Kiss On The Bridge

by Mark Stewart

  DIRECTLY BELOW Wade and Anneli’s feet, the small group coming from the ship made slow agonizing progress up the stairs. At the halfway point, Darryl looked up at the mansion.

  “Boys keep moving. It won’t be long now.”

  “Are you positive this is the right place?” asked one of Darryl’s sons. “If Anneli came this way I’m sure we’d have seen her. These stairs are a nightmare of a climb.”

  “Stop whining. Keep moving. It’s imperative I talk to Anneli sooner than later.”

  “If there is another way of getting to the top, I didn’t discover it,” moaned Dirk.

  “All of you keep moving,” snarled Darryl. “I want to be knocking on the mansion door in the sunlight.”

  Meredith leaned against the metal side rail. A dull red colour slowly replaced her original green look. “Can’t we stop for a longer rest? I can never see Anneli ever agreeing to such a horrid climb.”

  Darryl shook his head before marching onwards to the mansion. “When you have decided to follow, I will see you at the top.”

  Dirk placed his arm around Meredith’s waist to help her climb the remaining steps. By the time the group emerged from the top stair they had crumpled onto the dark green grass. Each person felt exhausted after completing the long climb.

  “We must be at least one hundred feet above the sand,” complained Dirk trying unsuccessfully to stand.

  Darryl hobbled towards the closest door. “All of you stay where you are. Anneli and I will be having words.” He pounded on the door using a tight fist. “Anneli, if you are in this house. I want to talk to you,” he yelled.

  “My stepfather has brought the cavalry for protection,” laughed Anneli.

  “There’s no way I’d climb those stairs,” admitted Wade, chuckling. “I walk down them. I always take the lift on the return trip.”

  Wade heard more pounding on the door. He leaned over the railing. “Hey down there, we saw you arrive.”

  Darryl back stepped away from the door, looking up. Anneli’s brothers joined their father, each one pointing at Wade.

  “I want to talk to my daughter,” yelled Darryl.

  Anneli looked down over the railing. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

  “Anneli, come down,” yelled Meredith, squinting.

  “Hi Sis,” Anneli replied.

  “Please come down. Bring the bloke.”

  “Anneli doesn’t want to talk to any of you,” called Wade.

  “If she doesn’t agree with a talk in ten seconds, we’ll break in,” called Dirk, raising his fist.

  “It won’t be necessary to smash the door,” called Wade. “We’re on our way.”

  Anneli grabbed him by the shoulder. “I don’t even want to see them.”

  “I know. I’m stalling for time. I’ll show you an exit I built the moment I moved in. I have to confess I’ve never used it. I got to thinking if there ever happened to be a fire while I’m up here, there’s no escape. Come on; I’m sure you’ll love it.”

  Wade walked Anneli to the other side of the dome. He pulled a small two-man metal bucket from off the wall. Reaching into the bucket he pulled out a metal clip, fastening the whole thing to a steel cable above their heads.

  “Your chariot,” said Wade palming his hand at the vessel.

  “You built a flying fox?” questioned Anneli. Her voice gave away her excitement. Stepping into the oversized bucket her knees were knocking from the exhilaration of the forthcoming ride. “I’m nervous and excited at the same time.”

  “Hold on tight,” insisted Wade. “We’re in for the ride of our lives.”

  “Will it work? You did mention you’ve never tested it.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  Anneli hesitantly nodded.

  Wade climbed in, took the black disc out of his pocket and pushed the button. He gave the ledge a shove. The oversized bucket moved away from the balcony. Anneli looked back at the glass dome. She watched the long louvers starting to close.

  The wind rushed past them as they plummeted towards the ground at a forty-five-degree angle. Anneli’s long hair trailed behind her. Wade swiped the strands from his face several times. His grin never waned even when the ground rushed towards them. The canopy created by the trees grew thick. Just when Anneli thought they’d crash into the branches, she spied a gap. The bucket rushed through.

  The metal bucket slowed. It came to a complete stop between two large trees. Wade jumped out, lifting Anneli up and over the side of the bucket by her waist.

  “This way,” he whispered, stooping under a low branch.

  “Where are, we going?” asked Anneli.

  “You’ll see.”

  Weaving their way through the trees, Wade led the way along a narrow track covered in leaves. In a small clearing, no larger than the miner’s hut in Darwin, five dark figures were waiting. The welcoming committee stood military style in anticipation of the two arrivals.

  Wade came to an abrupt halt, glaring at the men.

  “In case you’re wondering how we got here so quick, I discovered your little secret the moment I saw the overhead wire. When I spotted the clearing, I easily figured out you’d come here. We took a short cut,” snarled the stockiest figure of the group. He stood slightly in front of the others. “Boys help the man to feel we are one big happy family.”

  Raising their fists, the four men at the rear marched towards Wade who gently swept Anneli behind him. She screamed at her stepfather to stop the inevitable fight. Wade looked more than ready to step up to the plate to defend his fiancé. The third round would be a replay of their first and second encounter.

  “Please, Wade let’s run,” shrieked Anneli tugging on his arm. “I’m not concerned for your safety. I don’t want to see my brother’s hurt.”

  “There’s no ambulance for at least an hour,” spat Wade forcefully.

  The five men burst out laughing.

  Wade’s plan to get them off guard worked perfectly. He grabbed hold of Anneli’s wrist before plowing onwards through the group. Using a strong push of his hand, he swept the men from his path. Wade and Anneli dived through the doorway of the miner’s hut. Wade slammed the door shut, ramming the metal bar home, locking the door. He walked to the adjacent wall, opened a trap door as pounding on the door commenced. Wade flicked a switch on the wall. A line of globes lit the way down a flight of stairs.

  Anneli pulled the trap door shut, sliding the large bolt into the wall. She followed Wade down the steep decent. The smell of sea water quickly grew stronger. The narrow tunnel leveled out at an iron door. Wade turned the rusty handle, tugging on the door.

  They stepped across the threshold.

  Standing on a twelve-foot wide concrete platform, Anneli spied Charlotte.

  “I think I should have fought your brothers,” snarled Wade. “The last time we met I won easily.”

  “You did the right thing. Even though my family and I don’t see eye to eye, I don’t want them to make you their enemy.”

  Wade shrugged. “You’re right diplomatic relations sometimes works more effectively than violence.”

  “When my stepfather calms down, we can have a good talk,” blurted Anneli. She craned her neck to kiss the lips of her hero. She knew beyond doubt Wade will be the only man in her life. He was the special someone she could lean on and trust.

  Wade led Anneli towards a fifteen-foot motor boat. He helped her onboard. In seconds, he’d unclipped the mooring rope.

  “I have a feeling your stepfather will be furious over you slipping through his fingers yet again,” hinted Wade.

  “He’ll have to suck it up,” yelled Anneli. “Sometimes he has to listen to what others think even if they oppose his ideas.”

  Wade started the outboard motor and navigated the boat out of the tunnel towards the open ocean.

  Anneli looked over her shoulder at the shrinking mansion. “Wade, where are we going?’

  “Where does a hero take his beloved after a furious battle?”
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br />   EPILOGUE