Zombies On Fire & Other Short Stories

The Legend of the Burning Mountain Man

"Not again!" Avrey screamed out in anguish as he tore at the flesh on his chest. Drew backed up against the overhang of the cliff wall at the sudden outburst of his friend that seemed to come out of nowhere.

They had just been walking along the trail up the mountain. Chatting as if everything were hunky-dory up until five minutes ago. Then Avery had fallen silent.

That had been the first strange thing that had happened because Avery was almost never silent. He had talked incessantly for the past three days. Drew had actually been relieved that his new friend had shut up long enough for him to enjoy the natural beauty that surrounded them.

Drew listened to the birds singing in the trees. He took a deep breath and let the smell of the forest fill his lungs. He had paused to let the breeze wash over him and cool away the sweat that had built up over the past hour since they had left the bubbling stream below.

But then the forest had gone completely silent. That was the second strange thing that had happened. He looked around to see what had happened to the birds. That was when he had noticed the fog moving down the mountain toward them through the trees.

Drew felt a twinge of nervousness. This wasn't normal for this time of year. He had been up here several times over the past few years and had never seen anything like this.

"Hey, Avery! Do you see that? I think we'd better get out of here." Drew mumbled quietly under his breath.

Avery didn't answer him, but Drew didn't take his eyes off the fog to look for the friend he had met at the base of the mountain when starting his trek.

At the time, having someone to keep him company had seemed like a great idea. Drew enjoyed having someone to chat with as they hiked over the trails. But now, he was glad that he wasn't alone up here.

"C'mon, let's get a move on it! We'll get higher up the mountain and above this fog before dark." Drew said as he picked up his pace.

Avery didn't reply, even though Drew could hear him shuffling along the trail behind him. Drew threw a quick look over his shoulder to glance at his hiking partner.

His head was down as if Avery were staring intently at the ground. He was about twenty feet behind Drew although walking at the same pace.

Drew looked forward to watch the winding trail in front of him but then turned back again immediately for another glance at Avery. It seemed as if something about his face were glowing.

Looking back again, Drew couldn't see the glow directly. Although he caught it again in his peripheral vision as he turned back to watch the trail in front of him.

"You okay, buddy?" Drew hollered out.

Avery still didn't reply.

"Yo, Avery! Is everything alright?" Drew hollered back over his shoulder.

This time he paused his brisk walk to turn and face Avery. The fog was almost upon them. Running wouldn't get them high enough up the trail before it covered them. And Drew was breathing raggedly. He wanted to stop to catch his breath.

Avery though didn't stop walking, he just continued right on past Drew up the mountain through the forest.

Drew drew a deep breath and then started walking after his new friend. The trail twisted and turned up ahead, and ad they came around the bend, Drew realized they were headed directly into the fog.

"Hey, it's getting dark. Maybe we should find a place to make camp. We need time to make a fire and set up while we can still see."

The tall, lanky figure of his hiking buddy kept right on moving into the fog. Drew paused and watched him disappear into the mist. A strange sense of foreboding hit him.