Mountaintops and Other Dangerous Terrain

01: Escape

"The road back was long, full of ups and downs, but I kept on, because I knew that, eventually it would lead me back to you." **

He stood at the top of the mountain, his shirt bloodied and torn. Ash and sweat covered his skin cloaking his appearance in the night sky. One shoulder stung with pain, yet despite all of this, he relished the fact that his face was free to feel the cool air as his mask, the one that made him feel safe for so long, had been lost in his escape. Though fire filled his lungs, he would not be deterred on a night such as this. Somehow, the the air never felt as fresh as it did in this moment and as he tried desperately to replace the poisoned air with the crisp, clean oxygen that the mountaintop provided, he could only wonder how the stars had retained their magic after sitting for so long in the night sky. He could only see the words she had texted only a few hours ago. He could only feel the swelling of his heart at the sight of them.

As the events unfolded in the valley, flashes of police lights and the commotion of those below filled the horizon. Everywhere there were lights, red and blue, and smoke billowing to the heavens. He watched the glow of flashlights enter and exit the cave, their brilliance swollen by the mist. He wondered how long it would take them to find his escape route. They were looking for him in the midst of the fire and the situation with Richy and Hannah. Alan had been on his track before the terrible events unfurled themselves and he didn't think Detective Bloomgate was a man to give up easily.

He should be nervous. He should be moving with cold calculation and a sense of urgency. Tonight however, there was a calm place in his heart that had been missing before. The lights which should be a warning that he needed a plan and fast, reminded him of Christmas and the times he had shared before his mother had passed, of the times he hoped to share with Macie. It was because of the warmth that she had filled his heart with. It would be the end of him if he couldn't regain his focus.

Things had not gone Richy's way and the group would all have to suffer from that man's poor choices. He should be angry, or saddened for them, and really, at the depth of things, he was, but all that he could feel was love and joy in the realization that she was the one who brought feeling back into his empty soul.

She had told him that she loved him. She had meant it and he had too. That had changed everything... in an instant.

She was only girl that had made him laughing a very long time, the one that broke down his walls, challenged him, and the one that would fight for him actually loved him. She had typed those glorious words and his heart started beating with hope for the first time he could remember. Was it possible that the stars really 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. Soon, he would have to move his thoughts from her and focus on the task at hand. The path ahead wouldn't be easy or fast, but he would get to the end of it for her.

He would find her. He had to. He made a promise to he and he was not a man to neglect a promise nor would he be a man to neglect her or her love.

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

His heart leapt. If there had been any doubt that it was her, the increase in the beating of his heart was evidence of her identity.

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 and there was no time for such a call. He wanted to run to her and hold her in his arms, let the world burn around them, but it was too dangerous and didn't offer a permanent solution. 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, my 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 was one of the hardest things that he ever had to do, but it would ensure their future, so he walked away as quickly as he could, one leg dragging behind him a little bit. Jake was in pain. He didn't have a safe place yet, but he would find one soon. Their future depended on it. A future with her was something that he was no longer willing or able to sacrifice. A smile grew across his face as he thought of her and their shared life, one full of love and other things he thought he would never again possess.

His lungs were scarred and the fog was cold, he had several unidentified injuries and he was almost positive that his leg had been seriously damaged, but he had never known the air to smell as sweet and the night had never seemed so comforting as it did right now. Her love wrapped him in hope and comfort.

His escape seemed possible because of his belief in her love.

He gave 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. There was only looking forward because she as there waiting for him at the end of this adventure.

** The quote is from an anonymous source. I documented it here in the first chapter as it will be the lead in all of the chapters.