Guardian's Gate

Chapter 1

Ben Cody had been sitting on the trestle bridge for hours, just watching the Connecticut River slide soundlessly by forty feet below the scuffed soles of his Reeboks. It was so relaxing just sitting there in the sun and doing nothing. He was glad that he had taken the day off from work. If his boss found out that he wasn’t really sick there would be hell to pay, but it was worth the risk, he thought, just to have this time to himself to think things over without all of the distractions that the bank seemed to specialize in.

Ben was a bank teller at the only drive-through in town, and while he didn’t really like his job, he was a very conscientious worker. He had only missed a few days so far this year, so he felt he had earned the day off. As he was sitting there just enjoying the feeling of laziness, he heard a muffled cough behind him, he whirled around and was face to face with the oldest man he had ever seen.

It surprised him that he did not recognize the man because in a town as small as Springfield Vermont he was sure that he knew just about everyone living there. The second thing that surprised him was that the man was there at all. It was by no means an easy climb up the bank from the road. It was pretty hard for him to get up that bank, and he was a twenty-five year old in pretty good condition.

The man looked at Ben and smiled a gentle jack-o-lantern smile. I used to come up here a lot when they first built this trestle bridge, the old man said, I used to sit there just like you are doing today. The power in the old man’s voice surprised Ben. He smiled and said, I used to come up here and play hooky when I was in high school, I guess I’m doing the same thing today, except now I’m skipping work.

Well, don’t worry, I won’t tell your boss, the old man said, my name is Ed Peters, What’s yours? My name is Ben, Ben replied, Are you from Springfield? The old man looked at Ben thoughtfully for a few seconds and said, Yes, I live a little ways from here near Mile Hill.

Ben thought about this for a few moments and remembered hearing some of the people at work talking about the old man that lived at the bottom of Mile Hill. It was rumored that he was a sure bet for the loony bin in a few years. Ben looked at the little old man with the firm voice and gentle smile sprinkled here and there with a few old teeth and said, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of you.

Ed laughed quietly and said, At least you are polite, even if you do skip work. Everybody in this little town knows about the crazy old man who lives all by himself at the foot of Mile Hill. I think that the only reason that those rumors got started is because no one ever goes by my house, all that is back there is the woods and the logging trails. Ed eased himself over to the edge of the trestle and sat down with his legs dangling over the side in the same spot that Ben had been sitting a few minutes before. Might I ask why you chose this spot to sit and spend your day off from work?, the man asked.

Oh, I’ve been coming up here since I was in junior high, It’s quiet and I can think better here. Ben said without hesitation. I know that sounds stupid, but it’s so peaceful and it’s got a great view. The old man nodded his head and said, "I know just what you mean, I’m glad that I’m not the only person in this town that can appreciate this great view. I came here to think and relax years ago, but things were different then.

There were no televisions to soak up endless hours or cars to take you away to more exciting places. Now that I am older I see that this is an exciting place in it’s own way. It has a great view of the river and the trees sweeping down to the river’s edge. From here it is like looking at a world primeval, untouched by human hands."

Ben thought that the way that the old man described the place was exactly how he would have described it if he were asked what he saw in it, and if no one from work was around to laugh at how dramatic it all sounded.

Ben looked at his watch and saw that the hour hand hovered very close to the four. He decided he should get home soon. It seemed to Ben that he had only been talking to the old man for a few minutes, but he had glanced at his watch just before the old man had startled him and it had read two o’clock. He felt very strange that he had no sense of the passage of time in those two hours. The more he tried to account for the time the more confused it made him. I had really better get going. he mumbled looking at the view. He didn’t want the old man to know how confused he felt, but he couldn’t resist looking to see if the old man sensed it. Looking slowly away from the greenery his eyes met Ed’s and he almost lost his balance when he saw the twin beams of light flash from the old man’s eyes into his own. It took him a few seconds to get his eyes to open back up after reflex sealed them, but when he did all he saw in Ed’s eyes was concern. The old man sensing that the crisis was past said, Yeah, I guess it is getting kind of late. I should be leaving too. Isn’t it amazing how time slips by you when your not looking at a clock?.

Ben decided that he definitely wanted to get away from the trestle as quickly as possible, and after a hurried good-bye to the old man he made his way off the bridge. As he was entering the wooded path to the road he tried to convince himself that it was just the sun in the old man’s eyes that caused the light, but it wouldn’t work, the old man was facing away from the sun when it had happened. Feeling suddenly spooked Ben ran full tilt down the bank to his car. He almost lost his footing and bought the farm several times, but he never slowed down. At the foot of the bank was a small clearing that had a path through it leading to the last patch of trees before the road, and as Ben made his way through it he felt foolish, he thought that he had seen something odd back there, but there was definitely a logical explanation, somewhere. As he made his way through the patch of trees bordering the road he felt better, until he heard a small noise like wind across a bottle top. Walking towards it he thought it must be an owl or something. It wasn’t until he stepped around the last few trees that he saw the old man sitting on a tree stump a few feet away.

How did you get down here so fast? he asked in amazement. He knew that the old man couldn’t have beaten him down here because he had been running at just about top speed. The old man looked at Ben for a few seconds and said, Oh, I know a different path down here. Ben looked at the old man and saw that he wasn’t even breathing hard. Something in the way that the man had said different made Ben uneasy. Well, I guess I’ll see you around. Ben said making his way to his car. Oh, I’m sure you will…now. The old man replied.

Ben got into his car and started driving home. After a few miles he felt himself relaxing and started enjoying the ride. After trying unsuccessfully to figure the old man out he made a conscious effort to push him from his thoughts. Instead he allowed himself to think about his parents. His parents had been killed in a traffic accident seven years before and even though the intervening years should have softened his loss by now he still hurt when he thought about them. They had been driving on a narrow mountain road when the car had gone out of control and plunged about a hundred feet to the deep fast flowing river at the bottom. Neither his parents or the car was ever recovered. Though his parents left him enough money to live comfortably without working, he felt that touching the money would be paramount to admitting their deaths and for some reason he never believed that they were really dead.

So, he had saved his money for three years to get the car he was driving, before he had had a rusted out junk of a car that seemed to use up gas as quickly as he’d pour it in, but a few months ago he had withdrawn a good part of his savings and paid cash for his brand new Ford Mustang Convertible. He didn’t mind the acronyms that his friends chanted to him when he first got the car; Fix Or Repair Daily, and Found On Road Dead. So far nothing had gone wrong with his car, and he was still amazed that he had it and it was his.

The present drifted back to him slowly. It was Friday! He loved Fridays like millions of other people. He found himself wishing that he had gone to work today after all. It felt like he didn’t earn having the weekend off if he didn’t go for the full five workdays. He was sure he would get over it.

Then he was on his street. It was the fourth house on the left, 1204 Mountain View. It was called this because the street was on the side of a rather large hill, and from it there was a terrific view of Mt. Ascutney. He had been on Mt. Ascutney many times, he remembered going there as a child and climbing up the tower at the top. He never knew what the tower was for, but every year he made the climb to the top of the mountain, one more flight of stairs on the tower was missing. He didn’t think that it was vandals, not that there weren’t vandals in that area of the country, but why climb all the way to the top of the mountain just to rip the tower apart? It really didn’t matter now anyway.

The last he heard they were going to build condos on top of Ascutney. That really made him mad, here he was thinking that the mountain belonged to everyone in Vermont, and all of the sudden someone built condos on the top. He felt like someone had taken something away from him, which, in a way, they had. They had taken away his summer climb to the top, and the picnics that were held there every year. Oh well, he thought sadly, that’s life.

Ben walked up the long curving staircase to his room on the second floor. It was a very large house, with most of the rooms being guestrooms. He was glad that there was no one visiting right now.

When he got to his room, he did what he did every day. First he changed into his around-the-house clothes, then he went to one of the windows in his room and looked out at the breathtaking view of Mt. Ascutney. For some reason the habit of staring at the distant mountain had started right around the time of his parent’s death. He felt somehow drawn to the mountain. After standing there looking out for a while he turned with a sigh and walked over to his bed. Flopping down on top of the covers he instinctively reached for the pile of dog-eared comics that he swapped with some of his friends at work. He knew that most people would consider this self-indulgence to be immature, but he really didn’t care.

About fifteen minutes later he heard the phone ring. Hello, Ben said into the receiver. Hey Ben, what’s up? The voice inquired, How come you didn’t go to work today? It was Joan, Ben’s off and on girlfriend for the past six years. Well, you know how it is, I just couldn’t bring myself to sit inside all day. Ben said, trying to sound casual. Ben and Joan usually had lunch together and he was sure that she waited outside his office for a good while.

Why didn’t you tell me that you were going to skip work today? I waited outside your office for 10 minutes before Doug came out and told me you hadn’t gone to work. Joan sounded seriously wounded at the thought that Ben would have skipped work and not told her. I didn’t think you would be interested in missing work with me, I know how much you love your job. Ben said smiling to himself. Oh, don’t be such a jerk, Joan said irritably, You know how much I hate working on Fridays. The real reason I called was to ask you if you wanted to go hiking with me tomorrow.

Where is this hike going to be? Ben asked. I was thinking about a trail I used to hike on Mt. Ascutney Joan answered. Oh right, what are we going to do, go hiking on the construction sight? Ben said. Joan sputtered angrily, Don’t be such a pinhead, We’re not going all the way to the top, there is a great trail that ends a little ways from there. It’s nice and peaceful, you can’t even hear the construction from there.

Yeah, I guess that would be fun. Ben said, I’ll bring my hiking boots and some hot-dogs or something. Joan laughed, Good old Ben, always prepared. We’re leaving at about noon, we will be taking my jeep, I know how much you hate to leave your precious car unattended in the big mean woods. You’re getting to know me too well, Ben mumbled, slightly irritated by Joan’s attempts to irritate him, Alright, I’ll be outside at twelve sharp with all of my hiking gear looking like the last woodsman.

After hanging up the phone Ben went and took a hot shower. He was thinking about the conversation he had just had with Joan, it was good the way she had said that they would be taking her jeep, up until a few months ago she still referred to it as her father’s jeep. Maybe she was starting to recover from the loss of her parents two years before in a plane crash. Ben was glad that she was getting her life back together, he wished he could come to accept his parents deaths. Ben sighed comfortably as the hot water pounded on his back, it felt so relaxing that he toyed with the idea of just going straight to bed, but after a light supper, he felt much better. After packing a few things in a knapsack for the hike, he ran down the stairs to the kitchen. He found that this room more than any other in the house, had the most memories of his parents.

Just walking into this room, he could practically see his mother sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of tea. The kitchen had always been his mother’s favorite room, it was the heart of the house when she lived. Ben got his coloring from his mother. He remembered Judith Cody as a rather tall woman in her late thirties. She was a beautiful woman with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. While he had his mother’s coloring, he had his father, Bill Cody’s, build. He was about six feet tall, and looked muscular even though he rarely exercised. Yes, Ben knew how hard it was to lose your parents, maybe that was the reason he felt himself growing closer and closer to Joan after her parent’s death.

Ben walked into the livingroom after getting a Mountain Dew from the refrigerator. He sat in his favorite chair and watched all of the prime time sitcoms. He really enjoyed some of the shows that came on this season, and he really hated some of the others.

After watching the tube for a few hours, he decided to go up to his room and read. He always looked forward to the part of the day that he set aside for reading. From that bed upstairs he had visited such places as Pern, and the Witch World, he had carried a gold ring with Frodo, and had wielded a white gold ring with Thomas Covenant. Now he was going to start a new book called Damiano, and from the back cover, it looked to be a winner. He started reading at about ten and didn’t stop until about two in the morning. That was the problem with good books, once you got into one, you were trapped until you found out what happened at the end. At last he fell asleep thinking about little talking dogs and witches and angels.

Chapter 2

The next morning was beautiful and crisp. It was one of those days that only happen in Vermont, Ben thought, knowing that he was biased. It was very sunny without a cloud in the sky, but it wasn’t hot, it was very mild out. It was the perfect weather for hiking.

Ben checked over the pack one more time and decided to throw two flashlights and some extra batteries in, you never knew when you would be sidetracked while hiking with Joan. Ben remembered some of the sidetracks he’d had before with Joan, and smiled wistfully. Ben didn’t consider Joan to be beautiful, he always seemed to associate unapproachable with that word, but she was very pretty.

The thing that Ben found so appealing about her was her personality. She had a very engaging personality and a great sense of humor. She was also the only woman that Ben felt he could be himself with. With other women Ben always felt somewhat nervous and self-conscious, but with Joan he knew that he could be himself, she felt comfortable.

At twelve noon, he was sitting at the picnic table in his front yard. He knew that Joan would be prompt, that was another thing about her that he liked, she never made him wait. It was great because he hated waiting.

He was thinking this when Joan’s beat up old jeep came skidding into the driveway. Joan always drove like she had an anvil tied to her right shoe. As she pulled up beside him he started smiling at how just the sight of her seemed to brighten his day, you’d think I loved her or something, he thought to himself and then smiled even more. Joan saw the big grin on his face and said, Alright, what’s going on? Did you plan some horrible surprise for me or what? Ben laughed and said, No, I was just remembering the last time you dragged me off to the mountain and had your way with me. Joan laughed at the memory that surfaced in her head, If I remember correctly, she said, it was your idea to go skinny-dipping. Ben laughed and said, You knew that there wasn’t any water on that trail.

They spent the drive to the foot of the mountain bickering back and forth about who was the aggressor in their last romantic interlude. By the time that they reached the trail, Ben had called Joan a shameless hussy and Joan said that Ben was perverted going after someone as young as her, when he was easily twice her age. They both laughed over that because they were both born in the same year.

Ben jumped out of the passenger side of the jeep and ran to the back to collect his backpack. He breathed deeply of the pine scented air, God, it smells so fresh out here. he exclaimed feeling invigorated by the sights and smells of the woods. Oh, shut up, Joan said smiling, you sound like a laundry detergent commercial. Ben laughed and grabbed her pack from the back of the jeep, pretending to throw it at her. Ow, he yelled nearly ripping his shoulder out of his socket when he pulled the pack back to himself, what do you have in here, lead? Ben sat the pack on the ground and rubbed his shoulder trying to get rid of the pain that manhandling the pack had given him. I just took the bare essentials He-man. Joan teased, I brought some hot-dogs, marshmallows, flashlights, my radio, extra clothes and a jacket. Joan walked over to Ben and gently kissed his shoulder, Better? she asked moving his hand and kneading the injured shoulder. Well, if you put it that way… Ben said looking at Joan tenderly, not at all!

Joan stepped back surprised and then threw herself at him playfully batting his good arm and stomach. You are a spoiled little brat. she said with mock sadness. Oh, just a few minutes ago I was a perverted old goat for ravishing you, now I’m a little brat. How do you explain this reversion to childhood? Joan smiled and said, I said that you were a little brat, I never said that you were young. I guess that you are just a little bratty old man. with that she turned smartly away from him and threw her pack onto her back striding purposefully toward the trail.

After they had hiked for about two hours without stopping, Ben called for Joan to stop walking so fast and then sat with his back to a rock setting his knapsack on it without taking it off. Joan walked back to where Ben had collapsed and shook her head, "Well, if you aren’t a pitiful husk of a man I don’t