Help Comes From Afar

Help comes from afar

The last rays of the evening sun shone through the window. Josh stood
at the pane and gazed out across the ocean. He often thought that the
idea of moving out to the beach was the best idea he ever had. It gave
his mind chance to clear, especially since a void had developed between
himself and his wife.
Twenty-two years of marriage was taking its toll. The chain of events
had started when Josh was working hard on an extremely bewildering
case, it had been reported in that a man had been murdered at an all
night caf?. Josh arrived on the scene and saw the body, propped up
against the row of dirty sinks in the mens bathroom. A single bullet
wound entry to the forehead. The caf? owner neither saw nor heard
anything, although sweating like a pig. The rest of the customers if
there were any had disappeared. The place, area and village were like a
ghost town. The case had been investigated, with the sparest of leads,
for about 5 days. He had just finished a gruelling 12-hour day and had
just walked away with a bollocking from his boss. The only thing on his
mind was sleep until walking in to his apartment and finding Martine,
his wife, lying across the dinner table, naked with his so-called best
mate lying on top of her. Gripped in climax. That was it, twenty-two
years of marriage almost over. The affair had apparently been going on
for sixth months behind his back and of course he was the last to
know.
That was three months ago now, although he was trying to put it behind
him, a rift had appeared between them and that was fine with him. He
could do with a being a bit distant for a while. In fact, he damn well
missed the single life. He wasn't much of a party animal, far from it.
An evening with a good book, packet of biscuits and a warm cup of cocoa
was more his style. His cases at work still kept him very busy and that
made him happy, for now anyway.
The tide was going out slowly and his gaze never moved. As he lifted
his cup of coffee to his lips the telephone rang. He kept the cup in
his hand and made his way over to the phone.
'Hello, Pochette here.'
'Josh.' said the cheery, familiar voice on the other end of the
line
'Art, how are you buddy?' Josh asked.
'Not bad, how's everything with you?'
'Fine,' he added as he rose his coffee cup back up to his lips and took
a sip.
'We have had some details through about a disappearance, thought you
might be interested. We had a call from a Mrs Murphy; she is worried
about her daughter, son-in-law and grandchild. They have been camping
in Parsoes Range and were due back two days ago but no one has seen or
heard from them. Mrs Murphy, said that her daughter had been phoning
every day of their holiday up until three days ago.'
'Has anyone been out to the site?' Josh asked, taking his final sip
from the cup.
'The call came through about twenty minutes ago, Slewin has already
given the order that a search be carried out first thing and has asked
you to lead the hunt.'
'Yeah, Slewin would. What time, and where will I meet you and the rest
of the party?'
'Sunrise, at the main gates. Is that ok?' he asked.
'I'll be there.'
They said their goodbyes and Josh put the receiver back on the cradle.
He turned round and saw his wife coming in from the kitchen. She was
wiping flour from her hands down the front of her apron, some of which
was flaking to the carpet.
'Careful,' he said 'You're getting that everywhere'
'It's not as if you are going to clean it up, is it?' she sarcastically
added, without looking up.
This type of conversation had been going on for as long as he could
remember. Everything now was sarcasm and digs.
'I'm going upstairs' he exclaimed.
She didn't bother responding, just turned around sharply, and made her
way back in to the kitchen.
He climbed the stairs and made his way to his room. Although not his
official bedroom, he had spent many a recent nights under the white
blanket on the bed. The room was small, but cosy with a lovely view of
the sea. He closed the door, turned on the stereo and started to get
undressed. The night was drawing in. Josh gazed up and saw a single
star in the sky, the only one visible to the naked eye. He remembered
the 'First star at night' wish and began to recite.
Star light, Star bright
First star, I see tonight
I wish I may, I wish I might
Have this wish, I wish tonight.
As he made his wish he stared up, 'You've got your work cut out with
that one.' he exclaimed.
The star appeared to twinkle in the evening sky, as other stars began
to fade in to view. He drew in the strings to his pyjamas and pulled
them tight in to his waist and clambered in to bed. He grabbed the
remote control to the stereo from the floor and flicked through the
available stations. He found some relaxing classical music and closed
his eyes. Sleep came instantly and he enjoyed a dreamless night.

The waves of the ocean crashed against the gathering of rocks below.
The birds called out in unison. Josh opened his eyes and gazed at the
clock waiting for his focus to come back to him. He finally made out
the numbers 8:45.
'Shit.' he murmured, as he rushed out of bed. Since the problems had
begun with Martine he had been late countless amount of times.
He arrived at the main gates at 9:20. He jumped out of his car and
slammed the door shut. He noticed a ranger over by the hut; he was
dressed in a smart brown uniform with a distinctive ranger-type hat. A
small black moustache hung underneath his nose, which he seemed to have
a habit of twitching. The Ranger walked toward Josh, with his hand
raised high in the air, as if to somehow attract his attention.
'You there, are you Mr Pochette?' the Ranger asked, still making his
way over to the gravel path.
'Sure am. Josh Pochette' he said, holding out his hand as a welcome
gesture.
The Ranger took it in his grasp and gave it a gentle shake.
'Limington, Jack Limington is the name. I was told to wait here for
you. Art Levell said you would probably be late-'
'And as you can see, he was right.' Josh chuckled
A slight smile came over the lips of the Ranger and disappeared as
quickly as it rose, '-they have begun the search and have asked if you
can make your way to the East Side of the park.' He paused as he made
his way to a small, green jeep about twenty yards to the right of them.
'I've got to run,' he continued, without looking back 'tour group
making their way over. Got to meet them over the far side.'
Josh watched as the Ranger jumped in his jeep and turned the key to the
ignition. A rattling hum came from the bonnet as the tyres spun around
on the gravel and with that he was gone.
Josh turned around to face the main entrance and footpath to this
gigantic area. East, he thought, which way is bloody east. He looked
out across the small path that led through the middle of the forestry.
The path led on for about 300 yards until veering off to the right and
disappearing. Trees stood all around, the leaves on most had already
fallen to the ground, we were fast approaching October now and the
stages of autumn were well visible. High, tall pines stood aloft in the
mountainous terrain that led around the right hand side of the range.
Not being much of a boy scout, he looked around and surmised that if
people were to go missing, they was more chance of them getting lost in
the mountainous terrain. He breathed a long sigh and began his way to
the right.
Three long hours had passed, no sign of the rest of his party, no sign
of the missing trio, no sign of anyone. The terrain had become thick;
he could hear a small brook running through the range to his right. The
other side of the brook was a very steep slope that led to the
highland. Trees and rocks were the inhabitants of the mostly dirt and
mud slope. He carried along his self-made path and directly in to the
heat of the sun. Only stopping on the odd occasion to shout Hello at
the top of his voice, where at every time nothing but the chirping of
the birds and the silence of the woods was the reply.
Many hours had now passed; the sun appeared to be on the descent. He
glanced down at his Casio timepiece that now displayed 3:45pm. He found
a large rock set in to the long grass and decided to rest. His search
had now taken him around six and half-hours. He sat and thought about
his next step. His hours of calling had brought no joy whatsoever. He
was suffering from fatigue, hunger and most of all dehydration. The
heat was taking its toll; he was considering whether to risk a drop of
water from the nearby brook when a rustle in the bushes a little
further on took his mind off of his thirst. He squinted his eyes to
improve his vision as the sun was now restricting his view. He could
just about make out a silhouette in the distance.
'Hello.' he called as he tilted his ear towards the silhouette awaiting
a response.
None came.
'Hello' he called again, as the shadow drew nearer.
Only silence came back, even the birds had stopped singing.
He now could make out a figure, male figure. A long green shirt hung
from his broad shoulders and a paler green pair of shorts wrapped
around his waist. The man looked in his thirties; he could make out a
more detailed image as the person became closer. He had short brown
hair, rugged features and Josh noticed that the man had a very pale
complexion. Well, extremely pale.
'Hello.' he called out for the third time, 'Who are you?' he
added.
The man stopped in his tracks and turned his head towards Josh.
'You've got to follow me' said the man, a sort of desperate anguish in
his face
'What?'
The man turned around and made his way back from where he seemed to
head from. Josh tried to follow.
'Wait. Hold up a minute. Who are you?'
The man neither waited nor responded just ventured deeper in to the
forestry.
Josh had a difficult time keeping up. He stumbled against the uneven
ground; the thorns and sharp stone cut in to his calves and shins as he
struggled through the undergrowth.
'WAIT,' he cried, ' I can't keep up with you.'
The man paused and turned to face Josh. He said nothing but raised his
arm and beckoned him forward. The man ahead seemed to breeze through
the whispering tall grass, occasionally going out of sight for short
periods of time between the trees and very dense undergrowth.
Night wasn't far ahead; a cold night in the terrifying forest didn't
appeal to him in the slightest. His heart began to pound in his chest;
he had been feeling a sharp stinging dryness in his mouth for hours
now. He had been trying to wet his mouth and throat with saliva as
often as possible but as the minutes skipped by he found this more and
more difficult. His legs and arms felt heavy, he just wanted to rest.
Just for half an hour or so, just to replenish some sought after
energy.
His only thoughts were of his wife. The picture of his wife and best
friend, embracing and fondling amongst the cutlery, tablecloth and
napkins, were playing around his mind like a stuck record that he
couldn't reach the needle of. Pondering this little scenario a shock
realisation hit him like the wheels of an express train; he had just
realised his wife wanted him to discover them fondling around the
dining table. The usual 'Hi Darling, how was your day' was replaced by
the grunting and groaning of two bodies entwined in the midst of
passionate love. He wasn't sure, and didn't really want to know,
whether she had made him catch them at it out of pure and evil spite,
or if it was a case that she tried to tell him and he didn't listen.
Maybe she wanted to, maybe she had sat down with him and tried to pour
her heart out to him, he just didn't know. She may just have realised
that the only true way of him finding out was to catch them in the act
of love.
Disturbing thoughts of these types of scenarios dramatically danced
around his mind as he saw the man ahead gradually and gradually become
smaller and smaller as he grew further away.
Josh had just finished clearing away some of the forest debris that had
gathered itself around his feet, when he noticed that the tall stranger
had stopped and was standing completely still. Josh paused and stared,
he was now becoming a little afraid. He was considering turning back,
he realised he was totally lost now, he was now thinking that the
should have used the Hansel and Gretal method of laying stones along
his path to find his way back. The stranger in the distance turned
slowly to his right and Josh saw his right arm raising. He saw where
the hand was pointing and he didn't like it one bit.
'UP THERE.' the voice from the stranger called, without even moving his
head.
This man, who Josh had been following in the wilderness for around half
an hour, who had not said hardly a word, now stood perfectly still, arm
aloft and was directing Josh to climb the mud mountain just past the
brook. Was this man insane, the hill was steep, very steep. Josh knew
that a triathalete, who regularly competed and trained all year round,
would have a great task to climb this terrain. He was still staring at
this man, who so far along this journey had been as swift tracking this
terrain as an ice-skater gliding along a perfectly treated rink but was
now standing perfectly still about 100 yards ahead of him, still his
right arm was raised.
Josh turned to see the rough terrain of the hill. He tried to see why
this man was now beckoning him up among the pine trees, mountains of
mud and whatever other little surprises were waiting up there. He was
about to forget the whole situation and turn back when he heard a faint
sound in the distance. It was very faint; he strained his ears and
tilted his head. The sound came from a female voice. He was straining
to hear the words when the voice became a touch louder, a very slight
increase but it was just enough for Josh to understand the word
Help.
'Who's up there? - Is it my men? - Is it the missing family?' he
shouted as he turned to the man.
The man was no longer there. A clearing of space was all he could see.
Josh's heart pounded in his chest, he could feel every beat. He was
wary when this man was in view but he was damn well afraid now the man
had gone out of view.
'Hello?' he shouted, spinning around.
There came no response, apart from a slight eerie echo, which seemed to
curl its way around the rim of the mountains. He cautiously made his
way over to the patch of ground the man was standing, glancing over his
shoulder every couple of seconds. He heard the faint cry again; he
could make out that whoever, or whatever was making the sound, it was
definitely over the top of this difficult obstacle. He was now standing
roughly in the spot where the stranger disappeared. He glanced up, at
the dirt hill and noticed, about a height of about nine feet above the
bushy ridge, a small rocky ledge. He walked over to the ridge and
looked down, a steep drop of about seventy feet fell below him. Sharp,
jagged rocks and a constant rapid of water were the dangerous
combination, which would await him if he were to fall. The dirt hill
stood four feet across the ravine and the rocky ledge about three feet
above his head.
He hadn't made a jump like this since Sports Day at school. Even then
he fell headfirst in to the sand, he could almost see his young
classmates, scattered around the forestry and on the hill edging him
on. 'Come on fatty' they called and jeered as they tittered amongst
themselves. He could see each and every face with complete clarity. He
saw Scott Thompson planted on the hill opposite chanting,

"Josh Pochette
You're fat and small
And everyone here knows-
-Your going to fall"

As the last words left his lips he lifted his head and cackled and deep
and spiteful laugh. The other children joined in unison as they all
began to laugh. He tried to ignore the cries of laughter as he summed
up the jump. He took off his jacket and laid it on the floor beside
him. His heart beat in his chest as he began to seriously think of the
task that he had set himself. He wiped his brow and paced backwards,
giving himself some space for a running jump. He tried to block out
images of him tumbling over the ravine and his classmates that were
still scattered around. A distance of about twenty feet stood between
him and the edge if the cliff. He adopted a marathon runners starting
position and glanced up at the rocky target. He took one more look
around to see if his mysterious companion had decided to make another
appearance. The man was no where to be seen. He went back to the
marathon runners start, wiped his brow and tried to control his heart
beat. He heard the cry for help again, this time it appeared a little
stronger. Not so much as closer but as if the voice itself had got
louder. This new cry was a blessing in disguise; he had never backed
out of a challenge and never left a fallen man (or women) down and now
was more determined than ever. He began his run. The ground below moved
quickly beneath his feet as the chant from the children began
again,

"Josh Poshette
Turn back. - Don't Try
We all here know-
-You're going to DIE"

The last word rang out like a bad curse as he reached the cliff's edge
and leapt. The ground disappeared beneath him as the children let off a
cheer. He was in a daze as he saw the steep slope coming closer to his
body, and fast. He lifted his arms and opened the palms of his hands.
He hit the slopes face headfirst, the pain all over the front of his
body was instant. From his right shoulder he immediately felt a
throbbing pain, very sharp and stabbing. His hands grabbed a handful of
dirt as he started to slowly slip down. His hands scrambled for the
rock ledge, uprooting dead plants and moss. The back of his left hand
smacked against a hard sharp surface as both hands instinctively
reached for the surface. He was relieved to see, when he looked up,
that both hands now gripped the edge of the small ledge, which had
stopped him descending to the certain death below. His hands tightened
around the hard surface and he struggled to pull himself up. He felt a
small triumph as well as a heck of relief in making the jump. All of
his classmates had now disappeared, apart from little Scott Thompson.
Josh looked in to his eyes. He saw a slight smile come over his face as
he disappeared in to the nothingness from which he came. As he pulled
himself up his right shoulder felt as if it was on fire, the intense
pain from the muscle was stinging. He tried to grit his teeth as he
managed to raise one of his knees on to the ledge. Both his arms were
now outstretched, keeping his balance; his left knee on the ledge with
his right leg dangling aimlessly next to it. Although in an
uncomfortable position he paused for breath. He tried not too look down
but it was inevitable that he would eventually. The water and rocks
seemed even more deeper and dangerous than he first thought, his body
turned cold with the view. He looked back straight ahead, and lifted
his right foot to the ledge. Then, he pulled himself up to a standing
position and paused again. He was standing on a small ledge about six
inches wide, eighty feet on a cliff slope, down to a terrible death
below. The cliff's edge was about three feet above the tip of his
outstretched hand, which like the rim from which he jumped, was covered
with long thick grass. He knew that his climb was not yet over and the
rest of the way up would be as hazardous as it had been so far.
'What the hell am I doing here?' he asked himself. His conscious had no
answer.
'If we make this-' he said to his brain as he dipped and made ready for
the jump, '-then me and you are going to have a serious talk.'
With that, he leapt upwards towards the edge of the cliff face; his
eyes were closed as his hands hit against the ground on top. The tips
of his fingers felt the moist, cool dew from the grass. He grabbed the
grass and hung. The thick stems of grass and moss held his weight, for
the time being, as his body clumped against the side of the ravine for
the second time.
He cried in pain in to the wilderness as his shoulder felt as if it was
going to explode. He knew his shoulder was busted, whether he had
broken the bone or had just dislocated it, he was in intense pain and
every moment he hung like this it was getting worse. He knew he had to
add more pressure on to the shoulder to lift himself up, it was either
that or fall eighty feet. He clambered up the dirt slope; feet trying
to obtain some sort of grip amongst the mud and moss. He felt himself
gradually rising up the cliff face, slowly at first but gaining
momentum as he continued. The pain in his shoulder was unbearable as he
once again screamed in to the drawing evening, this time with more
vengeance. He eventually managed to haul himself over the cliff edge
and on to the ledge. He laid flat on his back taking in deep breathes
as he felt his right shoulder. He felt a forceful mound of skin, where
the bone was protruding which made him grimace. With his right shoulder
protectively tucked in to his body he made his way to his feet. He
looked around and noticed a small gravel path leading down a gentle
slope and leading off to the right. Without hesitation he followed the
route and made his way through the rocks. Four hundred yards or so he
had ventured when he noticed that the path carried on winding through
the other face of this large, rocky mound. He stood atop the very peak,
looking down at the winding gravel path when he heard the cry again,
this time much, much stronger. Not only could he hear this female
calling, but also a small child crying. The cry was faint, a very
muffled and tiresome cry.
'HELLO.' he called.
'HELP. HELP US.' a women shrieked, an air of excitement in her voice.
The sound was somehow withdrawn and Josh assumed, from the sound and
direction of the voice, that they must be trapped inside this mound. He
noticed, about seventy yards down the path, that the rock and debris
that made up this side of the hill, or small mountain was more out of
alignment than the rest of the face. He struggled down as fast as he
could, right arm still tapered inside his body and noticed, as he drew
nearer that it appeared, at first look, as if there had been some sort
of cave in. Small, heavy boulders appeared to block the entrance to the
cave. There were some eight to ten larger rocks and maybe three to four
smaller ones now guarding the entrance.
'Hello? Are you alright?' he called through the tiny gaps in the
rocks.
'Please help us,' came the tearful reply from within. 'Please hurry, we
are running out of oxygen' she added.
He began to move the rocks, one by one from the entrance. It took him a
little longer than it usual would to clear the path because of the
damage to his shoulder, although it didn't slow him down too much. As
he worked to clear the debris he could hear a small child crying
inside, this gave him a powerful rush of adrenaline as he lifted the
last few rocks away. As larger gaps appeared he tried to gaze through
and see who it was he was trying to get to. Eventually a ladies face
came in to view, she was young and very beautiful, even with the cuts
and bruises that were clearly visible in the low light, which occupied
most of her gaunt face.
'Please call the police' she desperately said through the
ever-increasing gaps.
'I AM the police.' he replied, straining, as he lifted a large rock
with just his weaker arm.
The entrance was now big enough for the lady to climb out of. In her
arms she carried a small child. The child's cardigan and small dress
was covered with dirt and dust, and she had a small graze on her
forehead.
'Is there anyone else in there with you?' he asked peering in to the
deep black void.
'Only my husband-' she replied, as tears began to pour down her cheeks,
'-but he died this morning.'
She almost fell to the floor, still clutching the small child and
collapsed to a crying heap. Josh scrambled over the remains of the
rocks and stones took out his pocket flashlight from his trousers and
entered in. He had got no further than about five yards when his
torchlight shone upon a pair of trainers and socks on the floor. As his
light scanned up the body a slight familiarisation came over him. Pale
green khaki shorts, a darker green shirt, undone and blood stained. He
panned the face with his torch and froze. This man who was lying here
was his mysterious guide, the same man who had glided through the tall
grass, moss, rocks and trees, the same man who, not only forty minutes
ago had literally ordered him to climb the impossible slope. The tips
of Josh's fingers tingled as the rest of his body went numb.
He faintly heard the cackle of radio messages and many voices coming
from outside. He averted his gaze; still keeping his flashlight fixed
this man and saw Art Levell climbing amidst the rubble.
'Where on earth have you been?' asked Levell
'Don't even ask.' he firmly replied, handing the flashlight to Art and
leaving the cave.
He told no-one of the stranger, the man who appeared to have been lying
dead on the floor in a dusty old cave and guiding him through the
wilderness on a search of rescue.
After having his shoulder bandaged, he caught a cab home. He thought
non-stop about what had happened. Love brought a whole new meaning to
him that day. Something stronger than simply life or death, much
stronger. A man, who was so much in love with his sweetheart, rescued
her from the heavens. Somehow came back with the sole purpose of saving
his wife and his child.
He walked through the door to his apartment and was met by his
wife.
'Are you alright?' she asked, glancing at the tapered shoulder.
This was not a sarcastic remark, or meant as any kind of dig. It was a
compassionate question, a question that would normally be asked by a
caring wife and Josh knew it.
'I'm fine love' he smiled.
She turned and walked out on to the balcony, a calming sea gently
kissed the rocks below. He followed behind her and as they both stood
out on the balcony he placed his good arm around her waist and gave her
a gentle squeeze. She looked in to his eyes and smiled. Josh hadn't
seen that smile in months, if not years. The twinkle in her eye gave
Josh a warm feeling inside. He glanced up at the night sky and saw his
wish star twinkling in to view. His eyes diverted themselves back to
his wife, now cuddled deep in to his chest.
A deep schoolboy smile came over his lips as he let out a small sigh.
He rose his head and once again caught sight of the star. He winked,
then quietly and simply whispered,
'Thank you.'

The End