At the End of the Mountain

9781483532851

CHAPTER ONE

Minnesota. Present Day

The cold mist blew over the trees. The Minnesota fog hung over the world, heavy and thick. It was cold. It was wet. It was no place for a man. It didn't take kindly to new people coming in. You learn to live with the cold. You get used to staying inside, keeping to yourself. It wasn't really a place for neighbors.

Grey had to be here. This was his lot. He liked most of it. But really, he had no choice. Jobs were scarce. You take what you could get. Doesn't matter what it is. He had guts, some brawn, and some muscles in his head. This role was second-nature to him.

He slogged through the cold. His cut-up hands gripped tight to the axe. He was a woodsman, a lumberjack. There was no other lot in life he wanted. Just him and the trees, a singular mission each time he headed out to the forest.

He was something of a man. People always did a double-take when they crossed his path. Huge chest, covered in dark thick hair. Strong, brown beard. His hands were callused. His arms were like tree trunks. He was everything people think when think about a lumberjack.

Grey liked being alone. Preferred it this way. He sought silence. No point in meeting someone else, making a friend. He had enough friends already. He was good.

He sat on a log. Took out his sandwich. Bread just about to decompose and peanut butter that had hardened against the cold. Not one of his best lunch options. He would have to grab some stuff from the store when he got out tonight. He hated daily chores like that. He shivered. This wasn't an easy life. But he wanted it. You never really get used to the cold here. You just put up with it.

He looked over the forest. It seemed the whole place was caked in fog. He didn't always talk about it, but he noticed the days getting stranger. The weather was changing rapidly. Something was going on, but he wasn't sure what it was. No worries. He brushed the thoughts out of his mind. Keep to the job. That's how he did things. !

He caught another sound not too far off. Grey knew what it was. Not a wolf or a coyote, it was Daniel. The new guy. Grey rolled his eyes, let out an exhausted breath. Let's see how long this one lasts.

Daniel came in through the clearing. He set his axe onto the frozen ground, and joined Grey on the log. Daniel took out a sub he had bought from the gas station. Waste of money, Grey thought.

You got the northern clearing? You all squared away with that? Daniel asked him.

Grey didn't look at him. He didn't need to answer questions. He knew the woods. Daniel didn't.

Asked you a question, Grey.

I know the woods, I know where I've been assigned. Worry about where you belong and we'll be good, Grey replied. He didn't need to give the man his patience.

Fine. Good to know.

Daniel stood up. Brushed off his belt. This conversation was over before it started.

You're a joy to work with, you know that? Daniel picked up his axe. I'll see you back at the cabin. And with that, Daniel headed on out.

That's what people tell me, Grey responded, keeping to his lunch.

It wasn't too long ago that Grey worked these woods without anyone telling him what to do, or asking him pointless questions. Back then, he walked through the leaves, unaccompanied and bothered.

But things can change fast. The woods were no longer his. Eastman Manufacturers came in, lobbied the town government to take ownership of the land. Grey knew they would have preferred not to keep him on, but they couldn't last without him. He was a sonofabitch, but they needed him.

Force me to work with a goddamn stranger, Grey muttered to himself. Some toddler. Some know-nothing. Give him another week. When the real frost sets in, he'll be gone. And I'll be back on my own. Can't wait.

He walked over to a tree. He ran his fingers over the pine. The dirt on his fingernails almost matched the brown of the tree.

Need no one. He grabbed his axe with both hands and drove the steel into the wood.

----

Daniel sat in his car to keep warm. He listened to an old country station. They don't make country music like they used to, he thought. It was so boring now. Not like it used to be. He'd talk about country music to anyone who would listen.

One of these days, he decided, he was going to get through to that Grey. That silent giant. He thought about a lot of things. Sometimes, he thought too much, and it got him off his game. He chose this life. This northern strip of the world. And the harsh winter where no voices could be heard, where you could die and no one would know. A winter of silence and drudgery, a life of cold and misery. It was his choice.

Grey wasn't the only one with some meat on his bones. Daniel wasn't as heavy as Grey, but he had some muscle. His three-day beard was close to full. His dark green eyes pierced through the foggy car windshield. His legs were ample, they fit snug against his jeans. He was a born lumberjack himself. No one would tell him different. Although he didn't have the chip on his shoulder Grey did.

He had a lot to prove, though. Not just to himself, but to his family. Daniel had always been the runt of the group. Different, they called him. Something off about him. Everyone had always doubted him. They never knew what to make of him, where to place him. So they just let him do his thing. As long as he didn't get in the way.

He didn't like thinking back to those things. Sometimes the thoughts took over. His heart would hurt thinking about it.

He wasn't a runt anymore. Nope. He was big, strong. He could fight anyone, and he did. He could take down any of his brothers now. And the truth was, when they'd get drunk and run their mouths, it would usually end that way. When they thought they knew his story, he would show them. Next day, they'd have black eyes and bruised ribs. He'd swear he wouldn't hang out with them again.

There was a girl back home. His thoughts went to her from time to time. Shelly. She thought the world of him. He always wished he could say the same. They were together once. She had red hair, like an Alabama sunset. White skin, as pure as a flower. She was sweet, kind, gentle. She was the one he was supposed to end up with.

But he left. He headed out on the road, where he belonged most of all. She asked for an answer why. He could never give her one. Not the answer she wanted to hear. Guess they both felt it was better to keep things in the dark. Even if she knew the truth, she didn't want to hear the real reason. Not outloud. He figured better to leave now, save her the heartbreak.

Maybe Shelly's heart was broken. Probably. But it was alright, Daniel figured. She would marry, find the right guy for her. The one who could give her what she needed. Yeah, she probably hurt. But that happens. It was better this way.

You keep to what you have. Stay the path. Try your best. Push it down, if you have to. That's what he told himself.

He thought back to that day they made love. It was the last day he ever saw her. He closed his eyes the whole time it went on. He kissed her. He meant it all. He wanted to feel it. He wanted to know this was the right thing for him. When it was over, when they lay in the leaves together, he knew the answer he had long tried to keep hidden.

This is it. This is what he had to deal with now. He knew there was no way to go back after that. He couldn't be with her. He couldn't be in this town. He couldn't show his face. He had to run. He had to start over. He had to go somewhere else. Some place where no one knew his name. A clean slate. New life. A whole new start.

This Grey, though, he was a mystery. They both had stories. They both probably had some darkness in their pasts. Daniel figured Grey preferred the unknown. He wasn't a talker, and Daniel wasn't going to push. Maybe they were both mysteries. Maybe they were both running from something.

Time would tell. Like it always does.

Grey looked to call it a day. It was a rough outing. His shoulders were on fire, his back was in pain. He had made good of a whole clearing. But he had pushed himself too hard. Hell. He'd be regretting it tomorrow morning.

Something stopped him, pulled his attention away from the scene of the forest. He looked out over the mountain. The fog had cleared. A pulsating blue rocketed off into the distance. It rose up and down, like heat lightning calling to a July storm.

What is that, he said to himself, his mouth barely moving. Slowly, the blue wave of light calmed itself. The fog took over once again.

It was normal to see strange things in the woods. A woodsman's life was full of odd shit. Sounds, errant strangers, little movements. You could never get too invested in anything. Soon as it comes, it leaves. Didn't matter. Spend enough time on your own, you are bound to see things other people don't.

Grey's thoughts turned to his mother as he headed back to the cabin. He got the letter not too long ago that she had died. It was the reason he chose to stay up here another year. She died on a Tuesday. He thought about going to her funeral, but he chose against it. He didn't want to be back there. He would send his love from the miles between them. He hadn't talked much to her anyway. The last time they spoke was over the phone. She told him that having him was the only regret in her life. Everything else she was proud of. But not him. He was the only thing she wished she could do over again.

He didn't see much reason in going back to his dad, either. The drunk never amounted to much. He didn't need consoling. Grey didn't need to sit on the recliner with him, watch football and try to lie that the two of them had anything in common. The drunk was probably naked in a half-empty tub right now. Drowning himself in Jim Beam, rattling on about what he could have been. Grey grew up in a family of could-have-beens. No, he decided. No point. It was better to stay up here.

There was his half-brother, too. But he and his brother never got along too well. Brother married young, just out of high school. The wife was insufferable, far as Grey was concerned. She didn't give a lick about him. She cared more about things than people. She decked herself out in the finest discount jewelry. She never kissed his brother. Never showed him affection. Grey tolerated her, when he had to. He just minded his time when he saw her. Keep it short, keep it surface. That was the way to go.

---

Daniel was already in the cabin when Grey entered. Daniel turned to look at him. Grey gave him a look, a nod. He went off to the kitchen.

Some roast is going. Thought I would try something new, Daniel chimed in.

Thanks. Grey wasn't hungry, but he never turned down a roast.

Daniel picked the dirt leftovers off of his axe. His arms were sore. He liked this feeling. Made him feel like he had some value in this world. Here he was, sitting on a couch in a cabin. The cold Minnesota winter smacking at the windows. A fireplace. A ready axe. He was miles away from his past. And he had the woods. That's all he really needed.

Grey headed over to the fire. He threw the logs in, one by one. Lit a match. The place was ablaze within seconds. He warmed his hands. They had bled and cracked, on account of the cold. This would help.

Body is getting old, Grey remarked.

Grey went for the buckle on his pants. Opened them up, took them down. He wasn't wearing anything underneath. He preferred to go commando. Helped him move better. He let the warmth touch his naked skin.

Good day today? Daniel asked. Daniel stayed focused on his axe. That's where he placed his eyes. He didn't want to look at the naked man in front of him. You don't do that. You respect a man's privacy. This was a man's world. Men did this every now and then. Just like in the locker rooms. You don't look. You do your own thing. You let him do what he needs to do. He didn't know Grey, but he was damn sure Grey wouldn't like someone checking him out.

Grey brushed his hand over his privates. They were sweaty from the day's labor. He could smell them. He scratched himself.

Not bad. Few issues. Noticed something out near the mountain. Little thing, nothing crazy. Just this strange light.

What do you think it was?

Grey noticed how he was getting too honest. He didn't open up to people, especially not some punk who he had to share a cabin with. Honesty never worked. It only got you in trouble. Trusting someone doesn't come easily. And Grey never liked doing it anyway. Close it down. Shut it off. Don't let them in.

Nothing. Forget it. Gonna shower. Long goddamn day.

Alright.

Grey headed up the stairs.

Daniel stole a look at him as he headed up the stairs. He caught a bit of him. Hopefully, Grey didn't notice.

Thanks for the fire, Grey said as his voice trailed off.

Sure.

---

In the shower, Grey let the heat of the water take him, release him. He closed his eyes. He would be back out there soon enough. Morning wasn't far away, and he would return to the cold, crunching his feet under the leaves. Where his breath would freeze and the hair in his nose would turn to ice. He would face the fog again. Fine, he thought. He liked it. All he needed was his axe. Didn't need anything else.

The shower wasn't much. A low pressure spit of water. The two men didn't need the finest things. Shampoo. Conditioner. Some soap. That was it. No point in having extra. Clean what needs to be cleaned. No frills in this life.

He opened his eyes as the water poured over his face. He looked out the window of the shower. Through the rush of water hanging off his lashes, he saw it.

The blue wave of light. It had come back again. Looked like one of those northern lights he caught a glimpse of every few years. But not the same. There was something different about this one. This had power to it. This had danger. It wasn't normal, he knew that much.

It reminded him of the light he saw in his dreams some nights. When it would get too cold. He didn't like things when they weren't normal. He liked things as they were. He turned away from the window. He let the water run over his thick body. The hair of his chest got wetter and wetter. He let the soap run down his chest and off the tip of his cock.

Tomorrow was going to be a better day, he decided. He would wake up, have his toast, maybe mix it up with some jelly, and get back into the woods. Daniel would be a few clicks over, working on a different assignment, so Grey would get the time to himself.

He wished it was just him in this house. Alone. By himself. He didn't like knowing there was someone else in this house with him.

He moved his hands down to his member. He started to touch it. He did what came natural to him. Easier this way. Forget the rest of it. Bring things back to normal.

---

Daniel didn't think Grey would come down again the rest of the evening. He heard the shower faucet turn off. He heard the bathroom door open, then the bedroom door close.

He also heard Grey let out a slight moan while he was in the shower. Daniel left it out of his mind. Men did things in the shower. All that stored up energy. Long hard day, you got to blow off steam somehow. That's why they kept the Vaseline there. Daniel was planning to do the same thing down on the couch.

What a day.

It had been two weeks since he made it to this part of Minnesota. He noticed the milestone on the calendar hanging by the front door. And in those two weeks, today's batch of words was