Requiem for a Soldier (Requiem #1)

Chapter 6: Threat

April 1

Ryan

Two weeks have passed since I carried Ana's unconscious body into the cabin. Ever since she mentioned the helicopter crash, I've been spending all the daylight hours out looking for it under the guise of hunting or fishing. I take the key to the cabin and the key to my desk drawer with me. There are things in that drawer that I'd rather no one saw, myself included.

As I head out on my ATV for the fourth day in a row, I again try to figure out which direction she came from. My last three days of searching turned up nothing. She was in pretty bad shape when I found her, but I have no idea how mobile and healthy she was right after the crash. How far could she have walked in the snow, in these temperatures, in the clothing she was wearing?

Sometimes I wish I still had access to the internet to answer obscure questions such as these, but otherwise I don't miss the internet much at all. When I moved up here, the equipment and services required to establish an internet connection at the cabin seemed like too much work. During my time in Afghanistan, we didn't usually have internet access. It didn't seem necessary for life out here. Also, I didn't want the connection to the outside world that the internet would bring. I'd get rid of the sat phone in a heartbeat if I didn't need it to order supplies.

Like the three days prior, I spend the majority of the daylight hours searching for the helicopter Ana claims to have been on. I wonder if I'm looking for it because I really believe it could be out here, or because I'm latching on to anything that keeps me away from her. Not that there's anything wrong with her. She's a little odd and closed off, but I imagine I'm probably much the same way. Probably to a greater extreme. She seems just as determined to keep her existence a secret as I am. I've been taking every chance I can to avoid being around her. I'm bothered on a subconscious level any time she's looking at me. I know she can't see the scars I'm hiding, but anyone looking at me is still uncomfortably disconcerting. It makes me want to hide from her. I'm still holding on to the hope that she'll suddenly decide she doesn't want to stick around my place any longer and leave. I don't think she knows enough to tell anyone anything that would lead to my discovery, but if she's involved with law enforcement somehow and they decide to come calling, that could be a problem.

Something else about her that's started bothering me is that she's really quite attractive. In the past few days, she's recovered significantly from her near brush with death. Without the sickly pallor, she's striking. Saph was striking too, but Ana's beauty is entirely different. Saph was all things light and airy. She was tall, blonde, blue-eyed, and willowy but with curves. She acted as though life were a joke and the world existed to please her. Ana is much darker, from her olive-toned skin to her dark brown hair and eyes to her serious nature. Sometimes when I ask a question she refuses to answer, I see a darkness inside her that threatens to overtake her. Even when Ana is acting carefree and cheerful, there's still a shadow that hangs about her.

There's also something infinitely more genuine about Ana. I don't think I ever saw Saph when she wasn't looking her best. Ana's beauty is understated but natural. I've also seen her hovering on the verge of death. She seems much more real than Saph ever did.

Just as I'm about to call it a day and head back home, I find what I've been searching for in a small clearing. I stare at the scene ahead of me in disbelief. I think part of me was still convinced that this was all in her head. But the battered helicopter lying in the snow proves Ana's claims.

Despite the fact the landing was clearly more of a crash than a gentle touch down, the wreckage doesn't look too bad. The helicopter seems to be in one piece. It looks as though the rotor blades may have sheared off when they struck the ground, which indicates that the engine may have still been powering the blades upon impact. Perhaps the pilots did still have some control of the vehicle just before the crash. I don't see any major dents that indicate the helicopter impacted with a significant amount of force or bounced or rolled after landing. I doubt anyone was killed. Ana only had a slight bump on her forehead.