Dark Mountains

by Amanda Meredith

  I searched for Libby backstage as the crowds of families and students started leaving the auditorium. The stage was already dark and there weren’t any more cast members hanging around. I stepped through the tangle of props, looking for the dressing room, when I heard a loud noise from behind the plywood castle. I followed the sound, dodging fake walls until I spotted a dark form leaning against the far wall. I stepped closer and saw that it was Jackson, his hands splayed against the wall in front of him. He had someone pinned against the wall.

  The red welt was already rising on her cheek when I realized it was Libby cowering before him. Her face was pale as she shrunk away from her pa’s angry face.

  “You bitch!” I heard him growl, spittle flying from his mouth as he spoke. “You’ll never be anything but a low-down, backwoods whore!” Libby flinched at his words. “I saw how you kissed that boy, you little slut!”

  “It wasn’t real, Pa!” She cried, frantically trying to calm him down. “It was just a play!” His face froze in a sick smile as his hands crept towards her throat.

  “Just a play?” He hissed, his fingers tightening on her throat. “You’re nothing but a whore, just like her.”

  Before I realized what I was doing, I had grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. His eyes didn’t show surprise, but challenge as he sneered at me. The next second, he was sprawled on the floor, my outstretched fist splattered with his blood. Jackson slowly wiped his arm under his nose as I stared him down.

  “You’re lucky I don’t get Sheriff Gellars in here to haul your ass to jail, you son of a bitch,” I growled.

  “That bastard can’t do anything to me!” Jackson screamed, his face twisted in rage. “He’ll never come near me and mine again! You hear me, boy?” My mind tried to register the fury in his voice when he said ‘again’. When had John Paul ever been around them? Libby told me her momma had never called the cops on Jackson before. My mind forgot it as Jackson scrambled up off the floor.

  “I’m gonna kill you, boy,” he growled, his lips sneering. He was on the floor again in seconds, his nose cocked at an odd angle.

  “Never…” I growled, all my rage focused into that moment. “Ever touch her again.” My fists shook at my side, begging to be set loose. I wanted to kill him.

  Libby came up beside me, her hand resting lightly on my arm. My mind screamed to threaten him, beat him to a bloody pulp, to leave him as marked as he had left Libby so many times. Instead, I took Libby’s hand in mine and walked out of the school.

  I drove her home and stood in the living room as she threw all her clothes into some garbage bags. Her momma was there, shrunk into a ball on the couch. She sat silently when Libby had told her what had happened. Carol Ann’s eyes widened in shock when Libby told her that I had probably broken Jackson’s nose.

  “Come with me, Momma,” Libby begged, bending down in front of Carol Ann.

  “I can’t, Libby,” she answered, her voice shaking. “He’ll kill us both if I leave with you.” Libby started to protest, but Carol Ann pressed a thin finger to her lips. “If I stay, I might be able to stop him from coming after you,” she whispered, tears running down her face. “I tried to protect you from this Libby, but I couldn’t. I’m so sorry.”

  “I love you, Momma,” Libby cried, wrapping her arms around Carol Ann.

  “I love you too,” Carol Ann turned to me, holding my face in her trembling hands. “Take care of my little girl, Cole,” she whispered. “I know you’ll protect her.”

  “I will. Always,” I answered, fighting back my own tears.

  Libby hugged her again before taking my hand and walking out the door. She didn’t look back as we drove away from the house she had grown up in. I looked into the rearview mirror, watching the house get smaller and smaller until it was swallowed by the darkness.

  Chapter 7

  Libby found someone from school to rent an apartment with. I went over the day before I left for basic with a handful of bluebells for her. I made sure that all of her locks on the doors and windows were working before I was even remotely satisfied with leaving her alone.

  “Don’t worry, Cole,” she told me, seeing the worry in my eyes. “I feel like a different person now that I’m out of that house. I’m just so worried about Momma.”

  “She’ll leave him one of these days,” I whispered, hugging her. “She just wants to make sure your Pa doesn’t come after you.” Libby sighed and hugged me tighter. We both knew what that meant. Jackson would be beating Carol Ann instead of Libby.

  I left the next day for twelve weeks of training in California. During the long nights, I often thought of Libby, focusing on her smile as I struggled through training. I called her every weekend, hiding the pain and exhaustion from my voice. During the Crucible, when we were only allowed four hours of sleep a night, my memories of Libby were the only thing that kept me from collapsing with sheer exhaustion.

  At graduation, I found my parents quickly after the ceremony was over. Much to my surprise, Libby stepped out from behind them. Overjoyed, I spun her around in a hug before asking how she’d made it to California.

  “I had an extra ticket and asked if she wanted to fly on an airplane for the first time,” a familiar voice chuckled from behind me. Sheriff Gellars was standing there with a big smile on his face.

  “Sheriff,” I greeted him, holding out my hand.

  “You can call me John Paul now, don’t you think, Private Andrews?” He teased, shaking my hand.

  “Yes sir,” I answered, grinning. “So why the trip out? I get to come home for a 10 day leave.”

  “Well,” Libby answered, holding my hand. “John Paul wanted to scope out his future replacement for when he retires.” John Paul chuckled as she explained. “And I talked my producers into letting me do a story on young men in the military. Mind if I interview you?” John Paul rolled his eyes as she batted her eyes at me. I laughed at them both as we walked towards the parking lot.

  “I couldn’t let her sulk around, all sad because she couldn’t come out here to see you,” John Paul told me as we walked. “She was so sad her ratings were dropping.” He grunted when Libby elbowed him in the stomach.

  “They were not!” She blurted, grinning widely.

  I hugged them both, happy that they had come. We went out to dinner that night and I laughed at John Paul and Libby when they complained about how expensive it was to eat out in California.

  “So are they sending you overseas?” John Paul asked when he’d finished eating.

  “Not for a while,” I answered and heard my mom sigh with relief. “I’ve got Military Occupation Specialty training first. That alone is almost two months. Then I head to Quantico for the Scout Sniper courses.”

  “Crack shot, eh son?” My dad asked, proudly.

  “My senior drill instructor seems to think so.”

  “I always said you were a great shot,” Libby commented as she squeezed my arm.

  “Shootin’ all those tin cans paid off, I guess,” I smiled as I shrugged. “I’m talking foreign language in Afghani, Iraqi and Arabic, among a few others.”

  “Why so many?” John Paul asked.

  “Well first off, I don’t know where they’re sending me yet and second, terrorists move practically unhindered through almost every country in the Middle East. It’s good to know more than a few languages,” I explained but frowned when I saw that Libby had stopped smiling.

  “Don’t worry, Libby. The most that I’ll be gone is two years.” Saying that only made her frown more so I shut my mouth. My dad ordered another round of drinks and tapped his glass before raising it for a toast. It seemed the entire restaurant had heard and all sat silent, watching him. He smiled at me, a tear creeping out of his eye.

  “To freedom,” he whispered, but the entire room heard him. Voices all around me echoed the word as glasses lifted.

  “Freedom,” I whispered as conversation picked back up around me. But in that moment, all my attention focused on Libby and the knowle
dge that she toasted freedom from two different things.

  Chapter 8

  Two years later and I was still stateside. I’d finished my training and was now Corporal Colton Andrews. They were sending me to the Middle East soon and I was getting three weeks of leave before I had to report to Pendleton.

  The war on terror had escalated and though the fighting had diminished in Afghanistan, the violence in Iraq had grown to horrific proportions. More soldiers died every day and with grim resolution, I wanted to go home and say goodbye… in case I didn’t come back at all.

  I called Libby to let her know I was coming and surprised her by picking her up at the news station. She had worked up the ranks quickly, all while going to school to earn her bachelors in journalism. She was now the co-anchor for the morning news.

  I took her out for ice cream, something we’d done every summer of our teenage years. We sank right back into our normal routine, taking the back roads home and aiming for every muddy pothole along the way. I turned down the gravel road that led to my parent’s house then turned onto a newly cut driveway that led up the mountain. Libby sat up straighter in her seat when she saw us leaving the road.

  “When did this road get here?” She questioned, looking around as we drove up the winding drive.

  “It’s been that long since you’ve been back here?” I questioned.

  “I haven’t been to your parent’s since we got back from your graduation,” she explained. “So where does this new road go?”

  “You’ll see,” I murmured with a smile. A few minutes later, we rounded a corner and Libby saw where we were.

  “Oh no,” she whispered. “Did the mining company decide to use our lake?”

  “Not exactly,” I whispered as the trees cleared. Libby gasped as our lake came into full view. Sitting back off the shore was a new log home. The huge glass windows faced the lake and the deck extended all the way to the rocks where we spent so many summers swimming.

  “Yours?” she asked softly. I nodded and she squealed a little before covering her mouth with her hand. “How did you get this, Cole?”

  “The owner of the land is a veteran and has a soft spot for soldiers.” I grinned when she shook her head in disbelief. “I got a fairly nice sign-on bonus from the marines and living on base is practically free so I saved up enough money that I didn’t even have to get a big loan. The construction company just so happens to be owned by a veteran too so I got a really decent price on the cost of building.”

  “You’ve been working on this and I didn’t have a clue.”

  “I wanted it to be finished before I showed it to you,” I whispered.

  “Oh, Cole,” she murmured.

  “Come on, have a look around,” I said, grabbing her hand and leading her up the porch steps. I unlocked the front door and Libby gasped again. I flipped a switch and a large antler chandelier came to life, illuminating the foyer. The room opened into the large living room with a natural stone fireplace.

  “Wait ‘til you see the upstairs,” I told her and she laughed and danced a little. She practically ran up the staircase, sighing as she moved down the hallway. The bedroom doors were all open to good-sized rooms, with large windows and comfortable beds. She paused in the doorway at the end and I took her hand and led her in. The master bedroom had a wall of windows facing the lake.

  “It’s beautiful, Cole,” she murmured, walking over to the glass doors that led onto the balcony. My hand rose and gently moved a strand of hair that had fallen over her eyes. She smiled, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

  “Cole, I…”

  “Come down to the lake,” I whispered I opened the doors and led her out onto the balcony and the staircase that went down to the porch. I led her out onto the boulders and we sat, our feet dangling over water.

  “I have to leave, Libby,” My voice shook a little and I took a deep breath, trying to settle it. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.” I sighed as Libby’s lip began to tremble. “They’re sending me to Iraq.”

  She gasped her hand flying to her mouth. We’d all seen on the news lately, how dangerous it had become over there. Soldiers died on nearly an hourly basis.

  “I want you to share this place with me, Libby.” She gasped again, but I tried not to look at her. If I saw tears, I might not be able to tell her everything I’d wanted to say for so many years. “I want to give you so many things, Libby. I want to make a life with you.”

  “Cole,” her voice was shaking as she reached for my hand. I shook my head, unable to tell whether it was rejection I heard in her voice.

  “Libby, I know it’s not fair of me to ask you this, right before I leave. I don’t want you to make any decisions either, in case… in case I don’t make it back.” I could hear that she’d sucked in a breath and was holding it. “I know it’s a possibility, Lib. It is for every soldier that goes over there. But I couldn’t leave without telling you how I feel.” I looked at her then, seeing that her eyes were filled with tears.

  “I love you Libby. I have since that day you pulled a snake out of your pocket on the way to preschool.” She chuckled a little, tears spilling out as she sniffed. “I know this might be the last chance I get to tell you…” I couldn’t finish. Suddenly the thought of never seeing her face again was making my throat tighten. I couldn’t swallow the lump of fear that had settled there.

  “You’ll make it back, Cole,” she murmured, reaching over to touch my cheek. The muscles in my stomach jumped. “You’ll make it back because I love you too.”

  She leaned forward quickly, her lips pressing against mine. I sat still for a split second, tasting the salt from her tears as my mind absorbed the fact that she was kissing me. That she loved me too. I kissed her back then, with all the passion that had been welling up inside of me for so long. I kissed her with every hope and every fear swirling around in my mind while I prayed that I would come back to her someday.

  Chapter 9

  Two Years Later

  I was crying. I couldn’t help it. I wasn’t the only one either. Standing in a loose semi-circle, sand and smoke swirling around us, the soldiers in my unit were all wiping tears away from their dirt-streaked faces. Because on the ground in front of us lay the charred remains of a young girl.

  She had been carrying a jug of water back to her home an hour before. Our unit had been sweeping the town after reports that insurgents had been using one of the houses to make IUDs.

  I looked down at her body, recognizing her from the un-mangled part of her face. After doing our sweep and clearing the town earlier that morning, she’d been out on the street with her family, welcoming the soldiers. Most people back home didn’t realize what life was really like over here. They saw death, insurgents, and politicians on the news but they didn’t see the real people. They didn’t see this little girl and her family. Thankful that we were there, fighting for their freedom.

  One of our newer unit members had nearly shot her as she’d run up to me. It wasn’t uncommon for the Al Qaeda to use woman and children as suicide bombers. I shouted at him to stand-down and stepped towards her, telling her to stop in her native language. Surprise had filled her face and she had listened. I lowered my weapon as she explained she was only bringing us water. She gestured for her mother and father, who'd been frozen with fear behind her to show us their hands. Their fingers were stained with blue ink. She explained to me that they had just voted that morning because the American Soldiers had given them freedom.

  She had brought me a glass of water after I told my unit to relax. I smiled, reached into my pocket and handed her one of the Snickers bars that Libby had sent over with her latest box of supplies. The girl smiled widely, showing me a recently lost tooth and giggled thanks in garbled English before running back to her family to share the candy. An hour later, a man drove into the courtyard screaming about paradise before his vehicle exploded.

  I looked down at the girl and knew that her life had been lost for nothing. No one in my
unit had been injured. Only some civilians, the young girl included. Her parents knelt beside her, wailing, their words unintelligible in their grief. Their cries echoed in my head, becoming louder and louder until I had to walk away.

  ***

  The sand swirled around my boots as I slipped silently into the building. The streets were calm, evening prayers had been said and the village was quiet. I climbed the stairs without a sound and found a gaping hole left by mortars in the western wall. I crouched down beside it, bringing my rifle forward. I checked the scope and wind speed and nodded to myself. This was a perfect hide spot. Concealed from the outside with the wind blocked by the surrounding buildings.

  My unit was back at base, unaware that I was not there with them. I’d turned in my dog tags and the picture I kept of Libby to the base commander before leaving. In the event I was captured, there would be no ID tying me to the United States Marine Corp. I glanced up at the sky and knew satellite and drones were monitoring me.

  I lay prone for hours as the evening wore on, ignoring pangs of hunger and stiff muscles. I was in what my unit called my ‘sniping mode’. Nothing mattered except the target. My breathing and heart rate had slowed enough so I could expel my breath and shoot between heartbeats to minimize movement. My senses trained to take in everything surrounding me.

  The distant hum of vehicles had me slowly bringing up my night vision scope. The Humvees coming down the street were about two miles out. I zoomed in on the passenger seat of the second Humvee. My target was smiling smugly as they drove in to the village.

  He was a general in the usurped Sadaam Hussein’s dictatorship. He was also the general that had ordered the suicide bombing that had killed the little girl earlier this morning. I slowly lowered my scope as the little girl’s blackened face flashed in my mind.