MIxed Bag

Mountaintops and Other Dangerous Terrain

Jake stood at the top of the mountain, his shirt bloodied and torn. Ash and sweat covered his skin. His mask had been ripped and mangled. The fire filled his lungs, but the air never felt as fresh. Through the night sky, he could see the flashes of police lights and hear the commotion of those below. He could see the flashlights enter and exit the cave, their glow swollen by the mist.

He knew that things had not gone Richy's way and that the group would all have to suffer from his poor choices. He knew that he should be angry, or saddened for them, but all that he could feel was love and joy in the realization that she was the one who made him feel that way.

She had told him that she loved him. The only girl that could make him laugh, the one that broke down his walls, the one that would fight for him actually loved him. She had spoken those glorious words and his heart started beating with hope for the first time he could remember.

Was it possible that the stars shone brighter in the night sky? Was it possible that the moon was bigger and brighter than it had been before those words came out of her mouth?

He knew that he still had to escape and find a path to freedom. He knew that path wouldn't be easy or fast, but he would get to the end of it for her.

He had to.
He made a promise to her. He was not a man to neglect a promise.
He was not a man to neglect her or her love.

He looked down the hillside hoping to get a glimpse of her. It seemed impossible, but he knew he would recognize her from a mile away. He just knew her.

Jake scanned the crowds that were full of uniforms and flashing lights. Steam from the fire and the residual effects of an explosion clouded the air. He was about to stop looking, believing it to be too far away. It was then that he saw one lone figure staring in his direction, right up the mountain. Right into his soul.

He wanted to believe that she had seen him too, that somehow, despite all of the smoke and the sirens and the people, she could see the man who held her heart. He wanted to tell her many things, all of the things he had carried inside for so long, but his phone had been lost in the fire. He wanted to run to her and hold her in his arms, let the world burn around them, but it was too dangerous. He felt his eyes lock on her figure and he couldn't look away. She stared into the darkness and he felt alive, knowing that she had chosen him. It didn't matter if she saw him or not, He saw her and knew that they would find each other sometime in the daylight.

He whispered lowly into the air, hoping that somehow his words reached her heart.

"I love you. I am safe. I am trying hard to get you. The promises I made will come true. I am a man of my word and I can not be separated from you. Give me time, and love and we can be together in all the ways that we dream of. You are all that I need or want and it is my mission to be by your side."

Jake took a deep breath and then broke his look from her.

Turning around to walk away from her was the hardest thing that he has ever had to do, but it would ensure their future, so he walked away as quickly as he could, one leg dragging a little bit. Jake was in pain and he didn't have a safe place yet, but he would because he would get to her somehow. A smile grew across his face as he thought of his future with her, one full of hope and love, things he thought he would never again possess.

Though his lungs were scarred and the fog was cold, he had never known the air to smell as sweet and the night had never seemed so comforting as it did right now.

One last look over his shoulder and then he was off to find a place to heal, to find a new phone, and to find a way to be with her.