And so we have reached Friday relatively unscathed. Always a nice thing to find. There is only one more prompt for the week and then we get to see what is lined up for next week. So pick up those pens or adjust those keyboards. It’s time to see what fifteen minutes on the timer will net us. Are you ready? Then once more a writing we go.
Okay now this is interesting. There has to be a reason everyone else wants to wait, besides one last winter in civilization. There has to be more than that to stop such a planned excursion. I am going to need to think about that though.
Friday, September 9th: The mountains were tipped with white.
The mountains were tipped with white. After the brutal heat of the summer it was a relief to see evidence of cooler air somewhere. I know though that it would not be a pleasant addition to our travels. We had just five days to reach the pass and make it through. Indications were that a storm was on its way and if we didn’t make it through that pass before it arrived, we wouldn’t be making it through until spring.
The others seemed unconcerned by wither the snow already on the mountains or the coming storm. They heard the reports from the coast and they knew just how the weather moved in these parts as much as I did. Yet not a single line of concern could I detect on their faces. Knowing how brutal that last season push could be, I found their lack of concern, worrisome.
I left them in the central gathering space while I went to check my supplies. I checked double checked and triple checked everything. I was ready. Still that night I went to bed with an uneasy feeling in my mind.
The next morning, I rose. The same feeling weighed me down, but I ate my breakfast nonetheless, knowing that there would be fewer stops along the way once we left this rest station. As I finished I looked around and saw that I was the only one who had finished and was ready to rise. I turned to Jamie.
“why is everyone so slow this morning?” I asked. I saw the color cream to his cheeks even as he dropped his eyes to study his half-finished plate.
“We aren’t leaving today,” he said.
“Excuse me?” I replied.
“We’ve decided to wait. A few of the others are waiting for final supplies before going through the pass so we are going to wait.”
“That could take days,” I replied.
“It could,” he admitted.
“We don’t have days to wait.”
He looked up at me and I saw the truth written on his face. “We have still decided to wait, Luke. You are welcome to stay with us or…”
He let the sentence trail off. I nodded. I understood. They were hoping the storm would close the pass before they made it through. It would give them the winter in the more settled areas and not be cut off until the spring. I stood up and gathered the last of my things.
“Luke,” Jamie said as I turned to leave. I looked back. He didn’t meet my eyes. “Safe travels,” he said. I nodded curtly. I turned and continued out of the door.
I knew he was worried about me traveling alone. The fact was traveling alone up the mountain and through the pass was safer, especially now that there was already snow decorating the peaks. I would be able to move faster and quieter. I would risk less chance of my travel noise starting an avalanche.
‘I can also be through faster,’ I thought as I went to the stables and added my few loose bits to the saddle bag. I swung the bags off of the rack and began getting the horse settled for the ride. If I was on my own there was a chance I could make it through in three days and be long past the danger point by the time the storm blew in from the coast. Still I felt my anger building as I prepared for the day’s ride.
Ten til Midnight 