Meet Me By The Mountain (FemChara X FemReader)

5 - Climb

The police had failed me. The note was a dead end.

As much as I hated to admit it, I was becoming increasingly intrigued by the offer of the woman on the mountain. I wanted to find out what she knew and how she knew it. Or even if she was just trying to scam me, maybe that would at least be interesting. In any case, I didn't think the police would take kindly to the fact I just ran out on them, so I needed to quickly go somewhere else.

So I hopped in the car. I turned on GPS. I was going to Mt. Ebott.

I turned on the radio and blared my favorite music. Music, media, books, movies, video games. These were the only things I could stand doing anymore. And I consumed them with every waking minute, because I was afraid not to: media helped turn off my restless brain that would otherwise be constantly reminding me of my failed life, my problems, all the horrible mistakes I've made that led me to this point. It was the only way I can keep my brain quiet at night so I can fall asleep, so that I could stop counting and counting again how many calories I ate, it was the only way I could stop feeling depressed for one moment and enjoy anything. Living viscerally through fictional characters. Isn't that a great life?

But now I was doing something, and it excited me. Most importantly, I had some sort of purpose, rather than lying on the couch doing nothing: avenging Janelle. Or, you know, at least, getting to the bottom of what happened. That was revenge in my mind.

I was getting close to the mountain. I could see it up ahead. It looked heavily forested, so I probably wouldn't be able to drive up it, unless I wanted to break several trees on the way. I guess I would have to hike it. I hadn't done that since I was a little kid.

As I drove in, I suddenly realized I had no idea where on the mountain the woman was. Then I realized that that was an incredibly obvious issue and I didn't know how I didn't think of it before. And it was so obvious that I don't think any reasonable person would unintentionally forget to tell me where on the mountain to meet up - it was huge, after all. A bad feeling washed over me. This must be a setup.

But I was already there. I parked my car and looked up at the mountain for a moment, taking a breath in, taking in the view and the upcoming journey. And I thought, even if there was no one there, climbing the mountain would be worth it. Because now, for whatever reason, I felt something I never felt before. I felt determination.

So I put a foot forward, and stepped into the wilderness.

It was beautiful here. Massive trees towered overhead, leaves and branches cutting the sky, themselves host to an infinite array of organisms living and dying and flying and crawling and dancing through the bark, or eating the leaves, or in the tree's core itself. Even the dead supported a vast community: animals fell to return their bodies to mother Earth, fallen trunks were homes to ants and termites, mushrooms decomposed old leaf litter left by generations past. I felt like I was part of something bigger here. I felt like I was alive.

So I ran and screamed and sang, up the mountain, not caring where I was going as long as it was up, up, and up, because up was the only way to go, and up was the place my life was headed.

This continued for a long time, or, at least, I think it did. Time passed differently on the mountain. All I know is all I felt for a while was pure elation and joy, all my thoughts and all my worries were gone.

But then I reached an opening in the forest, where the trees were just thin enough that I could see horizon.

And I realized that I was at the top.

I stopped for a moment, and took in the view.

And then I heard something from behind me.

"Hello y/n," said a deep, raspy voice. "I'm so glad you came."

I turned around. A dark figure slowly walked forward. The sunlight shined through the canopy. Bangs fell over a grinning face. Something glared in her hand. A dusty knife.