A Soldier Finds His Way

by Irene Onorato

  Audra joined them and sat on the other side of the bed. “Zoe, sweetie, tell us what’s bothering you.”

  “I don’t want anybody to leave.” Zoe looked at Edward and cried, sucking in little short breaths. “Why can’t Hank call from here?”

  “Zoe, the cell phone doesn’t work down here between the hills. Hank has to get way up high so the cell phone can communicate with a tower. It’s that simple.”

  “No. What if Hank doesn’t come back? What if the fisher gets him?”

  “It won’t get him. Besides, the fisher sounds much bigger than it actually is.”

  “But it’s dangerous. You said so. You said the Plumber’s Crack was a dangerous place. You said he broke his arm there. What if he falls and gets hurt again?” Zoe wiped her tears with the pillowcase.

  The distress on her little face jabbed at his heart. “Hank’s good at climbing and he’ll be fine. You’re much too young to worry about stuff like this. Just think,” he smoothed a stray curl from her forehead, “soon you’ll see your mom and dad. Won’t that be great? Aunt Audra will see her mom and dad. There’ll be all sorts of hugging and kissing and blubbering. You’ll be jumping-up-and-down happy. Think about that stuff instead.” He rose to leave.

  “Wait.” Zoe stood up on the bed and hugged him. “Come on, Aunt Audra, we need a group hug.” Zoe extended an arm of invitation.

  Audra glanced at Edward and hesitated, then walked across the bed on her knees and stood by him and Zoe. She moved awkwardly, but put her left arm around his waist.

  Zoe wrapped her arm around Audra, being careful not to bump her arm.

  Edward squeezed them tight. Audra’s body relaxed a bit, and she put her head on Edward’s shoulder. But after a few seconds, cried into his shirt.

  “Hey now, don’t you start crying too.” He savored the feel of her hair against his face. A part of him didn’t want to let go of these girls. Ever.

  With reluctance, he stepped back from them but could scarce break his gaze from Audra’s face. Tear streaked cheeks, swollen nose. She was still a beauty.

  He made an abrupt departure from the bedroom. At the fireplace he squatted and stared into the blaze.

  Hank snickered.

  Edward turned his head toward him. “What?”

  “Nothing. Nothing at all.” Hank laughed softly.

  “Then what are you grinning about?”

  Hank sat upright, close to Edward. “She got to you, Eddie, didn’t she?”

  “Shut up and go to sleep.” Edward shoved Hank and retreated to the recliner. “Blow out that lantern, would you?”

  Hank whooshed a breath and blew out the flame. The lantern glass squeaked as Hank lowered it.

  The cabin darkened, with only the light from the fireplace casting its glow about.

  Edward tossed and turned in the recliner. If only he had a switch to turn off the apprehension about the following day. He pulled the covers up. Sleep wasn’t going to come easy tonight.

  Chapter 8

  Edward shuffled across the room and shook Hank’s shoulder. “Time to get up. Turn off that watch alarm of yours before it wakes the girls.”

  Hank silenced the beeping alarm, groaned, and pushed himself to a sitting position. “Okay, I’m awake.”

  “I’ll put on some coffee.” Edward had laid everything Hank needed for the trip on the table.

  Hank folded the maps and stashed them in his coat pocket along with the Ziploc bag containing Audra’s contact numbers. He emptied his backpack and filled it with couple of MREs, snacks, and water. Essentials only.

  Hank threw on his coat. “I’ll take the dog outside for a minute and check the weather. While I’m at it, I’ll clear the snow from the front door and bring in some wood.” As soon as he opened the door, Cricket dashed outside.

  By the time the coffee finished brewing, Hank was back inside with an armload of wood and a snow-covered dog. He sat at the table for a few minutes and downed a cup of coffee.

  Edward added a few sticks to the stove. “How is it out there?”

  “We’re down to flurries and a light breeze. It’s cold, but I can handle that.” Hank patted his coat pockets and mumbled, “Phone, battery, contact numbers. I think I’m all set.” He stood and shook Edward’s hand. “I should be back in four hours or so. Unless that fisher gets me, that is.” He chuckled.

  “Shh. Not so loud.” Edward scowled at Hank, but no one seemed to be stirring behind the bedroom curtains.

  Hank shouldered his pack and went outside.

  Edward followed him. “Hey, Hank. I’m glad you showed up when you did. Thanks for all your help.”

  “That’s what friends, or brothers, are for.” Hank leaned against the woodpile and secured the snowshoes to his feet, then began his journey to the high place.

  Edward stood in the open doorway. A cold breeze nipped his skin. He pulled his shirt collar up to his earlobes and scrunched his shoulders tight.

  Hank approached a bed of large boulders. Before pressing onward, he turned and waved.

  Edward returned the salutation.

  Hank disappeared behind a massive rock three times taller than him.

  A gentle hand touched Edward’s arm. Audra. “There’s nothing more you can do to help him. Come, warm yourself by the fire.” She closed the door, took his arm, and pulled him to the fireplace. She left and came back with a cup of hot coffee.

  He took a sip, set the cup on the mantle, and forced a smile. “This might be your lucky day. There’s a possibility that you could be out of here in a few hours. Your ordeal will be over and you can work on forgetting it ever happened.”

  She stood beside him, looped her arm through his, and leaned against him. “Scoff if you like, but I still think God put you here for such a time as this. A lesser man would have watched, in horror perhaps, as we sank to a watery grave. But not you. You disregarded the danger and made a conscious decision to jump into the icy water to rescue two total strangers. I say you’re a good man. A man of courage and strength. No, I’ll never forget you, nor do I want to.”

  “How would you like,” Edward backed away from her a few inches, “to get out of the cabin for a few minutes?”

  “Outside? But, but, what about Zoe? But, I have no shoes or—”

  “But, but, but.” He rolled his eyes and feigned indignation. “You just suggested I was some sort of superhero, and now you’re questioning my powers? You’ve been cooped up in here breathing the same old stale air for a few days. Five or ten minutes outside won’t kill you.”

  “An adventure.” Audra laughed a stifled little laugh. “Let’s do it. Give me a minute to change out of these long johns.” She quick-stepped behind the curtain and came out a few minutes later.

  Edward pulled out a kitchen chair. “Sit and I’ll help you get ready.” He put a pair of his socks over hers, then shoved another pair of rolled up socks into the toes of his spare boots before slipping them onto her feet. They were still too big for her, but she didn’t complain. Edward pulled a sweatshirt over her head and let one sleeve simply dangle instead of trying to thread her bad arm through. He helped her to her feet, put his coat on her and pulled the hood up over her head.

  “What a sight.” And a beautiful one at that. “A one-armed woman in combat boots.”

  Edward threw on several layers of shirts and a wool hat, “Looks like we’re finally ready. Better get out before we start sweating.”

  * * * *

  Audra shuffled out the door with the huge boots flopping on her feet and let go of the laugh she’d been holding. Sure, she might not have the mobility of a child who was ready to pounce on a sled and barrel down the first hill she could find. She couldn’t even sandwich a wad of snow between her palms to form a tight snowball. But filling her lungs with cold air, and crunching around like a kid wearing grown-up boots that were way too big was enough to knock a giggle or two out of her.

  She followed a shoveled a path from the d
oor to the woodpile, a distance of ten feet or so. When she got to the woodpile she turned for her first glimpse of the outside of the cabin where she’d spent the last couple of days.

  The cabin was made from rough-hewn lumber, primitive in construction, but solid and skillfully crafted. The door hinges and hardware looked to be wrought iron, bulky black contrivances, still sturdy after years of wear. On each side of the door, tiny windows glinted in the sun, their bottom edges coated with a layer of sparkling frost.

  A crude, homemade sign with burned-in lettering hung above the door. Oran-Utan. “Orangutan?”

  “It’s Malay. It means, man of the forest, or something close to that. Aptly named, wouldn’t you say, now that you’ve met Hank?”

  She went to the corner of the building. Tentacles of ice hung from the eves on the side of the cabin, some as thick as a man’s arm.

  Audra pivoted and made a slow three hundred-sixty degrees turn. The terrain appeared to be as rough as Edward described: a snow-covered obstacle course full of hidden dangers. Uphill, an insurmountable wall of jagged rocks, laced with snow-ladened vegetation shot out of the ground. Abrupt and ominous, it leaned toward them, creating villainous shadows at its base.

  Here and there, gray boulders jutted out of the snow, and a few evergreens broke up the otherwise white landscape. Old Man Winter had dealt with a heavy hand in this pristine wilderness. Edward and Hank had faced many challenges trying to formulate a rescue plan.

  “You okay?” Edward asked.

  “Yeah, I’m okay. It’s a harsh landscape, isn’t it? Yet, there’s beauty all around. Except for the cabin, and the tracks Hank made, there’s no evidence of man’s intrusion. There’s something about it that leaves me breathless.”

  “Are you cold? Do you want to go back inside?”

  “No, not yet.” She pointed downhill. “Is that where you pulled us out of the river, straight down there?”

  He pushed her outstretched arm over a little to her left. “Right about there. Above the river, on the other side, is the Devil’s Tail. That’s what locals call the road you were on before the crash. In autumn, tourists drive out to see the leaves. There’s a scenic overlook just before the spot where you went over. You probably didn’t notice it with the storm raging. Once the leaves are gone, the police barricade each end of the road. It’s too treacherous when the snow starts to fall. The sign must have been blown away, which would account for your being able to access the road in the first place.”

  “I definitely didn’t see a barricade. I’m sure you’re right about the wind carting it away.”

  He turned around and drew her attention uphill. “I’m sure you noticed how that rock face leans toward us a few degrees. Now, maybe, you can understand why Hank had to hike to a more suitable place to climb.”

  “Yes, I can see how it would be too hard to get up that way.” She took a few careful steps away from Edward, into the snow. She stopped and took in the scenery, quiet and pensive.

  A loosely packed snowball exploded on her right shoulder. She spun around.

  Edward threw up his hands with a pretense of innocence. “Don’t look at me. I have no idea where that came from.” But, he couldn’t hide his mischievous grin as he looked around for the imaginary perpetrator.

  She doubled over with laughter, scooped the surface of the snow, and flicked it at him with her gloved hand. “Attacking a defenseless one-armed girl. Shame on you.”

  Edward pranced around her in the snow, weaving in and out, shouting playful taunts. He lobbed a few snowballs at her.

  She ducked behind the woodpile.

  Each time Edward came near, he placed a snowball or two atop the wood for her then backed away.

  Audra couldn’t hit anything throwing left-handed, but Edward jumped into the line of fire on purpose to give her a measure of success. Her laughter permeated the air and seemed to egg him on.

  Edward took a shot to the torso and clutched his chest. “Oof, you got me.” He staggered, fell backward into the snow, and lay still with his eyes closed.

  Audra crunched through the snow and towered over him.

  He opened one eye.

  She held the remaining snowball in her hand and flicked her eyebrows.

  “I’m dead already.” He kept an eye on the glistening white ammunition in her hand.

  “No,” she dropped to her knees and smashed the ball of snow into his chest, “now, you’re dead!”

  Edward lay laughing in the snow beside her.

  Audra used Edward’s chest as a springboard and pushed herself erect. Her hood fell backward off her head. She attempted to grab and pull it back up, but couldn’t seem to get a good enough grip on it.

  “Let me get that for you.” Edward hopped to his feet. He took his time adjusting her hood, refastening the snaps and working the mechanisms that pinched the elastic cord that tightened the hood around her face. “This hood is so big on you that if I cinch it up all the way, the only thing that’ll be sticking out is your nose.”

  She poked his chest with her finger and chuckled. “Is that a polite way of saying I’m a pinhead?”

  “No.” He took a half step back. “In fact, you’re the first beautiful woman I’ve ever met who can string several multisyllabic words together to make an intelligible sentence.”

  “Ah, the knight in shining armor compliments the damsel in distress.” She bent forward in a demure bow. “She accepts his expression of praise and admiration with gratitude and humility.” She ungloved and extended her hand in graceful regal fashion.

  “Milady.” Without breaking eye contact he lifted her hand to his lips and placed a kiss on her fingers.

  The simple kiss on the hand stole her breath. Childlike playfulness transformed into something a little more intimate.

  Edward’s beaming, toothy grin turned into a little smile that hinted of mild flirtation. His thumb stroked her knuckles, pressing warmth into her skin.

  Goosebumps spread up Audra’s arm. She drew a sharp breath and pulled her hand away.

  Edward tilted his head to the side, and his brows furrowed. “What’s wro—”

  “I-I’m getting cold.” She wrapped her left arm around herself and shivered to demonstrate her discomfort. “And, and, I think I’ve got snow wedged way down in my boots.”

  He squatted and took a look. “We better get you inside before that melts and your feet get wet.

  Edward led her inside, helped her out of her coat, and brought a kitchen chair closer. “Sit, and I’ll get those boots off for you.”

  Audra sat.

  Edward knelt in front of her, unlaced and removed her boots. “Good, your socks are still dry and your feet feel nice and warm.”

  “Edward.” She put her hand on his shoulder.

  He looked up at her. “Yeah?”

  “Thank you.”

  He shrugged. “No big deal. I figured the laces would present a problem for you, so—”

  “No,” she shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. What I was trying to say is, thank you for taking the time to play with me. It was refreshing and I haven’t had that much fun in a long time. A very long time, in fact.”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He dazzled her with a smile. “You’re welcome.”

  Edward wasn’t as stiff and unyielding as she’d supposed, and getting a glimpse of his soft, but knightly side added a new dimension to his character. “It was totally unexpected and I enjoyed every minute of it.”

  Chapter 9

  Edward put water on the stove to boil for breakfast. One more bowl of oats and he’d start whinnying like a horse. Better than a mushy omelet from an MRE though.

  Audra hobbled about the room with her hand pressed to the back of her hip like an arthritic old woman. He stoked the fire and shut the woodstove’s door. “Working out the kinks?”

  “Trying to. Maybe if I keep moving the joint will loosen up.”

  “You mentioned you were br
inging Zoe to your house for a few days. Do you live alone?” Edward asked on her next pass.

  “No, I live with my parents along with my twin sisters, Rachael and Robin. They’re fifteen years old, still in high school. My brother Kyle lives a few miles away with his wife and kids. Vanessa has been married for eight or nine years now. What about you?”

  “I have my own apartment. Off base.” Edward pulled a chair out from the table for Audra and slid a bowl on the table in front of her. “Sorry, but it’s oatmeal again.”

  “When we get out of here I’m sure my parents will prepare a feast for us. Won’t it be nice to have a home-cooked meal again?”

  A home-cooked meal. He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he made as if he didn’t hear her.

  “Did I say something wrong?”

  He put his spoon down and leaned back in his chair. “I haven’t had a home-cooked meal since I joined the Army eight years ago.”

  “You mean you haven’t been home in eight years? Why?”

  “Let’s just say that I left on less than stellar terms and leave it at that, okay?” The subject wasn’t open for further discussion. He ate his oats, rose and took his bowl and spoon to the sink.

  Zoe made her entrance and joined Audra at the table. Edward placed a bowl of oatmeal before her along with some hot cocoa.

  Once they’d eaten, Edward carried the dishes over and put them in the sink.

  Audra grabbed the dominoes. “Who wants to play?”

  Zoe jumped up and down and clapped. “Me. I do.”

  “How about you, Edward? I bet you’re good at this game.” Audra beamed a sweet smile.

  Edward pulled his jacket off the hook by the door. “I’ve got to take Cricket out. You two go ahead.”

  After a few games of fetch with the dog, Edward went back inside. He picked up his watch, gave it a shake and tapped it against his palm. It was no use. It was as dead as dead could be. The crystal had broken sometime during the river rescue. He tossed it back onto the table.