Page 14 of Found By the Mountain Man

“Tell me more about the compound.”

His voice is calm and doesn’t betray any of the anger that I can tell he’s feeling. Maybe he’s trying to calm me down, because he asks a lot of questions. And it is soothing describing the routines and stupid outfits the leaders wear. I haven’t talked about this before, and it helps to get it all out.

“I don’t know if they’re looking for me or not, but I don’t want to go back.”

“You never have to go back. Those people will never hurt you again, Rainbow. Never again.”

I want to believe his words, and in the comfort of his bed with his arms around me, I can almost believe it’s true.

He wraps his arms tight around me. He’s gone quiet, but I don’t hear him fall asleep. I guess it’s a lot to take in. But I’m glad I told him, that I’m not carrying that burden anymore.

With my conscious clear, eventually I fall asleep.

9

RHYS

Idon’t sleep after Indigo’s confession. There’s too much rage coursing through my body. She’s been hurt by scumbags who prey on the vulnerable. By some asshole setting himself up as a community leader and taking advantage of women.

Scum like that don’t deserve to live.

I lie as still as I can, keeping my breathing even until Indigo falls asleep. But I don’t sleep. My mind is busy planning how I’m going to take this asshole out.

I quizzed her about the compound, showing interest but being careful not to draw her attention to my real motive. Now I go over everything she told me: the location of the hole in the fence she crawled through, the buildings on the edge of the compound, the dawn ceremony facing the sun led by the man wearing a blue cloak.

The military taught me to sleep anywhere, and it also taught me to stay awake. I wait until a couple of hours before dawn before slipping out of bed.

I move quietly, as I was trained to do. Indigo sleeps on her side, one arm thrown over the blankets and her mouth slack with sleep.

She’s come to mean so much to me in this week that we’ve spent together. When our bodies move together in bed, my very soul lifts.

But she made it clear that I’m just a release for her, part of the healing process as she gathers her strength to move on. Which is why I haven’t gone further with her. I can’t bear the thought of claiming her if she’s not really mine.

I wish it wasn’t true. I wish she could stay here forever, but I get why she would want to move on. I’ve been somewhere for her to gather her strength, recover and gain confidence. Why would she want to stay with an old vet who has night terrors and shaky hands?

But even if I don’t mean as much to Indigo as she does to me, I can give her this. I can give her her revenge.

I grab my long range rifle and my camouflage gear.

It’s time to hunt.

It’s a forty minute drive to the Blue Ridge Mountain range on the other side of Wild Heart Mountain. It’s still dark when I park on the narrow country lane that borders the compound.

I find the hole in the fence exactly where she said it was. It’s a small hole, and I use wire cutters to widen it enough to get through with my gear.

I don’t care that I leave behind a great big gaping hole in the fence, I don’t care who finds me. I only care about taking out the assholes that hurt Indigo.

Thin woodland runs alongside the fence, and I move stealthily though the trees until I get to the edge of the forest. I crouch in the bushes looking out on the clearing. It’s about a hundred meters to the first building.

The first grey light tinges the sky. There’s no one around, but from what Indigo told me, it won’t be long until they come out for dawn prayers.

Keeping low to the ground, I make a dash for the white brick building that is closest. Snuffling noises come from inside as I climb up the drainpipe and onto the roof. It’s the pigsty, and I hope like hell no pour soul is sleeping there tonight. A flash of anger spikes through me at the thought of Indigo being made to sleep in a pigsty. I push it down. There’s no room for emotion. I need to focus.

Once on the roof, I press my body flat and belly-crawl to the edge of the building.

In the center of the clearing is a concrete square with a podium facing east. That’s where the leader will stand. I slide my rifle out of the case, line up the site, and wait.

As the sky lightens to ash grey, there’s movement from the other buildings. Women and men shuffle out into the cold dawn day. They’re wearing red cloaks like the one I found Indigo in. They don’t talk but move silently to the square.

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