orientation-gay Hard Mountain - Chapter Ten

[Guest]

Hey guys, me again. Bit of a long chapter but a lot certainly happens. Enjoy, comment and all that stuff.

 

 

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapters Three and Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapters Seven and Eight

Chapter Nine

 

 

 

 

Hard Mountain - Chapter Ten:

 

 

 

The forest at the base had been uneventful and the incline up began to increase. I'd managed to find a trail that seemed to lead upwards. When I reached a clearing I would plant a stick in the ground to measure time. It was getting into the afternoon now and the sun was still very warm.

 

My feet were aching, I kept standing on stones and my blisters were only getting worse. The slightly mossy brush disappeared once I'd left the forest so I was walking on mostly dirt and rocks. The path wound left and right, growing steeper and steeper. My legs burned but I kept going; if I stopped now then I would never get going again.

 

Eventually the path began to level out and stopped as I reached the mouth of a cave. I couldn't see anywhere else to go except inside, the side of the mountain was very steep so without proper equipment there was no way up.

 

I entered the cave and it was pitch black, I held my hand next to the wall to guide me forward. There were no forks in the road but it wound left and right. I had no perception of time in the darkness and I was going forward very slowly so I didn't stumble. I started to shiver as the temperature dropped the further in I walked. Occasionally I'd jump as an ice-cold drop of water hit me from above, blind as to its source in the darkness. I had no clue how high the cave was but I never came across any stalactites to bash my head into.

 

A dim light started to come into view as I edged around a corner and the path started to illuminate the closer I got. I came out into a larger cave with a pool of water in the middle, much like the one I had visited with Jack and Danny. There was a large opening above where the light of the early evening sun shone through, casting a reddish glow around the cave. On the other side of the pool was a set of stone steps that looked like they had been carved into the rock face that led upwards and, I guessed, outside. The shore of the pool where I stood only stretched about twelve foot by six and the cave walls were smooth so there was only one way forward, through the water.

 

I dipped a toe in and remarked at how warm the water felt. I waded in and the water never went higher than my waist. It was certainly refreshing after walking in the freezing cold for so long and the bed was smooth underfoot.

 

As I reached the middle I felt a gust of wind start to swirl around me, and the water started to ripple a few feet in front of me. A pale, sickly-looking and hairless figure in a hospital gown rose up from the water. I recognised him instantly and my throat choked up. The hollowed out eyes and gaunt, sallow face staring at me with sorrow, pain and disappointment.

 

I tried to turn back but something had stuck my feet to the bed of the pool and I was failing to hold back my tears. The figure was stumbling towards me, the water splashing with each of its laborious steps. I was crying, sobbing loudly, trying to look anywhere but at him.

 

“No!” I screamed. “No! You aren’t real! YOU’RE NOT HIM!”

 

“I am,” he said. “Please… Sammy…”

 

“NO!” I cried. “Make it stop… make it stop…”

 

“Why do you hate me, Sammy?” he asked. “Why do you hate your father?”

 

“BECAUSE YOU WEREN’T STRONG ENOUGH!” I screamed, blood boiling and my face growing red with an explosive rage. “YOU GAVE UP! YOU FUCKING GAVE UP! YOU SAID YOU WOULD ALWAYS BE STRONG BUT YOU WEREN’T! YOU LIED TO ME! You… you… Why did you leave me?”

 

The figure never answered, it fell face first into the water and the haunting sound of a flat heart monitor echoed in the cave. I ran to the figure and pulled them into my arms.

 

“No, no, no, no, no,” I whispered. “Don’t go, keep fighting Dad. Please!”

 

I felt like I was six years old all over again, back in the hospital the day he died. We were both pulled under the water, but I found myself back in my house.

 

“Hey!” said a familiar voice. “I’m home!”

 

“DADDY!” said another familiar voice.

 

A young boy of about three ran past me as a man entered the room. I felt my throat close up as I remembered where this was. Reaching down to pick up the boy was a broad shouldered, muscular man in a fire fighters uniform. The man was my father, before he was sick. He was thick chested, wide-shouldered, strong-armed and had a handsome, scruffy face. The younger version of me was in his arms, almost strangling him as I hugged him as tight a young kid could.

 

“Did you save lotsa people?” I asked.

 

“Not today, but I did help a cat that got stuck up a tree,” said Dad.

 

“Yay!” I cheered, kissing him on the cheek. “Would you save me if I was stuck up a tree?”

 

My Dad chuckled. “Of course, I’ll always get you out of trouble Sammy.”

 

My Mom came in and Dad put me down, pulling Mom in close as his hands rested on her waist, kissing her gently.

 

“I missed you, honey,” said Dad.

 

“I missed you too,” said Mom, stroking his chest. “Sam made up another story today.”

 

“Another one?” Dad chuckled. “We’re gonna have to start writing them down.”

 

I smiled, my cheeks wet with tears. This was the father I remembered. Loving, caring, strong. The scene faded as I started telling my dad my story about a rabbit that had lost its ears. I then found myself in my backyard. The younger me was lying on the ground with a kid’s tricycle on top of me.

 

“Heeeeelp!” I cried. “Help! Will nobody save me!?”

 

“I’ll save you!” said a deep, confident voice from behind a tree.

 

Out popped my Dad wearing a tablecloth as a cape and some speedos over his jeans. He stuck his arms out on front of him and jogged in a zigzag around the garden before stopping at my younger self.

 

“Looks like you need a hand!” said Dad.

 

My younger self pretended to gasp with relief. “SUPERDAD!”

 

My Dad took hold of the tricycle and he pretended it was very heavy. He grunted with fake exertion as he slowly lifted it up and over his head. He put it down on the floor and crouched.

 

“Are you injured citizen?” asked Dad.

 

“Yes, SuperDad,” I said, feigning injury. “The evil Barbie stuck me with a jelly-legs poison and I can’t walk. The only cure is ice-cream!”

“Ice cream, eh?” said Dad. “Well I’ll take you to my hideout and I’ll cure you of the evil Barbie’s poison!”

 

He lifted me up under his arm and ran around the garden in circles. My Mom and sister had been watching and giggling from the patio where they had been gardening.

 

“I want ice-cream too!” said my sister.

 

My Dad ran up and grabbed her in the other arm, spinning us all in a circle until he finally ran into the house. My mom shook her head and I followed her as she walked inside. My Dad had put us on the kitchen counter and he was pulling ice cream out of the freezer. He popped the lid and got three spoons out and we all began spooning it in our mouths, my Dad eating huge mouthfuls and making us laugh. The scene began to fade again until I was in a hallway in a hospital. My younger self, about six now, was sitting on a bench with my sister, waiting.

 

My parents came out of a door looking like the world had ended. My Mom had clearly been crying and my Dad was slimmer, not quite as muscular; his hair was missing in patches on his head and he was incredibly pale. We ran to them when we saw them and my Dad crouched down and pulled us into a tight hug.

 

“Daddy, are you gonna be okay?” my sister asked.

 

My Dad looked like he was about to speak but he didn’t, he just held us tighter.

 

“Of course Daddy’s gonna be okay!” I said. “Daddy is real strong, he’s never lets anything beat him, right Daddy?”

 

My Dad smiled. At the time I took it for a happy smile. But now that I was watching the memory again, now that I was older, I recognised it as a lie. He knew the truth but he didn’t want to scare us, to let us down. No, it was a smile that said: “it’s not okay, it’s not going to be fine, I’m going to die.”

 

“Daddy’s gonna keep fighting until he gets better,” he said. “And you two are what keep me strong. Sammy, Gemma; you have to be good to your Mommy and help her out lots, okay? Daddy might get a little weak, I might have to go to the hospital more and I might not always be able to play but if you’re good kids for Mommy then it’ll make me stronger, okay? Promise me?”

 

“Daddy, are you going to die?” my sister asked.

 

My Dad froze again, my Mom bit back a sob above us, but he saved face with another smile.

 

“No, sweetie,” said Dad. “So long as you’re good, Daddy will be strong and I’ll… I’ll get better in no time. So no fighting, no bothering Mom or making messes; you both have to promise me, okay?”

 

“We promise,” my sister and I said in unison.

 

My Dad began to tear up and pulled us in as tight as he could. The scene disappeared and I was in a different part of the hospital standing behind my younger self, my sister and Mom as we walked down the hallway. My sister was holding a “get well soon” balloon and flowers, while I was carrying a handmade book with an illustration on the front in crayon. A doctor stepped out of a door and noticed us approaching. I recognised that doctor, as he would later become my Stepfather.

 

“Can we see Daddy?” I asked.

 

“In a minute honey, let me talk to the doctor first,” Mom said.

 

We waited patiently as the doctor pulled Mom aside. They spoke in hushed voices that even I couldn’t hear but Mom hung her head and the doctor put a hand on her shoulder sympathetically. We walked into the room and my younger self ran out almost instantly, dropping the book on the floor. In the hospital bed was the same figure that had appeared in the water, my father after month and months of very intensive chemotherapy. As I remembered, he’d been staying at the hospital for a month and hadn’t been home which was why we had visited.

 

Mom ran after my younger self and grabbed me.

 

“Honey, what’s wrong?” she asked. “Don’t you want to see Daddy? He wants to see you.”

 

“THAT’S NOT DADDY!” I screamed. “MY DADDY IS BIG AND STRONG AND HE’S A SUPERHERO! HE DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THAT! WHERE’S MY DADDY! I WANT MY DADDY!”

 

“Daddy’s a little weak right now,” said Mom. “He’s not very well.”

 

“NO! DADDY IS NEVER WEAK! HE TOLD ME HE WAS STRONG AND HE PROMISED HE WOULD BE STRONG FOREVER!”

 

My younger self began to cry and so did Mom. She hugged me tight and I continued to beg for my Dad, the one I remembered and not the sick man lying in the hospital bed. I suddenly felt my body being pulled back, the hallway getting further away from me but I wanted to stay.

 

I emerged from the water, gasping for air. I was back in the cave on Hard Mountain, alone in the pool. I began to cry, really cry. I was crying for the father I had hated for so long because he had died of cancer, a childish hatred that he hadn’t kept his promise to be strong and let it take his life. I cried for the memories I had shut away out of that childish hatred of him, the replacement of my grief, the years of repressing all happy thoughts and memories I’d had of him. I cried at my own self-hatred because I had refused to see him after that last memory, even when he was moments from death. I had never said goodbye, I sat outside in the hallway, even when the haunting sound of the heart monitor going flat was all I could hear above the sorrow of my family.

 

I stood up from the pool. In my heart I wanted to drown myself, let the water consume me. I could do it right here and now and no one would know, not even Jack and Danny, until it was too late. I wanted to, so badly; the temptation and the water were so inviting.

 

But I knew I couldn’t. I had to be strong and keep going, keep climbing Hard Mountain as they had told me, or else I would die anyway. I walked to the other side, wiping my face clear and taking the stone steps slowly. Up and up and up they led until I was at the end, coming out onto the mountain.

 

--

 

 

Chapter Eleven: The higher you climb, the harder it gets...

[vga518]

DAMMIT! Right in the feels!!

I wasn't expecting this.

I wasn't ready for this!

It's been a while since I've read a story/ chapter that tugged my heartstrings like that.

[musclesmoker]

Keep it coming! Let's see that boy grow huge.

[BaraFiend]

I haven't chimed in until now, but I love the story so far. I just really really really hope that writer's block or real world problems don't delay the next chapter too long, since this point in the story is kind of a downer. I mean, I understand the value of it, how it creates conflict, allows for deeper characters because we know them better, and sad scenes like this make happy scenes even better. And I realize that my entitlement complex won't get you to write any faster. But it really would be sad if the story ended here.

Anyway, great work. I love the characters, setting, and plot, and how you've used them. And as embarrassed as I am to say it, I'm eagerly hoping for a threesome between the three. I wish I had some more specific or helpful comments, but all I can say is I really like the story and I hope you finish writing it.

[Guest]

 ...all I can say is I really like the story and I hope you finish writing it.

 

No worries man, it's all written but I do make changes and add stuff here and there. I couldn't post something unfinished. Only time I won't post is when real life keeps me busy or tired. I'm glad you're enjoying it though and cheers for chirping in

[mario2007]

No worries man, it's all written but I do make changes and add stuff here and there. I couldn't post something unfinished. Only time I won't post is when real life keeps me busy or tired. I'm glad you're enjoying it though and cheers for chirping in

Let me just say that on top of having written an AWESOME story, you haven't kept us waiting which is truly remarkable.  Thank you!

[Hanugumo]

Wow, talk about character development chapter. It truly is so hard losing ones parent at such a young age and then resenting that parent for so long because he didn't kept his/her promise. This was beautiful and so emotional. I know more bad memories are prolly to come in the next chapter, but I truly hope that when he reaches the top that he will leave all those bad memories behind and be alright again, be so happy that he would burst. T_T