The Quiet Mountains (eBook)

Where Secrets Lie Hidden

Kirk Paterson Adam (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
200 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
978-0-00-103269-9 (ISBN)

Infos

For years, the windswept grandeur of the Scottish Highlands was Fraser's only true companion. But his latest expedition into the mysterious heart of the Cairngorm region, shattered that familiarity. Beneath the crags and lochs, a breathtaking pristine hidden realm stirred, pulling him into an adventure far beyond his wildest dreams. A secret of epic proportion, hidden for millennia soon unravels, as the realm beneath is thrown into turmoil, revealing an ancient dark practice, hidden from mankind.

Textauszug

THE MONTH OF MARCH is a great time to set out on an adventure to the Cairngorms. As the winter months can be brutally unpredictable, many choose to set off just before spring kicks in, with the final pockets of snow gradually disappearing. In March, there is still enough snow on the peaks at higher altitudes to give the explorer and wood-be adventurer, a taste of the ‘untamed.’

Fraser, a young man of twenty-two had plenty experience climbing. He was born in Crief, a small village close to her larger neighbour Perth in 2000. Fraser was no novice when it came to outdoor activities. From the young age of just three, his father would take him on long treks out to the hills. His father, also called Fraser, a common trend to be named after your father in Scotland, was a serving Royal Marine, who had excelled in mountain training, eventually qualifying as a senior instructor in mountain rescue.

His parents divorced when he was thirteen, due to his father succumbing to PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). After the separation and the upheaval of his young life, Fraser would often find himself staying out for as long as was allowed in remote areas. Here he found peace away from the stress brought on by the erratic life he was plunged into. His mother, Linda, was very attractive and still relatively young at thirty-three. She would find herself in and out of relationships, often winding up with troublesome types who would use her for money. On one occasion she had several hundred pounds and jewellery stolen from a man she had met on a dating site.

His father plunged into a world of despair. He would never recover from a life spent away fighting and in December of 2013, his dad took an overdose after drinking heavily, suffering a heart attack. He was found dead two days later by his landlord’s bailiff who had acquired a court order to gain entry for an eviction, due to months of unpaid rent. It was a testing time. Fraser had preferred to stay at his dad’s small two bed apartment, even though Linda had a decent two bed house with a large garden. She was a full-time dental nurse at a small surgery in Crief. At the age of fifteen, he was living full time at his mother’s place, trying to accept the almost constant cycle of her supply of men. Consequently, if he wasn’t out in the wilds, he would find himself alone in his bedroom, where he could find solace away from an unsettling atmosphere. Nothing ever compared to the great outdoors.

Fraser had so much of his father in him. By the age of fifteen he was six feet tall, well-built and had a head, full of blonde hair. On his sixteenth birthday, his mother treated him to a pass at a local outdoor pursuits club, ‘Explore life.’ It was here that he honed his skills rock climbing, navigating and learning how to give first aid. As part of the membership, he would attend a local swimming club where he was taught how to swim fully clothed. Some of the skills he was taught were focused on living outdoors. This was never a comfortable experience. Usually, it meant heading to the nearest campsite for one night or two, where the group would spend a Friday night in the relative comfort of a tent.

The next day, they would head off to the hills and set up temporary military style ponchos. The chilly nights laying underneath these was never pleasant. The club leader would instruct pairs to build small campfires. These offered some warmth, but it was never too long before the flames fizzled out. Inevitably the cool night air would creep in, soon turning to freezing gusts of wind. All in all, it was always good fun. The skills he learned were often used well, when some left to pursue a career in the army. In fact, some of his school mates did just that, but Fraser was never interested in the armed forces. As witness to the raw end of his parent's relationship breakdown, he always blamed his father’s profession for the split.

Eventually the time came for him to decide what career path to take. At sixteen he was faced with the choice of either leaving school to take on a mundane job in the village or stay on in sixth form to study further. Although he had passed several GCSE’s, he didn't want to carry on in education. So, he left school. It wasn’t too long before he started a cool job in a local store that specialised in all things outdoors. ‘The Great Adventure’ as it was called, was similar to the Millets stores of that time, but this was a family-owned business. He started off in the back of the store, taking goods in, and helping out with the camping equipment stores. Soon, he was asked to help a senior put up tents and set up camping scenarios in the store. It was noticed early on that he was very skilled at setting up the tents. His knowledge grew and he was soon offered a sales position. So, after just a year by the age of 17, he was doing very well. He was earning commission on sales too. This wasn’t much but it increased his pay significantly. He was saving up for driving lessons and hopefully his first car.

Despite being tall, stocky and blonde, with his father’s chiselled jaw, he was never that interested in the opposite sex. He was never short of an offer or two, especially working in a public facing job. Fraser was only interested in putting money aside and heading off to the wilds at weekends, if his shift allowed it. Life bumped along as usual for Fraser. His mother finally settled down with Graham, a short overweight lorry driver who was almost twice her age. He wasn’t the most attractive man, but he brought a certain joy to Linda. He would make her laugh, cracking jokes constantly. For a man in his late fifties, it seemed he could also keep her happy in the bedroom department too. Fraser would turn up his music when the headboard got going.

One evening in May of 2016, the happy couple departed for a party at one of Graham’s work mates. He was about to retire, so the company had arranged a nice send off. Linda never did learn to drive and unlike Graham, he was qualified in all manner of licences. He had the usual ‘old man’ licence, forklift, heavy goods (HGV) you name it. However, none of these matter at all if you introduce alcohol in charge of a vehicle.

That evening, Linda was away with the fairies, dancing to eighties trash and downing drink after drink. It would be found later at an autopsy that Graham was more than three times over the legal limit. They were seen leaving the venue at around 1am. All seemed well with them both and they were certainly in high spirits. But, at a sharp bend on a wet road a few miles from home, tragedy struck. Graham’s Jaguar X type, his pride and joy lost control, and the car left the road, plunging down a ravine into a freezing river. The River Earn is a wide and deep river with a notorious reputation for underwater currents. The car was carried off along the river some 100 metres before sinking into the murky depths. Sadly, Graham and his mother drowned.

Fraser had not long turned 18 at this point. He was still carrying the earlier memories of attending his father’s funeral just a few years earlier. Now, he was laying his mother to rest too. The funeral came and went as was typical, at least in his world. The wake was a little more interesting. That had been arranged by his Aunty Millie. She was never a big figure in his life. The type of person who would turn up for an afternoon, then promptly left the house with a lawn mower or something similar, never to be seen again. His father would leave the room rapidly if he heard her voice. Fraser never really knew why his dad didn’t get on with Millie. His mum never told him and now it was too late.

It was just a couple of days since the accident when the home telephone rang. That was an example of the aunty not having his mobile number. She promptly explained that she was due over, to sort out bits and bobs, the funeral arrangements etc. Fraser had no idea how to go about such things, so it all seemed like a great idea. However, her motives were a little less civil. It turned out that she was trying her best to create a story that Linda had included her in her will. After a bit of digging around the house and a reminder that she had paid for the funeral and the wake, she was confident that a recent conversation she had with her sister, would lead to a review of the existing will. Millie knew that whilst Fraser senior was around, nothing would have ever been changed for her benefit.

For a few days and nights, Fraser found comfort in having her stay over. After the funeral she lingered on a little more, but eventually she had to go back home. She lived in Perth, about 30 miles from Crief, but after a few days of her prying into family affairs, it seemed a little too close for comfort. It was during this time that Fraser received a letter by post inviting him to visit a local solicitor's firm. He kept that letter quiet from his aunty. On the morning she left for home, she told him to expect a letter as such, and she would likely get one too.

The meeting at the solicitors was very interesting. Messrs Jacob and Clarks, based in Crief conveniently, were handling the estate. It was a fifteen-minute bus ride for Fraser that morning. He arrived at the office in a sombre mood. He was shown the adjoining waiting room adjacent to the fancy reception where he saw Auntie Millie. It wasn’t too long before the meeting took place. He would never forget the conversation.

“Ahh, do come in and take a seat, Mr Chlyde and Mrs Harvey I presume?” asked the solicitor.

“Correct, and you must be Mr Jacob?” asked Millie.

“Correct, call me Finlay. I’m Fin to some, your choice,” he replied.

They...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 15.8.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Malerei / Plastik
• ISBN-10: 0-00-103269-0 / 0001032690
• ISBN-13: 978-0-00-103269-9 / 9780001032699