll have no trouble becoming a doctor. Don’t give up your dream just because it won’t be easy.”
But then there’d been football and basketball and, well, girls. Lots of girls. He’d never gotten serious with any of them, but they took up time all the same. And the only way to afford the movies and dinner-dates was to work part time. All of which left precious little time for studying. Kody pulled C’s and B’s, but that was as good as it ever got.
Time passed and Kody kept walking.
At this point, University of Michigan wouldn’t look at him. He’d have to start at a community college and work his way up. Kody exhaled hard and watched his breath form a foggy cloud just above his face. It was getting colder, no question about it. He gazed up and what he saw made his heart jump. The clouds had moved in over the lake and they looked ready to break loose at any moment.
He’d been walking nearly an hour now—some hundred yards off shore on the snow-covered ice. He wasn’t quite halfway around the frozen lake, but there was no question he needed to turn around. If the storm broke he’d have to seek shelter somewhere. He hadn’t even left a note for his parents. It was Saturday and they were both busy running errands. They thought he was home watching TV. If something happened to him, no one would have a clue where to find him.
The first snow began falling just as he turned around. Okay, God, get me home safe. He lowered his head and doubled his pace. There was no fear welling up within him. He’d been caught in storms before— just not this far from home. Besides, he always felt closer to God when he was outdoors like this. The Lord would be right beside him as he walked.
Minutes later, Kody stopped for a moment and surveyed the clouds once more. He was stunned by the change in the sky. Within minutes the clouds had grown dark and dangerously low, settling almost on top of the lake’s frozen surface. Kody could feel the temperature dropping, and as he picked up his pace, the snow began falling harder. He looked to his left and realized he could no longer see the shore.
He kept his
gaze straight ahead, but it was impossible to tell if he was walking the direction he wanted to or if he was heading out toward the center of the lake. All at once, a fierce wind came over him, bearing down on the ice and swirling the thick snow so that Kody could barely see his hand in front of his face.
It’s a whiteout, God. Help me keep my direction.
He’d hoped to backtrack across the ice to the place where he’d started his hike. That way he’d have less trouble finding shelter and eventually making it home. But now Kody was afraid he might be heading toward the middle of the lake. If he did that there would be several problems. First, he could slip through the thin ice. A shudder ran down his spine. If that happened, he wouldn’t have to worry about next year’s plans. He would be in heaven before nightfall. But even if he didn’t slip through the ice, he couldn’t take the cold for very long without moving. And there was no way to know how long the storm would last.
That in mind, he changed his plan and turned left, moving toward what he hoped was the shore. Five minutes had passed since the blizzard had gotten serious. Instead of showing signs of letting up, it was growing more intense with each passing moment.
Kody walked for another ten minutes and figured he should be reaching the shore at any time. But five more minutes went by and another five, and a wave of panic made its way across Kody’s heart. What if he wasn’t heading toward shore? What if he’d gotten turned around so badly he didn’t know where he was heading? By his guess the temperatures had dropped nearly thirty degrees since he’d set out on the hike. That meant it was below zero and colder with the wind chill. The air was burning his lips and throat, making his lungs ache. He brought his jacket up over his mouth and aimed his lips down, desperate for warmer air.
Maybe if I pick up my pace…. Kody began jogging, but after another few minutes, he was winded and nearly out of energy. He hit a chunky section of ice and stumbled. As he struggled back to his feet, he realized something that scared him. Scared him more than anything ever had in all his life. He’d completely lost his sense of direction. He couldn’t see even his hands now and he had no idea what direction to take.
A rush of dizziness swept over him and as he tried to move he fell again. What was this? Why had he lost his sense of balance? Then he realized what was happening. He was snow blind. It had happened back a few years ago to three local hikers in the woods during a storm. Rescue workers found two of their bodies and the third was unconscious for a month before he finally explained what had happened. They’d been caught in a whiteout, a blizzard. And they’d lost all sense of direction. Not just horizontal direction, but vertical direction as well.
Kody tried to stand up once more and again fell to the ice. Yes, that was it. That’s exactly what was happening to him. He couldn’t tell up from down because of the blinding snow. God … I’m in trouble. Big trouble. . Help me, Lord. Please, help me!
In the years since he had first begun backpacking and exploring the forests near his home, Kody had read about people who had been trapped in sudden blizzards and become snow blind. The condition was a deadly one, because once it happened, a person could become completely disoriented and freeze to death, sometimes only inches from safety.
Kody pushed the thoughts from his mind and forced himself into a prone position on the ice. “I’ve got to keep moving,” he ordered himself aloud. “Keep moving!”
Reaching forward, he dug his fingers into the snow and pulled his body along. The dizziness made him feel sick to his stomach. Now and then he would hear deep, powerful groans from beneath the lake’s frozen surface.
“Help me!” he shouted. What if the ice cracked? Then he would drown in the freezing water for sure. “Help me! Somebody.” But his cries for help were swallowed up in the wind. He grabbed another handful of snow and pulled himself forward again.
At least he could move.
Time passed and Kody was struck by another frightening thought. What if he had been crawling in circles, wasting valuable energy and getting no closer to the shore? He stopped and dropped his head onto the snow and ice, closing his eyes to shut out the horrifying, blinding white that consumed him.
“Please, God, help me find my way!” He shouted the words as tears filled his eyes and froze on his cheeks.
At that moment, Kody heard the deep resonant sound of the foghorn, located at the rescue station at the edge of the lake, just blocks from his house. For the first time in nearly thirty minutes Kody had a reference point, a way to determine which way he was headed. Then he heard the sound of a voice speaking over the rescue station’s private address system. “Be careful,” the voice said clearly and loudly. “The ice has broken through at the middle of the lake. You’re very close to that area.”
Kody opened his eyes, his heart racing with hope. The storm was as strong as ever, the snow still a blinding, swirling white. But somehow the man at the rescue station had seen him. Thank you, God. You heard my prayers.
The man’s words filled his head. Be careful of the middle of the lake. He must have wandered close to that point where the ice was broken. Kody drew a deep breath and began slithering toward the voice. Again he heard a warning. “Be careful. Stay to the right, and climb the concrete wall when you reach it.”
The voice pushed Kody forward and filled him with peace. If he could continue toward the voice, eventually he’d reach the rescue station. Inch by inch, minute by minute, Kody kept on. He obeyed the voice, staying to the right. Finally, his hands numb and raw from pulling himself across the ice, he reached the wall. He looked up, exhausted. Peering through the storm, he saw the light from the rescue station ahead. He climbed over the retaining wall and felt his way through deep drifts of snow to the door of the rescue station.
“I’m alive,” he whispered as he lifted his hand to knock. “I’m alive.”
Before he could make contact with the wood, the door opened, and he could feel himself being pulled inside by a large man. Two minutes later, after Kody had caught his breath and could open his eyes, he looked into the warm, kind face of a bearded man he’d never seen before.
“Come on over here.” The man helped Kody into a chair and offered him a mug of hot coffee.
“Thank you.” Kody was too stunned to say anything else, though his heart was full. Instead, Kody stared at the man who had saved his life. Who was the guy? And how had he seen him through the blizzard well enough to guide him to safety? Whoever the man was, he was calm and peaceful; something about him put Kody immediately at ease.
The man was sitting at a table across the room and smiled at Kody. “You were lost out there.” He stood to refill Kody’s cup.
Kody nodded. “Yes, I didn’t know where I was. Couldn’t see anything.”
The man looked intently at Kody. His eyes were crystal blue, a color Kody had never seen before. “Yes, I know. I knew you were lost so I sounded the foghorn. You were very close to the open water.”
“How’d you know …” Kody licked his lips. They were still freezing cold. “I mean, how could you see me?”
“You asked for help.” The man gave Kody a slight grin. “That’s my job.”
“Rescue worker, you mean?”
“You could say that.” The man shrugged. “I needed to keep you safe out there.”
As they were speaking, the weather cleared. Kody was still exhausted and needed to get home in case someone was worrying about him back home. “I better get going.” He stood and shook the man’s hand. “Thanks again. You … you saved my life.”
As he was turning to leave, Kody remembered something. Normally the lake’s rescue station was closed down for the winter. “Why were you here, anyway?”
“Doing research.” The man winked at him.
Kody nodded, satisfied with the answer. He thanked the man again and walked home. Not until he was safely inside his parents’ home did Kody realize he had been gone for seven hours. His parents were home and just about to call the police when Kody walked in.
They we
re at his side the moment he was through the door. It took Kody ten minutes to explain the entire story.
“That’s impossible.” His father crossed his arms and shook his head. “The station closes down in the winter.”
“Maybe it was some other lakeside building,” his mother offered.
Kody shook his head. “No, Mom, I know the rescue station. I’ve been going down to that lake forever.” He sat on the nearest chair. “I know it’s usually closed down by now, but this guy there really helped me. Said he was doing research or something.”
His parents’ eyebrows raised at the same time.
“The place has been closed down.” His father’s voice was gentle. “I went by there the other day. Closed for winter.”
Frustration welled up in Kody. “Listen, I’m not losing my mind! I can still taste the coffee. The guy saved my life.”
After a long night’s sleep, Kody awoke the next morning determined to find the man at the rescue station and thank him again for saving his life. He dressed in his old blue parka and walked to the rescue building. As he approached the front door, Kody grew confused. The station was locked tightly, a chain through it’s double doors. Its concrete-bunker design was lifeless and imposing. Puzzled, Kody made his way to the back door, but found it nearly buried under a three-foot-high snowdrift. It showed no signs of having been disturbed in weeks, if not months.
The image made no sense whatsoever. There had been no snow since the sudden storm the day before. The door should have shown obvious signs of Kody’s tracks leading up and down the steps. Feeling more than a bit odd, Kody dug through the drift to the door and found a sign: “Closed for winter October to April.”
Kody reminded himself to breathe. How could the station be closed? What had happened to his footprints leading up to the door? For that matter, where were the man’s tracks? Kody studied the locked, snow-covered door again. How had the man gotten inside? He stood motionless, going over the details of the day before. This was definitely the place he had come to. This was where the man had poured him hot coffee and helped him off the lake. The only foghorn in the area was located here at the rescue station.