The Last Climb

The Mountain

Part Three- The Last Climb

There was a stillness within the cab, an almost quiet tension. No music, nothing to be heard. Just the hum of the car’s engine as it ascended the old road, mirroring each curve and turn with precision. This was a mission in its infancy. A mission to end the nightmares and harrow. This was it; the last climb. 

A moon’s cycle had passed since he was last up the mountain, awakening to the singing of birds and the brilliance of the rising sun. He still hadn’t recounted everything about how he ended up laying face down on the side of the road on that forsaken morning. Let alone why he was up there. So many holes plagued his memory from that last trip, so much emptiness and uncertainty. The lack of cognizance tormented his days and nights. The only constant was the desolation he felt when thinking about his friends. He remembered them, the good times and the bad, but where the hell were they? What happened? Why was he alone?

Sean’s eyes never averted from the road as the aging black sedan raced past the eight thousand feet marker. Something within was taking over now, forcing him higher and higher, searching for anything that would make sense. A primitive need bloomed deep in his core, as if the mountain was calling him, beckoning his presence. He hated the idea of returning, but knew there was no other choice. This damn rock had broken him, physically and mentally. However, all signs pointed back here, back to the mountain.

The need wasn’t there immediately after returning to the quaint town without Jimmy. It slowly manifested in his gut, while fragments of memory came and went. Moments of uncertainty swirled in his mind like a spiraling staircase leading nowhere. He was lost at first, not able to focus or fixate the pieces together. But over the course of a few weeks, segments of time returned demanding clarity and answers.

His drive for the truth wasn’t merely compelled by his needs, though. A thorough investigation was ongoing in the town regarding the disappearances of two young men. Two young men who were last seen with Sean. The interviews were invasive, judgmental. He didn’t have any of the right answers for the authorities, claiming memory loss and confusion. The only reason he wasn’t behind bars awaiting a trial was the lack of proof. The lack of bodies. But the snickering behind his back and the leers from those he once considered friends caused more grief and despair. He couldn’t take it, being labeled as a murderer. He needed to find out what became of his friends, solve this mystery, and save his own ass in the process. Or find an alternative.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened as he passed the nine thousand feet marker, eyes shaky with anticipation, knowing the moment was near. Almost to the turnoff where the road ends. I can do this. Another three turns, and it’s all hiking after that. I’m going to end this. I’ll do what I came here to do.

The engine died at the turn of the ignition. He sat in the car for a few tense moments, his eyes flowing upward, following the crest that leads to the summit. He’d ascended this mountain twice recently, but there was a strangeness to it today as he marveled at its beauty. Something wasn’t right, though. Off somehow. He couldn’t explain what it was. But this was becoming a more common feeling to him, not being able to explain what was happening or his internal instincts. Fear and intrigue flowed through his veins, knowing what he was about to do. After a deep sigh, he opened the car door and exited.

Time seemed to stand still with each laborious step. Hours melted away as if they were mere minutes. The majesty of his surroundings was ignored, forgotten, as he climbed. His goal was to reach the peak, search for the truth on top of the world. There was no other way. Something was pushing him, pulling him, driving him.

The sun was low in the west as he reached the base camp, looming over the area with cautious eyes, mind interlocking fragments of memory. I was here, but not alone. Pete was here, and Jimmy, too. He looked to his right, noticing scattered ashes from a long extinguished fire. We camped here after reaching the summit for the first time. I remember. We were celebrating, enjoying a toast, when…

His eyes strayed to the trees behind him, a look of anguish crossing his face. Something cognitive was surfacing as he observed them, watching their limbs flow lightly in the breeze. But the memory was hazy, full of darkness, sprinkled with hues and shadows. He didn’t have the mental strength to complete the thought.

Shaking his head in confusion, he dropped his eyes to the ground, contemplating his next move, knowing that it must be done. The sun was nearing the horizon and scaling the final two hundred feet in darkness would be foolish. Being up here alone wasn’t the best idea, either, so a decision had to be made; camp out for the night or risk it all under the cover of darkness. It was a simple choice, given his ultimate plan. He would do what he came here to do.

The fire’s warmth filled him with hope as he listened to the surrounding forest, admiring the moon and its brilliance. He recalled sitting next to one just like this with his buddies, sharing stories and applauding their accomplishments from the day. Laughing and joshing one another. A smile crossed his lips as he watched the flames bounce around, thinking about Jimmy and his boisterous exaggerations; thinking about Pete’s energy and influence. Those two were his life. They completed him, but now here he was, alone on the side of this rock once again, mind straining to complete what had happened.

As quickly as the fond memories resonated, misery and agony crept back in, slicing through with its vicious claws. The accusing eyes and leers. The rumors and shit talking when he walked down Main Street. He worried deep down that maybe he was the cause of their disappearances, their demise. What if he had done something to them, hurt them, maimed them, left them for dead? Was his mind blocking out the events, preventing the memories from returning? Was he clinically sane? Did the label fit? Was he a murderer? Why couldn’t he remember?

He forced those feelings down and away, staring into the flames. Something wasn’t right about this place, about this mountain. He didn’t do any of this. He couldn’t have. But — what if…

If he was responsible for their disappearance, he deserved the label, and the chastising that came with it. Maybe his mind had fractured, and he lived in two realms. Maybe his memories were suppressed to protect himself from the evil that was currently dormant, awaiting its next release? He couldn’t save himself or his friends. Maybe he was what they said he was?

His emotions festered as he sat there, rising to the surface in a violent wave. He stood, gazing up at the lunar magnificence, and released a primitive growl. It was deep and haunting, polarizing, unnatural. Then, a shriek exited the back of his throat, echoing throughout the camp and mountain. The forest was silent around him, utter stillness as the yells continued.

“What happened to them? Where are they, you son of a bitch? I didn’t do this! I couldn’t have! Why, why…”

Slowly, the vengeful threats and demands deteriorated, replaced by sobs of agony. Sean dropped to his knees, arms outstretched as he leered to the heavens, praying for an answer. Praying for this to all be a dream. He wasn’t a killer, a murderer. He loved Pete and Jimmy like they were brothers. But why couldn’t he remember anything? Why was his memory so fogged, hazed with darkness? He didn’t have any answers, and he knew it was only a matter of time before the authorities pegged him with these crimes. He was the monster in this scenario. There was no escaping the inevitable. He had but one way to end this.

After wiping away the tears streaking his cheeks with his sleeve, he reached into his waistband and removed the handgun he had carried up here. This was his last plan. The only thing that made sense in his demented mind. This would end the agony and torment, the nightmares and torture inflicted every second of every day. He would finally be free, lacking the pain and misery that the last four weeks had endured. There wasn’t even a thought about the townspeople’s whispers that would occur after he pulled the trigger. He didn’t care. If they wanted to label him as a murderer, so be it. He would do what he said he would do. The pain would end here.

With a shaky hand, he lifted the gun in front of his face, observing the intricacy of the steel barrel and its etchings. This is the only way, the only way. The statement looped in his mind as he thought about all that had happened since Pete, since Jimmy. All the hatred that plagued his mind. All the uncertainty and despair. His eyes welled up again as he knelt in front of the fire, gazing at the answer to his torment. There’s no other option. This is the only way. I have to do this. I have to end the suffering.

He squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the moment, focusing on his heavy breathing. A single tear rolled down the side of his face as he brought the gun’s barrel to his temple. Its frigid touch shocked him, even with the fire’s heat surrounding the area. But he was ready for this, for all of this shit to end. This was the only way. The only way.

His finger slowly brushed the back of the trigger, and he held it there for moments, which seemed like an eternity. The only thing left was to pull it. He would be free. His chains broken, forever released from the hell that had become his life because of this damn mountain. It was time.

But…

A powerful gust of wind flowed throughout the camp, nearly extinguishing his fire. Strange sounds resembling whispers echoed in his ears. Sean opened his bloodshot eyes, confused and erratic by the commotion. Dry, crumbled leaves floated on the jet streams, dancing to the rhythm of the movement. It forced him to hold up his freehand, blocking the decaying vegetation from blinding his sight. As he did, his eyes caught something in the distance, something that was familiar yet alien at the same time.

A dark haze hovered in the trail leading to the camp, blocking out all color from the area. The nothingness lacked texture or presence, merely existing without reason. Even the brilliance from the moon overhead didn’t seem to highlight whatever this was. There was no way to explain it, and Sean’s eyes couldn’t avert, no matter how hard he tried. His stubbled jaw dropping was the only movement he could process as he gaped at this thing, this entity. Without knowledge, during the tense moments surrounded with trepidation, he removed his finger from the trigger and dropped the gun down to his side.

Moments seemed like hours as he knelt in the dirt, looking at this shadowy figure, as if time wasn’t linear anymore. Like time didn’t have rules or didn’t exist here on the mountain. This couldn’t be real, but something kept tugging at Sean, forcing him to keep sane and conscious. Forcing his mind to work, to think, to remember.

As a horrifying memory from the past reentered his mind, he released a gaping gasp, and buckled over. It was all coming back, Pete, Jimmy. He tried to shut his eyes while laying in the dirt, blocking this thing out, and the memories, but he couldn’t. His eyes started back towards the path, towards the thing that caused all of this. At the thing that took his friends. At this monster that ruined his life and nearly forced him into damnation.

Without notice, the darkness and haze from the thing lightened. A pulsating glow from its core grew outwards, spiraling in all directions. The tendrils of magnificence reached and consumed all in their path, enlightening the surrounding mountainside. The intensity was more than any living thing should be able to handle, but Sean’s eyes remained open, taking in the beauty.

As the light finally engulfed the remaining remnants of color and hues, Sean stood in awe. All around was burning white, nothing more. Except that the whispers had returned. They echoed all around as he turned, searching for their origin, searching for hope in this place. Slowly, more sounds and voices emerged from the brilliance, followed by laughter and finally faces.

Shapes and silhouettes broke the light, moving throughout the space without understandability. One moment, a face was to his left and the next it was above him. Each had a unique voice, strange and foreign. Sean whipped his head around and around as the voices continued to flow freely in this place until…

A comforting whisper sounded in his ear. Someone or something had called his name, and he turned to find the source. The hushed voice seemed familiar.

In the distance, where the darkness had originated, stood the outline of a translucent figure. It was tall and broad, features obscured by the magnificence surrounding it. Sean watched it, observing how it flowed through the light without restraint. He cocked his head to the side, trying to comprehend what his eyes were showing him, trying to understand what was happening. The figure seemed to be mobile and was making a gesture in his direction. There was no way to be certain, but it seemed to wave him forward, asking him to advance.

Then it spoke.

“Sean.” Each sound stretched out, elongating the name. The name echoed all around him as if it entered his core and exited at the same time.

Without realizing his actions, he stepped forward. Any feelings of dread or uncertainty were long left behind him. All his suffering and anxiety extinguished. He was calm, comfortable, ready for whatever was about to happen. He was at peace.

As he took another step towards the figure that called his name, his eyes fixated on what seemed to be a face forming. It came and went with the light, but he knew that face. It was familiar. When you spend more than half your life hanging out with someone, you don’t forget their facial features. You remember everything.

“Ji—Jimmy?” Sean asked, halting his progression and blinking repeatedly, astounded by this new reality. “Is that you, man?”

The figure didn’t respond, merely continuing with its waving gestures, guiding Sean deeper and deeper into the magnificence. When Sean was within feet, his eyes revealed the figure wasn’t solitary either. Another was behind it, waiting and gesturing as well, ushering Sean along into the heat of the light. Sean knew that face well, too.

Tears of happiness streaked his cheeks as he strode forward, seeing their faces, knowing he would be safe and pain free. Knowing that the torment and fear of everyday life were behind him now. He remembered everything now, and it was finally over. They were together again, three friends on a mountain.