MT. TORREFY Ch. 1 Entrance

Sunlight breaks through a thick layer of clouds as day begins to break. It's seven in the morning, cold settles in greeting the outskirts of town with a harsh breeze. Snow begins to gently fall from a grey toned sky. Aaron, a lively energetic ten year old boy, and his brazen but calculated sixteen year old sister Ceciel, stand outside of their rundown house. Both, bundled up in layers of clothing to keep themselves warm. Aaron snickers at the cold as his cheeks turn a bright red with each passing breeze. Ceciel adjusts his jacket, then zips it up tight.

“Ready to go on the trip? You haven’t forgotten anything, right?” Aaron thinks for a moment, tilting his head upward. “Oh!? I left the compass Dad specially made for me in my room!” Ceciel stands up and pats Aaron’s shoulder. “I will run in and get it, then we will head to the bus stop. Ok?” She says in ernest. Aaron nods his head in agreement. Ceciel darts in the house admits the cold weather.

She begins searching his room for the compass. On the wall she sees picture frames with photos of Aaron, her and their dad. In each photo Aaron has a huge grin on his face. She looks over to his desk, plastered all over are drawing of different kinds of dragons. “Henry... your delusional talk has really brainwashed Aaron.” She says thinking out loud. Ever since they been ostracized to the outskirts of town years ago, Ceciel began to call her dad by his first name out of disappointment. She finds and grabs the compass next to the drawings. Before leaving, she looks into a small mirror sitting on the desk. “Wow! I truly outdone myself this time.” She takes a second to admire her makeup application. Everyday since the start of middle school, Ceciel taught herself to apply her own makeup and favored the gothic glam style look.

Outside, several footsteps are heard approaching thier house. Aaron looks out to witness several kids holding rocks and baseball bats. Kid one yells, “Get out of here! This town doesn't tolerate liars!” He bounces the rock from hand to hand. “Yea! You're father is no scientist, he’s just a crazy quack!” Says, kid two holding a baseball bat. “If you don't get out of our town, we’ll leave you lost in the woods!” Kid three screams out while also holding a baseball bat. The woods weren’t too far from the house since they were forced to move to the outskirts of town. Frightened, Aaron stands their unable to move. The kids begin to walk closer.

Ceciel enters the living room. On the dining table she spots a chocolate bar. Ceciel chuckles at an old memory of Aaron eating chocolate as a kid. Baby Aaron smiles while chocolate is smeared all over his face. “This is Aaron’s favorite. I will save it to surprise him with it later.” She places it in an empty pocket in her jacket.

“HELP!” A loud scream is heard coming from outside. “Aaron?!” Concerned, Ceciel rushes outside to see whats going on. Her brother is getting pummeled into the snow by the three hoodlums. Simultaneously, the hoodlums repeatedly kick Aaron. One hoodlum holding a bat, raises it high with the intention of smashing it into Aarons ribs. Aaron lays on the ground shaking trying his best to shield himself with his arms from the blows.

“Stop messing with my kid brother or else I’ll make you all pay for it! You hear me!” She screams out loudly. With an immediate reaction, Ceciel grabs a rock laying around and chucks at them. The rock slices one of them across the top of the head. Blood slowly trickles out from the right side of his forehead. With haste, the three hoodlums run away into the shallow misty alleyway in which they came from.

Ceciel checks on her brother brushing off the snow from his puffy jacket. She pulls out a handkerchief from her left coat pocket to wipe away the dirt on Aaron’s face. “Look, once we find dad I will make sure to give him an earful.” She adjusts Aaron’s jacket, snapping up the loose buttons. “That way I would finally convince him to move out of this horrible town.” Aaron smiles while wiping his runny nose with his sleeve. After double checking their belongings, they set out on the journey to find their father. Ceciel’s mental thoughts begin to drift as they make their way to the bus stop, heavily stepping on the mounds of snow beneath their feet.

During the summer, five years ago, the Garren family took a trip to a nearby lagoon. Henry reaches into the trunk of the car to unpack the gear onto a wagon. He pulls out a small cooler then places it on the wagon. “Hey Aaron?!” Ceciel call out to him they disembarks from the car. “Let’s have a race. First to get to the lagoon wins.” Restlessly, Ceciel begins to jump in place. “Kay, but I get to have a 30 second head-start.” Aaron grabs his dragon floaty as he wobbles out the car. “Sure you wont need more time? Hahaha!” Jokingly, she laughs as Aaron gets ready to run.

“Ceci, don’t tease your brother and make sure he doesn’t get hurt.” Henry warns her as he continues to unpack. Aaron, who’s a bit chubby and short, takes off running with his floaty in hand. Ceciel closes her eyes then begins to count. “One. Two. Three… Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen…” Ceciel readies herself in a running stance. “AHHHHHHH!” From a distance, Aaron is heard screaming in pain. Ceciel opened her eyes, worried and in shock.

They arrive at the bus stop, awaiting the 10:30am bus to arrive. “Hey Ceci…” Aaron calls to her while staring at the ground kicking snow beneath his foot. “Is it about dad again?” She responds while keeping her eyes on the road for the bus. “Do you really think dad is at the top of that mountain? It has been over six months. What if he ran away? We haven’t heard from him; does he not miss us?”

Aaron, a boy who brims with positivity and childish imagination, is showing a sense of doubt. An emotion rarely seen from him. Ceciel turns to Aaron placing her hand over his shoulder. “We know well enough that dad wouldn’t up and leave us. He must have a reason for not returning.” She looks Aaron in the eyes. With a reassuring smile, she says, “I’ll be sure to find him, ok.” Aaron lifts his head with a big smile on his face. He uses his sleeve to wipe the snot running down his lips.

The wind picks, up causing an intense cold breeze. They both snuggle up together on the bench to try to stay warm. From a far distance, the sound of tires screeching over a sleet of ice on the ground. Eagerness arose as the thought of getting on the bus will warm them up. The bus slows down nearing the bus stop. The driver presses on the brakes, coming to a complete stop. The door slowly creeks open letting out a nice warmth of air from inside. “Where to kids!?” the driver yells out. They quickly get inside to get away from the freezing cold. The door closes behind them. Ceciel reaches inside her coat for loose change to pay the bus fee. Aaron walks to the back to find a seat where the blast of the heater is strongest.

“Mt. Torrefy Trail, please.” Ceciel responds in a quivering voice as the cold from outside lingers over her body. The driver has an unusual look on his face. “Well, if ya lookin for a one way trip to the afterlife, I won’t stop ya. HAHAHA!” With a cynical laugh, he shuts the door behind her. Ceciel sits down next to Aaron. The bus takes off towards Mt. Torrefy Trail. It takes about five hours to arrive at the base of the trail. Ceciel leans back to rest her head on the soft cushioned seat then slowly closes her eyes.

Without hesitation, Ceciel rushes over to her brother’s aid. Aaron is laying on the ground, atop the bridge, clutching his right knee. “What happened? Are you ok?” His knee is scraped up with blood slowly trickling down. In a loud voice she call out for help. “DAAAD!” After haven also heard the scream, Henry rushes over with a first aid kit. “Aaron.” Seeing that his son isn’t in grave danger, he calmly place the kit on the ground beside him. “Everything will be all right. Let’s clean and disinfect the area then place a bandaid.” Ceciel wipes away her tears in relief. Aaron springs back up with a big grin on face as he also wipes away his tears. In that moment, Aaron thrust his arm forward to give them a thumbs up. In return, with a smile, they both provide a thumbs up of there own.

“Ceci!? We are finally heading out on our journey to find dad!” Aaron yells in excitement. Ceciel abruptly snaps out of her daydream. The outside cold must have suppressed his true feelings. “Oh!? Ceci… you think dad really found a dragon? Dragons are mythical creatures that are said to roam the skies. Dad said one of them lives atop of Mt. Torrefy!” The passengers start to whisper to each other after realizing whom the kids were. They take quick glances with expressions of discontent and disgust. After seeing how the towns people felt and treated their father for the past couple of years, Ceciel has become numb and learned to ignore the hateful comments.

Aaron was full of enthusiasm, which helped block out the whispers. He continued rambling on about the lore of dragons for the next hour or so. Passengers depart until they were the only ones left on the bus. Mt. Torrefy is said to be the last stop of the buses route. Time passes by. Aaron is fast asleep laying his head over Ceciel shoulder. Ceciel stares out the window witness a beautiful scenery. The sun pierces out as the clouds start to clear. The bus rides over a steep hill, high enough to see the forest stretch out far and wide.

After reading the coming weather reports, Henry places his hiking backpack on the ground. Within the bag, he pulls out a rope. “The report says within the hour a snow storm will hit this area. Are you sure are ready for the hike Ceci?” Ceciel, at ten years old, shown a fearless strength of tenacity. “I’ve only been training since I was five, Dad.” With a look of confidence and determination, Ceciel thrusts her arm towards him to give a thumbs up. Henry replies in kind. “Ok. Just to be safe I will tie this rope around us both, that way we will stay together and not separate.” He ties the rope around her first then on himself. “On we go Ceci! Let’s climb the mountain!”

The sunshine glistens over the top of the trees, slowly melting the fallen snow. Mt. Torrefy can be seen piercing the clouds. Although the destinations still far away, the Mt. seemed very close. The bus arrived at its final stop. In an eerie and low raspy voice, the bus driver tells them, “Just know… the further ya go the more dangerous it gets. Last time I dropped someone off here was six months ago.” The driver ponders for a moment. “Yea! It was that scientist quack. Knew he wasn’t returning. Must be dead by now.” The driver slams his hands on the steering wheel. “Now go ahead and scram! Hehehe!” With a sinister laugh he says, “Have a great ol’ time kids!” The door creeks slowly as the driver closes it.

Across from the entrance on the opposite side, stood a convenient store connected to a gas station ironically called ‘Torrefy Station.’ The logo placed above the building is quite large and seems to be made of LED lights. A few of the letters are out while some are flickering. Ripped off a few of its hinges, the sign barely holds itself up, hanging off the side of the building. The damages must have been caused by years of heavy snow storm impacting the building. It seems no urgency were in-placed to get it fixed.

Ceciel and Aaron walk inside. The door creeks triggering a chime bell attached above it. After entering, one last cold breeze swoops in as the door closes. The lights inside flicker similarly to the LED lights outside. A gloomy and dark atmosphere fills the entire space. Aaron grips onto Ceciel’s arm very tightly, his body shivers from both being cold and of fear. Unfazed, she walks towards a table and chairs which she spots from a short distance. They both place the bags on the table then proceeds to take off their jackets. Ceciel hangs her jacket over one of the chairs. “Ok. Aaron listen up.” Before fixing her gaze on her brother, she cautiously scans the area. “I need you to stay her and look after our stuff. I’m going to look for a map to buy.” Aaron nods his head and quietly sits on a chair.

The shelves scarcely filled with products seem to have collected dust over time. She grabs a can of peaches and blows away the pile of dust covering the lid. The particles immediately fill the air. “Cough! Cough!” She accidentally inhales it causing her to react. She stops coughing then flails her arm to wipe away the dust in the air. She looks at the can of peaches to find the expiration date. “Six months?! Great is everything in here rotten?” She says with a bit of anger and dissatisfaction. Ceciel makes her way to the cashier counter hoping to find someone to speak with.

An old rusty bell sits atop the counter surrounded by chocolate bars and candy. She reaches out for one of the chocolate bars. In that moment a small cockroach scurries across the counter. Ceciel hesitates for a sec pulling her hand back. She grabs the chocolate bar. “Expired huh? Figured as much.” She rings the small rusty bell and waits but no response. She then proceeds to look for the map again.

An old rack of magazines appear a few feet to the right of where she was. Ceciel walkes over to look through them in hopes to find what she’s looking for. Scanning through, she stops a moment and stares at a news magazine. On the cover is an image of their dad with the headline reading “Scientist or Quack? The Genius Who Lost His Way” The magazine is full of slander and bad rhetoric aimed towards their father. This did not bother her as she has been used to hearing it from the towns people. Ceciel cracks a smile, happy to see her dads face even if it’s only on a cover of a slanderous magazine.

“Ya, lookin for a map of the mountain trail young lady?” Said a man in creepy raspy voice who appeared from behind the counter. Ceciel turns around trying hide her spooked reaction from hearing the mans voice. “Yeah, how much for the map?” she responds.

Ceciel heads back to the counter with the magazine in hand. An old man with a long gray beard stood before her. He looked haggard and dirty while also exuding a foul stench from his body. He spits out tobacco, the sound pings off a small pot underneath him. “Free. I’ve given out hundreds of maps to travelers over many years, no ones ever returned. That goes for that old quack on the cover for that mag ya hold’en too.” He hands over the map to Ceciel, then proceeds to add another pinch of tobacco into his mouth.

“I’d say it’s been six months since he stepped in here. The mountain must have finally gotten him.” Annoyed, Ceciel takes the map then places the magazine on the counter. To not be riled up, she composes herself to ask,“How much?” The cashier iterates back, “9.59.” She grabs her wallet out of her pocket. She hands over a ten dollar bill. The cashier rings it up, and hands her back the change.

Ceciel heads back to the table where she left Aaron at. Kicking his feet, Aaron spots Ceciel and smiles in a relief to see his sister return. She places the map and magazine into her bag. “Alright, it’s time to go. Grab you backpack.” Aaron hops off the chair. They both head to the exit door. “If you want to live, I suggest ya head back to town. The trail will devour ya! It’s no place for small kids.” The cashier gives out an eerie warning. Ceciel and Aaron stop for a moment, she then thrusts open the door letting the cold air sweep in. “Aaron… lets go.” She says in an angry but calm demeanor.

They stand before the entrance to the trail. The clouds tint appears turn more grey as snow falls from sky. The area must have been vandalized seeing as the sign is spray painted with a red X. Wooden two-by-fours are poorly positioned to block people from entering. The fence is completely rusted all over. Oblivious to the dangers that lie ahead, Aaron starts to dance with excitement. Ceciel herself can’t help but also feel a sense of excitement. “On we go Aaron! Let’s start our adventure!”