Ridge Runner

A Story by Sam Ammons

Set during World War II, a story about those back at home.

Ridge Runner

July 10, 1942. . .

The gears in the chevy growled and groaned in protest. Elizabeth maneuvered the shifter again, and slammed it home, while popping the clutch. The truck she was driving lurched forward, picking up speed.

"Sorry," she said looking over at the occupant in the seat beside her. "This ol' truck about seen its last leg."

"No, worries," Catherine said snapping out of her reverie. Her English accent was in particular northern London. She turned back to the window as the miles slipped past. They had been on the road for three and a half hours.

Elizabeth had picked Catherine up at the railroad station in Ashville, North Carolina. They were on their way to Elizabeth's house in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the western part of the state. Her luggage sat behind them in the bed of the truck. Catherine looked down and reread the letter Jason had sent his mother. It was postmarked the day after she left on a ship bound for the United States, two weeks after they had wed in a small ceremony in Oxfordshire.

"Damn," Elizabeth muttered after steam began to billow from the engine. She downshifted, and pulled over to the side of the road. The inside of the truck filled with an acrid smell of burnt oil. They slowed to a stop beside a country bridge over a river.

Elizabeth shouldered her door open with a rusty creak, and walked to the front of the truck, lifting the hood. Steam bellowed out from underneath. Catherine got out to join her at the front of the truck.

"The truck overheated," Elizabeth said waving the steam from her face. "We can put some water innit when it cools down." She walked to the back of the truck and pulled out a silver pail. "Are ya hungry? I've got some sandwiches and a couple of apples. We can have a late lunch down by da' river." She strolled off, the pail swinging in her hand. Catherine followed her.

They sat themselves in a grassy spot not far from the river. Elizabeth pulled out an apple and sandwich, handing it to Catherine. She took out her own, spread her flowered dress flat, and sat it in her lap. They ate in silence for a while, before Catherine commented.

"This reminds me of home. Not London, of course, but the country."

"Is that where ya grew up?"

"Yes," she said. She pointed to the river. "There was a river like this that ran through our village. I loved falling asleep to the sound of it." The both listened to the sound of the rolling river as it sped along.

"Yup, I love that too," Elizabeth smiled. "Or the sound of it raining. Especially durin' the summer. Rains all da time at night. Lulls me right to sleep."

"Mmm hmm," Cathy agreed with her mouth full. "It constantly rains in London during the fall. My parents moved to the city when I was ten." she said after swallowing.

"Did ya finish school there?"

"Yes. Then I worked in my parents jewelry shop up until. . ." She paused.

"Until the air raids? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry." Elizabeth said taking hold of Catherine's hand. She squeezed it reassuringly.

"It's fine," she said. "I met Jason there before things got really bad. The ships from the colonies had arrived some time back, full of American soldiers. Jason came in looking for something to send to you."

Elizabeth smiled, and pulled out the locket from around her neck. She opened it to reveal a small picture.

"My late husband and I."

"After the Nazis started to bombard London, my parents decided to move the shop back to Oxfordshire. I was there organizing the store when word reached me that. . ."

Catherine trailed off.

"Your parents were killed in an attack?"

"Yes," Catherine said. Tears started to well in her eyes. Elizabeth leaned over and hugged her. Catherine returned her hug for some time, her body shook with the sobbing. When she had stopped, and Elizabeth knew she had no more in her, she let go.

"Well, I think the truck, is cooled off now. It's gonna be dark by the time I get ya home."

Elizabeth stood, and took the pail down to the river. She dunked it in, and carried it back to the truck. She poured the water into the radiator before slamming the hood closed.

"Now ya can tell me about you and Jason's first date," she said tossing the bucket into the bed of the truck. "He better of brought ya some flowers."

"Yes, ma'am, he did."

Elizabeth smiled and they both climbed into the truck. An hour later they passed a sign that read: 'Welcome to Skipwith'. The sun had set by the time they pulled off the mountain road and drove down a dirt path, driving through a gated fence. Catherine had spent the time telling Elizabeth about her son and their courtship. She fell silent as Elizabeth coaxed the old truck up, what Elizabeth referred to as a 'switchback', to a house sitting near the top of one mountain, the headlights of the truck shone on the porch to Elizabeth's house. She parked the truck in a gravel drive, and got out. Catherine joined her, and they both carried her luggage up the short staircase leading to the large porch. A bright lantern hung from the post, while two others burned on the table surrounded by several wood chairs. Elizabeth put down the suitcases, walked over to the lanterns on the table and blew them out. Just then the front door opened. A young woman in her mid-twenties, a few years younger than Catherine, opened the screen door and froze.

"Oh," she said, holding up a lantern she carried with her. "I stayed up waiting on you two." She was tall and lean, with jet black hair and dark eyes.

"Can ya grab the lantern, Runner?" Elizabeth smiled.

"Sure, Elizabeth." Runner walked past Catherine, smiling widely as she did so to get the lantern hanging from the porch. She smelled of lavender and some kind of berry Catherine didn't recognize. Runner followed the two women into the house.

"I'm sorry, Catherine, this is Runner," she introduced them, walking through the dark house. "Runner this is Jason's wife, Catherine."

"Cathy is fine. Pleasure to meet you. Runner?"

Runner laughed a silvery cascade kind of laugh. "Yes. My mother was from Mexico, and my father is Cherokee. He called me Ridge Runner since I was a little girl. My real name is. . ."

"Cause you were, runnin' up and down these mountains since ya were three. We'd be out lookin' for ya for hours before we found ya in the black berry bushes or out throwin' rocks into the stream."

"I loved how the sand sparkled when I buried my bare feet into the sand on the bottom of the stream."

"Well, your mother'd be beside herself when she'd get here lookin' for ya the first time or two, but she'd laugh after that cause she made sure to keep an eye on ya." Elizabeth walked into a bedroom beside the stairs. She sat down Cathy's suitcase.

"Runner's mom died a couple years back from kidney failure." Elizabeth said, looking at Cathy, "Her pappa joined the Army when the fightin' broke out. He asked me to keep an eye on her, till he got back."

"And I decided I'd rather live here. No reason why we should both be alone when we live almost next door."

"Well, the next mountain anyhow. Are you hungry, Cathy? We can have some biscuits and milk if ya like."

"Sure. That would be great. I'm not too tired, yet."

Elizabeth lead the way through the house after taking one of the lanterns from Runner. She put the lantern on the table in the kitchen, and lit the larger one in the middle of the table.

"Sit, sit. Are ya hungry, Runner?"

"Sure. Let me help you."

"No. No. I've got it. Ya just sit down at the table."

Elizabeth opened the refrigerator and started rummaging inside. Runner looked at Cathy.

"I'm sorry. You must be used to having electricity living in the big city, right?"

"It's fine." she said, a rainbow hue reflecting off their faces. "We had to turn out the lights at night. In case of air raids."

Cathy sat transfixed at the dancing light show. The lanterns were like any other she had seen, except the bottom holding the oil was filled with rocks of varying color. Some, the same golden color of the oil, while others were blue, red, or green. It created a dazzling effect.

"They're quartz rocks I started collecting when I first got married. My late husband and I walked over this mountain for hours together. Jasper finally got tired of all the buckets full in the shed, so he came up with this idea. He filled the oil lamps with my quartz rocks. Our last anniversary before he died of cancer." Elizabeth said while sitting down a glass of milk in front of Cathy and Runner. She sat down across from them after placing a basket full of home made biscuits between them.

"They are very pretty," Cathy said.

The three woman sat in silence for awhile as they ate the cold biscuits, and washed them down with ice cold milk. Cathy had just finished her second one when she pushed her empty glass away with a large yawn.

"Sorry," she said covering her mouth.

"No need, sweetie." Elizabeth said, "you can have that room where we put your luggage. Runner is in this one just off the kitchen. Mine is upstairs to the left. The bathroom is just down the hall from your room." She handed Cathy the smaller lantern. "You can take this one with you."

"That's great," she yawned again. She stood holding the lantern in front of her. She paused just down the hallway, "Ms. Clayton, thank you for doing this, I know that. . ."

"Ain't no trouble at all, sweetie. Ya just get that out of your mind right now. We're family. That's all that matters."

"Thank you, all the same."

"It's my pleasure, sweetie. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Cathy." Runner said swallowing the last of her biscuit.

"Goodnight." Cathy followed the technicolor light down the hallway and into her bedroom. She shut the door behind her, and sat the lamp on the nightstand. She dug her nightgown from her luggage, deciding to unpack everything else tomorrow. She climbed into bed after putting on her nightgown, and blowing out the lantern. Cathy only slept under the sheet since the night was so warm.

A steady breeze blew in from the two windows behind her bed. Her thoughts drifted to home, as she lay there looking at the unfamiliar ceiling being bathed in multicolored hues. Her last thought before nodding off was how her mother would have loved the idea of putting the crystals into the lights back home.

Cathy awoke to the sun glaring into her eyes from the windows. She got up and dressed herself, hearing sounds from the kitchen. She found Elizabeth there with Runner and two other women in their mid forties whom Cathy didn't know.

"Sit down, and have some breakfast, Cathy," Runner gestured to the seat beside her. Half the table was covered with fresh made biscuits, plates of bacon, eggs, and a pitcher of orange juice.

"Thank you, Ms. Clayton. . ."

"That will be enough of that, Cathy," she said pumping the handle in the sink to draw water from the well, "You can call me, Beth." A big smile. "These are my two younger sisters, Maggie and Kim. They live across the creek."

"Nice to meet you," Cathy grasped their hands briefly. Runner made her a plate and sat it in front of her. She was almost finished when Beth looked up from the large pot she had put on the wood stove. It was one of two steaming to a boil.

"Runner, why don't you and Cathy run down to town. I got some more mason jars ready to be picked up. We're gonna need them later."

"Sure, Beth."

Cathy looked at the women at the table inquiringly.

"We can a lot of things to get ready for winter, Cathy. Beans, corn, meats. It can get sparse here in the winter." Maggie said, looking up from the bushel of beans she was snapping.

"You ready to go?" Runner asked standing up.

"Sure," Cathy stood to join her. "Let me clean my plate."

"No need of that, Cathy," Kim said. "We'll get'm for you."

"We can walk. It's only a few miles." Runner said leading the way to the front door.

Runner led the way down the dirt road, and onto the paved hardtop. After a time, they could see the small town a mile or so ahead of them across the river.

"We can go across the suspension bridge. It cuts some time." She turned down a well worn foot path beside the road. Cathy marveled at the river below the sturdy bridge, following Runner as they continued along another path on the other side, crossing a wide open field with crabapple trees here and there seemingly growing at random.

They were almost to the town when Cathy noticed a group of people standing off the path a few yards into the field. As she and Runner got closer, they could hear the eight older teenagers talking sarcastically to four younger kids. They were three boys around the age of twelve or thirteen, with a younger girl about nine years old. The boys were wearing blue coveralls and the girl wore a brown dress. Two of the boys and the girl weren't wearing any shoes. The older teenagers were wearing store bought clothing. Runner stopped under a crabapple tree, listening what they were saying to the younger kids. Cathy stopped too.

"Look at you, you bunch of little b******s," said the oldest of the tormentors. A young woman of about nineteen. "You don't even know who your father is do you? Little Barclay b******s." The others laughed at her spiteful sneer. Runner bent down and picked up a few of the crabapple that had fallen to the ground.

"Isn't that what you heard, Lucy?" Another asked the ringleader. Runner didn't even pause when she hurled the first crabapple. It was still in the air, when she followed it with three more. They were so rotten they almost came apart in her hand.

"Yup, " Lucy with a sarcastic laugh. "That's what I heard, Shelly. They don't even. . ." The crabapple struck her right in the forehead and exploded, showering her face with the rotten goo. Shelly also got pelted with a few. Runner bent down, and picked up more not even bothering to wait before unloading as many as she could, as fast as her arms could throw them. Cathy joined her with the practiced toss she perfected from playing cricket with her father. The group squealed as they were pelted with the foul smelling fruit. They took off at a dead run across the pasture, disappearing into the woods on the other side. Runner went to the four children, followed closely by Cathy. The boy's faces were set in stone, the little girl was crying.

"You all don't even waste your time worrying about what that b***h said," Runner said angrily. "Any of them bother you again, and you let me know. I'll bury them in pig s**t next time."

The boys laughed and even the little girl smiled. They bent down and collected their things discarded on the ground when they were cornered. They said their thanks and walked toward the bridge. Runner and Cathy continued to town.

"Sorry, but I. . . " Runner began, but Cathy interrupted her.

"That was a great throw," Cathy laughed, "It hit her right on the forehead."

"You've got an arm, too," Runner smiled. They both were still laughing when they reached the town. Runner led the way to a substantial building standing apart from the small shops of the town. The sign hung above the storefront read 'Granger's Feed and Seed'. A bell on the door chimed as they entered.

Large shelves lined every wall in the store, and shelves just shorter than the two women were spaced at regular intervals on the floor. Every space was filled with canned goods, and all the wares someone may need in their everyday life. Shovels, rakes, and assorted farming tools hung beside the front door. A large open area in the back revealed dozens of bags containing food for farm animals along with bags of seed. The fans mounted on the walls were continuously running, so it gave the entire store a strange earthy aroma.

Runner made her way to the counter where the cash register sat. An older woman with gray hair stood chatting with a silver haired man in a brown uniform wearing a pistol at his side. The sheriff's star pinned to his chest was polished to a glinty shine. He dropped some coins on the counter and helped himself to a handful of the penny candies from one of the jars sitting atop a glass case of folding knives.

"Yup, ol' man Graham said as much, Alice." he said popping one of the sweets into his mouth.

"So you're going to help him lay the brick, R.V.?" she asked.

"Sure. That way he can build himself a new house. The one he's in now is little more than a lean-to."

"Hey, Runner. How are you doing?" Alice said looking over as Runner and Cathy walked up to the counter.

"I'm fine, Ms. Alice. How about yourself?"

"Doing good. Doing good." She gave Cathy a questioning look.

"Oh, this is Cathy," Runner made the introductions. "Jason's wife from London. She's going to be staying with Ms. Clayton for awhile. Cathy this is Ms. Alice, she owns the store, and this handsome devil," she patted the sheriff's arm. "Is her brother R.V. He's the sheriff."

"Ma'am," R.V. said taking Cathy's hand. She shook hands with Alice too. "You keepin' out of trouble, Runner?"

"Yes, Sir." She said with a laugh.

"Well, here's the jars Beth wanted," She laid her hands on the two cases of empty mason jars sitting on the counter. "She about finished canning?"

"Just about. She's only got some beans, and corn left. Then she's going to start with the black berries. She should be finished by the end of the week."

"That's good. You two need a ride back to her house?"

"Yeah, I can give you all a ride if you want. My squad car is out yonder." R.V. thrust his chin toward the back of the store.

"That would be great. Thanks, Sheriff," Runner said.

"Ok," he said picking up both cases of mason jars in his hands. "I'll see you later, Alice."

"Bye, R.V. Come by the house tonight for dinner, I got a pot roast thawing."

"Will do." He said leading the way out of the store.

The sheriff's car with the red dome light on the top disappeared down the mountain, after he dropped Runner and Cathy in front of Beth's house. Runner sat her case next to two straw baskets on the porch and sat Cathy's on top of her own.

"They must have already gone to pick black berries down by the stream," Runner said picking up the baskets. "Come on. Let's go help."

"Sure." Cathy said following Runner down a path beside the house. She looked out at the view. A hot breeze blew in from the south making waves in the ocean of green leaves stretching across the rolling mountains in the distance. The mountains on the horizon were a gray-blue color. Fall would be spectacular, Cathy decided as the view disappeared from view after she and Runner followed the path into the woods.

They found the three sisters gathering black berries just where Runner had said. A large stream flowed not far away. The three sisters had braided their hair for working in the heat. Runner took a length of string from her wrist and tied her hair into a pony tail. Cathy looped her hair, and tied her blonde locks into a loose knot.

"Thank ya, ladies. If we fill up these baskets, we should have enough."

The five women set to work. By mid-afternoon their baskets were overflowing with black berries. Their hands were lightly stained black with a reddish tenge.

"Phew," Kim said wiping her brow. All the women were pouring with sweat from the blazing sun overhead. "Since we're done, I say we eat those ham biscuits we brought and take a dip in the stream."

"Yeah," Runner said enthusiastically. The ladies found a shady spot and eat the ham biscuits, washing it down with mason jars filled with sweet tea. Kim and Maggie stood up.

"I'm ready to take a swim to cool off now," Maggie said walking over to the stream. Runner stood up.

"You coming?" She asked looking down at Cathy.

"I'd rather not get this dress wet, though." She said looking down.

"I don't think that's going to matter," Runner laughed. Beth, Maggie and Kim were stripping off the coveralls they wore. They dropped their clothes in a pile and strode naked into a deep pool in the stream.

"GOD it's COLD!" Kim cried out.

Runner was already undressing. "It's up to you. No one is around but us." She said before stripping naked and jumping into the water.

Cathy stood and pulled the dress over her head. She tossed her undergarments into a pile on her clothes and walked into the stream. The surface of the water was warmed by the sun, but the deeper she strode, the colder the water became. Chill bumps stood high on her skin.

"It's freezing, but it feels so good," Cathy said dipping her head under the water.

"It sure gets the blood pumpin', that's for certain," Beth agreed.

The five women spent half an hour bathing in the cool water before getting out and dressing themselves. The three sisters carried their baskets back to the house. Runner and Cathy followed a ways behind, walking side by side. Runner kept glancing over at Cathy.

"You have a leaf in your hair," she said, stopping. Cathy stopped too. Runner reached over Cathy's shoulder and pulled a leaf from the back of her head. Their faces were so close.

Runner turned, and hurried along the path leaving Cathy to trail after her. When they got back to Beth's house, they found the three sisters standing on the porch with the sheriff standing with them. His car parked beside the old truck.

"I don't owe that much damn taxes R.V. How in the HELL can Councilman Biehnar say the town is selling my house to pay back taxes." Beth was saying hotly.

"Beth, I'm just giving you the summons," The sheriff was calm. "He's doing it with all the land in the vicinity."

"Both mine and Maggie's too?" Kim said angrily, shaking the paper he handed her.

"Yes. All three of you owe four years worth of property taxes."

"Yeah, but what we owe is nowhere near the worth of our land," Maggie fumed.

"I know. But that's the law they passed last year. As the sheriff, I have to give you the notices, but as a friend," he spoke earnestly, "I think he's doing it so he can buy your land cheap. Then he's going to sell it to the power company. They want to run electric lines over the mountains to start giving people the option of electricity. And they'll pay a lot for it."

"But I thought they were going over the mountains toward town?" Runner interjected.

"So did I," The sheriff shrugged. "Look. If I were you, I'd hire a lawyer."

"We can't afford that, R.V.!" Kim said.

"I know. I'll do what I can to delay it, but they want the land in two weeks. Try to see if you can find a lawyer. . ." he left it hanging.

"I appreciate your help, sheriff." Beth said. He turned around, climbed into his car and left. The five women went into the house. Maggie, Kim, and Beth argued about what they could do, and why the councilman was forcing them to give up their property. In the end, they decided they were going to have to go to Ashville and find a lawyer. They exchanged ideas for how to get the money until it was almost midnight. The sisters went upstairs to bed, with a loose plan of how they were going to proceed. Cathy remained awake sitting at the table. Runner had excused herself to go to the bathroom some time ago. Cathy racked her brain for a solution.

She had told them that she had the funds to pay off the taxes, and then some, but the bulk of her funds were thousands of miles away, back in London. There was no way to get it in time. Cathy sat staring at the rainbow glass of the lantern light. When something struck her. She looked closer at the quartz rocks sitting in the lamp oil. She got up, walked to the cupboard and pulled down a large bowl. She took an unlit lantern and pulled off the top, then dumped the oil and rocks into the bowl. Cathy picked up a transparent piece of quartz and looked at it closely, holding it right next to the lantern light. She couldn't believe it. She went to a drawer in the kitchen, and pulled out a knife, taking it back to the table.

Cathy scrapped the steel knife against the hard stone, and looked at it again. Runner had returned from the bathroom.

"Runner, can you drive Beth's truck?" Cathy said excitingly. Cathy grabbed a hand towel from the stove and took the rocks covered with oil out of the bowl.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I'll explain on the way. We have to go to Ashville."

"Right now?"

"Yes. We should be back by morning."

The next morning Beth and her sisters slept late. It was after sunrise before they found the bowl in the kitchen filled with oil.

"Now what in the world happened here?" Beth asked.

"Your truck is gone." Kim called from the front door.

"I guess they went to town. I'm sure they'll be back 'fore long."

The three women busied themselves with making black berry jam, and preserves, canning the rest, while also discussing their plans to go to Ashville the next day. By afternoon, each one had volunteered to sell their house or belongings to save the other two. They were arguing that point when they heard the old pickup pull up to the house. All three went outside to the porch. Cathy and Runner walked up to the porch, smiling broadly at the three women.

"Where have you two been?" Beth, Kim and Maggie asked in unison.

"Solving your problem," Runner said. She and Cathy went on the porch, sitting at the small table. The others joined her.

"How'd ya do that?" Beth asked.

"With these," Cathy said. She took out a leather draw stringed pouch, and dumped its contents on the table. It was full of the lantern rocks.

"How did my quartz solve our problem?"

"Because they're not quartz, Beth," Cathy said excitingly. "They are raw gemstones." The three older woman looked at her confused.

"The rocks aren't quartz, Beth," Runner said picking up a red stone, "This is a red diamond."

"What!?" Beth gasped.

"Yeah, you must have tens of thousands, maybe a hundred thousand dollars worth of diamonds, rubies, and emeralds sitting in those buckets in your shed, and in the lamps all over your house," Runner laughed. "Cathy got a closer look at the rocks after she dumped out a lamp, and we went to Ashville and sold some of them. She knew what she was doing since her family owned a jewelry store in London. Then we took that money and hired you ladies a lawyer. This is what we didn't need though," she pulled a thick bundle of folded cash from her pocket and handed it over.

"And the lawyer agreed that Councilman Biehnar probably found out, somehow, that you were just picking gemstones off the ground around your property. He decided to take your land, but he must of thought Kim and Maggie had the same mineral deposits as you, so he tried to get their land too." Cathy explained.

"The lawyer is filing your mineral rights for your lands right now," she paused, "He already has actually. He said he'll stop by the house by Friday with the paperwork for you to sign, and to give the town council the injunction on selling your property and to pay the taxes himself." Runner summed up.

Beth, Kim and Maggie sat there astounded. Beth, with large tears falling from her cheeks stood up and hugged Cathy fiercely.

"How can we thank ya?" she sobbed.

"You already have," Cathy said returning the hug. Runner smiled.