The Willows: Haven by Hope Collier

Author:Hope Collier
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2011-09-13T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Confrontation

A bead of sweat trickled down my neck, tickling my skin. Muggy summer air filled my lungs as light flickered across my eyelids. The sound of echoing footsteps caused me to turn. Gabe stood at the mine opening, staring into the misty forest. My heart ached inside my chest, longing to connect with him. Even now amidst the heat, I felt cold and void.

“We need to get going. You should eat something,” Gabe spoke up, his tone somber. Fish hung from a skewer over the makeshift fire. Tears pooled in my eyes, but I turned and started picking at the meal, allowing more to fall to the ground than I placed in my mouth.

We packed up and headed out after eating. The last few miles to the base of the mountain weren’t especially difficult as far as the terrain was concerned — the wretched silence was another issue altogether. Gabe only offered to speak or touch when it was required, but the contact never lingered. The stressful minutes ticked away into hours, each one bringing us closer to a place neither of us wanted to be.

The imposing mountain which seemed so far away this morning, now stood at our feet. Gabe found a stony path winding up the side.

“We’ll need to climb from here,” he said, wiping his palms against his shorts.

I stared toward the peak stretching impossibly high into the sky. “I can’t climb that. It’s too tall.” I shook my head. “You know I don’t do so well with heights.”

Gabe peered upward, his eyes narrowing in thought. Finally, he sighed and squatted down. “Climb on my back. I can carry you easily enough.”

I hesitated. What if I was too heavy? One slip was all it’d take. Gabe turned his face, peeking at me from the corner of his eye. I drew a steadying breath and climbed on, wrapping my arms and legs around him.

Strong fingers found a firm grip on the mountain, and we began to ascend quicker than I imaged possible. Gabe’s hands and feet moved at a perfect pace, carrying us smoothly up the rock face. I glanced over my shoulder and gasped. My arms tightened around his torso, my chest hard against his back. Gabe sucked in a breath, and slowed as he turned an ear toward me.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice strained.

“Yeah, we’re just really high.” I breathed against his cheek. He shivered once and returned his focus to climbing. I buried my nose in the crook of his neck and concentrated on the strong scent of warm cedar and rain.

A symphony of crickets and tree frogs echoed throughout the woods as we reached the entrance to the cave. Gabe pulled me from his back, and we stood against the mountain face, stretching our stiff and tired bodies. I craned my neck to see over the ledge and swallowed hard.

“Thanks for carrying me,” I said, my voice shaky.

“You’re welcome.” He gave me a weak smile and turned away. I battled fear and heartache as the weight of the mountain settled on my chest.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.