Chapter 6- The Mountain
I must have fallen asleep. I woke to darkness, the embers of the fire a dark orange, burning down to ashes. The stars were so bright, they lit up the sky. I knew obstacles were preparing to bring my journey to a halt, but my mind was light and hopeful, my body anxious to go.
I walked to the edge of the trees again. It was eerily still and clear, only a slight wind whistling through the leaves. The mountain was still a colossal shadow above me, a challenge too immense to even think of completing... but we had to. I was determined too; we couldn’t give up now.
I walked into the serene air, and out of the mass of trees that had protected me for the past weeks. I felt exposed and vulnerable without the ceiling of leaves and branches above me. I started walking towards the mountain, determined.
I soon found myself trekking up a fairly steep hill. I was breathing heavily, but I was still going strong. Sure, it was steep, but it was nothing my lean, strong muscles couldn't deal with. My spirits were high. I had my head torch illuminating my path, and although it was hard work, I could do it, providing that the rest of the mountain was like this.
But the mountain didn't stay like that.
The path became more treacherous, and steeper. Oxygen was sparse; quickly, my breathing became laboured and my legs felt like iron. My breath steamed out in harsh puffs, as my throat was parched and cracked; my original hope and eagerness etching away with each painstakingly slow step.
″We can do it Isaac, I can do it″, I whispered into my collar," I'm going to do it". The silent darkness of the mountains surrounded me, echoing my efforts, mimicking them.
The stars blinked at me, giggling amongst themselves, laughing at my struggle.
The jagged rocks and ledges of the mountain threw me off balance; I slipped many times, flipping quickly onto my back, as to not crush my delicate son, still wriggling inside my coat.
The scaling of the mountain was a difficult and slow process- even whilst the reasonably mild weather lasted.
It didn't last long.
A sharp, strong wind soon developed, whooshing flecks of snow in front of my face.
There's something about wind; it makes everything more chaotic. The force of it was overwhelming, a mammoth battering me from every angle, inclined to bring me to a standstill.
I struggled on. And on. The mountain was an infinite war, battling against me. Time slicked pass quick as light, but at the same time, I was going nowhere.
A white blur blocked my vision, blinding me. The cold slithered through my bones, diffusing itself through me, feeding off my warmth, leaving me with none. An infestation of icy parasites in my blood.
I knew Isaac was feeling it too. His little, cold body shook against my ribcage, vulnerable. My lips were sore and chapped, my eyes stiff, with frost developing on my eyelashes. My whole body was tight with cold. I couldn't feel my toes, fingers or nose, although I had them all wrapped up. I knew frostbite would soon set in.
Breath choked up my throat, and salty tears glided down my cheeks, and wept into the felt of my balaclava. Everything throbbed: my ears, my legs, my heart, and my head. Any ambition or belief had clung onto the twirling flakes of snow, and disappeared behind me, where it belonged.
Blood burned my muscles as it passed through them; the discomfort of being blistered by heat, and frozen by cold swamped me.
Rasp. Pant. Wheeze. The snow which clouded my sight soon fogged my mind and brain. My skull felt heavy with it; my head rolled to each side, bringing my weight with it. I was enveloped in the mist- physically and mentally. My head lolled back and forth and the weight if it brought me down...
I was falling. The snow came up to meet my face, and I succumbed to it. I felt my body pressing into the frozen powder, and for once I welcomed it. It defeated me. I watched the pirouetting snowflakes dance across the gale; so graceful amongst the turmoil of ferocious winds.
I surrendered. Calm wafted through me; I realized I wasn't cold anymore. Tranquillity brings warmth, and warmth brings tranquillity. I remember from a book that being frozen is a very peaceful way to die. After your total body temperature goes below a certain point, you stop feeling the cold, and just slip away...
My eyes closed. All my senses were numbed, and I felt... alone. Is this what death felt like? A sudden detachment of everything?
Slowly, small figures of colour appeared out of the lacuna. My happy place appeared. It looked the same as always- if anything, more clear. All of my friends I had imagined were there, smiling and laughing. The whole scene was foggy, and indefinite. It was too perfect. No-one new, no-one gone.
Wait.
Someone was new. A young, lanky, coffee-coloured man came walking up to me. He mouthed something at me, but the words didn’t manage to pierce through the glowing mist of the scene.
As the man loped towards me, and I realized, that in fact, he was hardly a man. Just a teenager. He came closer, bounding with the steps of a carefree young boy.
The closer he came, the more I became conscious of his age. His smile showed the utter joy of a - why, he was just a toddler! No more than three years of age. The clear caramel skin, the big brown eyes- it was Isaac! I cried with joy, and attempted running through the smog; it slowed me down, my legs pushing through it. It was like water. It was thicker than water.
Suddenly, I was swimming. I had to get to Isaac, who was just a babe now, thrashing in the white liquid. He cried, and the water lapped into him mouth. He screamed with hysteria. My heart broke into a million pieces at that sound of absolute terror. I had to swim. I had to get to him. His screams pierce my eye drums and something was banging and thrashing against my chest. He went under. I howled.
And then I woke. I jumped up, a new fuel in my body- grief. Isaac was shrieking inside my coat, and I started traipsing up the mountain side. I couldn’t lose. The wind yowled. How could this minor being defeat its cause? It plummeted around me- invisible and angry.
All it took was one moment of clarity to save us.
I saw it. Through the lapse of snow, a black entrance stood out against the white. A... cave?!
In a spurt of desire and energy, I nose-dived to the unexpected sanctuary... But landed on snow once again. I got up. The shelter seemed no nearer. In this environment of absolute white, perspective dissolves into the surroundings. I charged against the unwavering storm, which was making up for its small falter by completely masking my path. Blundering and stumbling off the hurdles the mountain threw before me; my hands were ready to protect me from any falls I may take.
Where was it? I felt along the ridged edge of the mountain, waiting for my hands to suddenly fall through, into an empty space. Where was it?
All of a sudden, my foot hit against a hard rock, and I fell on my side. Winded, I rolled onto my back, groaning.
Then, without warning, the momentum of my roll surged me down a precipitous slope, and into complete darkness. The cave!
Gender:
Points: 1131
Reviews: 36