ds_flashfiction | Darkness Challenge

625 words Another dream-inspired story, probably from watching the trailer for LOTR III half a dozen times yesterday...

The quality of darkness was different in the North. When the stars were out, when the moon reflected off the snow, when the aurora danced across the sky, the nighttime darkness only served as a background on their canvas. When they were not visible, when the cloud cover of an approaching storm obscured all sources of light until even the embers of the banked fire were lost to view, the darkness felt as though it enveloped the entire world.

“Ben?” I felt, rather than heard the soft whisper on my neck.

“Yes, Ray?” I had thought he was asleep, worn bone weary by the excitement of the day.

“I don’t - you’re gonna think I’m crazy, but I don’t want to tell anybody, OK?”

“Ray, why not? It’s an extraordinary thing.” Truly extraordinary. Quite frankly it was all I could do not to climb the nearest mountain and shout it to the world.

“I know. I mean it’s amazing, and I’m so happy like you wouldn’t believe that finally we did it. But we did it, and it’s ours, and I don’t want to share that with nobody.” His hand gently stroked my chest through an opening in my long johns.

“But other people should know, Ray. I’m so proud...” But perhaps he wasn’t - no, that wasn’t the reason. I knew that better than I knew my own name.

“I don’t know if I can make this make sense, but I think telling anyone would, well, nobody else could do it, you know?”

“I’m not certain what you mean.”

“Well, it’s kinda like - listen, Ben, there are only a couple of adventures left in this world. Everybody knows where the Amazon starts, and tourists take cruises to Antarctica and vacations to Everest. This was our quest, and I did it more to find you than Franklin. I mean, did you really think we’d ever actually find the guy?”

“To be honest, no I didn’t.” But we had, and the ice cave we were staying in contained all the proof we needed to document the fate of Franklin and his men. It was an archeologist’s dream.

“So that’s it, see? This quest should stay like that. And we keep the adventure ready for the next guys who need a goal, cuz there just aren’t that many of them left.”

I couldn’t see Ray in the darkness, but I knew what he was feeling. The body at rest next to mine was tense, the hand held still on my chest was slightly clammy with nerves. He thought I would reject his idea. He expected it. I understood him, though, better than he realized.

Ray didn’t want the bonds we had forged to be obscured by the media circus that would ensue if we announced our success. Our names would forever be linked to Franklin, not to each other, and our lives would become public property for the duration. The quest was too deeply personal for that kind of attention.

“That’s a wonderful idea, Ray.” The kiss he gave me was slightly awry, but the sentiment behind it went straight through me. He shifted slightly in the sleeping bag.

“That’s not to say I don’t want some credit for finding that reaching out hand, though. We can leave a note or something, right? And take some pictures? Cuz maybe the next guys will be idiots and tell everybody.”

I’m certain he could feel me grin. “In the morning, Ray. We’ll take lots of pictures in the morning.”

I felt a sigh, felt his body relax at last. There were many decisions to be made in the morning, but this one - the most important one - was already made. I gathered him tightly to me, and closed my eyes.