Demons of the Queen

Chapter 14

The Great Mountain looms ominously above me. I gulp. I feel like someone is watching me. Well, obviously someone is watching me! My ghost mother doesn't leave me alone for more than a fraction of a second if she even leaves me alone for that long. This is the last time I will be with my mother, and it makes me feel melancholy. After all, she raised me. But I had to feed that feeling inside of me and kill her.

A thought pops into my head: if I could take the murders back, would I? I try to push the thought out of my mind quickly.

The Great Mountain is tall, but luckily it isn't steep except for the last part of the climb.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a few moments. Then I begin my ascent up the mountain. A few pebbles on the ground slide under my feet.

The climb up the mountain is lonely. I whistle an impromptu song a little bit to pass the time.

I see an owl in a tree and pause to look at it and rest for a while. The owl is silent and frozen. It seems like it isn't even alive, or if it is alive, it doesn't care. The owl is asleep, but part of me still thinks it can sense me. That owl is probably the closest thing to a kindred spirit I will ever find. We are both alone, cold, isolated, and numb. Too bad my only kindred spirit is an apex predator that can poke out my eyes with ease and grace.

I turn away from the owl and continue walking.

"Goodbye," I whisper to it as I walk away.

My mother trails behind me silently. She looks even sadder than when Alair, Owen, or my dad disappeared. Maybe she is more depressed because she is the last one to go.

After climbing for hours I can see that I am almost to the top of the Great Mountain. The air is thin and my lungs are ready to explode. The last part of the climb will definitely be the most difficult. I have to climb up a vertical piece of rock to reach the top of the mountain. I find a good place to put my hands and feet and begin to climb the last part of the Great Mountain.

All of a sudden, the rock under my feet crumbles and falls twenty feet to the ground below. I am inches away from the top of the mountain. My hands start to get clammy.

Maybe I should just let go. I am never going to make it to the top of this mountain. This task is impossible. I grunt. I only have a minute left before my hands slip away. My lungs are burning and my heart is racing faster than I ever knew was possible. A sharp pain shoots through my arms fiercely. This is the end. I might as well just die right now. I have no reason to live. I don't deserve to live. I am a murderer and a liar. I close my eyes and count down from ten.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

I inhale what will probably be my last deep breath. I looked at my mother one last time. She is going to watch her daughter die.

"I'm sorry Mama," I whisper, truly meaning what I say. I wonder if anyone will ever find my body. Probably not. Time to let go.

Four.

Three.

"Stop!" Someone above me screams.

I look up and see the silhouette of a boy.

"Please! I am begging you to take my hand! Please!" He says.

But why should I even bother trying to live?