Free Pieces of Hope by Carolyn Carter

reason why he stared, the intensity of his gaze
made me self-conscious. His eyes seemed to look right through me. Even so, I
couldn’t stop myself from staring back with equal interest.
    We
exited at Corbett, and then looped around a curvy back road for several miles
when Ethan suddenly told me to stop. Before I could grasp what he was doing, he
jumped out of the backseat and pushed open a black metal gate with a small sign
proclaiming no admittance.
                Weeds stood thick along the narrow road. No one appeared
to have traveled down it in some time, but two thin strips of gravel left a
clear trail to follow. I eyed Ethan with suspicion, but the unexpected return
of his smile only encouraged me on. Once he’d shut the gate behind us, I
slipped the Jeep into four-wheel drive, and edged cautiously up the trail.
Almost immediately, pine trees flanked us on all sides, blocking our view of
anything but their presence and the winding road before us. The higher we
twisted, the more they took on an otherworldly feel—like freakish giants from a
faraway kingdom. As they grew, so did the wind. Up and up and up we went. Many heart
stopping hairpin turns later, the road came to an abrupt end.
    I
slammed on the brakes. We were in a small clearing at the very top of the
bluff, barely large enough to turn the vehicle around. I feared careening off
the side, killing my best friend and my dark-haired fairy tale with one
misstep.  
      “Be careful, there isn’t a guardrail,” called
a deep voice behind me. Then, “Would you like some help?” The sound of Ethan’s
voice caused shivers to shoot down my spine. In my panic to keep him safe, I’d
nearly forgotten he was seated right behind me.   
                “No, it’s okay,” I panted, slightly out of breath. “I
think I’ve got it.” But before I had even yanked up the emergency brake,
unlatched my seat belt, or shut off the engine, Brody released the hatch to
unload the gear and Ethan leaped out with him. I sat there for a few minutes
longer, double-checking for the first aid kit under the seat.   
    “What’s
gotten into you? Ethan’s waiting for you near the crag.” Brody grunted as he
lifted a pack. “Are you on somebody’s hit list?” He snickered as I sneered into
the rearview mirror at him. Maybe I was overdoing it. A little.  
    “Hope,
over here!” Ethan called. “There’s a reason I brought you all this way.” It was
the first time I’d heard that much joy in his voice and it left me speechless
to think I might be the cause of it.
       I met him on a rocky ledge jutting thirty
feet off the side of the bluff. Stepping onto it was like staring down the gang
plank of a pirate’s ship. Though it wasn’t nearly as narrow—wide enough for
four people to stand side by side—a few missteps and you’d never return in one
piece. The surrounding valley didn’t boast of sharks, but the peak sheared
straight down, sharp and jagged: teeth of an entirely different kind.
    While
I’d been told that nothing could harm me here, I wasn’t quite ready to test my
new immortality, or Ethan’s lack thereof. The more I stared off the side of
that crag, the more I realized the possible repercussions. Could Ethan have
picked a worse place for us to visit? Thinking of the numerous—and
horrific—possibilities, I shuddered.
    “Don’t
be afraid,” Ethan said, misreading my fear. He lowered his voice so much that
he forced me to come closer. “I wanted you to see the most beautiful place on
earth. It’s a little place I like to call Heaven’s Peak.”
                He failed to reach for my hand and I sighed with relief;
I didn’t trust my reactions around him. I seemed to vibrate from the inside,
and my hands trembled. If I accidentally jerked, we could both plummet off the
side. Sensing my hesitation, Ethan stepped back, allowing me plenty of space to
step forward. Spreading my feet shoulder-width apart for balance, I stood