Löbauer Berg

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Emerald green trees enwreathed the gravel pathway that led to the top of the mountain. An ominous silence filled the air, there were no birds perching on the branches of towering beech trees. Their leaves are now marcescent, somehow still clinging for dear life. I started to ascend towards my childhood spot; a place I vowed to return to every ten years. The trail beneath my feet was beginning to show its battered side, cracks splitting it into smaller sections before the gravel crumbled and abruptly turned into a dirt footpath.

Nothing has changed since my last visit, except for the lack of existing life. In 2048, the mountain had seemingly become abandoned. There was no specific reason as far as I knew, people just stopped coming to the mountain. One day there were hundreds of tourists and the next, the entire area seemed to be quarantined; nobody wanted to enter but nobody ever gave you a reason why you shouldn't.

As the mountain got steeper, the path turned into a series of brittle stone staircases. I could feel my stomach growing tight as I saw that not a single step was consumed by moss. In this region of the country, there is one specific animal that loves to eat a lot of moss. Wild boars. But there's no way that boars live up here right? I haven't heard a single creature yet. I looked at the stairs with doubt but continued to head upwards. Maybe I was just overthinking things. I mean, the silence was a little eerie. Especially when you consider the fact that the numerous villages that resided the mountain were filled with such a lively community of people.

"It hasn't changed a bit," I mumbled to myself, a smile appearing on my face.

A tiny shed-like structure stood before me, somehow not damaged at all by the past seasons. The burgundy-stained wood was very much discolored in some areas-but it had always looked like that. A skin-colored sign was nailed to the doorless shed reading, "Rodelbahn start am Turm" meaning, "Toboggan run starts at the tower". My smile widened as I read those words over and over again in my head. I could see it all again, my friends and I would grab our worn-out sleds and race each other to the bottom of the hill, nearly hitting fellow sled riders as we did so. My feet would touch the ground to slow down and regain control, spraying my face with snow in the process. But that never stopped me from wanting to go around again. Winter on the Löbauer Berg was something that was so incredibly special, I would never want to stop coming back.

I let out a small sigh before turning away. The sun's rays were starting to disappear under the horizon; how long have I been out here? Oh well, it's not that cold out today, I can take my time. I continued up the stone stairs, taking in all the familiar sights and smells. Eventually, the main trail split off into more unexplored paths. A roughed-up sign stood in the middle, a faded green and white arrow pointing towards a larger walkway located to my right reading, "Turmweg" which roughly translates to "Tower way". Mossy stones started to stack up on the right side of the trail, stopping at knee level. I never really understood the purpose of this tiny wall. Maybe to keep animals off the trail? That doesn't make any sense; the other side of the path didn't have a wall.

After some time, my body seemed to become invisible to my eyes. The darkness was swallowing up everything in close proximity. Clouds had been conversing in the sky all day and had continued to do so as the moon rose above the skyline. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and shone it in front of me. The light didn't illuminate as much as I had hoped it would; I could only see a few meters in front of me, most likely because my phone was already low on battery life. But it was just bright enough for me to see the trail nodding off into a man-made clearing.

Cracked cobblestone was rooted in the ground, decaying weeds finding their way out from under the suffocating bricks. The lofty iron tower stood in the center of it all, still bathing in the glory of itself. I made my way to the foot of its octagon structure. The spiral staircase before me led to multiple sightseeing points further up the tower, distinguished by three different levels. Known as the "König Friedrick August Turm" or "King Frederick Augustus Tower", it's one of the main attractions of the region, having been built almost three hundred years ago. I mean, it was one of the main attractions. Now it's just a past recollection.

I felt my heart thud in my chest as I walked past the bent-in gate. The tower let out eerie creaks and groans every few seconds as the wind blew past. I didn't think much of it. It was an old structure; it would make those types of noises from time to time. There was no moss on these stairs either; that was what was worrying me. The stairs seemed to be sturdy enough to walk on but I still stepped on each one with caution. The weeds below me were starting to fade into tiny spots in my field of vision and before I knew it, I was standing on the highest level.

At the top, the view slowly crept over the skyline until it was fully exposed to the naked eye. Small villages surrounded the mountain completely with their historic homes. A church was visible in each, sticking out above the rest, showing off decades worth of use. Abandoned houses stood nearby, their walls decaying, animals calling them home. The cobblestone roads and sidewalks were still connected to those old houses but no longer in use. Rivers flowed through the villages all while making paths of their own.

Of course, not all of this could be seen from the tower. Despite being so high up from the rest of civilization you could still imagine every last detail because it was something you could never forget. I placed my elbows on the railing. The material used to build the tower was starting to make imprints in my skin as I slowly leaned over the side. From up here, you would've never known this mountain had been abandoned; everything looked somewhat new. I don't understand why-

A heart-shattering crack broke the blissful silence. The railing I'd been leaning on wasn't properly attached anymore; one of the pillars directly below my elbow was completely disconnected from the tower. Shit. I swear that wasn't there before. Before I could jump back to a safer location, the whole railing detached itself with a series of aches and groans, taking me along with it. I tried to scream but no sounds would leave my mouth as I tried to brace for impact.

I hit the ground with so much force, it felt like my lungs had jumped out of my body. I don't know how long I laid there before I was actually able to process what had happened. I let out a dazed groan, trying to sit up. That's when I realized, I couldn't move my right arm. Or either of my legs. Pain shot through my limbs with such force I saw stars. I couldn't move. I must've broken something when I fell. My phone. Where was it? That was the only way I was going to get out of here now. I weakly lifted my head, letting out a scream. Mostly from pain but also because my phone was far out of reach. The flashlight was still shining; at this point, the battery would drain itself before I would ever get to it. I'd have to wait until the pain lessened otherwise I would pass out. I couldn't see much from where I was; darkness enveloped everything in sight.

My phone finally powered itself off. I'm too overwhelmed to even properly react. I don't know how long it's been but I can faintly see the dark blue sky tint to a light gray-blue. But the phone's not what's bothering me. For the last couple of minutes, I've been hearing twigs snapping and bushes rustling. I was right. There are animals up here. Just as I lifted my head to look in the direction of the noise, a high-pitched squeal sounded from the outskirts of the forest. I immediately froze. It was a boar. More specifically, a male boar. The noise that was escaping his throat was one that was all too familiar; he was in heat. And these were his grounds. Two long, sharp teeth stuck out of the sides of his mouth, easily able to tear off human flesh.

Maybe that's why nobody comes up here anymore. Wild boars usually stay in groups of up to thirty-even during mating season. They are able to seriously injure somebody if they feel threatened. A scream escaped my lips as I tried to sit up. The squealing stopped immediately. I put my hand up to my mouth, trying to hold in anymore. But it was too late. He'd spotted me. I could hear heavy hooves making their way over to me before I saw the outline of him. He was so much bigger up close. And his teeth looked even sharper than I had imagined. Another scream escaped my mouth as I realized my fate. I couldn't move, there was nobody out here for miles, and now I was going to be gored by a wild boar.

As the wild animal continued to charge, I couldn't help taking in my surroundings one last time. Even though I was going to die alone, on top of a mountain, I feel as though I couldn't have picked a better spot. The stars were still visible in the changing sky, a beautiful salmon pink intertwining with the remains of the darkness before I was slammed to the ground.

And that was the last time I ever saw the world.