Redemption

By John J. Law

The old mountain man woke up with a splitting headache, and his limbs felt a lot stiffer than usual. His joints and legs were sore, but not because of lack of use. No, the old mountain man was not one to be sedentary or to inactive. Considering that he lived alone in the middle of a secluded patch of forest, a slow an inactive life was a luxury he could not afford. After all, out here in the middle of the wilderness, if you did not hunt for your own food and resources you would die pretty quickly.
That was a brutal fact that the old mountain man was very well aware of.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.C. Hulsey Books
• Release date: Dec 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223016182

Book preview

One: The Old Mountain Man

The old mountain man woke up with a splitting headache, and his limbs felt a lot stiffer than usual. His joints and legs were sore, but not because of lack of use. No, the old mountain man was not one to be sedentary or to inactive. Considering that he lived alone in the middle of a secluded patch of forest, a slow an inactive life was a luxury he could not afford. After all, out here in the middle of the wilderness, if you did not hunt for your own food and resources, you would die pretty quickly.

That was a brutal fact that the old mountain man was very well aware of. After all, he had spent his entire life out here, as most of his kind once did. Mountain men like himself once roamed the vast lands and tamed them for the future generations, blazing trails and mapping out unknown territory. If it weren't for mountain men like himself, the young country would not be moving forward as it was now. Granted the path forward was definitely bumpy with many obstacles, but the country was moving forward. Progress was moving, and moving at what seemed like a rapid pace. The railroads were being built everywhere, and the telegraph ensured that communication was getting faster and more far reaching. It was all quite overwhelming, and perhaps that was what was giving the mountain man his splitting headache.

Mornings like these were never easy for the old mountain man. Aside from his splitting headache, his limbs and joints felt like brittle matchsticks. He did not possess the same vitality, vigor and energy that he once had in his youth. Worst of all, he seemed to have lost the zest for living. Time and creeping old age could do that to a man, and the old mountain man was no different.

In spite of all his aches and pains, the old mountain man was still quite strong and energetic for his age. Most men his age struggled to get up in the morning and do some honest work. Others simply did not even live as long as he did. Despite the march of progress and a more civilized way of life, there was still more than enough danger out there. In such times, it was still very easy for a man to die, and the mountain man was also still grateful that he had lived this long. Despite that gratitude, there were just days like this. Days when it was simply hard to just get up in the morning. And such days were getting more and more frequent.

Damn you're slowing down in your old age. the old mountain man grumbled.

Despite the protestations of his head and body, the old mountain man managed to get up out of bed, and start his day. He stood up, and stepped towards his cabin's chimney. The small cabin itself was not very spacious and was simply an