Deep in
the dark Forest, beyond Robbers Bend and Cutthroat Canyon, sat a lonely
mountain.
Fang
Mountain.
At the
base of the mountain was an entrance to a large cave; the entrance to this cave
could only be seen during the daylight hours. For complete darkness radiated
from deep within the cave's depths, making it impossible to see. There was only
one creature brave enough to call this cave home and its red burning eyes
gleamed out from the darkness; they were the last and only thing any living
creature would ever see if they set foot in the cave.
One day a
lone traveler, battered and beaten, wandered lost on his journey home. The sun grew
heavy in the evening sky and night would fall soon. The traveler had walked
many miles on his long journey home through the war-torn countryside and knew
he must find shelter soon if he hoped to see an end to his quest.
In the
dwindling light of day, he could just barely make out the dark void coming from
the side of the mountain. Knowing this was probably his last and only chance to
find shelter, he made his way to the mouth of cave, inspecting it for any
potential threat. He carefully waded into the darkness, feeling the walls for
support.
As the traveler strolled deeper
and deeper into the cave he listened to the cracking coming from under his feet,
as if stepping on brittle sticks or… bone.
He soon
felt uneasy in the pit of his stomach, watched in the darkness. He looked back
at the mouth of the cave, the soft moonlight ushered him forward but when he
turned back around, he noticed burning eyes of red coming from deep inside the
cave.
A deep
voice, almost a growl, broke the silence of the defining blackness, “I am the
ghost of this mountain, I am the spirit of death, and you have made a terrible
mistake, for you can never leave alive.”
The traveler was stunned… he could not speak, paralyzed with fear. He finally choked something out, “I
have brought you a gift, O Great Spirit of the mountain. Please do not kill
me!”
Through
the darkness the traveler heard the same low growl “Proceed... Then I will decide
if I am to kill you.”
The
traveler knelt and quickly rummaged through his pack. He found two small stones
and a torch. He quickly began hitting them together as fast as he could,
sending sparks dancing through the black
“NO!” Roared the voice. Footsteps quickened in the darkness, pounding on the hard
cave floor straight for the traveler.
The
traveler hastened, praying for a spark to catch.
Closer
and closer the beast pounded towards him, panting heavy.
He
could feel the blood in his ears, hot and steady.
The pounding
in his chest faster and faster.
He could
feel the beast on his back.
Then,
light erupted in the cave! Roars could be heard from both the man and the beast
as the walls danced with flame, illuminating the entirety of the cave.
The
traveler swiveled and thrashed the torch through the cave, blindly swinging. He
made contact, setting a flame to the monstrous wolf’s midnight fur.
The wolf howled in fear and pain as it bolted out of the mouth of the cave and into the
cool night air. The wolf ran and ran, a small glow slowly disappearing into the
shadows of surrounding forest.
The man
sat in the damp cave, breathing heavy, still in shock from the events that just
took place. He extinguished his flame, engulfed by the darkness yet again. He
sat, and watched the mouth of the cave all night until the brilliant light of
the sun broke on the horizon. With the light of the day reborn again the man
gathered his things and made his way on the final leg of his journey back home.
Author's Note:
For this story I got my inspiration from Aesop’s fables, primarily the section
on wolves. There were many stories in this section but all the stories I read
gave me a sense of the underlying characteristics of a wolf’s nature:
deceitful, selfish, and dangerous. In the story The Wolf and the Lamb where the wolf
continually lies and deceives the lamb, who sees right through his lies causing
the wolf to eventually just eat her up, or the story of The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing that is a very similar story of a wolf
hiding in a flock of sheep by wearing their wool and leading them away to eat
them; just like how the wolf pretended to be an evil spirit in the mountain. I wanted to try and incorporate a
multitude of attributes from all of the stories into my own story while trying
to maintain a bit of a real life feel. In my story I really wanted to work with
dialog as a tool to add suspense and action to my story. I always enjoy some
thrill to my stories. I try to incorporate it into mine as much as I can.
Everything from the title, to the cover photo, to the story itself was an
attempt to raise suspicions and add mystery to the story.
