The Valley

Ellis Martin hunched over the steering wheel and peered intently at the road ahead, as if trying to see beyond the range of his headlights.  His glance flickered over the gray canvas bag on the passenger’s seat and moved on to the rearview mirror.  A single pair of headlights, topped by flashing blue, remained constant some distance behind.

For fifteen years, Ellis had been a trusted employee of the First National Bank.  He had watched billions of dollars pass through his hands before he began to dream of the things he could do with all that money.  When he was put in charge of bringing in the daily cash supply and distributing it to the tellers, he began to plan.

That morning he had met the armored truck at the rear entrance, as was his habit.  Pete, the usual guard, heaved his bulk from the vehicle and grinned down at him.

“Mornin’, Mr. Martin.  Nice day, ain’t it?”

Ellis smiled slightly and nodded.  “Yes, Pete. It is a nice day, isn’t it?”

Pete looked at him closely.  “You look kinda pale, Mr. Martin.  You sick or somethin’?”

Ellis gave a depreciatory wave of his hand.  “Oh, it’s nothing.  Stomach’s a little queasy, that’s all.  Probably a virus of some sort.”  He trailed the big man to the rear of the truck and waited while the door was opened and Pete extracted a bag of bills and handed it to him.

“You ever grow up, Mr. Martin, I’ll let you carry the heavy stuff,” he teased, lifting out a bulging bag of coins.

At that moment, Ellis slapped his free hand over his mouth, mumbled, “Excuse me,” and strode hurriedly toward the shrubbery at the corner of the building.  He bent over as if retching and sneaked a glance at the armed guard.

Pete stood transfixed, looking embarrassed and confused.  Before he could recover, Ellis slipped around the corner and dashed between the drive-throughs to his parked car.  He heard Pete yelling after him.  A shot rang out as he tossed the moneybag onto the seat.  Another shot and, as he heard the bullet whine past, he felt a burning sensation in his left shoulder.  He jumped into the car, glanced at the valise in the back and turned the key in the ignition.  The powerful engine roared to life.  Tires squealing, he rocketed out of the lot and down the street.

At the sound of a distant siren, beads of sweat popped out on his forehead and slowly trickled down his face.  He muttered a curse as he approached a red light and slowed to a stop.

“Mustn’t attract any attention,” he mumbled, gripping the wheel with one hand and the gearshift with the other.  Soon he left the city behind and, as the open highway stretched out before him, he patted the dash of the silver Porsche and smiled.

“They’ll never catch us now, baby.  They’ll all eat your dust.”  His smile broke into a grin.  “And Ol’ Man Blakely wondered why quiet, little Ellis Martin wanted a car like that.  ‘Not practical,’ he’d said.  ‘Not the proper image for a bank officer.’  Image! Ha!”  He threw back his head and laughed.  “If only he had known.  Ol’ Blakely is now not only short a half-million dollars, he’s also stuck with the car payments.”  He laughed until tears blurred his vision and ran down his cheeks.

Hours slipped by and the rolling landscape rose into twilight-shadowed hills.  Ellis checked his fuel gauge and pulled into a truck stop.  He’d traveled quite a few miles when he had heard the siren and seen the flashing lights bearing down on him.  He had nudged the accelerator toward the floorboards.

Now, he downshifted through the curves of looming, black mountains and anxiously watched his fuel gauge creep toward empty.

“Got to ditch the bastards,” he muttered.  “Got to ditch ‘em.”  His eyes strained to find some avenue of escape.  “Just one little side road,” he mumbled.  “That’s all I need.”

The tires of the Porsche squalled around a sharp bend, and its headlights revealed the barest trace of a road angling off to the right.

“Aha!  Not much of a road,” he muttered.  “but it will have to do.”

He spun the wheel sharply and bumped off the highway onto the faded track.  The scream of the siren rose in volume and he punched off the light switch.  Not daring to brake, he bumped swiftly over the hard earth.  The cruiser’s lights cut across the sky and, as it sped around the curve and out of sight, a crash of metal against stone echoed through the mountains.  Ellis’ head smashed against the windshield and his body slumped over the steering wheel beneath a halo of splintered glass.
A moment later, he slowly raised his head and gazed at the dark stonewall of the mountainside.  He grabbed the ignition key and twisted it.  The starter ground, the engine fired a couple of times and then died.  He tried it again.  The starter spun uselessly.

“Damn!” Ellis exploded, slapping the wheel with his hand.  He looked up at the dark shadow of the mountains towering all around him and shivered.  He got out and stood by the car surveying the area of tall grass and scrub trees that covered the narrow strip between the dirt track and the towering peaks.

“That old road has to go someplace,” he mumbled.  “Maybe there’ll be a garage.”
He reached into the car, grabbed the bag of money and locked the doors.  By the light of the stars he retraced the vehicle’s path through the scrub, kicking the grass upright and straightening the flattened brush.

At the edge of the highway, he paused to survey his handiwork, and smiled.  “No one would even know it’s there.”  Walking back the dirt track he carefully placed the bag in a wind-eroded hollow of a small tree’s roots and began to gather stones.  As he piled them on top of his cache, the faint sound of ethereal music reached his ears.  “At least there must be someone around,” he murmured.

When he was satisfied that his stash was safely concealed, he turned his back on the highway and strode purposefully down the narrow track that pierced the dark mountains.  As the rocky walls closed in around him, he felt the hair rise on the back of his neck.  “Spooky place.”  He shivered and increased his pace.

The passageway widened and the music increased in volume as it danced, rolled and tumbled around the dark stonewalls.  A faint bluish glow brightened the sky ahead.  Ellis hurried around a bend and before him lay a small village tucked into the folds of the valley.  From all the windows shone a blue-white light that seemed to slowly pulsate.  The high-pitched music emanated from the center of the village.  He followed the sound to a large, stone building and paused before the huge door, carved of close-grained wood.

He pushed through the portal and a wave of blending voices washed over him.  Slowly his gaze swept over the room.  Dozens of white candles sat in shallow niches carved into wooden walls and filled the room with an eerie blue glow.  The floor was covered with white-robed figures, sitting cross-legged, in wedge-shaped groups.  Opposite him, seated where the lines converged, sat a gray-bearded man.
The elder man gazed at him with serene eyes and stopped singing.  One by one, every head turned toward him and every eye stared as the song faded into silence.

“Excuse me,” Ellis said, ducking his head apologetically.  “Can you tell me where I can find a garage?”

The old man looked confused. “Garage?” he asked, rising smoothly to his feet.  “Garage?” His voice seemed pitched much too high to be issuing from a person of his stature.

“Yes, garage.  I need to have my car repaired.”

The man shook his head and frowned slightly.  “Car?”

“Yes, my car needs to be fixed.  You see I just had a slight accident and . . .”

“Accident?  Are you hurt?”  He rushed forward, a concerned expression marring his handsome face.  “Yes, you are hurt.”

Ellis followed his gaze to his left shoulder and saw the dried blood staining his jacket.  When he glanced up, the man was scrutinizing his face.  His fingers passed lightly over Ellis’ forehead.

“A bad bump,” he said.  “But do not worry.  We will take care of you.”

“What?” Ellis asked.  “I can’t understand you.  Can you speak more slowly?”

The man listened intently, then nodded.  “I will try,” he said.  “You are from the Outside?”  Ellis nodded.  “We will take care of you,” he repeated, with effort,  more slowly.  He turned toward the group of seated people and although he gave no visible sign, three young ladies rose and glided toward them.  “This is Ruth, Anna and Rosa.  They will take care of your wounds.  After that we can talk.”  He turned to the girls.  “Take him to the bathhouse.  Bathe him, salve his wounds and bring him to my place.  We must work to increase his vibrational level, else he won’t survive.”

In a daze, Ellis looked from one face to another, struggling to understand what was being said, as the girls surrounded him and gently nudged him toward the exit.  Before the door closed, he turned to see the old man returning to his place at the front of the group.

The young women led him down a path and into a low stone building.  The one called Anna veered off into an adjoining alcove, while the other two urged him forward into a large room.  Blocks of smooth polished rock were spaced around a sunken pool of the same dark stone.  Many blue-flaming tapers brightly lighted the entire area.  They stopped near the edge of the pool and Rosa began unbuttoning his jacket.

“What are you doing?” he asked, as she slipped the jacket off his right shoulder and carefully lifted it from his wounded left.

“You’re to have a bath,” she said, dropping his jacket on the floor.

“I can take my own bath.”

Ruth began removing his shirt.  “Father Ben instructed us to bathe you.”  She lightly touched his shoulder and Ellis glanced down at the oozing gash.

As they removed his trousers, Anna returned, her arms loaded with folded white linen.  She deposited the stack on a bench and removed a small jar from inside her sash and set it beside the pile.  Ellis watched her take four large towels and lay them near the water’s edge, while his underwear was being removed.  He tried to cover himself with his hands, while they all stood gazing at him.

Anna smiled.  “We’re ready for your bath now.”  She untied her sash and allowed her robe to slip to the floor.  Ellis forced his gaze away from her shapely nude body and glanced at the other two.  Their robes also lay at their feet.

Anna extended her hand toward him.  “Come,” she said.  “Don’t be afraid.”

“I’m not afraid,” he answered, allowing Ruth and Rosa to lead him toward the pool. 

Together they went down the stone steps into the water.

Anna took a block of cream-colored soap from a niche in the pool wall and began to work it between her palms.  She smoothed the lather across his shoulders and he jerked away from her touch.

“Oh,” he said.  “That tickles.”

She drew back, looking puzzled.  “Tickles?”

“Yeah, you know, tingles, sort of.”

“Oh,” she said, resuming her soaping process and passing the bar to the others.
Ellis watched them, his eyes shining with growing excitement, as they lathered his entire body.

“Do you do this for all your visitors?”

Rosa looked at him quizzically.  “Visitors?”

“You know, all the outsiders who come here.”

Anna returned the soap to its place in the wall and took his hand.  “We bathe all our men,” she said, leading him toward the deeper center of the pool.

“Really?”  She nodded.  “All the time?”  She nodded again.  “Hey,” he grinned.  “I could really learn to like this place.”

They rinsed him carefully, then led him out of the pool and wrapped him in a towel before donning one themselves.

Rosa and Ruth gathered their robes and his clothes and started to leave the room.

“Hey,” he yelled.  “Where are you going with my clothes?”

Anna moved toward the bench.  “You do not need them.”

“Like hell I don’t.  Bring them back here!”

“Do not worry so,” Anna said calmly.  “I have a robe for you.”

“I don’t want a damn robe!  I want my clothes!”

“Then you must speak with Father Ben,” she said quietly. “We are only carrying out his instructions.”

“I’ll do that,” he said firmly.

She picked up the jar and held it in her hand.  “Come here, please.”  She motioned to the bench.

He moved toward her and sat where she indicated.  She dipped her finger into the jar and gently massaged a creamy substance into his wound.  After the third application, she helped him into a robe.

“We go now to see Father Ben,” she said, dropping her own towel and slipping into a robe.

He followed her out of the building and up a hillside path to a small cottage.  She tapped twice on the polished door, opened it and stood aside while Ellis entered the low-ceilinged room.  Father Ben was seated on a pillow near a stone fireplace.

“Welcome to my humble home,” he said, with a wave of his hand.  “Bring a cushion,” he nodded toward a stack of pillows against the wall near the door, “and sit down.”  He looked at Anna, who promptly left, closing the door behind her.
Ellis took a pillow and dropped it on the floor some distance from the old man, and sat down gingerly.

“What did you have them do with my clothes?” he demanded.

Ben shrugged.  “They will be disposed of.”

“Disposed of?  What right have you to do that?  I paid a lot of good money for that suit!”

Ben held up his hand.  “You will be staying with us, will you not?”

Ellis shrugged.  “I suppose I might as well.  I can’t go anywhere anyway until my car’s fixed.”  He glanced around the sparsely furnished room.  “Yes, this place might serve very well as a hi…sanctuary.”

“Sanctuary?  Yes, this valley has been that for all of us.”

“But I still want my clothes.  I expect you to return them to me.”

“They would do you no good here.  In fact, they are probably already disintegrated.”

“Why?  What do you mean?”

He sighed heavily.  “You came to us from beyond the mountains, did you not?” 

Ellis nodded.  “And your clothes were from the outside also?”  Again Ellis nodded.  “You must understand that things are different here.”

“What do you mean, different?”

Ben looked at him intently for a long moment.  “Tell me, son,” he said quietly.  “How do you feel?”

Ellis looked down at his body, a puzzled expression on his face.  “Strange,” he said.  “My whole body feels…sort of…prickly, like when your arm or leg goes to sleep and then starts to wake up.  You know what I mean?”

Ben nodded.  “And how is your shoulder?”

Ellis pulled aside his robe and looked in amazement at the glowing pink flesh where only a few moments earlier had been a deep oozing wound.  “Why, it’s nearly healed!”

Ben smiled.  “And you’ll notice, too, that you’re not having any difficulty understanding what I’m saying.”

“That’s true.”  An expression of panic crossed Ellis’ face.  “What’s happening to me?”

Ben held up both hands, palms outward.  “It’s nothing to be alarmed about.  It’s just that the level of your vibrations are changing.”

“What do you mean vibrations?”

“Every living cell contains a life force that oscillates at a certain frequency.  That rate can vary in reaction to environmental influences.”

“Is that the aura captured in Kirlian photographs?”

“What photographs?”

“Never mind.  How long have you been living in these mountains?”

“A long, long time.”

“How long since you’ve been outside?”

“Not for many years.  At first, we had to bring in supplies from outside the valley, but now we are able to meet our own needs quite adequately.”

“And you never go out?”

Ben shook his head.  “Not any more.”

“Why did you come here?  What were you running from?”

The older man gazed silently at him for a long moment.  “A long time ago, a few friends and I grew tired of all the fighting, killing and, well, general hatred, that we saw all around us.  We decided that there must be a better place somewhere.  There must exist a place where everyone worked together, took care of each other, and, just, simply, cared about each other.  We took a few of our belongings and set out to find it.”

“And you found this place?”

“Eventually.  At first we wandered from village to village, but found them all about the same as the one we’d left.  Then one of the wives, who had been ill for several days, suddenly took a turn for the worse.  She was burning up with fever when we made camp in this valley.  All night we sat by her side, bathing her face, giving her sips of water, and praying for her recovery.  By dawn, her fever had broken, but since she remained very weak, we decided to stay on here until her strength returned.”

“And you’ve been here ever since then?”

Ben nodded.  “Yes, we found that we all felt a new sense of peace and contentment here.”

“But what does all that have to do with vibrations?”

“Nothing, I guess.  After a time we discovered that every time we went out for supplies, we would begin to feel…almost ill, yet as soon as we returned here, we would be better.  Eventually, we learned it was because of the vibrations.”

“But if you created the vibrations, they should be the same wherever you were.”

“That’s true, yet there’s something about the mountains.  I believe it is the rocks of which they’re made.  It seems as if the mountains take the vibrations we send out, magnify them and reflect them over the whole valley, where they affect every living thing.”

“How do you know that?”

“I don’t know it.  It’s just that everything we brought in from outside…clothes, furniture…didn’t last.  Yet everything we made from the trees or flax that grew here would stand up to years of use.”

“How does that affect me?”

He shrugged.  “Here we all take care of each other.  We all do whatever tasks need to be done and we all share in the fruits of our work.  It may not be an easy life, but we find it very satisfying.  Incidentally, what did you think of our young ladies?”

Ellis grinned.  “Very nice.  Very nice indeed.”

“Did you have a favorite?”

“Not really.  Rosa is nice.”

Ben nodded.  “There’s a little house down the way where you can stay until we can build you one of your own.”  He rose and strode to a cabinet set into the wall and withdrew a flask.  “A little wine,” he explained.  “Come, I’ll show you the house.”

Ellis followed him out of his home, down the hill, and into a small house very similar to Ben’s own.

Ben set the wine on a bench by the door.  “Your bed is in the alcove,” he said with a wave of his hand.  “Rosa will come to you soon.”  He turned to go.  “Oh, yes,” he said over his shoulder.  “Breakfast is in the Big Hall.  Rosa will show you.”

Ellis watched him leave, then began searching the cabinets for some glasses.  He turned to discover that Rosa had slipped silently into the room.

“Where are the glasses?” he asked.

“Glasses?”

“Yeah, Ol’ Ben left us some wine.”  He inclined his head toward the flask.

She walked to a cabinet, took out two carved wooden goblets and handed them to him.  “While you’re pouring the wine, I’ll get the bed ready.”


During the months that followed, Ellis had every young woman in the village as his nighttime companion at least once.  Most nights however, he requested Rosa.

One night, as they lay together on the thickly-padded block that served as a bed, Ellis turned toward her and lightly touched her hair.

“Rosa,” he said, softly.  “Have you ever thought of leaving this valley?”

She stared at him for a long moment, and then shook her head.  “No, never.”  She stared at him for a moment longer.  “Are you thinking of leaving?”

He nodded slowly, then suddenly sat up and turned to face her.  “Rosa, listen to me now and listen carefully.  I have money – a lot of money – stashed near my car.  On the outside, we could live like royalty.  Never again would you need to work from daylight to dark.  We could hire someone to do it for us.  Will you go with me, Rosa?”

“Go…outside the Valley?”

“Rosa, haven’t you ever wanted pretty clothes to wear?  On the outside you can have all kinds of clothes in soft fabrics and the prettiest colors, and…and everyone dresses differently.  Outside, it’s rare to see any two people dressed exactly the same.”

“Is it far to go?”

“My car is at the mouth of the valley.  The highway is just a little way beyond that. 

We could hitch a ride to the next town and send a tow truck back for the car.  Then we can go as far as we want.”

“When would you want to leave?”

“The sooner, the better.  I’m ready to start living, really living.  How about tomorrow after breakfast?  When everyone else goes to the fields, we could slip away.”

“Tomorrow?” she asked, hesitantly.  “I don’t know, Ellis.”

“You will come with me, won’t you?”

“I want to.  I love you, Ellis, and I want to be with you wherever you are, but…but…”

“But what?  What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.  It’s just that I feel so…odd.  Like when I was little and I’d see a movement in the brush at the edge of the forest.  I never knew if it was just a rabbit, or if it was one of those big cats getting ready to pounce on me.”

“I can understand you being afraid.  You’ve lived your whole life within this valley, haven’t you?”

She nodded.  “I’d like to talk with Father Ben and the elders about it.”

“No, Rosa!  I don’t want you to mention it to anyone.”

“But why?  The elders have lived outside, they. . .”

“Think of the money, Rosa.  There is plenty for just you and me, but for everyone, it would be nothing.”

“But, Ellis, good fortune is for sharing.”

“Not this fortune, honey.  Not my fortune – our fortune.”  He paused reflectively.  “Let’s not wait until tomorrow.”  He leaped from the bed.  “Let’s go now, tonight.”

“But, Ellis, I don’t know if…”

“Come on,” he insisted, taking her hand and tugging gently.  “The sooner we get started, the sooner we’ll be living the good life.”

Pulling Rosa gently along, Ellis slipped a large bone knife into his belt, stepped out into the night, and glanced up at the full moon.  Placing a finger to his lips, he proceeded down the path past the other silent houses.  When they reached the old road, he turned toward the valley’s entrance and strode forward.

“Ellis,” Rosa whispered, tugging on his hand.  “I really think we shouldn’t.”

“Come on, hon, the unknown is always frightening.  Don’t worry.  I’ll take care of you.”

As they neared the narrow neck of the valley, a shadowy, white-robed figure stepped out from a crevice of rock and stood, arms folded across his chest, in the middle of the road.  Rosa saw him first.

“Father Ben!”

Ellis followed her gaze.  “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you,” Ben said in a quiet voice.

Ellis shot a glance at Rosa.  “But we told no one.  In fact, we just decided a few moments ago.  How did you know?”

“I just knew,” the old man said, with a sad smile.  “Call it a hunch.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Ellis said firmly.  “You can’t stop us!”

“I have to try.”

“Who appointed you God?” Ellis screamed.  “I came here of my own free will and, by damn, I’ll leave the same way!”

Ben sighed.  “Your body has now become acclimated to this valley.  You don’t realize what will happen to you outside.”

“You’re just trying to scare me into being your life-long slave.  Yeah, that’s what you really want, isn’t it?  Keep Rosa and me here and we can supply you with a whole passel of free labor.”

Ben shook his head sadly.  “I’m sorry you feel that way, son.”  He turned toward the girl.  “Rosa, you must listen to me.  You must not let this man destroy you.”

“But, Father Ben.”  Her voice pleaded while tears welled in her eyes and coursed down her cheeks.  “Don’t you understand?  I love him!”

“My dear child, you are so terribly young and so full of love…”

Ellis pulled the knife from his belt and held it ready to strike.  “I’ve had enough of this, Old Man!  Come on, Rosa.  We’re leaving.”

Rosa, staring in horror at the blade glowing large and white in the moonlight, shrank back.  “Ellis!  No!” she whispered.

“Come on!  We can’t stand here all night listening to the rantings of a crazy old man.”  He reached for her hand, but she drew away and edged closer to Ben.  “All right then!”  Ellis screamed, glaring menacingly at her.  “If you won’t go with me, I’ll go alone!”

He charged past Ben and through the narrow gorge, then stopped and looked around in confusion.  He watched the lights of a car flash past on the highway. 

After a moment’s hesitation, he plunged off the road.  He approached the dark mound of the Porsche and moved to its rear.

“What is going on here?” he yelled as he ran his hand over the rusty trunk lid.  He felt for the lock and jabbed the point of his knife into the slot.  With a crunch of decomposed metal, the lock plunked into the interior.  Panting with rage, he kicked the car trunk again and again.  Reaching though the resulting hole, he felt for the handle of his suitcase and pulled.  The rotten leather tore loose and the grip came off in his hand.  He threw it on the ground and charged drunkenly back between the stunted trees.  From the middle of the road, he glared at Ben.  “What did you do to my clothes?” he screamed.

Ben faced him with an expression of weary patience.  “I tried to warn you, son.  Come on back now, before it’s too late.”

“Not on your life, Old Man!  I still got my money.  You’ll never get me to be your slave.”  He whirled toward the highway.  As he ran, his hair passed swiftly from brown to gray to white, and his sturdy frame steadily stooped and shrank.  His pace slowed, as muscles weakened, to a staggering shuffle.

Rosa, standing in the shelter of Ben’s arms, pressed clenched knuckles against her lips and watched him stumble and fall.

“Ellis!” she screamed, trying to wrench free of Ben’s grasp.

“No, Rosa,” he murmured.  “It’s no use.  It’s too late.”

She stared at the shiny leather of her lover’s skin and turned accusing eyes toward Ben.  “Why didn’t you tell him?” she cried.  “You could have stopped him!”

“No, my dear,” he said, shaking his head sadly.  “Even if I had known, nothing I could have said would have stopped him.  Come, let us go back.”

As the tired old man and the weeping young woman turned and walked slowly back into the depths of the valley, Ellis Martin’s body continued to shrink and disintegrate until a small whirlwind skipped down from the mountaintops and whisked it away.