Through Darkened Skies

Prologue

River's End, Pennsylvania-December 7, 1941

The snow had started to come down. While the forecast had been clear, Mark knew that from growing up here, the weather could turn at any moment. During the spring, for example, it could be sunny one minute, rainy the next. Winter were just the same, if not worse. So, he didn't seem to notice that the snow was falling when he was loading the suitcases into the trunk of his car.

His beautiful, new bride, Alice, looks around nervously. "I don't think we should go." She says quietly. "The roads might be dangerous."

"Come on, honey, it'll be fine!" Mark exults. "By the time the storm moves in, we'll be a long way from here. Besides, I can promise that there's no snow in South Carolina." Secretly, he had been disappointed when the snow came up. When he spotted the first few snowflakes coming down in that morning, he was worried that they would have to cancel their honeymoon. "You trust me right?" He punctuates that question with a kiss.

"Yes. Just be careful, OK?"

Mark opts for the quickest route of town. Now, he's wondering if his wife had been right. The snow was falling fast and faster. Dark clouds block out the sunlight .Even with the headlights on, and the wipers going, visibility has dropped. On this winding road, he drives slower, just in case.

Alice looks around nervously. "Mark, please go back. We can try again tomorrow." That had been a lie. Even if it stopped snowing right now, there's no way their tiny town would have the roads cleared. They would have to cancel their trip after all.

"I promise, it'll be fine. I think we're outrunning it anyway." Another lie. Taking Alice's hand, he kisses it as reassurance. Whether for his benefit, or hers, he didn't know. Now, the sky was completely dark. The only illumination coming from the pathetic twin beams from the headlights.

In the next moment, time seemed to slow down. "Look out!" Alice screams. Too late. Slamming the breaks, Mark sends the car into a spin. There's a distinct sickening crunch of steel on steel as the car slams into an overturned truck.

Mark finally comes to, his vision blurry. Cold air blows through the broken glass and twisted frame of the car. He feels something warm and sticky on his coat. He's horrified to find that it's blood. He checks himself, finding no open wounds.

What he found instead was much, much worse. His wife was staring at him with glassy eyes, a twisted piece of steel impaled through body. "Mark..." She whispers. He knew she didn't have long. "I'm going to go get help, OK? Just hang on!"

"Mark...stay with me..." Using the last of her strength, she reaches for his hand. "I...I love..." She didn't get to finish that sentence. She breathes her last. Horrified, Mark is racked by sobs. He can't even look at the destroyed body of his wife.

Panicking, and not knowing what to do, he bolts from the car. He heads into the woods, and back towards town. Having spent many days exploring them as a child. He could always find his way back, even in the dark. He wraps his jacket tightly around him in a vain effort to keep warm.

With tears flowing, he does his best to compose himself as he checks into a hotel on the edge of town. Sitting on the edge of the bed, head in his hands, he just lets the tears flow. Crying, he begs for forgiveness. If only he had listened to her in the first place...

When the sun comes up, Mark realizes he slept in his clothes, and looked like hell. Feeling empty, he didn't have any more answers than he did last night. He knew that the scene of the accident would be found by now, and everyone would be looking for him. He hoped that the snowfall would be enough to cover his tracks.

Hoping to find some answers, he wanders mindlessly into town. He couldn't stay invisible forever, yet he couldn't go home. He had been directly responsible for killing the love of his life. Neither his, or her, family would want anything to do with him, let alone forgive him.

The answer came upon him. A line of men stretching down the sidewalk to some point he couldn't see. "What's going on?" Mark asks someone.

"Where have you been, pal? Didn't you hear the news?" There was no hiding the toxic vitriol. "We're in line to enlist and make the Japs pay!" A few others voice their agreement.

Mark had indeed heard the news. Only hours after the fact. Alice had been walking down the aisle when bombs were falling on Pearl Harbor. At his apartment, long after the ceremony and reception, he had flicked the radio on and the stations were providing updates on the situation.

Standing in the back of the line, Mark pulls up the collar on his coat, praying that no one would recognize him. Suppressing his hunger from not eating since yesterday, he signed his name on the papers at the Army's latest recruit. All he had to do was lay low until next week, when he would be leaving for basic training.