Free Black Mountain by Greig Beck Page B

as gently as he could, ‘Can’t Amanda tell them what happened?’
    She shook her head jerkily. ‘She’s in Asheville hospital in a sort of coma – not unconscious, but she can’t talk. She was hurt, and I get the feeling they think Brad was somehow involved.’ She looked up at him. ‘They asked me has he ever hit her.’
    ‘That’s bullshit!’ Will’s roar made his mother put her hands to her head.
    His father put his drink down. ‘Listen, boy, the weather’s turning bad and there’s a big animal on the loose up there. Young Brad, he’s not a mountain man . . . and the police are doing jack shit.’
    The old man held Will’s eyes for a number of seconds. Will got the unspoken communication: you find him, bring him home . He nodded once to his father, then said over his shoulder as he stepped towards the back door, ‘Call Jackson and Hank, tell ’em I’m on my way to pick ’em up.’
    *
    Will Jordan stood by the open back door of the dark blue SUV and loaded the supplies his brothers had bought at the local store. Hank sat behind the wheel, eating cereal straight from the box, and Jackson was still inside settling the bill. Will paused and folded his huge arms as an Asheville police cruiser drove by, its single occupant slowing to eyeball him. He eyeballed the officer right back, daring the smaller man to stop and say something. His feelings about the Asheville PD were at about basement level right now, and after driving most of the night to get to the mountain his mood was as dark and dirty as a coalminer’s crusties.
    The cruiser rolled on, disappearing around the corner, and Will turned to yell at the shop’s closed door.
    He jammed his hands in his pockets to keep them warm. He knew he should check in on Amanda, but decided she could wait. The weather was getting colder, and she had a roof over her head . . . his youngest brother didn’t. Unfortunately, the Asheville police either couldn’t, or wouldn’t, tell Will where they were up to with their search for Brad. And Amanda was still in such a state of shock that she hadn’t said a word.
    The shop door swung open and Jackson emerged. Will jerked a thumb to the back of the SUV.
    ‘Throw that in, and let’s go.’
    *
    Will Jordan climbed out of the SUV and walked a few paces towards the start of the Black Mountain’s trail. He stared up at the mist-shrouded peaks. The low cloud obscured the Dome, but he knew it lay many thousands of feet above where he and his brothers stood. A freezing wind stung his exposed jug ears. Will ignored its bite, as did his little brothers – if you could call men over six-two and weighing over 230 pounds each, little . Jackson and Hank were silent too, their heads turned towards the distant peak. They knew Amanda had been found on the eastern slope, and pretty high up.
    The youngest, Hank, spoke first. ‘Gonna be cold up there.’
    ‘Yup, damned cold,’ Will answered without turning. ‘And maybe wet too, I reckon.’
    Hank hitched his pants a little higher and made a tsking noise within his cheek. ‘A man exposed to those elements for a few days is gonna be in a world of hurt.’
    ‘Uh-huh.’ Will exhaled, and watched a small ghost of warm vapour drift away from his mouth. He knew his brothers weren’t looking forward to the trek. All three had been hiking and camping in the woods before, but never for longer than a day at these temperatures. But if any of them were lost, Will knew that Brad wouldn’t hesitate to hike into Hell to look for his brother – and neither would he.
    Jackson gave his eldest brother a flat smile. ‘It’s okay for you, Frosty; you like being alone in the cold.’
    Will just winked in reply. As far as he was concerned, the cold and the discomfort meant nothing. And Jackson was right – he didn’t mind being alone at all; he liked it. Fact was, he found people annoying, his family excepted. One day, he’d buy a place in some remote part of the country and live there all by