Rocks

Rocks

By David Willard

Jonathan could not have been more excited. After days of relentless rain, the sun had come out. He did not care so much about the now beautiful weather as he did about what the bad weather had revealed. In these mountains, the rain collected and formed natural sluices which washed rocks up from under the soil. Sometimes the rains would cause an old mine to cave in or trigger a rockslide which would unearth a wealth of stones. The conditions this morning were perfect, and Jonathan was jonesing after not being able to go out for so long.

What was the big deal about rocks?

On the highway near Jonathan’s home was a store called simply Gems. Inside was a riot of beautiful stones of all colors, shapes, sizes and patterns. There were stones that looked like you were staring into the sky, stones that were like fire in your hand, and stones that made midnight take a physical form.

The store’s owner, Old Jimmy- who insisted that everyone call him Old Jimmy- saw Jonathan’s fascination and took Jonathan under his wings to show him the true magic of rocks. Old Jimmy explained the types of rocks, how they were formed and where they could be found. Rocks were not as old as the Earth; they were the Earth. Tiny pieces of the cosmic jigsaw puzzle that made up the planet.

“But I have walked through these mountains all my life and have never seen stones as beautiful as these,” Jonathan said.

“I have machines called a cabbing machine. It can take a rock from a riverbank and turn it into a jewel,” Old Jimmy replied.

That was when Jonathan discovered his passion for rocks and his favorite pastime: rock hunting. He began an endless quest to find the ugliest rock and make it into the most beautiful stone.

That was the big deal about rocks.

Jonathan drove his pickup down a paved road, which turned into a gravel road, which turned into a dirt road which ended at a wall of trees. Old Jimmy had told him about this place. It was perfect because the scree surface was relatively unstable. There were always new “crops” of rocks to be found. Best of all, it was hidden so all the amateur, touristy rockhounds had not picked it clean.

Jonathan also liked this place because it was isolated, quiet, not a part of the rest of the world. Along with the fun and excitement of the hunt, it brought him a sense of peace. Here, the Earth shared its soul and spirit with him. It was such a beautiful day that Jonathan did not even bring a jacket. He planned to hunt until it started getting dark so no need for a flashlight. He grabbed his cellphone and his rucksack and headed off into the wooded mountainside.

His spotted a stream, it was normally a rivulet, but the rain had turned it into a small river. And that river had carried many stones and thrown them to the sides as if in anger. The first stone Jonathan saw was a coal black rock which stood out from the other, earth-colored stones. It was a very rare Black Arkansas stone. It was so hard that its edge could be sharpened to the point where it could be used as a razor or a knife. Jonathan was even more excited because his first find was rare stone.

And so, the day went. It seemed that everywhere Jonathan looked there was a rock that piqued his interest. The morning flew by. He stopped and ate the two energy bars that he had stashed in the rucksack - just what he would need to make it through the rest of the day- and it was back to the hunt.

He came across an abandoned lead mine. The roof over the entrance had collapsed and there was a pile of rocks just begging to be browsed. After that, he did a little more hunting and, noticing the sky was dimming, Jonathan decided to tear himself away from the hunt and head back to his pickup as planned. Looking up and around him, he was shocked to find that he had no idea where he was. Focused on the ground, he had not noticed the terrain features that would have guided him back to the truck. It was like someone had blindfolded him and dropped him into the wilderness.

Okay, deep breath, stop and think. When he walked from the stream to the mine, the sun had been in his face. Thus, the stream was east of the mine. If he could get back to the stream, he could follow it uphill and find his truck when he reached the top.

Jonathan eventually found the mine, but it was not as easy as he thought, and he burned up a lot of daylight doing it. From there, he set out to what he thought was the east. He tried going in several directions, but he never found the stream. He finally decided to just climb up the mountain from where he was and then look for the truck.

His body was worn out from all the walking he had done. The rucksack half filled with rocks made moving uphill even harder. He could feel his strength begin to wane along with the sun.

As he struggled up the mountain, the air began to get noticeably cooler. Jonathan became chilly and then outright cold. He regretted not bringing a jacket. Any outdoorsman would have known to carry a coat along in anticipation of the weather rapidly changing. Jonathan was not an outdoorsman. He did not care about camping or hiking or flora or fauna. He cared about rocks.

Of course, this lack of preparation also meant he had no food, no water and no means to make fire. But Jonathan was resolute. Facing the forces of nature in nothing but his bare skin was daunting but not scary. He was a Mountain man, tough as a cheap steak. But tough as he was, he could not defeat gravity or the lack of food. He decided to give in and call for help. He pulled out his cellphone- and there was no signal. He had never thought that the mountains and remote location would affect cell service. He had never thought of a lot of things.

Something he did think of was that he could die as the idea crept to the edge of his mind, but he refused to entertain it. Pushing it away, he continued his quest for the truck.

It was getting darker, Jonathan was getting weaker, and the climb was becoming more dangerous. With a broken heart, he dropped the ruck sack and prayed he could find it again. The second time he slipped on a loose rock and busted his ass, he decided to find a place to hole up for the night. As if nature had decided to give him a break, he came across a large tree which had fallen against a boulder. The angle and the leaves it had left on its branches made it a natural lean to. Jonathan squeezed in under the tree, there was barely enough room, and began waiting out the night.

Someone was shaking him. He opened his eyes but there was no one around. Then he realized that he was shivering so bad from the cold that he woke himself up. HIs body was making a last-ditch attempt to keep from freezing to death. He was going to die if he didn’t warm up. The only way he could do that was to walk around and let his body generate more heat. He wisely made sure he stayed around the tree where he knew he could safely navigate. Taking laps did warm him up but his exhaustion and weakness were going to limit how long he could do that.

The shivering had subsided somewhat, so Jonathan decided to crawl back into his shelter. He leaned against the boulder, despite the conditions, fell asleep. Not long after, he was again awakened by seizure like shivering. He realized that if rested he chanced freezing to death but, if he tried to walk, he would pass out from exhaustion and then freeze to death.

He had fought it since it started taking root when he could not find the stream. It grew as did his fight against it throughout his ordeal. But now there was no hope, there was no plan, one way or another he was going to die. The panic swept over him like a tsunami. This time, the thought could be ignored. There was a real chance that he was going to die.

As his body struggled to keep working and his emotions were screaming about his demise, he suddenly had a realization. His cellphone could not get a signal, but it did have a flashlight. It offered the feint hope of being able to navigate up the mountain in the dark. He could keep warm by moving and maybe even make it to the top where he could find safety. It was a twig in a whirlwind, but it offered Jonathan enough hope to keep trying. He got up, turned the light on, and started up the mountain. The light was surprisingly bright and allowed him to see plenty of distance before him. This unexpected salvation made him resolute and determined to survive.

The journey was not easy. The light did not even out the terrain. Every time he tripped, slipped or almost fell, he had to fight the urge to just give up. The thought of dying cold and alone on the mountain was so terrifying that it motivated him to keep trying.

Jonathan finally fell. As he lay on the ground, he heard an ominous sound. It was an angry howling, and it was getting closer. He knew there were mountain lions and coyotes in these mountains, and it looked like he was about to become dinner for one.

The howling grew closer. With each howl, Jonathan’s fear grew. What was it? Could it be a bear? You could scare bears away. What about the other predators? Would playing dead work? That would not be hard.

While he was panicking, the sound came to the edge of Jonathan’s light, but he could see nothing. Suddenly, the howling was right in his face then it went over his head and disappeared into the darkness. Jonathan had scared a large bird, probably a turkey. The knowledge that he would not be eaten buoyed him up a little.

Jonathan suddenly realized he was on level ground. He had made it to the top! Now he just had to figure out where the truck was. He started feeling warmer. The cold front must have passed, and warm air was coming in behind it. Jonathan was so grateful he would have shouted with joy if he had the energy. Now, at least, he could safely get some rest and find his truck in the daylight. More importantly, he would not die. He found a thicket of trees to break the wind, laid down and waited for dawn.

“How did you find, uh,” the deputy checked his notebook “Jonathan?”

“The sheriff had them put out that missing person broadcast on WKKW. That old man that runs the rock shop heard it and called us and said he knew where he was. Everyone knows that guy is crazy but, the kid had been missing for two days. My boss thought it was worth chancing it and sent me down here. I searched around and eventually found him over there in those trees,” the ranger shook his head slowly, “What is your guess as to what happened? Did the old man kill him?”

“Well, the old man said he was going rock hunting, but he was not carrying any rocks and there were none in the truck. There was no one else around; no signs of animals. He had injuries, a few scrapes and bruises, but nothing too serious. There were no empty alcohol containers and, if he was high, he would have hit a tree or went over the side long before he got here. The kid was not even wearing a jacket. It could only be one thing.”

“Suicide by hypothermia? Seems like a painfully slow way to do it.”

‘Why else would he freeze to death just 30 feet from his truck?”