Putney Mountain Short Story

A few miles north of Charleston, West Virginia are massive pine tree covered mountains. Small towns peppered the mountains except for Putney, and that mountain had only one town, Howardsville. Mysteries and old wives tales had swirled around the mountain as long as anyone could remember and it’s probably those same tales that isolated Putney Mountain. The residents of Howardsville learned years ago to live with the legends. They just accepted that “things happen” and structured their lives, as not to get caught up with the mysteries or be alone on the mountain. The first sign of civilization on the winding road going into the town was a two-story house surrounded by a grove of weeping willow trees. Built in the mid 1800’s

Calling the home to check on him, his secretary learned his wife had found the car in the garage with the key in the ignition and called the police. Although, searching for several weeks, they were unable to find a trace of him. These random disappearances have continued for years. Walking by the open window, early one morning, Mr. Cassidy heard a loud muffled scream coming from the cloud covered mountain, ignoring it he went to the backyard. “Guess they took care of another one. Are you ready for breakfast?” Waiting by the door, his hound dog, Claude perked up his ears, wagging his tail and followed him into the house. After preparing his breakfast, he turned on the radio to listen to the local news while waiting for Claude to

Cassidy became irate as the announcer’s voice filled with excitement when he said, “This morning, The Johnson Company announced plans to reopen the mines on Putney Mountain.” Shaking with anger, Mr. Cassidy hit the wall several times with his clenched fist, before going to the window, looking out at the tree-covered mountain behind his house. Promising, he said, “As long as I have life in my body, neither the Johnson Company nor anyone else will ever take another lump of coal out of that mountain. The idiots and their heavy equipment will destroy the animals and their homes. I don’t care how many new jobs they’ll create.” Shaking his fist, he declared, “They’ll discover secrets that are none of their business. It’s not going to happen! Somehow, I’ll stop them.” Dialing the phone, he said, “Hey, it’s me. I need your help. The Johnson Company announced plans to reopen Putney Mines. With your influence, I want you boys to stop