Skid shook his head and leaned back, running his hand through his hair. Walker pointed toward the woods beyond them. “Is this really the time to sort that out? I thought scientists were logic based. You have a situation evolving here. Get your head in the game.”
Feeling ill, exhausted and indefinitely off her game Matilda shook her head. “You’re right.” She looked at the floor, wiping the back of her hand across her nose. Skid passed her a Kleenex. She snatched it from his hand angrily. Shrugging, Skid leaned back.
“Matilda, the bone cache is here. If our theories are similar, and I believe they are, you’ve placed yourself in a situation where this thing thinks it has to defend its collection.”
Walker raised his hand, frowning. “Hold up, its what?”
Skid waited for Matilda to respond. Aggravated she turned and looked up toward Walker. “I have theorized that this thing is perhaps more intelligent than we have given it credit for. I believe it is a hybrid, part of our human DNA, a different strain of course, but just as capable as us at developing sociopathic tendencies. If I am correct, then it would make sense to further hypothesize that it, like human sociopaths, would be capable of holding trophies, or mementos from each of its victims. Such a predator would return to its cache to admire the tokens it has kept, perhaps. It is just a working theory. I have absolutely no facts to support it.”
“Well isn’t it behaving out of context, more aggressive than usual?” Walker frowned.
“Yes, it is.” Matilda relented. “It has never approached in this way.”
“…Because you have parked on its trophy closet? What the hell were you thinking?” Walker struggled to keep his voice down and felt his temper flare. Matilda jumped to her feet, glaring up with as much force. “There was no indication I was correct. It is a theory. One that is perhaps proving to be true, but still an invalidated theory!”
Skid responded before Walker could. “You need more proof? It has been showing signs of aggression you haven’t encountered anywhere else. You said so yourself earlier. What more proof do you need that it wants access to its knickknacks?”
Matilda grimaced. He was right. She had been eager to draw the creature out and hadn’t considered Blaze and the others who were now involved. Her eyes watered but she withheld her tears as she faced Skid.
“Why did you come up here? I had this under control. I know I can retreat, I will move the RV-“ Skid shook his head, cutting her off. “I came up here because you nearly got your last assistant killed. You have an instinct for honing in on this specific cryptid, but you’re doing it at the expense of others. That, coupled with the fact that you don’t experience fear the way others do is reason enough for me to follow you up here. You’ve become a loose cannon.”
Walker waited a moment before interjecting. “Listen, I know you have differences to resolve but here and now is not the place. You both know that. Matilda you look like death. I don’t know you but I’m betting you’re running a fever. Your assistant back there is trying to recoup from an attack of neuralgia. We have to get our priorities straight. Let’s rest and hunker down for the night. That things still out there, and apparently we’re in its way.”
As if on cue a sharp scream filled the cold night air surrounding the motor home. Matilda reached for the light switch, turning off the lamps and overhead. Standing in the dark Walker moved away from the window.
“Don’t you think turning off the light’s overkill?” Skids sarcastic whisper filled the darkened living room. “I’m pretty sure it knows we’re here.”
“Shut-up Skid.” Matilda eased back toward the kitchen. “Just shut-up. The lights aggravate it.”
Quietly Walker moved to the back of the RV, kneeling down next to Blaze. “You alright over here?”
Blaze nodded and squeezed his hand. “Yes, it’s subsiding. Thank you for helping me.” Walker squeezed her hand and pulled a pillow down from a shelf. “Mind if I crash here on the floor? Hopefully the two teeth gnasher's out there don’t kill each other, but at this point I’m too tired to care.”
Blaze eased back onto her bed, grateful Walker was nearby. Matilda and Skid continued their fierce whispering in the front room. Turning onto her side Blaze carefully arranged her face on her pillow, trying to avoid agitating the neuralgia again. “Hey Walker? Do you think that thing can get in here?”
She could hear his breathing, even and reassuring. He chuckled low in his chest. “I sure as hell hope not. We have some fire power but I don’t know how well it’d work. If a grizzly can continue a charge after taking rounds we might have our hands full.” He glanced up. “It’s probably bigger than a grizzly.”
Blaze squeezed her eyes shut in the dark and swore under her breath. Out front in the living room Matilda and Skid continued to argue.
Walker laughed again. “I’ve never had to whisper through an entire fight. They’re doing pretty good.” He shifted and turned toward Blaze, looking up.
“So, how’d you end up here in the middle of all this?”
Blaze grinned. “I’m a felon. I couldn’t get work anywhere else.”
A slow smile creased Walkers face. “Doubtful. You’re a little too vanilla for that.”
“Vanilla? You serious? I’m bad as they come. I was a social worker. Don’t mess with me.”
Walker turned serious. “Why aren’t you still social working?”
Blaze pointed toward her tattoo. “Luck of the draw. The diagnosis changed my life. Social work aggravated it too much.”
Walker jerked back in surprise. “I can’t imagine this line of work is helping any.”
Another scream pierced the night, from somewhere further up the mountain. Blaze shuddered. “I hate that sound.” Walker eased up into a sitting position. “Me too. I’ve never heard it before tonight and I’ve lived here most all my life.” The unease in his voice somehow comforted Blaze. A surge of relief fired through her, realizing she wasn’t alone in her anxiety. Walker let his head rest back against the night stand.
“Well, at least Matilda and Skid have gone quiet. That’s something.”
Blaze snorted under her breath. “She’s probably offering him as a human sacrifice.”
“...our monsters walk the dark pathways of secret motives...” ― John Geddes
~Twenty-nine~
Matilda sank down onto the small sofa across from Skid, enviously watching him sleep. The night had grown quiet and she wished she could sleep too. Walker and Blaze breathed evenly from the back room leaving her alone with her thoughts; for her that felt worse than facing monsters. She stood up, carefully avoiding the windows, and pulled out a photo album, letting it fall open on her lap as she sat back down. Her father smiled back from a black and white photo. His unruly hair was wind-blown. He held a kite string. Matilda closed her eyes and remembered the day, vividly experiencing the temperature and sounds as though she were transported back in time. Her father had wrapped her in a huge blanket and read to her on the windy bluff they’d spent the day on. Curled on his lap she’d felt safer than she ever thought possible. His deep voice rumbled and vibrated against her ear as he read to her from the Thick Book of Monsters for Children. Fascinated, Matilda listened to every detail about the monsters she loved, wishing the day would never end. Back home as he’d tucked her into bed he called her his little monster hunter, kissing her on the nose. He turned to leave and she’d stopped him.
“Daddy, can I make a living at that?”
He’d paused by the doorway, prepared to turn off her light.
“At what darling?”
“At hunting monsters?”
He smiled and approached her bed, dropping a second kiss to her nose, whispering to her. “I wish you would darling. There are a lot of real monsters than need catching.” She reached out for him to hug her and he was gone, leaving her searching, crying alone. Matilda woke with a start. The photo album had slipped from her lap, landing on the floor with a thud. Wiping her eyes she realized they’d all fallen asleep waiting f
or the creature outside to attack the research vehicle. Skid stirred slightly, adjusting his head on the sofa pillow. She almost tripped over his long legs as she rose to tip toe to the bathroom. Checking her watch she realized she’d been asleep for about an hour. She pulled her sweater close to ward off the chill. Moving past Skid she stopped in her tracks. The door to the RV stood agape, allowing the cold night air to seep in. A moment of panic caused her heart to flutter and she lunged for the door, pulling it shut swiftly. As she locked it Skid raised his head, rubbing his eyes.
“What’s going on?”
Matilda pointed to the door, preparing to explain when Walker pounded across the floor, glock drawn. “What’s going on?”
Matilda pointed again, swallowing the cold fear in her throat. “Something opened the door.” Skid stood up, holding his handgun at his side. “It was locked though.” He made eye contact with Walker who seemed to have registered something, knowledge darkened his eyes. “It’s been toying with you. It could have entered anytime it wanted.”
Walker nodded grimly. “I’m waking Blaze and we’re leaving.”
Matilda jumped forward grabbing his arm. “I can’t leave. You can take Blaze and go but I am staying.”
Walker shook his head. “Sorry Matilda, it’s not safe. We have go.”
Matilda pushed her hair behind her ears. “NO! Listen, please. This is what I do. I am staying.”
Skid took a deep breathe. “I was afraid of that. I’m staying too then.” Walker shook his head again. “Listen, this things showing an intelligence we didn’t expect. I know you didn’t. It opened the door to let you know it. It’s playing with you- like cat and mouse.”
Matilda turned her nose up and crossed her arms.
“I am staying.”
Blaze stumbled through the bedroom door. “What’s happening?”
Before anyone could answer Skid raised his hand to his ear. “What is that?”
Walker turned his head to listen.
In the silence the sound of choppers sliced through the night air. The RV’s interior was suddenly drenched in lights from the aircraft's hovering above. Blaze pressed her hands to her ears. “What’s going on?”
~*~
Randall directed the pilot to hover just above Matilda’s research station. The other chopper did the same, spotlighting the clearing where the RV was parked. Moving over the RV, zig-zagging the lights back and forth, Randall pressed a button and held a handset recording against a megaphone, transferring sound into the clearing down below. High pitched screams emanated from above and into the trees from the recording.
Matilda, still coughing from the flu, threw the door of the RV open, stumbling down the stairs and into the center of the clearing near the fire ring, where the snow was melting. Looking up she tried to see an emblem or logo, anything marking the sleek black helicopters hovering above, driving twigs and debris into the air. Falling backwards she was pulled to her feet by Skid. With an arm around her shoulder he guided her back inside amid the pre-recorded howls and noise from the chopper blades. A small rock flew up cutting a gash into Matilda’s forehead. Ducking back inside the RV she ran for her .45, and opened a lock box with shaking fingers. Withdrawing a large object from it, she smeared blood across her forehead as she tried to wipe it from her eyes. Once she had the object in hand, which Blaze noted was a hand held video camera, Matilda rushed back to the RV door, throwing it open. Skid ran after her, and behind him, Sheriff Walker. The pre-recorded screaming from the air increased, and as Matilda held the video camera aloft, recording the debacle, Blaze slowly emerged from the RV. In her dark over sized parka with fur around the hood she was nearly invisible. She stood by the steps of the RV, cringing at the sounds and whirring cloud of branches, snow, twigs and rocks being thrown by the copters.
Holding her forearm over her face Blaze looked up, astonished at the chaos the choppers were producing by hovering in at such close proximity. Walker turned and saw Blaze, motioning for her to go back inside. Blaze shook her head, maneuvering her way through the wind, sticks and pine cones to pull herself up the ladder at the back of the RV. On top she crawled across the roof, careful not to draw attention to herself, and holding onto the metal rails. On her knees, with the fur trimmed parka hood low over her face, she reached out and depressed the black button to activate the huge spotlight Matilda had instructed the team to install only weeks earlier. On cue the interior lights of the research vehicle dimmed and the spotlight sprang to life. Blaze navigated it upward, directing the high beam at both of the black choppers whirring above. Light flooded the interior of both copters, outlining the black silhouettes of pilots and passengers. The high wattage of light caused the choppers to fishtail, losing their edge over those standing in the clearing below. Without the ability to properly see the copter to the left elevated and swung away, back toward Stryker. The second copter tried to out maneuver the large spotlight Blaze was managing, only to turn back toward Stryker as well. As the commotion died down Blaze leaned over the edge of the RV.
“Everyone ok down there?” Matilda’s voice was weak, but she offered a congratulatory whoop up to Blaze and called her down. Skid and Walker moved to the door of the RV, pushing aside the dirt, snow and debris piled in front of the door. Another tree had fallen across the fire ring, and as they moved it back toward the tree line Blaze turned off the spot light and carefully crawled back toward the end of the RV.
In the silence of the night Walker, Skid and Matilda made their way to the end of the Vacationer to collect Blaze, who was no longer there.
“The world is as I always intuited it to be: weird, fractured and full of monsters.” ― Charlie Human
~Thirty~
Walker was the first to call out for Blaze, pushing past Matilda and Skid. The mountain remained silent, not unlike a tomb in the aftermath of the recent chaos, offering nothing in return to his raised voice. Turning in a slow circle he felt his heart beat increase. Eyes wide, he turned to Matilda.
Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was silently crying. “Where? Where do we start looking?” His raspy voice was filled with urgency. His law enforcement instincts reminded him without mercy he had very little time to recover her before Cold Cat Mountain swallowed her without a clue, as it had so many others.
Walker grabbed Matilda by the shoulders, shaking her. “Where do we start searching? You’ve been studying the geography and terrain.” Carefully, as not to incite Walker further, Skid pulled Matilda back toward him, out of Walkers reach. Mute with grief, Matilda stood shaking. Her eyes were fixed on the distance.
“She’s in shock Walker.” Swearing, Walker ran back to his truck. “Stay here with her, I’ll be back with a search team.” Even as he said that and shifted his truck into gear he felt the fruitlessness of his words. So few people had been recovered from the mountain. Adults never returned. He wiped the back of his hand over his eyes to remove his sweat as he barreled down the dirt road and back into Stryker.
~*~ Norma slid downward into her hot tub, exhaling as her body adjusted to the heat. Steam spiraled overhead, upward toward the overcast night sky. Laying her head back she closed her eyes. It had been a long day. It was no small thing to be a working matriarch. Images and to do lists danced through her head and she took another deep breath, letting the heat soak into her tired muscles. In the background she could hear her grown grandsons laughing over a card game they’d started with their grandpa. Evidently Gordon was losing. Smirking she rolled her head to the right. He deserved it. He was a poor loser anyway. And too competitive.
She heard another loud cheer and knew the game was ending. Bracing herself, she silently prayed they wouldn’t want to jump into the hot tub until she’d had a chance to completely relax. Another mental check list flitted through her mind. She’d already fed them dinner, and laid out snacks, so they wouldn’t be leaning out the door asking for food. She’d bought herself a little time. She smiled, congratulating herself for thinking ahead of their stomachs.
<
br /> The wind picked up and she slid into a deep even breathing, nearly asleep, when she heard the back door open.
“Norma!” Raising her head she blinked, water running off her shoulders and neck. “What?” Gordon approached the hot tub, worry lined his face. “We have a missing person from Cold Cat.”
Nodding once Norma exited the hot tub wrapping in a towel. “Get the boys ready. I’ll take them with me.”
Gordon paused. “Dusty wants to ride with me, so you’ll have Dillon and Wyatt riding with you.”
Rushing to the bedroom Norma dressed and pulled on her flight jacket and boots. In haste she grabbed a side arm. Standing ready, her, grandsons waited near the front door with their own weapons, moving restlessly. Dillon reached out and took his grandmothers side arm and extra jacket, turning and exiting. “Meet you in the truck G-ma.” His deep voice faded as he jumped off the porch and ran out into the night with his cousin, Wyatt, who started the truck and turned on the heater. It was colder that he’d remembered it ever being at that time of year. Shivering, he pulled up his zipper and waited next to Dillon. Norma jumped into the driver’s seat, honking as she watched Gordon and Dusty disappear into the horse barn. They would be in for a cold dangerous ride. She prayed they’d stay close to one another. Shifting the truck she and her grandsons bounced down the road toward town with the radio playing softly in the background. No one spoke. Neither Dillon nor Wyatt asked questions about the missing person, knowing their grandma’s brain was occupied. In the relative silence of the truck’s cab all three silently rehearsed the flight drill they’d conducted a million times. Except this time it was real.
Cold Cat Mountain: The Peak (Cold Cat Mountain Trilogy Book 1) Page 18