Dark Mountains Read Online Free PDF Page B

the ground. I wanted to apologize but my need for keeping her away was stronger. I half-ran to the nearest tree, bent over and promptly threw up everything I had eaten that day.
    When my stomach was empty, I gagged, heaving until the last of my strength left my body. I stumbled back and collapsed in the tall grass. I felt Libby’s hand grip my shoulder and turn me towards her. Her face was pale but her eyes were strong as she forced me to look at her. I stared at her, seeing the fear leave her eyes, replaced by sorrow. Not uttering a word, she wrapped her arms around me. My exhausted body gave up as I leaned into her. She laid my head on her chest and I did something I swore I’d never do in front of her. I cried.

Chapter 6
     
     
    “I enlisted today,” I whispered, watching Libby’s face for her reaction. It paled but she said nothing. “I’ll finish school and leave for basic a few weeks after graduation.” She continued to sit silently, staring vacantly out the window. “I know you didn’t want me to sign up, Libby but I have to.”
    “You don’t have to do anything, Cole,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
    “I want to Libby,” I told her, reaching over to grip her hand. “If what I do over there prevents another attack over here…” I trailed off, remembering in vivid detail the images I’d seen from 9-11.
     
     
    ***
     
     
    Libby and I had been in English that morning and when one of the student deans had rushed into our class and whispered to our teacher, who had rushed to turn on the TV. As the image on the screen came into focus, we could see a tall skyscraper spewing smoke and fire from a hole near the top of the building. As we watched the live footage, a second plane came out of nowhere and slammed into building beside it.
    Libby began to cry as the reporter tried to explain what we were seeing. I heard her say that the buildings would have been nearly fully occupied just after the start of a regular business day. I watched in shock as the camera changed angles on one of the towers, zooming in on objects falling from near the top.
    “There seems to be debris falling from the North Tower.” The reporter’s voice was saying as the camera continued to zoom in. “My God,” we could hear the horror in her voice and the rest of us watching realized what the objects were. “Those are people jumping.”
    Libby stopped watching after that, burying her head in my shoulder and crying. As stunned as I was by what I was watching, I couldn’t turn away. I watched only minutes later as the screen flashed to images of the Pentagon, flames roaring from a gaping hole in one of its sides. I watched in a daze as the screen alternated from pictures of New York and Virginia.
    When the first tower collapsed, I felt a tear slide down my face. The entire school day was spent watching the footage in every class.  We listened to the reports that it hadn’t been an accident, that terrorists had been responsible.  We watched as President Bush vowed to find those responsible. I had already decided that I would join that fight.
     
     
    ***
     
     
    “You’re going all the way to California, Cole,” she murmured, still staring out the window. “I won’t see you for months.”
    “I know, Libby,” I answered, reaching over and squeezing her arm. “I’ll be able to call every weekend.” She snorted, making me smile. “I can get a good job after I’m done serving.”
    “You can get a good job here,” she muttered.
    “Working at the coal mine?” I retorted, my anger rising. “Other than washing dishes at the diner, that’s about all there is.” Libby sighed, still not looking at me. “I watched my dad come home; covered in black, coughing up coal dust his entire life. Seeing how Momma worried about him getting killed every day. I don’t want that kind of life, Libby.” She still didn’t turn. “Besides, you got the only good job opening in this two-bit town.” She looked at me then, a