Peace in the Valley

Peace in the Valley - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Night was the hardest part for Heath. During the daytime he could be strong and put on a good front. But at night, that was when all the demons came out. His ten by twelve cell was cold, dark and he could feel it closing in on him. He fought sleep for as long as he could knowing those demons were coming to take him, like they had every night since the accident.

As the darkness closed in and lights were turned off by the guards, Heath began to retreat to his bunk. He would sit leaning against the wall watching every small movement he could see. Sitting there tonight, he regretted picking on Tonya so much. Now, his words he used against her, were coming to haunt him as other prisoners called him those names and taunted him.

Several hours after lights out, Heath started to doze off. As he lay in his bunk, images started crashing into his mind. A car burning. Glass shattering. Black shadows coming up from the ground holding him down. His throat begins burning, hurting, tightening. Unable to move his arms, he starts kicking at the shadows. Needles are poked into his arms, hundreds, thousands. Heath starts trying to swipe at the bites of pain he feels shooting up his arms. He opens his mouth to scream and feels something shoved in his mouth. Choking, suffocating, he can't catch his breath. The fire, is hot, scalding, painful. Exhausted from the fight he succumbs to the darkness and the demons allowing them to finally take him.

Lights flash on. It is morning. Heath feels as if he as been fighting all night. The blankets are wrapped tangled around his body. As he removes them, he sees the bruise marks. Marks from him fighting, but fighting what? Whether he was fighting real demons or himself or someone else, he does not know, but again, he is exhausted from his regular nightly battle.

Persecution had all but stopped once the accident occurred. Tonya felt sorry for Tanner. Even though he was not close to his mother, she knew he was still sad and hurt from her death. But, Tonya was relieved that Heath was no longer around to remind her of her sins. She has found out in the month since the accident and trial that she could forgive herself and change her ways. Brent had asked her out several times, and she said "No." for single dates, but had accepted several group dates. Brent had also spent a lot of time at the farm where Tanner and Julie would do things with Brent and Tonya. Hanging out at the lake could not really be done in late December, the lake was freezing over. But, the hayloft and the house were favorite places of the group. He was coming over tonight for some holiday traditions, AKA putting up the Christmas tree. With Christmas being only a week away, the girls knew there was a lot to do before then..

Julie noticed that Tonya took a lot of time primping, but when Brent was coming over the time was almost double. "You really like him don't you?" Julie asked as the girls were getting ready before dinner.

"Jules, you know. I am taking a break from dating!"

"Yes you are. But that did not answer my question. You really do like him don't you?" Julie asked again sitting down on Tonya's bed. Tonya was standing in the closet door pulling out possible outfits.

"Yes, I do. But, I don't want to rush anything."

"Tonya! It is not rushing! He has been asking you out for four months! When are you finally going to say 'yes' to him?"

"I don't know." Tonya looked exasperated. Like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. "I don't want to...you know...fall back into old sins." Tonya sat on the bed next to Julie.

"I don't know what you will do. But, I think Brent is a gentleman and will not do anything you are not willing to."

"THAT is my problem. What if I am too willing?"

Julie laughed. "You act like you are the only person with struggles like this! Tanner and I stop ourselves all the time. Would it be easy to give in, YES! But should we. No. We both want to wait! You have to trust in him that he will be strong when you are weak and you be strong when he is weak."