Free The Mountain King by Rick Hautala

days.” 
Sam hooked a chair by the rungs with his foot and dragged it over so he could sit down beside him. Folding his beefy arms across his chest, he sighed heavily and leaned back. 
“Can’t say as I blame you,” he said. “Everyone I know is pretty damned upset ‘bout what happened to Phil. He was a good worker and more than that—a good friend. By the way, how’s the search going? You hear any news?” 
Mark shrugged weakly, wishing to hell his mind would clear; but fatigue and worry over the past week had worn his resistance down. 
“The rangers and I came down off the mountain day before yesterday ‘cause of the weather. We . . . didn’t find anything.” 
Sam grunted and frowned. 
“They lost a day or two because of the weather, but I’d guess right now, between the men the Forestry Department and the police have put out, there’s got to be better than fifty men up there.” 
“Think they’ll find him?” 
Again, Mark shrugged and shook his head. 
“I hate to say it,” Sam went on, “but I don’t see how anyone could last up there this long without supplies, not with how the weather’s been lately.” 
“No, I don’t suppose,” Mark replied distantly. 
    “Well, I’ll tell you this much,” Sam said as he leaned forward, staring earnestly at Mark. “I know you’ve been grinding yourself pretty hard about it. You went back up there looking for him, and Phil’s wife told me how you’ve been over to see her, offering her support.” 
“It’s the least I could do.” 
“Yeah, but you know, you can’t let something like this take over your life.” 
“It’s not taking over my—” 
    Sam cut him off with a quick wave of his hand; then he pointed a finger at him as though scolding him. “Lookie here! When I told you to take the week off, I meant it.” He stared harshly at Mark for a moment. “You’re not doing me or anyone else any good, dragging your ass around like this. Christ, the way you look, I’d say you sure as hell need some time off.” 
Mark took a deep breath but found that he had nothing to say. 
“Now if I have to, I can get the company doctor to enforce what I’m telling you. And you know I will. But I’d rather see you cooperate with me, all right? Go on home and get some sleep—I mean some real sleep, not just dozing for fifteen minutes during your break. You have to forget about what happened up there. Let the authorities take it from here on out.” 
“Yeah, but I can’t forget,” Mark said so softly under his breath he wasn’t even sure if Sam heard him. 
Sam shifted his weight forward and stood up. Looking down at Mark, he said, “Oh, and there’s one more thing. I want you to report to my office at seven-thirty sharp on Monday morning. I want to go over with you some of your new responsibilities as shift supervisor.” 
“What—?” 
“You heard me right,” Sam snapped. “You’re getting a promotion. Staring first thing Monday morning, you’re first-shift supervisor in the department.” Satisfied by Mark’s surprised reaction, Sam snorted with laughter. “No more third shifts for you, bud. Who knows? Maybe it’ll improve your sex life.” 
Mark stood up and fumbled to shake his supervisor’s hand as he sputtered his appreciation. Still unable to believe what he had heard, he watched as Sam left the room; then he went over to the sink and dumped out his cold coffee. Just as he was leaving the lounge, a group of workers entered. They were chatting and laughing together, but as soon as Dan Jenkins, a young man who worked with Mark in the paper coating division, saw Mark, he stopped short and nailed him with an angry stare. Catching the instant tension, the other workers all fell silent and drifted over to the coffee machine. Folding his arms across his chest and standing in the doorway, Dan watched with narrowed eyes as Mark approached. 
“Well, well, well,” Dan said, “I just heard you’re gonna be big-time boss